Money Saving Tips for Video Game Fans

Most of the time when say to save money they usually mean give up the things you love. For millions of us – me, included – that means video games. I don’t have to tell you that video games are a very expensive hobby. Even if you’re lucky enough to get the system as a Christmas gift or something, you’re still looking at $50 to $60 per game. And that doesn’t include the increasingly popular and pricy DLC (downloadable content). The good news is there are some ways to cut corners without abandoning your love of video games.

• Trade in unwanted games to save on popular titles – When you pre-order many of the top titles at local video game stores, you can receive higher trade-in values for games when you apply that cash towards your pre-order purchase. This is a good way to get rid of games you don’t want while lowering the price of ones you do.
• Join video game rental clubs or stores – Nothing is worse than shelling out $50 on a game that sucks. Instead, rent before you buy. Even if you only take the game for a spin for a day or two, you’ll know whether the investment is a wise one. Remember some games can be beat in a matter of hours so you can complete them and save yourself some cash.
• Exchange games with friends – If you’ve got a few close friends who share your passion for gaming, work out an arrangement that lets all of you swap games from time to time so you don’t have to keep buying all of them brand new.
• Plan ahead – If money is tight, plan ahead. Read the list of upcoming titles and start saving a little at a time so you’ll have the cash on hand when that highly anticipated game comes out. This method also helps stop you from racking up credit card charges on game purchases.
• Buy new – Some people would recommend buying used games but it’s not worth it. For one, the price reduction is usually minimal, especially for newer games. Plus, the trade-in value always seems to be less. Some places won’t even accept used games.
• Avoid the extra – Video games cost a lot of money but so do the extras. For example, if you recently purchased the amazing game Fallout 3 for the Xbox 360 you might have been tempted to shell out the extra money for the special edition version and/or the strategy guide for a whopping $25. Do you need these things? Probably not. Most of the strategy information you’ll need can be found for free on the Internet, and most of that special edition video game swag just ends up collecting dust on a bookshelf. For the extra you might have spent, you could have bought another game.
• Be selective with DLC purchases – If you love Rock Band or similar rhythm games, you already know keeping up with the DLC is expensive. Now other games are getting in on the DLC trend. You really want to be careful about overspending here. Be sure whatever you get is worth the money.

Remember playing video games is a lot more fun when you don’t have to stress about your cash flow or work extra hours to pay the bills.

Tagged as: DLC, Playstation 3, saving money, trade-in, video games, Wii, XBox 360