How or Do You Refrain From Buying Games?

[Jmustang1968]

My buying habits have shifted some. If I find a game I want to play for a deal I will get it now. This occurs more often with older games now. Before I would pre-order and buy everything new, and then the game will still be sitting on my shelf sealed and selling for $10. So now, I am more selective on what I pre-order or buy new. Basically, smaller devs or publishers who I want to support I will pre-order their games, or if there is a limited edition I feel will be scarce.

Many of my retro games I have purchased locally in lots. I then sell or trade some of the extras and duplicates, to recuperate some of the cost of the purchase. So for retro games, if i dont have it, and I find it for a deal, I will pick it up, as most retro game prices are only going higher. Newer games, I will wait until they drop, or unless if it is a game I want to play now.

[CRTGAMER]

The standard answer is not buying due to price and not enough money. Actually I think many here might sometimes not buy a game due to not enough shelf space! I have passed up on titles justifying already having similar games already.

On the other hand, my judgement gets the better of me buying multiple copies of a given title for different systems and sadly sometimes the same console! Okay come on raise those hands, I know I'm not the only one.

[Tanooki]

Yeah that happens. I've been doing it with the Pinball Arcade, but it's kind of justifiable given the prices on the tables as it doesn't take long to blow through that many quarters anyway.

[Opa Opa]

I do not have a lot of spare time to devote to games so I don't feel any compulsion to keep adding to the collection. Although I do understand the "gotta buy it; such a good deal!" syndrome. Here's a basic run-down of how I operate:

Finish a game before buying a new one- This really only applies to the newer consoles because of the cost of brand new releases. There's no real point in buying more games than you can play; so before I'll consider even browsing for a new title, I'll play what I have.

Selling stuff (Again, this section is about new titles)- Once finished with a game I'll immediately decide whether or not I'll trade it in to gamestop/amazon/whatever. This actively cuts down on the clutter and puts money back into future games. I usually trade into gamestop due to the rewards points for coupons and taking advantage of trade promotions (which can sometimes get you ~$40-45 dollars back on a new title; that practically pays for another game). Better to trade in a game now than let it sit on your shelf until it's only worth $5 at most.

Pay attention to your spending- I've got to disagree with noise on "ignore prices". I'm not cheap but making wise purchasing decisions (not that video games are all that wise of a purchase) and waiting for inevitable sales will save you money. Saving money = more money for other things (more games, books, milkshakes, etc). There are very, very few games released today that are legitimately uncommon. Even if you can cite a list of uncommon modern releases, there is, more than likely, a digital download of any given title on a virtual marketplace. The whole "buying it now 'cause it might be expensive in the future!" concept is ludicrous for modern games and questionable at best for retro titles (you really don't know what the market will do). Yes, retro prices will more than likely go up in the near future but further down the road?... we'll see... prices could very well plummet as gamers age and interest wanes.

Also, setting a budget is a good idea. I don't have one because on average I spend probably... $35-50 a month? I've really focused on playing what I own already and this has cut spending dramatically.

...I guess I've rambled on enough... tl;dr: quit buying so many games, play what you have.

[Exhuminator]

not that video games are all that wise of a purchase

Now granted spending disposable income on entertainment, instead of saving it, may not be all that wise of a decision. But buying games is no more a waste of money than any other consumable medium right?

[Opa Opa]

I was just being facetious.

[Tanooki]

Well waste of money is subjective. Fun entirely out of the picture, being the 'evil reseller' for a moment, and figure it this much. If you can get out of it more than you put into it, it's not a waste because that cash will go down to using it on something that will have value to you. And whatever that item is, if you get the hours out of it despite depreciating value (a car), or it goes up (a house), it's all good.

I find with the pinball table I grabbed, as it ages, if it stays functional, I'll get enough out of using it, but also perhaps in time selling it for more than I have in it as long as it doesn't become a circling drain of repairs.

[Key-Glyph]

Ignore prices. Only buy a game you plan to start playing today.

This is exactly how I do it.

The specific advice I'd add would be: don't kill time on eBay, don't go to flea markets regularly.

There are plenty of games I'd like to play someday, but I don't look at how much they cost until I think I'm inspired to try them out. If I look today and something costs $50 when I could have gotten it a year ago at $20, so what? The fact is that I remain blissfully unaware of the price history and make my decision based only on the current one.

If I decide that $50 is too much and I shelve the title in my mind as something to check on later, it only further puts off my spending money. If I check back in the future and the price has gone up, I'll only be sad that the game is so expensive, never that I "should have bought it when it was cheaper." My opinion that the previous price was too high still holds, and I still wouldn't have bought it.

Part of this is that I enjoy having some serendipitous limits on my choices. I will not get to play all the video games I'd like to in life, so if something is determined to be beyond my attainability, oh well! It might be disappointing, but it's almost a cosmic favor in that it narrows my target pool and frees me up to pursue other, more acquirable things without regret.

[Nintendork666]

I've really focused on playing what I own already and this has cut spending dramatically.

Yes, this absolutely helps and is a wise first step for anyone feeling overwhelmed by their mass of games. The coolest thing about this however, is that you really begin to not only appreciate, but understand your collection more as well.

[Exhuminator]

understand your collection more as well

I would like for your to elaborate further on this phenomena. What exactly do you mean by "understand your collection"?