I was checking prices and Soul Calibur II is holding out at ~$40 - same as in Circuit City on release after the $10 giftcard. I haven't really found any new release that have significantly been reduced on price. THPS4, a 1 year old game, is going for $30 (it's more expensive for the GC version, the one I wanted, than for the XBOX or PS2).

Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, is being sold for $30+ and I paid $23 on release day. I paid $35 for Knights of Lodis. The Mario Advances still go for $30 ($25 after gamer's coupon at BBuy).

If it's exactly the same price, I don't mind waiting, but sometimes the price goes up.

So is there a patter here that helps one know which to buy and which to leave?

Um.. buy the games you want to play. That about sums it up. If you feel you don't need to play it that badly, then wait until a good price appears or you want to play it. How diffucult is that?

That's the thing. A good price DOESN'T appear on Knights of Lodis, for example. Most people who buy it know pay over $30 for it, some paying $35 or even $40.

There's more games I want to play than time to play them. However waiting on some games makes you pay MORE than if you buy them on release date.

That's what brought the question, is there a pattern to this so that one can make an educated guess as to what to get now and what to get later?

The only games I buy at launch are ones I "have to have." Generally just nintendo first party games and other series I'm a fan of.

Otherwise, I'll wait six months-a year and get it for $20.

Yeah really, games are expensive, so you gotta play the waiting game. Sports titles are pretty much the only games I get on release days.

I can wait a year or longer for the price to drop, don't really need games when they release.

There's really no pattern. If you want a game, buy it. If you want a game, wait, and are screwed later, that's the price you pay for waiting. The best advice is to know what games have smaller production runs, but again.. there's nothing solid, the game could hit bargain bins or it could fade out and meet high demand (hence higher costs for used titles)..

I would say, consider not wanting so many games, try renting, do you have friends that game? Having a friend to borrow games from is a HUGE plus.. I have a good friend and he lets me borrow stuff all the time. Usually I don't have anything he wants that he doesn't buy, but I could see a situation where there are 2 games you both want, buy 1 each, and swap when you're done..

Never, EVER buy a PC game until the first patch is released! NEVER!

Now if only I could take my own advice! I just got The Tomb of Elemental Evil. Great game, but it has more bugs than my first apartment.

Fixed.

As far as Tactics Ogre: KOL is concerned it was released in limited quanities. That's why you didn't see any $24.99 or $23.99 prices on it. Atlus has a habit of releasing it's games limited quanities...most recently was Disgaea.

A game like FF: Tactics Advance which is more popular because of it's name and because Nintendo published it is going to be distributed in mass quanities so you are bound to find retailers competing with each other thus $24.99 prices on it, or lower.

Usually I read up on previews and early reviews to determine whether I buy a game at release or wait...if it's a big name title you can usually figure that there will be plenty to go around, so if you're patient you can usually end up saving money on that game by shopping around.

Another thing I found out....both Gamestop and EB usually get there games at least 1-2 days before other major retailers do and take advantage of that time by selling the game at full price. Take for example FF: Tactics Advance. My EB and Gamestop were selling the game for $34.99 for the first 2 days. When my local Wal-Mart finally got it, which was 2 days later, it sold for $29.88.

So, for me, I use the rule of: If it's a big name title I want, wait and shop around for the best price. If it's a game I want and released by a company(i.e. Atlus) I will pick it up the first day, maybe even pre-order it.

I've been thinking about picking that one up. Loved the Baldur's Gate series...how does this game compare to Baldur's Gate II other than it uses 3.5 edition rules?

It never fails with a PC game....it's a rare to find a game released without any bugs. They tend to have more leniency than developers of console games because you can always patch a PC game...a console game would be more difficult, if not impossible.

Since I refuse to pay more than $20 for any game, I always wait.

Keeps the decision-making process short & sweet

I'm w/ NC-36... I usually also wait until the "gold pack" comes out (the original game w/ one or more expansions) as far as PC games go. WRT consoles I rent everything first to see if I like it or not (this is where the online "netflix" type places come in handy ).

Same here. I pay $20 for top-shelf games like Metroid Prime and Zelda: The Wind Waker. For everything else, I pay $15 at Best Buy.

You can never really tell... if the game has a limited market, it won't be overproduced and you should get it while you can.

In general, I avoid really, really popular games that I don't need to play right away, as these will eventually become greatest hits. This is true for most rpgs, or games that will have sequels. I will buy niche games at near full price... I snatched up the first copy of Ultimate Muscle I could find.

In general, I tell myself that I can wait, but the first/second week sales sometimes get me. If a new GBA game is 20-25 bucks on release, I'll usually get it... you won't find many GBA games discounted to below 20 bucks new.

And then there are the games that I'm waiting on... still waiting for someone to put Fzero on sale...

In town, it feels a lot like the Baldur's Gate games...Fed Ex quests and such. However, in combat is where this game really shines: turn-based and tactical...completely different from the BG games. The battles are very deep and amazing, and make the games numerous faults melt away.

I'll buy a game launch day regardless. If there's a pre-order deal I'll take advantage or trade some stuff. I did a 3 for 1 trade for F-Zero (2003 sports titles), I put 5 down on PN03 and got an extra 10 off an already 39.99 game, and I just bought Billy Hatcher and got NCAA Football for free. Companys need to work at getting sales on launch ie; Zelda pre-order OOT, Star Wars pre-order Arcade emulation. It seems others are now getting in on the action. There's now a bad a$$ Rainbow Six demo with Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell downloads out for pre-order (15.00 down).

I've only purchased a few games on launch day since my adulthood kicked in. I'll buy SOCOM 2 when it comes out, provided my beta kit isn't a full version. Other than that, I pretty much stick to greatest hits games, used games, or wait until they drop to the $30-35 mark before coupon. I've found that by intentionally setting myself behind the curve, I can play all the games I want to play and save tons of money.