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Getting your [Cheap Gaming] On.
starmanbrand
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, over the summer I am planning on getting a 360. I'd like to know how to play a ton of things, but without breaking the bank. It seems like the internet is telling me I have three options: Gamefly, Gamerang, and Goozex. Any others I've missed?
I don't need to have games on launch day. Which of these provides the most bang for the buck? Oh, also. It doesn't have to be an online source. But it seems like blockbusters 21 buck a month unlimited game rentals is pretty bad value.
I don't need to have games on launch day. Which of these provides the most bang for the buck? Oh, also. It doesn't have to be an online source. But it seems like blockbusters 21 buck a month unlimited game rentals is pretty bad value.
starmanbrand on
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Also, there are tons of Xbox Live Arcade games that cost ~$5 which can also keep you busy for a while.
Do you buy from any particular place? Amazon, gamestop, other? Also, no PS3 for me.
Never resell games to gamestop. Goozex or direct sells (like ebay) are the way to go.
Sticking with Amazon, they also have those goldbox deals which will allow you to score some decent deals too. I also keep an eye on slickdeals.net; they post quite a few gaming related deals.
Some of the games this gen have fairly short single player campaigns, and if you are playing through the back catalog, the multiplayer may be non-existent (e.g. Chromehounds).
I also buy a discounted title like GTA 4 or Mass Effect that I can sink a bunch of hours into to while I am awaiting the next rental.
For used games I go to a local place called GameDeals (gamedeals.ca).
When I'm out shopping at different stores like Wal-Mart I will always check out their bargain bins, you really never know what you'll find in there. I also browse online at the Amazon's and the BestBuy's etc etc and see what's on sale, though I don't do A LOT of online shopping.
Its only terrible if the only thing you are interested in are titles coming out within the past 3 months or so. The op is just now getting the console, which means he will have a huge catalog of games to shift through without much competition.
I was referring more to the 10+ day turnaround on getting games sent to you.
But yeah. it's even worse if you want a new release or a popular older title because if the top title on your queue is "unavailable," they wait a day or 2 to see if it opens up instead of just sending out your highest ranked available title.
I put "unavailable" in quotes because if you delete the rest of your queue, suddenly the "unavailable" game becomes ready to send (which means you'll get it in a week or so)
Yeah, I can put a game in the mail on a Monday and get the next one on Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest. But there's a distribution center here in Austin.
But I love Gamefly. I've been a member for over 2 years now and have had no problems. I usually have good luck on getting new games on release, too. I got my 360 a little ways into its life (August 07), so Gamefly was great for catching up.
The other great thing about Gamefly is using them to buy games. Not only are their prices generally way better than Gamestop, after you've been a member for a certain amount of time, you start to accrue rewards. I know after a year you get 10% off all purchases and $5 every 3 months to spend on buying a game. You also get the next $5 a couple of days before the old one expires, and you can use both. That's what I usually do. I recently bought Guitar Hero: Metallica for $8. The games are always in great shape, too. You'll also get any kind of one use codes once you buy the game, since they don't send those out with rentals. I did that when I did the Keep It Now thing with Rock Band 2.
Their customer service has also been great. One time I sent a game in but it apparently got lost in the mail. After waiting about a week, I sent them an email and they went ahead and credited me as sending it in and sent my next game out.
But really, your experience is going to depend on how close you are to a distribution center. When I first joined, they had 1 in California and 1 in Pittsburgh, so all of my games came from California. It would take about 3 days to get there and another 3 or 4 to get back, but even then, it wasn't a huge deal to me. If your post office supports it, they have a mechanism for letting Gamefly know the game has been returned before it physically gets there, where they'll go ahead and send the next game out.
They put the amount towards your membership costs - the rates are generally somewhere between Gamestop and Amazon's.
Netflix started out the same way. I'm not sure Gamefly will be able to grow the same way Netflix has though.
Probably not quite as fast, but they currently have 4 centers (LA, Pittsburgh, Austin, and Tampa). I think they had just opened the Pittsburgh (2nd one) when I joined about 2.5 years ago. So they're definitely getting more coverage.