Gaming & Saving Money - How Do You Do It?

All people have at least two things in common. First, all people have hobbies- general activities that they enjoy. Second, all people like to save money. As a gamer, I'm constantly faced with $50-$60 price tags and the overwhelming urge to empty my wallet for the next big game. How do I keep coins jingling in my pocket and new games on my shelf? Well, I do have a few secrets...

I almost never buy new games. The fact of the matter is that PS3 and Xbox 360 games are far too expensive- Wii games are the only ones I'd call affordable. When the summer gaming drought ends, I'm bombarded with numerous AAA releases. In the fall of 2008 I was faced with numerous fantastic releases- Animal Crossing: City Folk, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Dokapon Kingdom, Wii Music, Mario Super Sluggers, Bomberman Land Wii, and Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility. I'm not going to lie- I wanted them all. What did I do? I approached each case with a strategic perspective. I determined how much I was willing to spend on each and waited for the opportunity to buy them.

First to come out was Mario Super Sluggers. This Mario baseball Wii title was hitting the shelf at $50, like most Wii releases. Fortunately, shortly after release I spotted and snagged it on special at one of Gamestop's annual sales. The next two games to look at were the RPG hits Dokapon Kingdom and ToS: Dawn of the New World. Both were releasing at $40, a nice departure. I managed to get my hands on both at a similar sale. Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility and Bomberman Land Wii both were offered at unbeatable prices on Gamefly- BL Wii was $10, by the way. Finally, Wii Music and Animal Crossing: City Folk were both found at a Christmas sale. My games were conveniently bought and I saved over $140 by dodging the flat, new cost.

In 2009, I undertook the same method. The releases: Little King's Story, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up, The Conduit, Excitebots: Trick Racing, Phantom Brave: We Meet Again, and Wii Sports Resort. I carefully examined each for their individual value and strategically planned my purchases. Little King's Story, and Phantom Brave: We Meet Again were both early, specially-priced Gamefly purchases. TMNT: Smash Up, Sonic & The Black Knight and Excitebots: Trick Racing were bought new during an Amazon.com sale for only $20 each. Wii Sports Resort and The Conduit I managed to get a discounted new price at Gamestop. Sonic & The Black Knight I waited on and eventually bought for around $7 on sale. You know how much I saved from those clever purchases? Over $200. Not bad, eh? Just the tip of iceberg.

The trick to evaluating your game purchases by what they have to offer. Single player only games are automatically given less priority due to their lack of replay value. RPGs and Fighting games receive higher price points because of their abundant replay value and the fact they are my favorite genres. Another measure is to never trade-in my video games- by keeping all my games I'm able to ensure I have something fun to play while waiting for my future purchases to go down in price. It's all about a strategic approach and juggling what matters most. Follow my advice and you'll be able to indulge your gaming desires while keeping your wallet fat. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have Sonic Colors, The Sims 3 Wii, Conduit 2, and Epic Mickey to plan for.