Did you know that 70% of gamers play with at least one friend?
If you’re planning to buy more games to play with your buddies, you might find it beneficial to find deals on games. Games these days cost a lot of money and it’s all too easy to lose track of how much you’re spending.
The good news is we’re here to show you how you can get the games you want and still save on cash.
With this guide, you’ll learn some money-saving tips to get the most out of your video game spending. Read on and find out more:
Table of Contents
1. Don’t Buy New Games During Its Release
It’s an accepted fact that games are at their most expensive when they first get released. The only exceptions are games that became so rare that they are now collectibles. That’s why it’s a no-brainer that buying them at this point isn’t a wise way to spend money.
You’ll save lots of good money by waiting unless you feel desperate enough to experience the game as it launches. Take note, you’ll reap more benefits aside from the monetary savings if you wait for a while. It’s especially when it’s a game with a big title and delivers online play.
After all, such games are likely to have a multitude of day-one bugs. If you wait, the developers will fix these bugs by then. Also, you need not wait for a long time to download the game since the sheer number of players doing the same will likely overload the servers.
If you’re one of the many who prefers playing video games on a PC, you’ll save more money by delaying the need to spend money to upgrade your setup to support the game. It’s especially important now since most games demand better hardware to run at its highest setting. With this, you can also wait for the hardware to become cheaper.
2. Don’t Buy Brand-New Games
Bins of used games still exist, both in physical and digital format. To start, look for online marketplaces or visit your local video game store. With that, buying used games is one of the best saving money tips around.
Take note, you’re only shaving a little of the video game’s original price tag. But if you buy more used games over time, the little savings add up. This can be a difficult task since most people will hang on to their new games for a while before selling them back.
The worst part is that most people opt to buy digital copies instead. This means they won’t have a hardcopy to sell back to the game stores. This is even more prevalent among PC gamers since most stores opt not to take back used PC games.
Despite these hardships, the silver lining of digging through the used game bins gives you time to wait and contemplate. Use this time to wait for the newer games to become cheaper through discounts. You can even think about whether this game is really worth waiting for.
3. Rent Games Instead
Was there a time when you bought a $60 Triple-A game title and immediately regretted that decision? If so, you could avoid this by checking the reviews as the video game gets its release. Never believe the hype surrounding it since it’s often misleading.
Sometimes, trailers and other “in-game footage” makes you think you’ll get a great game. In most cases, the actual game will be vastly different from these things. It’s worse when the game launches and it ends up broken.
Also, some games are too short and have no replay value. When this happens, it’s better to rent the game instead. You have no reason to keep games around after you finish playing them, except if you plan to play them again a few more times.
Renting games also serve as a way to test a game whether it’s worth paying as it is. If you see that the game has lots of bad reviews, rent it and see if these are true. If it’s as bad as most people say, it means you ended up wasting less money.
For PC gamers, Steam offers full returns for games you played for less than two hours and owned for less than two weeks. This platform also offers free demos and trial periods to let you test games.
4. Wait for Regular Sales and Look for Bundles
Regardless of whether it’s digital or physical, game marketplaces often have sales. For example, during the summer, Steam has a big sale period for its large library of curated games. Some nationwide sale events like Cyber Monday are also great for buying games at discounted prices.
Keep yourself updated with these sales events since it allows you to plan for them. Search online for sales on your desired platform or vendor. Keep an eye out since even new games can have heavy discounts during these events.
It seems counterproductive to buy more things at once when you want to spend money. But if you’re buying everything anyway, it’s cheaper to get them as a bundle when possible. Lots of game makers offer bundles as a game launches, which includes all DLCs after it goes live.
To make the most out of bundles, get specially discounted ones or those coming from game publishers. The good news is that it’s easier for PC gamers since you’re likely to find them on Steam. It’s even better that these bundles appear frequently, especially during various sales events mentioned above.
5. Sell Games When You Finish Them
Selling a game is like undoing your purchase. To make it a viable option, opt to do this for longer games or those that focus on multiplayer elements. The reason is that these games aren’t logical choices for renting.
Will you play a game for a long while? If so, go ahead and buy it. But to think about future savings, you must think about ways of selling it once you tire of it and move to something else.
Selling the game is good, but planning out your deals on games on games will let you save even more money. For example, you can become a member of GameStop’s Power Up program. Once you are, you’ll get some extras for used games, and sometimes offer more for certain games.
The program also gives your used games more value in the form of a percentage boost. This is only possible when you convert the sale as credit toward buying a new game. This means planning your sale as you’re about to buy a new game.
Honorable Mentions
These are some tips that help you get good deals on games, but not as important as the ones mentioned above. Consider these as additional tips to augment your buying experience:
Consider Exclusive PC Gaming
Don’t get the wrong idea—video game consoles are great and have their set of advantages. Among these, saving money on video games isn’t one. PC games often give you cheap options to encourage you to buy games during their Alpha or Beta stage.
Compared to consoles, the monetary savings you’ll find on Steam and other platforms are hard to match. This isn’t accounting for all the great free-to-play games made specifically for PCs. Remember, consoles sport some free games, but it doesn’t come close to the sheer number of free titles available.
Also, consider sticking to buying digital copies of the game. Even when the game remains the same in both physical and digital formats, the price difference will be noticeable. The obvious reason for the former to be more expensive is because of the tangible disk and case.
But you must also be flexible since you’ll never find a used digital game copy. Whenever possible, canvass for the same game using the two formats and see which one works better. You might get surprised that physical game copies are sometimes cheaper than their digital counterpart.
Do you want to save some money in upgrading your gaming setup? If so, check out the linked page and discover some great deals.
Canvass for Deals on Games
Amazon or Steam doesn’t always have the best price for your desired game. Sometimes, you’ll find better deals on less popular platforms. Store-hopping can become a tedious task if you search for your game at each shop online.
The good news is that you need not do this. All you need is to look for websites that cater to price comparisons for games. These sites can look into any game’s online prices and send you alerts as soon as their price tags drop.
It’s an especially important tip if you can’t wait for a deals on games to drop.
Save Money on Gaming Deals Today!
These are some things you must do to get the best deals on games. Use these to guide your buying decisions and become a frugal gamer.
Did you find this shopping guide informative? If so, we encourage you to read our other posts and learn more valuable gaming tips and tricks.