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Where do you purchase your games?
templewulf
The Team ChumpUSARegistered User regular
The Team ChumpUSARegistered User regular
So, after reading the ridiculously vitriolic "I hate Gamestop" thread, I thought I'd pose the question separately: Where do you buy your games? Also, where do you sell/trade your old games?
I usually buy them at an EBstop, because that's simply the easiest place to get them. However, new games are almost never on sale, and the staff there is so obnoxious. So, what are my alternatives? What are the pros/cons of each store? Are there any great/cheap places on the interwub?
Brick & Mortar:
Der Internetten:
EDIT:
Since I don't think I can buy all the awesome games coming out this fall, I'm thinking of starting up a rental subscription again. I had gamefly, but the shipping times to the midwest were pretty bad. We had a separate thread about this, but I feel like it's something one might talk about in this conversation.
Rental Services:
tl;dr: Where do you shop, and why should I shop there too?
I usually buy them at an EBstop, because that's simply the easiest place to get them. However, new games are almost never on sale, and the staff there is so obnoxious. So, what are my alternatives? What are the pros/cons of each store? Are there any great/cheap places on the interwub?
Brick & Mortar:
- Best Buy - I have a reward zone card, but the points don't seem to accumulate fast enough to matter. They sometimes have sales.
- Future Shop - Canadia only, as far as I can tell. They're also owned by Best Buy now.
- Microplay - This one is French Canadia only. Share your electronics, you damn Quebecois!
- Circuit City - After hearing about various shady dealings, I'm not comfortable giving them my money. Convince me otherwise, if you think it's worth it!
- Wal-Mart - I never shop there for anything else, and the "low prices" are usually savings of $.85 or so.
- Target - Target almost never has anything I want, but things are often on sale for $10 off, in my experience.
- EBstop - Great used prices, but terrible new prices.
- Toys'R'Us - I forgot this one since I don't have one within 15 minutes of me. Good reminder, though!
- Fry's - Not in the midwest, but lots of positive buzz
- Fred Meyer's - West coast only
- Game Crazy - Related to Hollywood video, whom I support over blockbuster out of a love for underdogs
- Blockbuster - My local one is pretty bad, but their used prices are admirable. Unfortunately, the selection at my store sucks hard
Der Internetten:
- Amazon - The old standby; do things ever go on sale? The cost of shipping usually seems to even it out no better than B&M stores. Am I missing something?
- eBay - I don't trust eBay after getting some crappy crap from the crappiest crap who ever crapped a crap. Do you have a good experience with them?
- play-asia - I don't import many games, due to not wanting to mess about with mods that may/may not brick my system on an update. However, it's the only place I know of to get the wavebird.
- Steam - Steam really is great, but I mostly play console games. I am planning to pick up Vampire: Bloodlines: subtitle, though.
- Craig's List - Man, I'd be afraid to get shanked responding to an ad on CL, but I guess it's more or less the same as newspaper classifieds. Still, I'd bring along a posse when you meet up IRL :P
- Half.com - I assume it's for things that are cheap, but I don't know a ton about it
- FamilyVideo.com - Supposed to be good prices
- LionGames - I have no idea, it's not even on wikipedia, and since WP always reflects reality accurately, that website must not exist!
- Game Express - cheap but high shipping, also carries older stuff
- http://gogamer.com - According to beta.lyrae, best of the best
EDIT:
Since I don't think I can buy all the awesome games coming out this fall, I'm thinking of starting up a rental subscription again. I had gamefly, but the shipping times to the midwest were pretty bad. We had a separate thread about this, but I feel like it's something one might talk about in this conversation.
Rental Services:
- GameFly - Pretty good selection, but the wait times for middle america are abominable unto the lord.
- Blockbuster? - They have online movie rental, but what about games? If their service is just in-store games, what are my chances of snagging, say, Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil? Do they even rent out GBA/DS games?
- GameznFlix - Super cheap, but I don't know anything else about them
- GottaPlay - They have a warehouse in my state, so I'm considering it, but I don't know much about them either.
tl;dr: Where do you shop, and why should I shop there too?
templewulf on
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PC games I try to get on Steam...I love Steam. But since it doesn't distribute everything, I have to go elsewhere most of the time. Gamestop has a meager PC selection in B&M but online they have pretty much everything. I've also stopped by Target a few times to grab something when Gamestop is out.
http://www.suboptimist.com
That in and of itself is just circumstance, but the fact that I almost bought it there yesterday but was repelled because "they were only for preorders" is pretty telling.
I honestly didn't even know there was an FYE in the mall near where I work. I wandered in, got a copy of the game, and saved $11. They don't bitch at me to trade stuff in or preorder, either.
Their DVDs are a little on the expensive side, though, so I'm not too big a fan of FYE on the whole. They are one of the few non-Best Buy HD-DVD sources, though.
If it's a game I'm on the fence about but end up getting anyway, sometimes I reserve it online, because then I'm too lazy to cancel it. Plus, EBStop always has those nifty collector's editions.
The only brick & mortar stores I know of nearby are one EB and two Gamestops, so I use those if I'm at the mall.
Never in a shop because I don't like being gouged, and because online it gets delivered to my door on release.
You guys?
I've never heard of Fred Meyer, but according to Google, that's because I don't live on the west coast. Ditto for Fry's, but I've heard good things about that one.
@TSR: The closest Game Crazy is in Minneapolis (a short drive, but lots of traffic). Is there anything good enough about it that I should make the trip?
And I can't believe I've never heard of play.com before. How does it compare to amazon in terms of prices/selection?
I do this because I'm a regular there and like the employees there. The second they leave, I will find another EBGames. Until then, I will continue to increase their pre-order sales.
The rest, mostly PC games, get purchased from Best Buy or Fry's.
I had to buy BioShock at Gamestop because it was sold out all over Austin and I just happened to have a pre-order there from the time I traded in my last gen systems.
I don't normally buy used products, but a used DVD is pretty much identical to a new DVD(If it's scratched, they take it out of circulation anyway). I don't mind that at all.
No,of course not. I buy my game at a local indie store.
Most of the times I let them import austrian versions for me, so that I get the games uncut.
used next gen games are usually 20-30 bucks cheaper than new.
and almost, if not, all GC games can be purchased under 20 bucks now (except for the zelda promotion disk and fire emblem which are 35 bucks CAD)
they have a HUGE selection
As I edited in to the OP, I'm thinking of starting up GameFly again. The downside is that gamefly has awful, awful shipping times to my town. If anybody has any info on Blockbuster or GottaPlay or anything else, I'm open to it.
It may seem like I'm not looking up easy answers on Google, and I'm not. Partly because I'm at work, and partly because I want to hear some first-hand accounts.
It's too bad the nearest one is twenty miles from home. I'll usually end up buying my games used online, or wherever they go on sale/ I can get a deal new. I generally don't even bother to set foot in EBStops anymore.
Steam (for random needs)
Stardock (for my space RTS needs)
Play-Asia (for my DS import needs, yay for no region protection!)
Direct from company (online, usually indie)
"Internet Loving" (for everything else)
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
MH3U Monster Cheat Sheet / MH3U Veggie Elder Ticket Guide
1: there is very little competition for items, so the price may be lower than EBay
2: things move slowly, so you might find something rare
As for me, I had been looking for Advance Wars: DS for ages, but the cheapest I could find it was $60 on the Amazon marketplace. I picked it up from some guy on Craig's List for $20.
Oh man, I know that store. I used to go to it often during the N64 days. I got the impression that it went out of business at some point, but maybe it just moved?
For imports for my DS I use either ebay or Play-Asia.
I KISS YOU!
GameFly has some really awesome deals on used games, and their discs are usually in really good shape. Plus, their manuals and cases are pristine since they aren't handled by anyone. But you have to be careful, those giant orange envelops are pretty big targets for mail theft, which screwed me out of a copy of Ridge Racer and X Men Legends 2 for the PSP over a year ago.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
My Fry's is 20 miles away too. Unless I'm going to Fry's already to get other stuff, I usually end up taking ads (Fry's, CC, Target, etc) to Best Buy and getting it price-matched for 10% off the ad's price + Reward Zone points.
Amazon runs a "deal of the day" in their video games section. Today it's All Pro Football 2k8 for PS3 for $40, which is a good price. Free shipping over $25 and no tax to most states make it the equivalent of $36 at my local B&M (8% tax + gas).
FamilyVideo.com is usually 10% off MSRP, and almost always has a $5 discount for new members. Use the discount and you can get Viva Pinata for $12, or pre-order Mass Effect for $45.
LionGames.com has good deals on pre-orders. I pre-ordered Bioshock, Mass Effect, and Halo 3 from them for $40 each back around May/June. Right now they have Ace Combat 6 and Guitar Hero 3 for 360 for $49 each, and Mario Galaxy for $42.
There's a few EBs around, but I generally don't even bother going in them.
Then there's a Microplay out in the burbs, and I'd love to give them my business, but they're on probation right now. I reserved a copy of Bioshock from them, but they still haven't called me for it yet. I'll give them another shot with the next game I reserve, and I hope they turn things around.
Thanks for the suggestion of craig's list, but I'm even more wary of them than I am of ebay. I might warm up to it if you guys like it so much.
I've heard of half.com, but never been there. I'll add that to the list.
FamilyVideo.com and LionGames.com are completely new to me. How old are the websites?
I don't know if there's a GameCrazy around here. Google says there's one in Eden Prairie, but I don't remember seeing it at that address. I know for sure that there's no Fry's or Fred Meyers in my region, but is there anything special about those two that other posters might want to know?
I'll have to look at Amazon's "deal of the day" more often.
Also, does play-asia sell NA games or just imports?
For used games: Gamestop, Amazon.com or Half.com.
Oo\ Ironsizide
All I know about Overstock.com is that I would totally bang the brunette chick they have in their commercials. She's not even that hot, but there is something about the accent.
A friend of mine bought some stuff there in the past, and he said it turned out ok. Took a while to ship, and their inventory is pretty dynamic. Prices weren't that good, though.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Play-Asia sells NA versions, JPN versions, and Asian versions. The Asian versions of some games (especially 360) are region-free and in English, while being cheaper than NA MSRP. Sometimes the normal JPN versions are in English also, like Phoenix Wright 2, but that isn't as common.
Family Video, according to wikipedia, is the 3rd largest video rental chain in the US with 500 stores in 14 states, mostly concentrated in the Midwest.
LionGames is part of a video store in Connecticut. The owner posts on the CheapAssGamer and SlickDeals forums. There were some questions about them since they're pretty unknown, but I got an email with a USPS tracking # and got my copy of Bioshock when the post office said I would.