I've oftentimes wondered if many gamers build their collections in the same manner that I do. Deeper still, I wonder if they buy their games and consoles through online retailers, specialty stores or major "Big Box" retailers. Personally, I try my best to steer clear of the big boys on the block such as GameStop, Wal-Mart and Target. I mean, there is something a bit too corporate about those guys. Maybe it was due to working for a couple of them during my teenage years that turned me off, or having friends tell me how these businesses "sucked the fun" right out of gaming for them (personally, I find it hard to believe that the fun could ever be sucked out of gaming). Without circumnavigating the point of this article too much, I'd have to say that my method of choice for building my collection would have to be purchasing online. I mean, no checkout lines, grumpy associates or snarling traffic (I live in the Austin area). Having said that, I'm always interested in knowing what my readers think. How do you buy your games? Do you visit different websites like Amazon, ShopWiki or Half, or do you hit the local GameStop or Target? How about for other items? If your Mothers birthday was next week and you had to buy her dinnerware or something, how would you go about it? In my case, my wife has a birthday next month and I need to pick up a new dishwasher and am debating whether or not I want to buy it at Lowe's or via ShopWiki. I mean, an appliance is an appliance, but I want to make sure I'm buying it from a reputable place as well as getting the best price possible.
With that said, I wish that we had so many options back in the day. I mean, I remember standing in line at the local Toys'R'Us with my little paper ticket waiting to get a hold of Pitfall 2 for the Atari. Not that it was terribly pricey or anything, but it would have been nice to have a few options in regards of how to obtain a copy. But then again, can you imagine what the internet would have looked like on one of those old Macintosh computers... scary. So how about it? How do you make your gaming purchases?
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5 comments:
I usually buy them used and from a few mom & pop type stores in downtown Toronto, it's the cheapest way to go for me. I'd only purchase from a Future Shop or Best Buy if there is a true killer deal, but usually their goods are too expensive. Even EBgames/Gamestop overprices their used games, so I don't buy from them.
Hey Lam,
Yeah, I tend to order through either Amazon, Half or occasionally ShopWiki. I got a few great deals on Ebay back in the day, but nowadays it just isn't as reliable as a few years ago. As for the Big Box stores, well, I wont even go into those stores anymore.
Thanks for stopping in!
I used to purchase mostly at a gamestop... but I increasingly make my buys through gamefly now/
I haven't shopped for video games online before. I usually buy my games at Best Buy, especially if there is a sale. That's where I found Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for $19.99. Otherwise, I occasionally shop at GameStop, which was where I found a Sega value-pack of Sega Genesis Collection and Sonic Rivals 2. I don't think THAT would have been offered anywhere else. I'm able to find older games in GameStop if other stores don't sell them anymore.
I used to like Gamestop when they had those huge bins of 8 and 16 bit titles. After they cut the older games out, I had to go online... then I found that not only could I find the older games (NES, SNES etc), but that I could also find newer games cheaper than in the big box stores.
Either way, I guess wherever you can get your fix :)
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