New or Used games

[kawaiipikachu]

Which do you prefer get ?
New or used games ?
Answer via this incredibly good poll Then tell us about it .

Well for me i prefer to get new games over used for 3 reasons .
1Helps supports the devolopers
2 Quality of a new game over used .
3Instructions . As they allways handy .

The only games i really buy secondhand are the retro titles that are otherwise unavailable .


editAdded a third reason

[Spore]

Steam can't sell me used games, and on the off chance I buy a Wii or DS game, it's usually new. Except for that time I bought New Super Mario Brothers and Elite Beat Agents really cheap used. I still think that pretty much constitutes always new.

[Betagam7]

Why have you posted this in the retro gaming section?

How exactly does one go about buying retro games in anything other than used condition without:

1. paying extreme amounts of money for sealed copies.
2. chancing upon a mysterious crate in an abandoned warehouse and guiltily leaving behind some money
3. Inventing and utilising some method of time travel

Answers on a postcard to 'stick and one ball but apparently still no brain', Australia, C/O Daddy Pikachu.

[link64]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

Why have you posted this in the retro gaming section?

How exactly does one go about buying retro games in anything other than used condition without:

1. paying extreme amounts of money for sealed copies.
2. chancing upon a mysterious crate in an abandoned warehouse and guiltily leaving behind some money
3. Inventing and utilising some method of time travel

Answers on a postcard to 'stick and one ball but apparently still no brain', Australia, C/O Daddy Pikachu.

I think unopened retro games would count as new.

[Spore]

Originally Posted by link64

I think unopened retro games would count as new.

This would invalidate Kawaii's point on them helping the developers though. He must mean more recent games that developer and publisher can still profit from should you buy them. He simply posted it in the Retro forum because he can't read well yet.

[Afrancio]

I went through a time where I would buy mostly used, but the breaking point for me was when I purchased Mario Party 4 used. The game was so scratched it look like it had been put in a blender. I could only wonder what monster treats their games like that and why does Gamestop accept them for trade-in credit. It should have never been put on the store shelf in its current condition. Anyway I returned it and bought a new copy of Mario Party and have never looked back at used copies again. At this point I would only buy used copies from someone I know and trust who takes care of their games.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Afrancio

I went through a time where I would buy mostly used, but the breaking point for me was when I purchased Mario Party 4 used. The game was so scratched it look like it had been put in a blender. I could only wonder what monster treats their games like that and why does Gamestop accept them for trade-in credit. It should have never been put on the store shelf in its current condition. Anyway I returned it and bought a new copy of Mario Party and have never looked back at used copies again. At this point I would only buy used copies from someone I know and trust who takes care of their games.

Always ask to see the disk in question before the shop hands it over to you. Good second hand outfits will do this anyway.
I really do despair of the way some people treat their things...I'm almost annoyed with myself for ebaying some of my older games because I now realise that practically none on the second hand market will be in as good nick, due to 99% of people apparently using their game boxes/manuals as a dinner tray/bookmark/cutting board and the disks/carts as beermats/ashtrays and inexplicable, unexplainable purposes involving strawberry jam!

[Afrancio]

So very true

Sometimes I have to learn the hard way. In my particular situation, I took that scratched disc to Gamestop and they allowed me to return and the clerk agreed it should have never been resold. But I'm more careful now.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Afrancio

So very true

Sometimes I have to learn the hard way. In my particular situation, I took that scratched disc to Gamestop and they allowed me to return and the clerk agreed it should have never been resold. But I'm more careful now.

At least in shops you have the chance to check it beforehand. Ebay is less certain. My worst experience with them was with a Saturn bundle I bought. 7 games for just over a tenner, four of which were unboxed.

I couldn't believe the appalling state of the disks when they arrived. The ones that were boxed were rattling around loose in their case scratching them even more, meanwhile the unboxed ones I had asked him to wrap protectively and which he confirmed he would came wrapped in...quite incredibly...rough white cartridge paper!

In his defence he states "I don't know much about videogames"...nor indeed about how CD's should not be used to carve the Sunday Roast on judging by the state of them.

World class idiot.

[kawaiipikachu]

Originally Posted by Betagam7

At least in shops you have the chance to check it beforehand. Ebay is less certain. My worst experience with them was with a Saturn bundle I bought. 7 games for just over a tenner, four of which were unboxed.

I couldn't believe the appalling state of the disks when they arrived. The ones that were boxed were rattling around loose in their case scratching them even more, meanwhile the unboxed ones I had asked him to wrap protectively and which he confirmed he would came wrapped in...quite incredibly...rough white cartridge paper!

In his defence he states "I don't know much about videogames"...nor indeed about how CD's should not be used to carve the Sunday Roast on judging by the state of them.

World class idiot.

Gee what an idiot .
He doesn't even know how to handle them ?
I know how damage & dirt can affect playback so i can keep them scratch free & cleen .
Final Fantasy VII when i got it i was reasured that the disc's are in pretty good nick just i had to supply my own cases due to the previous owner not submitting the case for them .

Plus to answer your eailer question about the fact why this is in the Retro section its because overall it to due to puchasing games in general wether its be new or retro .

Plus for getting retro titles new it does happen just not that common .
My copy of Final Fantasy IX was brand new which i purchased last year at my local Gametraders .
They had about 3 copys new & 2 copys new of Final Fantasy Anthology which must be surplus stock they aquired .

[PoisonRamune]

It depends on the situation/which system I'm buying games for...

Xbox360, Wii and PS3: I almost always buy new, mostly because I noticed that these discs are a bit more finicky when it comes to not playing a game due to a surface blemish (aside from the Wii). And for some reason I like to have all the original boxes and manuals that came with the game for these systems (especially for the 360 and Wii, I love those green and white boxes).

DS: Mostly always used. I throw all my games in old Altoid gum tins, so I could care less as to whether I get a box or not. Manuals aren't a big issue for me with handhelds, since that's one less thing to take on the road. And I've found that you literally need to drive a spike through a game (or douse it with liquid) to get a DS cart to stop kicking. The same can also be said for my limited number of GBA/GB/C games, except for the Altoids box thing.

PC: Because my DVD drive is broken and I'm normally too drunk after work to want to do computer repair, I almost always go with digital distribution. Unless of course I can find an old CD-ROM version of a game I like and even then they still come new from the $5 tub at the Target/Best Buy.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by kawaiipikachu

Plus to answer your eailer question about the fact why this is in the Retro section its because overall it to due to puchasing games in general wether its be new or retro .

Maybe the "general" section would have been an appropriate place to make the topic then.

[slangman]

I prefer to be used, mainly because it's cheaper then buying new games most of the time. However on quite a few ocassions I have found myself unlucky, espically with Ebay and one one occasion one of my GCN discs didn't work because of the condition.

Do people actually use those badly scratched discs as frisbies or what?

On a more positive note with used games, I have found myself making profit on selling used games twice I have bought. One of them cost £28 when I bought the game and I sold it for around £45.

[Afrancio]

A few years ago when I first got my GCN, I purchased a used copy of Zelda Windwaker off Ebay. I was very forunate because the game was in pristine condition. It did not have shrink wrap, but you would never know that game was not brand new. The seller listed the game as "like new" and "adult owned" which sometimes is a good indication that the person takes care of the game.

[Betagam7]

Originally Posted by Afrancio

A few years ago when I first got my GCN, I purchased a used copy of Zelda Windwaker off Ebay. I was very forunate because the game was in pristine condition. It did not have shrink wrap, but you would never know that game was not brand new. The seller listed the game as "like new" and "adult owned" which sometimes is a good indication that the person takes care of the game.

Buying from a smoke free home is also a good one to look out for, particularly with carts where the dirt can make it hard to get them working. I picked up a spare GBC a while back in a bundle from a smoker and the difference in the colour of the plastic when putting next to my own is off the scale.