I have a massive amount of games in my physical library. I’m not even talking about my digital backlog thanks to Steam and PS+ and Games with Gold. No, these are actual game discs that are aging gracefully in the confines of my drawer and shelf retirement village. And apparently, I’m dumb for keeping them.
According to a PR fluff piece from GameSpot about how many games the average gamer has lying around their home instead of trading them in for cash at GameStop, about two in every five gamers are wasting $200 and up because they aren’t trading in their game discs that they no longer play. The survey goes on to say that the sooner people trade in their games, the more money that they will get and the more new games that they can buy with store credit. It’s obviously a marketing ploy to try and remind people to trade in their games so that GameStop can make more money.
However, it got me thinking about the vast collection of games that I own and might never play again. Why am I holding onto these discs when I’ve only whipped out a handful of these older games in the past few years? Am I just hanging onto a worthless past when I should be trading everything in so that I can spend money on Amiibo and all the other games that I want?
This is what Darryn does all the time, and yet I just can’t bring myself to do it – I want to have those memories of games I loved or hated or felt vaguely ambivalent about. I just can’t part with them, even at the cost of making new memories.
Last Updated: August 19, 2015
tenshi_a
August 19, 2015 at 19:23
If you buy a game at launch, that’s 100% of the price.
If you buy a game after a few months, it might be 25% of the price if it was a mainstream game or one that was expected to be a massive hit but wasn’t, 75% of the price if it was average / semi-popular or 150% of the price if it turned out to be a niche favourite which only gained its following after the print run had ended.
If you sell your games… if it was a mainstream game you will lose about 75% of what you originally paid. If it was a sports game with a year in the title, you will lose 99% of the original price. You lose less money if you sell directly to other gamers, rather than trading in at a shop.
If you change your mind and want to re-buy you are almost certainly not going to get it for the same or less than the price you traded it on for.
If it was a niche game, the temptation is to hold on to it for a few years to see if it becomes 300% of the original price.
So overall…. only buy your games after they’ve been out for a few months, and never trade them in at high-street game shops, but sell them directly to other people via ebay or Amazon or whatever. Certainly never GameStop.
Magius
August 19, 2015 at 19:25
I trade most of mine, but have a few that I want tO replay. Whether I do or not is a completely different story though.
Blogvader
August 19, 2015 at 19:36
I don’t tend to re-sell my games at all, but rather hold on to them. I like having the option to replay a game if I decide I want to.
Aries
August 19, 2015 at 19:42
If I dont like the game, I sell it, keep everything else or with Fifa I trade, that normal though
Brandon van Reenen
August 19, 2015 at 20:02
Did you know that BT Games is completely SHITE?
They offered R170 for WWE 2K15. Cash Crusaders gave me R270. Also if you buy a game from Cash Crusaders and finish it within 90 days, they’ll buy it back at 60% of the price. #TheMoreYouKnow
Hammersteyn
August 20, 2015 at 07:37
Was it a PS3 game? They tend to give a lot more for PS4 games.
Brandon van Reenen
August 21, 2015 at 09:24
It was a PS4 game!
Hammersteyn
August 21, 2015 at 09:25
O_o nah man, that’s bullshit.
Hammersteyn
August 21, 2015 at 09:25
O_o nah man, that’s bullshit.
Hammersteyn
August 21, 2015 at 09:25
O_o nah man, that’s bullshit.
Brandon van Reenen
August 21, 2015 at 09:24
It was a PS4 game!
Hammersteyn
August 20, 2015 at 07:37
Was it a PS3 game? They tend to give a lot more for PS4 games.
ZA Ludomusicologist
August 19, 2015 at 21:01
Ooh… wait… what is the CART SIGN in the top right of my browser? I smell money!
Stosta
August 20, 2015 at 07:01
I feel you Zoe. I have kept all my games ever. There’s something satisfying in watching your collection grow. Now I’m wanting to flog my 360, have over 50 games. Sad cause I know I won’t get more than R4000 AT BEST for everything. Next time I will trade in my games as I go!
Hammersteyn
August 20, 2015 at 07:41
Crap, me and Darryn have something in common
Guild
August 20, 2015 at 08:00
I have a nasty habit of buying games with the intention of eventually getting to play them. So I had 75 PS3 games of which I only played 30 odd. I eventually decided to take the step and sold off my collection cause I knew I’d never get to it. Managed to get R4000 for it which wasn’t too bad.
Allykhat
August 20, 2015 at 08:25
I will NEVER trade a game in at a game shop again. They screw you so hard then reprice the game almost at retail to make a fat profit.
Second hand market forums are the way to go. That way you have established Market related pricing and everybody essentially wins instead of some franchise brand store screwing both the trade in and buying customers while putting a FAT profit in their back pockets.
WitWolfy
August 20, 2015 at 09:08
I like holding on to my games.. Even though I know I’ll probably never play with them AGAIN…
VampyreSquirrel
August 20, 2015 at 09:23
My problem is you pay R600 (or more) for a game, and then 2 months later you trade it in and get R250 for it.
The logic and actual reward isn’t there.
DragonSpirit009
August 20, 2015 at 09:34
I feel to sorry to let my games go! Besides I like having the physical discs of games… I’m also kind of a hoarder
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
August 20, 2015 at 09:42
PC games generally cost less than console games so we win regardless!
😛
Ir0nseraph
August 20, 2015 at 12:55
Well it is cheaper to port games then it is to create from scratch aka batman 😛
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
August 20, 2015 at 16:47
Ouch. I just got burned. 😛
Kromas,powered by windows 10.
August 20, 2015 at 09:42
PC games generally cost less than console games so we win regardless!
😛
Mabenito
August 20, 2015 at 14:35
Most of my PS4 games are second hand (R300.00) from BT-Games, the remaing few I pre-ordered. Expensive habit we have but at least wives are happy, about being around more often than not.
Purple_Dragon
August 20, 2015 at 19:39
I only trade in games that I didn’t particularly enjoy or were real shit. I like having a collection and I do occasionally replay some of them years later.
It’s nice seeing them stacked on the shelf.
Irated Gamer
August 23, 2015 at 10:55
I guess I’m one of them because I still have freakin ps2 disks.