How much do you pay for your retail games?

[Rummy]

Ok, this is part of a thing I tend to bring up a lot, and I've wanted to post this thread for a while(was gonna be in gen chit chat) - however there was one that overlapped so I thought I'd wait a bit.

 

Anyhow, I'm personally really interested in how much you guys actually tend to pay for games/are willing to. I might make some follow up threads/polls off the back of it, but for now I'm just curious.

 

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So, how much do you tend to pay for your retail games? Are there any exceptions? Do you go pre-owned rather than brand new? Are you an always-on-release kinda person, or do you wait for the drops? Let me hear your thoughts and reasonings! Do games cost too much, or too little?

 

For our non-UK folks, pick the closest option if you know - I'm aware some have a higher priced market - I'd be interested to know how things are where you are in that case.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Rummy

[Retro_Link]

Nice one @Rummy!

 

I've gone for < £20

 

And this is the advantage of having a backlog! :p

I picked up a PS3 just over a year ago and therefore was in the position where I could pick up the earlier PS3 games like Uncharted/Infamous/Heavy Rain for somewhere around usually £12.50...

and then you play those and you find that the next set of game have come down in price to somewhere between £10-20 too, and so on and so on!

 

There doesn't seem to be any real need to pay full price for a game nowadays when a lot of them seem to come down in price so quickly... they're usually half price within a couple of months in the likes of Zavvi/Shopto etc... weekly sales.

 

The last time I think I paid near full price for a game was with Nintendo Wii games like Skyward Sword... as Nintendo games don't tend to come down in price much, and I did buy Ni No Kuni new the other day, but even that was cheaper at release than it should be at Tesco for £31 pound or so.

[Rummy]

I should have made the answers public, so that I can call on those who voted for more information!

 

Personally, I'm similar to yourself Retro - a big backlog makes me wait, then I get the 'good' games at a much cheaper price that I would have otherwise. Of course, I make exceptions very similar to yourself, day 1 Nintendo releases, and things that I'd worry might end up as limited stock - such as Ninokuni. However even with that I didn't want to go for the £40 amazon one, and got it for like £32 or so off Zavvi.

 

I wonder, is that just me? Or do others do the same? I think the economic climate is very difficult atm, and whether it'll be obviously noticeable or not, I think it's having and will have a major influence on the industry - but I won't labour this too much right now, it's all part of my threads for down the line

[Hero-of-Time]

Whatever Shopto charges me.

 

I tend to get games that I reeeeeeally want to play on the release date. This means the usual £35-40 being spent. I very rarely get special editions, especially if they come with steel books. They don't match the rest of my games and look nasty on the shelf, although I do like a good gaming statue or something extra special, like the Ni No Kuni package.

 

I made a promise to myself to watch my spending this year, at least in terms of gaming, as I seem to just end up with a massive backlog of games. I need to get out of this mentality of having the new games ASAP and just wait for the inevitable price drops. So far it's working and i'm now finishing a game before I buy or start a new one.

[Retro_Link]

I should have made the answers public, so that I can call on those who voted for more information!

Yeah I was gonna say, 8 votes and 3 replies, shame on them! Can it not be edited?

 

So far it's working and i'm now finishing a game before I buy or start a new one.

Yeah I've always played games this way... although where as I used to buy the next game after I'd finished one, I do now buy games whenever I see them cheap.

[Grazza]

Generally speaking, £30 on release day if I'm keen, or up to £50 if it's a Zelda. If I just want to give something a go, then £15-20.

 

(I voted £30, by the way )

[Fierce_LiNk]

I don't mind buying pre-owned games. I'm also always on the lookout for a good bargain. I keep seeing de Blob 2 for less than a tenner yet I still haven't bought it, shame on me.

 

The game would have to be exceptional for me to pay full price. Even then, I'd rarely go above 30 for a game. Last one I did that for was Zelda: Skyward Sword. No way am I paying GAME's prices of £44.99 or whatever they charge.

[Murr]

Eh need a choice for all of the above.

 

* I Splash out on special editions of specific games I want.

* Games like COD / Battlefield / FIFA I buy on day one full retail price

* Other games such as Far Cry I waited till they were a bit cheaper online

* Back log games such as Binary Domain, Vanquish I look in bargain bins, or offers on pre-owned like 3 for £20 etc.

 

 

So there's not really a specific for me. I just buy games at any price really.

[Ike]

£30~ish, except for games I'm unsure on or don't think it's worth paying full price. Will pay more for a Limited/Collectors edition if I think it's worth it.

 

Not totally against paying RRP for digital versions either, really.

 

Rarely buy preowned.

 

I made a promise to myself to watch my spending this year, at least in terms of gaming, as I seem to just end up with a massive backlog of games. I need to get out of this mentality of having the new games ASAP and just wait for the inevitable price drops. So far it's working and i'm now finishing a game before I buy or start a new one.

 

I should do this, but I find it pretty hard sometimes . Takes me ages to finish console games nowadays anyway.

[Retro_Link]

I keep seeing de Blob 2 for less than a tenner yet I still haven't bought it, shame on me.

It's currently £4.99 or so on PSN and I still can't decide if I should get it; I didn't play the first... and I'm not sure if it was meant to be better or worse than that.

[Hero-of-Time]

It's currently £4.99 or so on PSN and I still can't decide if I should get it; I didn't play the first... and I'm not sure if it was meant to be better or worse than that.

 

It's pretty much the same game, but it loses some of it's charm if you have played the original.

[Fierce_LiNk]

It's currently £4.99 or so on PSN and I still can't decide if I should get it; I didn't play the first... and I'm not sure if it was meant to be better or worse than that.

 

I think the save system is meant to be better on the sequel. It's worth giving it a go at that price.

 

The save system on the original isn't very good. You really have to play it in biiiig sittings...We're talking hours. From what I remember, the sequel rectified that, to a certain point. For that reason, and the fact that you didn't play the original, I'd recommend it.

[Ville]

Usually preowned (~20€ or lower), have found a ton of great 360 games browsing the used section of Gamestop. Also, a lot of cheap games acquired from Steam sales...Although, I do want to start buying new games when I get mah job situation sorted out, much cooler and actually helps the game companies...

[Magnus]

It depends on the game, obviously. Once the hype manages to get its claws in me, I'm willing to pay ~£35 for a game I'm excited about. I had to pay £38 for Assassin's Creed III and felt like I was being ripped off, though.

 

Otherwise I try to wait for good deals. It's a great feeling when you can get a good game for £14.99 a year after release. But it's awful when you really want to play a game you've missed out on and it costs more than when it was released. That's the only time I consider used games - if new copies of the game are significantly more expensive than they were when the game was new.

 

I would never even consider buying a limited edition of a game. I love gaming for the games, and I have enough junk in my closet without adding to it every time a AAA game is released.

[Jonnas]

Back in the day before the internet, I would have to pay 60€ for a new copy of a GC game, and finding anything lower (used GC games weren't very common) would be a blessing. Wii games cost 40-50€ nowadays, 20€ or so used. If I'm particularly hyped for a game, I'll take those prices, since finding it cheaper online is unlikely.

 

However, with anything else, I shop online for anything lower than 20€ (though I find the occasional bargain here and there). Most of the time, games that have been out for a couple of years or so.

That's why I picked the "Lower than £20" option.

[Oxigen_Waste]

Sub ~£20 - Preowned all the way. This. All the way.

[Rummy]

Yeah I was gonna say, 8 votes and 3 replies, shame on them! Can it not be edited?

 

Had a look before I posted that last one, but don't think it can

 

 

Loving the responses so far, seems the ~£30 mark seems quite popular. I'm wondering how many games are passed up for not being the right price too, which might not get reflected in here.

 

De Blob 2 is a great example for here! I got it a while back(april 2011 in fact) for like £10 or so 'new' - I'd never have paid more than £10-£15 for that in particular though. It was something I'd been told about/heard about, but wasn't massively taken by. This is part of my bigger idea too, the supply and demand of video games - how much money would one make if it was a readily available £5 download, compared to a retailer set price? If I didn't have it and it's download for a fiver I'd certainly consider it! In fact, I'd recommend it for that price @Retro_Link!

[RedShell]

Grab a good deal online for me. Although I'm OK with paying more for a game that I know will last me an insane amount of time, stuff like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter etc...

 

But yeah, obviously I prefer a good bargain. Have been doing pretty well so far with the Wii U:

 

• Tekken Tag 2 - £20 [RRP/eShop = £37.49]
  
• ZombiU - £26 [£54.99 WTF?! ]
  
• Batman Arkham City - £18 [£49.99]
  
• Sonic Racing Transformed - £14 [£39.99]
  

 

Still not sure if I've secured Sonic at that price yet, but if so that's already over £100 saved on Wii U games! :awesome:

 

It's currently £4.99 or so on PSN and I still can't decide if I should get it; I didn't play the first... and I'm not sure if it was meant to be better or worse than that.

I ended up hating deBlob 2.

In fact, it became such a chore to play, that I never finished it and ended up selling it.

I really loved the first game, but the sequel was just meh.

 

Luckily I only paid 4 quid for it, and actually made a tiny profit on the sale.

[Shorty]

Generally speaking, £30 on release day if I'm keen, or up to £50 if it's a Zelda.

I got Skyward Sword with the Wiimote for £26 from Sainsburys Online, and it arrived before release date There's almost never a need to pay RRP.

 

Although whilst I ticked the ~£30 online option, I'm a sucker for the occasional special edition, too.

[V. Amoleo]

It really depends for me.

 

If it's Nintendo published Wii/Wii U game I'm likely to pre-order it if I can get it for £30-£35 because they usually hold their value.

 

If it's Nintendo published DS/3DS game I'll pre-order if I can get it for £25-£27 for the same reason.

 

If it's a game I really want and there's a good Special Edition/Limited Edition/Pre-order Special available, I'll pre-order at £40-£45.

 

Never pre-order Ubisoft or Square Enix console/PC games. Their prices drop to sub £20 within a couple of weeks. EA and Microsoft games tend to drop to sub £20 within a month or so.

 

For the past six years or so I really only buy pre-owned games if they're rare. I think it'd be a bit hypocritical of me to not support game developers when I'm a software developer myself.

 

I'm not as strict as I should be. I feel I should work on a one-out-one-in basis with my backlog but I worry that games will become difficult to find if I wait too long.

[Jimbob]

Depends really. If it's a big blockbuster title, then it's a launch purchase and that could either be in-store at £40 or online for £35 depending. If it's not a big title, but i feel like playing it then i'll invest in a purchase once it's been reduced or it's in a sale.

 

I did snag Hitman Absolution for £20 2 weeks after release, which was good. Most games i get anyway are either £30-£35 new on launch or a few weeks after.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Sub ~£20 - Preowned all the way. This. All the way.

 

It's amazing how quickly you can build up a collection when you buy things either pre-owned or on amazing deals.

 

Trauma Centre: Second Opinion for 2 quid? Ok!

[Blade]

Its all driven by price for me as I dont have a lot of money to buy games and I have a large backlog. Big titles are normally day 1 for me everything else I await until it appears in the General Bargains thread :-)

[Grazza]

I got Skyward Sword with the Wiimote for £26 from Sainsburys Online, and it arrived before release date There's almost never a need to pay RRP.

 

Actually, that's the same with me. I think I paid £30 for both Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess (GC version). It's just a habit I got into ever since the N64 Zeldas, to think "This was worth the full £50".

[Dcubed]

I've only just dumped retail completely fairly recently, ever since I discovered Shopto.

 

Having imported most of my games for the past 5 years or so (from around 2006-2011) I was bloody sick to death of the long delivery times - which is why I mostly bought my non-imported DS games at retail. Being able to play a game on launch day felt like a bloody luxury, so I was happy to pay the higher price

 

Now that I'm back to going full PAL again with this generation, I started by buying 3DS games at retail until I discovered Shopto and their amazing delivery times. Now I get games cheaper than before and even earlier than before in most cases

 

I'm never buying a newly released game at retail again.

 

Edit: Good lord! I just realised that this post comes across as an infomercial!

 

In short, it's the delivery times that were the biggest barrier for me. The wait for delivery was always such a turnoff before that I didn't mind paying the higher B&M prices. Those days are thankfully over though

Edited February 16, 2013 by Dcubed