Gaming is an expensive hobby. You need the hardware, you need the games themselves, plus every other little peripheral to really get the best experience. Gaming is expensive … but it doesn’t have to be. There are various ways to game on the cheap while still enjoying the latest games out there.
You first need to make an initial investment in hardware. The fastest route is simply to buy a console. PC gaming is ridiculously expensive if you want to experience games the way they were meant to be played. Yes you can get by not upgrading every few years, but you are not going to get the intended gaming experience. So yes, buy a console. They are a one off purchase and they will last years until the next generation of consoles come out. Even if you bought one today, we still have a few more years until the current generation of consoles go away. Hell, even the Playstation 2 is racking up sales.
When buying a console, there really is no question that the Xbox 360 is the way to go unless you are looking for console-specific exclusives like Metal Gear Solid 4 or want to feel like you are playing baseball while swinging a plastic controller, get a Wii. If for some need you need to convince yourself and society that it’s just not for games, then the Playstation 3 plays Blu-Ray. Aside from being as cheap as most of the cheapest Blu-Ray players out there, the PS3 can play games. The Blu-Ray player alone is worth the purchase price.
When you finally have your hardware, it’s time to get down and dirty with gaming and get yourself some games. While the majority of people wait for that one game to come out before making a game purchase, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can have your cake and eat it too. After making that console purchase, head over to Gamefly and sign up for an account. If you are familiar with Netflix, then Gamefly is Netflix for gaming. You can sign up for one or two games you can have out at a time and return them anytime you want. One retail game alone is worth close to three months of Gamefly. This is great for games that while great when played through once or twice, you never go back to ever again. Great games such as Bioshock are still great games, but do you really need to have them sitting on your shelf for sentimental purposes? No. You can also purchase games at Gamefly for around ten dollars less than you would get them at retail. After you’ve been there a few months, you can start earning Gamefly dollars (5 every three months) that you can use to keep the games you’ve rented and earn up to a 10% discount on every game purchase. Their Gamefly store is full of cheap games that may not be new, but can be fifty or more percent less than their retail price.
Another alternative is Gamenflix. They are cheaper … even at three games out at a time, but their game library is so much smaller than Gamefly and getting a game on launch day is like winning the lottery. Hey at least they offer movie rentals as well, although you’ll have to see for yourself how good that service is.
If you already have a great wealth of games and don’t know what to do with them, head over to Goozex. At Goozex, you trade your games with other members in exchange for points that you can use to get other games from other users. It’s a great way to get rid of games you thought you were going to spend some time with but ended up as a one night stand. Even old Playstation 1, Gamecube, and PC games are tradeadable. Chances are sooner or later some fool with a taste for the glory days of 2D will want the game in return for giving you a few points. If you don’t have games to trade, you can always buy points to get you started.
If those ideas don’t work, there is nothing like good old bargain hunting. CheapAssGamer is a great resource for deals on the internet and your local Wal-Mart. Sign up at their forums and feel free to troll around and occasionally give other cheap ass gamers like yourself a heads up on a deal. Other sites like Craigslist and eBay can have great deals for the patient. The key word here is patience.
Woot and Stootsi can also turn up some great deals even though they are not strictly gaming sites. Both sites sell one item a day and are usually marked way down from their retail price. You may not buy an item every day, but chances are, if you go to the site enough, something will catch your eye. Stootsi had Guitar Hero 3 pack for the Xbox 360 for $40. Not new, but better than $100.
After you’ve gone through those tips and you are still on the fence about jumping in, you have to ask yourself, do you really want to game? If you are gaming already, do you really need to stay in line for that midnight release to get a game? Probably not. Wait a few months and that game will cost you 20 bucks in the bargain bin. Patience is key.
Game on!
