Buying games new or used

[Alfieri]

Which do you prefer? Why?

Only 1 time in my life (this past Friday) have I received a defective disc when buying a used game at Gamestop. Almost all used games I buy work perfectly fine albeit the minor scratches and smudges.

The only time I get a game brand new is if I pre-ordered it, or if they don't have a used copy available.

To be honest, I prefer buying used games on websites like Amazon or eBay because the owner will actually list the quality. Therefore I can search around for all the game discs that say Like New or Very Good quality. I sometimes lower it to Good if I'm looking for a Gamecube game because buying them at high quality is expensive. So at stores like Gamestop, you pretty much have to take a chance when getting a game pre-owned. It could be in great shape or it could be defective.

 

[Hiatus]

My younger self wasn't very fond of buying used games, because I felt that things would go wrong, resulting in me wasting money (of course, I'm always able to trade them back into store, but not for full price--as in, amount of money I've used to buy initially--which definitely sucked). On top of that, I generally liked buying video games looking brand new, all wrapped in plastic, as silly as it might sound.

Eventually, I grew out of those ways of thinking, thankfully, and began trying to save money when purchasing video games, causing me to rely on used versions more and more. Nowadays, I find myself buying new games only when I want to get my hands on something during release day. If not, I'll likely wind up with used ones.

 

[pkmin3033]

This, for me, depends on one of two things: price, and how much I want the game in question. I get a lot of the games I really want on release day, and those I don't I usually put off buying for months, by which point the price has dropped dramatically. These days, I almost always buy games new.

But a lot of the time it is cheaper to buy new online than it is used, or the difference in price is so negligible between the two I may as well buy it new. I've seen second-hand titles in GAME that have cost MORE than brand new versions of the same title, and whilst trade-in prices depreciate at a terrifyingly fast rate, second-hand prices do not.

 

[H.Lecter]

For me it also really depends on the game. A game like Yakuza I would buy new because SEGA did not earn that much from the western localisation and I have the feeling that every sale counts to make SEGA still releasing them in the west. Other games like my favorite franchises I want to support even if they sell pretty Good. Most Indie games I want to support too, but since they often only have digital releases you only can buy a (new) digital version and therefore they don't count.

But that are only about 10% of the games I buy. For the rest of them it depends on the price. Since I do not have this much spare time and I also have so many games at home I still have to play, I often buy games more than half a year after release. Like already said often the price of these games dropped so much that a new copy is often cheaper then used ones (especially used ones at Gamestop). If I still can find a used copy which is much cheaper than I still buy the used one.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

It's 50-50 probably for me.

I always buy new for new releases and pretty much almost always used versions of older games.
It's cool way how to get more gaming for less money :D

 

[Vinny Vidi Vici]

I buy used games a fair bit be it over eBay, Gamestop (known as Ebgames over here), or even from friends who are looking for a bit of cash. I know some people think buying games second hand is very bad as the developers don't get any money out of you, but the way I see it is that there are a lot of people that buy a lot of games and the way they can sustain buying so many games by selling off those that they're done with. So if I'm the guy taking on their cast offs, that allows them to buy more games, and thus helping the industry. Not to mention I buy plenty of new games too and that console games generally are way overpriced, especially here in Australia. So if I managed to snag Star Fox 3D used for $19 over the standard $40 it cost new, I'm not going to cry about Nintendo's lost earnings. They make enough from me as it is.

Also, as for problems when buying used games. Almost never. The risk is always greater with CDs than carts as I do remember one time buying a PS1 game that just didn't work, but that I was so long ago I can't even remember what the game was. Probably a JRPG knowing me. I also bought a WarioWare game on DS that looks in such rotten condition that I wouldn't be surprised if it passed through it's previous owner, but it works and I think I only spend $5 on it, so I can't really complain.

 

[Dustmop]

I'd really.. really prefer my games new.

It's less of an issue these days, as 95% of my purchases are digital downloads. But if I get a physical copy in a pretty case that's going to be displayed on my shelf, I don't want a big "USED" price sticker on the side, nor do I want to spend 20 minutes peeling it off under water.

If it looks okay used, like that rare find at a yard sale, then I have no qualms. My only problems come from the big stickers, broken cases, and missing manuals that I get from Gamestop. :P

 

[TRIFORCE89]

I'm not opposed to buying used, I just vastly prefer new. I will buy used if I've waited far too long and can no longer find a new copy.

 

[Sydian]

Being more of a retro gamer and collector, used games are kind of my jam, haha. I go to a store called Replays that takes in old games and resells them. I rarely leave the place without buying something too, I swear. But yeah, when it comes to old games, I try to always buy used because...obviously old games that are new and never opened and factory sealed...holy cow, that's expensive. Plus I'd buy it to play it so...it wouldn't stay sealed for long and I'd feel kinda bad ruining that seal. When it comes to new games like Wii U or 3DS, I like to always buy new and if not new, I try my best to get a nice box that doesn't even look like it was used in the first place. Harvesting the new-ness I guess? I don't know.

So at stores like Gamestop, you pretty much have to take a chance when getting a game pre-owned. It could be in great shape or it could be defective.

Your store was in the wrong on that. We're not supposed to sell defective used games. We take in defective stuff, but it goes in a drawer away from the non-defective stuff and it gets sent off later. I'd go back to your store and explain the situation if I were you and try for another copy.

Speaking of that though, I really wish we didn't take defective stuff. Last time I worked, I had one guy bring in games with boxes without cover art or any plastic casing and a ton of scratches on them. And then a lady brought in the most disgusting games I had ever seen, but she said she found them in the house she moved into and that she doesn't understand who would pay for these and let them get in that condition. But basically, they were covered in sticky brown crap as well as scratches and just...I don't see WHY we take that. They literally get cents for them because they're in such bad shape, but yeah. No one's gonna want that crap, even when cleaned up. I washed my hands after that. Just...gross.

 

[Prairie]

I always try to get games new, but if I'm desperate to play an old game, I'd give in and get a used copy if it's the only way I can get it.

It just feels icky to me to play using someone else's game. >~<

 

[Mark Kamill]

Both. Used allows me to get really old Wii and DS games I missed, and sometimes discounted 3DS/Wii U games. But lately the discounts suck, the only retailer with used games has a massive markup, worse then Gamestop, on em. NSMB2 for example sells at 50, is bought back by them at 17-20 euros, and is sold for 36. :/

 

[Centipede Chan]

Well I like to get both, but really it depends on the financial situation. If I can get it full blown new then I'll get it (mostly because Club Nintendo registering products) but even then no one else in my town is a crazy Ninten-Turd like me so if I do get used I still get a useable code :P

 

[TY]

I buy them new like almost all the time, since I no longer buy hard copies unless it's a really old game that is not on Steam/Origin yet. And you cannot buy used digital copies :P