How to Save Money on Video Games in the Bad Economy

Everybody is trying to save money with the economy being as bad as it is right now. I'm not sure how much the bad economy will affect the sales of video games since video games
and movies are a form of entertainment that many people are going to find money for. But if you can save money on video games then why not do it? Here are some tips on how to save money on video games in this bad economy.

The most obvious way to save money is to not buy video games at all. Video games cost a lot of money these days and many don't have enough money to buy video games for full price even before the bad economy. Renting games might be the way to go. Video gamers that like all the really popular games can probably find what they want at a local video game rental store but anybody looking for a better selection can get a membership at Gamefly. Gamefly has a monthly fee but its worth the price for somebody that is constantly renting video games.

Another route for saving money on video games during the bad economy is to only buy used video games. Some stores might have used video games and Gamefly will sell their used video games also. Another option for saving money on video games in the bad economy is to trade in your old video games. At first I thought this was a ripoff because I would take back a game that cost $50 and the story would offer only a couple dollars of credit for it. But if that game is never going to be used then a few dollars is better than nothing. With this bad economy why not save every dollar possible?

Naturally it is always good idea to keep your ear to the ground and look for a lot of video game sales. A great place to check www.cheapassgamer.com. This site often keep its readers up to date on the latest deals. Two sites that www.cheapassgamer.com often mentions are Amazon.com and http://store.steampowered.com/
In Amazon.com's video game section there is a Video Game Deals option that will often have games for 5% - 15% off then there is also a Deal of the Day option that has a much better deal. For example,
Amazon.com's Deal of the Day is currently selling Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (a game that got an 8.3 from IGN.com) for 50% off. Steampowered.com sells some games that start at lower prices than normal games (although I'm not sure of the quality of these video games) and then also has some incredible sales on normally expensive video games. The most recent deal I saw from Steam was Lost Planet: Extreme Condition for $5. That's 75% off.

If you or your children are into good graphics then you are cursed with enjoying the current systems. But if you're more concerned with just playing fun games then why even worry about the latest systems. Forget about the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Instead find a Xbox or Playstation 2 and save money. Microsoft and Sony aren't still making video games for these systems but both already have a huge library of extremely fun games. Recently I dug out a couple of games from the FIRST Playstation and had as much fun with it as I do on my Xbox 360. Heck, if you just want to have fun why not go all the way back to Sega Genesis, SNES and NES. There is even a system called the FC Twin 2-in-1 NES that will play NES and SNES cartridges.

There is one more way to save money on video games in this bad economy that might not be obvious. Buy sports games, racing games, multiplayer games and roleplaying games. Why those genres? During this bad economy buying short games that take 3 or 4 hours to beat is going to mean that a video gamer can fly through it quickly and then they will need to buy another video game. Sports games will give a video game more bang for their buck during this bad economy because no genre of video games has more replay value than sports games. Racing games and multiplayer games also have a lot of replay value if there is somebody else to play with. Roleplaying games on the other hand are more bang for your buck because it takes a lot longer to beat. If somebody buys Fable 2 then they'll probably beat it in a couple of days and will need to buy a new game. If somebody buys Lost Odyssey then it could take a couple of weeks or even a month to beat it and they won't have to buy another new game as soon.