maxfisher

I tend to just visit CAG 2-3x a day and when there's a really good deal, I try jump on it in a big way. Back in the days when the trade-in values of Blockbuster and Gamestop would fluctuate wildly, there were times you could do stuff like buy $20 in used games at Gamestop and trade them to Blockbuster for $50 credit, then use that to buy $50 in used games that could be traded back to Gamestop for $75. When such an opportunity came up, I'd spend an evening driving around the city and boosting my in-store credit to $500 or $600, which would last several months.

The flipping's mostly dead these days, but the Best Buy/EA deal earlier this year turned out to be great. I bought $260 worth of credit for $130. The first game I ordered directly from EA got lost in the mail and it took me a month to get a second one shipped. They ended up giving me $70 in additional credit for my trouble. In the end, I was able to get Tiger Woods 10, G.I. Joe, Dragon Age, Boom Blox Bash Party, Left 4 Dead 2, Dead Space Extraction and Brutal Legend for about $150 out of pocket.

Target, Sears, Toys 'R Us & Fry's clearances are great too and I've picked up many relatively new games for 75% off or more.

Anyway, I think anyone that still buys games should be a member of CAG and check it regularly.

mattysemo247

I either get them on clearance at Target or wait for the bigger sales at the end of the year (B2G1) where it ends up being $30-$40 per game. Unless it's a limited edition version that has to be preordered.

jeffbase34

Traditionally, I would get the new releases during Gamestop's B2G1 free sales or their 30% off used coupons, but the asshats haven't offered these deals in several months. They are definitely Lamestop now.

GreenMonkey

I don't buy that many games any more. In the last year I sold about 4x more games than we bought. Not enough time.

I like Amazon. I do an occasional online surveys that gets me a $10 Amazon GC and like to use those for games (or books). I have to remember I have that ECA discount now also.

I also will do wherehouse / secondspin.com once in a while. They will run a 20% off or 30% off used prices sale a few times a year and I'll sometimes pick up a newer game or two really cheap that way.

Otherwise I just wait for a price drop or a Target clearance (always worth checking the Target clearance rack!). I used to do a lot of flipping Target clearance stuff on ebay/amazon - not so much these days.

Obi-Wanma

Actually you don't. ECA discount was discontinued.

jeffbase34

If you are too lazy to browse the CAG website, just download the podcast where they talk about the deals.

They regularly highlight deals at Gamefly too.

The Bus

Any game I spend over 60 hours on is generally worth $60 to me.

tonyc3742

Yeah, my quantification for older consoles was something like cost 1$/hr for enjoyable gameplay is a 'good deal.' Given the shorter nature of some modern games, and the fact that they some of them are much more immersive experiences, I'm fine now with 2$/hour for some games. However, most of the games I pay full price for, drop the price down to less than 1$/hr due to length of the game, or replay value.
If I get 8-10 good hours out of a game that cost 10-15$, I'm fine with that. 60$, not so much. I won't deny quality is more important than quantity, but quantity is important too.
Then again, if I can get that great game for 40, or 30, or 20, I'm even happier.

Michael Corvin

I'm a cheapass but I've seen the $/hour numbers thrown out before and to me that's just silly, especially with how low of a value you guys are placing on the medium. $1 an hour? That's insane. Ever go to the movies($10+ for 2 hours)? Dinner($15 for an hour)? Read a new hardcover book($20-30 for a few hours entertainment)? Drinking? Smoking?

I'll admit debating my fair share of XBLA game prices(because typically I can judge how much entertainment I'll get out of them beforehand) but for retail, a dollar an hour seems ridiculous to me when compared to other entertainment at your fingertips. Anyone else?

maxfisher

Yeah, I agree. I don't always think in terms of $/hour of entertainment, but when I do, I tend to go more along the lines of comparing it to the cost of a movie. About $5 per hour.

Lastblade

For new games that I pay full price (or close to it), I try to finish them as quickly as possible, then sell it so I get most of my money back. That way, it is similar to renting but usually works out better in my favor because I tend to pay no more than $50/game (even for $60 releases). Working through Modern Warfare 2 now and probably put it up for $45 next week.

bjh_18

A couple years ago I received an invite to join e-Rewards:

http://www.e-rewards.com/welcome.do?ln=en&cc=US

I fill out a handful of surveys each week that range from under a minute to around 15 minutes in length to take, and I receive a certain amount of "money" in my e-Rewards account for each survey. Most of the time each survey is only worth a few dollars. All of the surveys are geared towards the information you put into your profile. For the most recent survey I took, I had to watch several potential commercials for the new Mel Gibson movie "Edge of Darkness" and give my impressions (they even asked if I thought it looked too similar to "Taken").

You can redeem the money for a wide range of gift certificates and such. I always go for the $25 GameStop giftcard that you can get once you amass $50 worth of rewards on the site. It usually takes me around three months or so to get to $50 with an average of around 3 surveys a week. Sometimes I get there faster, especially when you get top dollar surveys from major companies (like the "Edge of Darkness" survey that gave me $15 worth of rewards). I got my last giftcard in October, and it looks like I'll have another by early December this time around.

I typically plan my new release game purchases around these gift cards. I'll often save a gift card for a particular release, or I'll hold off on a new release until I get my next card. The whole thing is completely free, and I don't mind sacrificing 20 minutes or so a week while I'm at work to pick up a $25 gift card every two or three months.

Maxwell Smart

I have stopped buying new games at stores as well, paying 65 bucks with taxes sucks. Amazon is awesome as they hardly sell games for 60 bucks anymore, most u can find for 50 or even less. Plus I usually try to sell games quick after I'm done playing them. I need to check out family video as well.

kakihara1

I buy everything from Amazon and Half.com now. With Amazon's credit for preorders + Prime release date delivery, it's really awesome. When I have a game I think sucks I dump it on Half.com for maybe $5 or $10 less than I paid. I know I don't save as much as many of you but I'm also not patient at all and need to play the newest games online the day they come out so my system works for me.

funkyryno

I always go for the 3 free Blockbuster video game rentals ($25 in erewards cash).

tonyc3742

1-2$ an hour might seem a little low but it's actually quite on par with most other recreational things I do often. I see a movie in the theater maybe once a year and I usually have a coupon (and I still complain about it), I buy series or season sets of TV on DVD for 15-60$, I buy boxes of books from the library booksale, 25-60 books for 5 bucks or check them out from the library. Dining out, yes, that kicks up the average, but there I'm also paying for the convenience and the time savings.

I'm likely to get more games in a year than any other those other things (except dining out).

Plus in previous generations 1$/hr was not at all hard to get, with the games I bought.
I don't always say "I didn't get my money's worth" if I hit a higher rate, and I'll admit there's a difference between 30 hours of Fallout 3 (although I played it for almost 80 I think) and 30 hours of Streets of Rage 2.

Being able to sell used games and make a good chunk of the money back is nice, although games I really like, I don't resell.

I haven't really gotten anything from Erewards, when I signed up the best price was gift certificates at Ebags.com, so I haven't been doing anything with them.
I never got my money from RadioFreeCash ten years ago.....

I search with Swagbucks.com and earn amazon gift certs that way - their search results aren't great, but I usually know exactly where i"m going anyway.