Gaming is an expensive hobby. Far more expensive than collecting staplers or the insurance costs that arise from setting yourself on fire. There are ways to save the pennies though; all it takes is a little know-how and a keen eye for a bargain. So put down those ridiculous “2 for £50” High Street offers. Stop replaying the only game you could afford for your launch date PS3. Stop trading in your games to second hand stores and getting ripped off like a damn jive turkey fool. It’s time to get dangerous. I mean, it’s time to get economical about gaming purchases. Yeah, baby.
Hit the Charity Shops
“I found a bundle of PS1 games at a local Mind store, the highlight being Final Fantasy VII going for the paltry price of two English pounds. Two quid! I don’t know who would give that kind of game away. Perhaps someone died!”
- A charity shopper from Kent.
Don’t physically hit them because that’s rude and they’re only trying to do a good service, but do venture in once in a while. In fact, do so whenever you pass one, because the nature of the charity shop means that gaming bargains are more than possible but incredibly random. You’ve really got to keep on trying until the odds are in your favour.
"25p for Mario & Yoshi on the Gameboy? I found it in the bottom of a basket of small toys, so that just proves that you really have to look all over the place to land a top bargain.”
- A charity shopper from St. Leonard’s.
Most charity shops with any sort of focus on media and entertainment will have a selection of games, but you’ll have to be vigilant. You’ll be required to work your way through plenty of dross before you even catch a whiff of something worth getting. Ancient football games, countless copies of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, bizarre budget PC games with names like ‘Blox Bash Bunny’ and ‘Tile-rama’ – there’s a lot of rubbish out there. But, like our happy shoppers above, hitting gold is always worth it. There are no guarantees, but the thrill of the hunt is a solid enough game in itself. Can’t see it reaching X-Box 360 though. Maybe on X-Box Live, I guess.
Online Auction Sites
“Someone had spelt ‘Dreamcast’ wrong on an item they listed, so it didn’t show up in any searches. I stumbled across it and managed to land the console for £2.50, simply due to this lack of accessibility to the listing.”
- An e-bidder from London.
The benefits of bidding on auction sites have been highlighted countless times in other media, but what many don’t understand is that you have to be very careful when buying privately online. Many shoppers have bad experiences due to piracy or bad quality of items.
Feel free to bid for an item, as long as you’re 100% confident with the seller. Do they have good feedback? Don’t just scan their stats, read all of it and see if it highlights any potential problems you may have. Make sure they use original photos, not stock ones, as this will give you an accurate idea of what it’s going to look like. People who use stock photos are generally trying to hide a fault with the item.
Look out for pirate games. This is particularly rife with Gameboy Advance cartridges, where the copies can be of a deceptive quality. If you’ve got any doubts, don’t shell out.
“I bought Final Fantasy IV for the Gameboy Advance. Came in a box, with an instruction manual, seemed perfectly legit. It took a trained eye to spot that it was a fake – the colours were faded and garish, and, slightly more obviously, the ‘instruction manual’ was six pages of praise for the soundtrack!”
- An e-bidder from Orpington.
CD and DVD based games can be faulty due to heavy scratches, so make sure your seller is willing to accept returns if it refuses to work on your system. If they’re not willing, do you really want to be buying from them?
Finally, make sure the game is right for your console. If you have a PAL system, buy PAL only games. But this leads us on to…
Importing
Importing is costly and usually reserved only for the most hardcore/snooty of gamers. It’s a pretty heavy dedication too – how many of you are prepared to learn Japanese in order to play exclusive SNES RPGs? Alright, alright, put your hands down, there’s no need to embarrass me.
If you can’t shell out for a Japanese console, a power converter, a complete language course and (finally) some games, you can still enjoy foreign wonders with the Gameboy Advance or the DS. Region-free, your Nintendo handhelds can play any game, be it European, American or Japanese. Checking out an import specialist like play-asia.com or browsing on auction sites can provide you with cheaper and unique alternatives to the games on your local shop’s shelves. By doing this, you can play games before their official release date, usually for less money than you would pay over here. The Pound is strong, you see. Strong like an ox!
“The Japanese Phoenix Wright II on the DS has a complete high-quality English translation included on the cart, so I bought it a month before it came out over here, for less than half the price, and I it all perfectly. The box was cooler, too. It was all black and moody.”
- An importer from South-East London.
If you’re concerned about saving money however, don’t try this with other consoles’ games. Ever.
Downloads
Hardcore gaming is a collectors’ sport, rivalling only antique hunting in its sense of respect for the old and classical. What collection is complete without Super Mario Bros, or Street Fighter II, or Manic Miner? There are thousands of classic titles out there, but aside from the bargain bin finds available from the above sources, many of them are fairly expensive. However, this overlooks the forgotten classics, the ones lost to time, saved only by dedicated fans and fan-servicing companies. Check out the below sources for some enjoyable, and mostly free, downloads.
http://www.the-underdogs.info/ – A library of ‘abandonware’ – games lost to time that have been disowned by their creators. For many titles, there’s advice on how to track down copies, but some are available to download from the site. You’ll need an old PC (or old PC emulator) to play them, but these are excellent retro experiences available in a click of a mouse!
http://www.retroremakes.com/ – Classic titles with a breath of new life. This excellent site houses lovingly recreated titles from the past that you’re free to delve into and relive again.
http://www.codemasters.com/ – Remember Codemasters? They made the Dizzy games. Register here and you can download fully emulated versions of some of their first games for owt. It’s a quality site too.
So there you have it. Hopefully, this will help you save a few pennies, and also perhaps enjoy some gaming you would otherwise have not experienced. Just remember that, in this digital age, buying a game in a shop is very rarely the best economical option.
Had any excellent bargain spots, or know of a golden nugget available for free online? Let me know, because I’ve run out of those centered quote things from up there. Drop me a comment below, or join our forums. Look forward to hearing from you!