The Best Ways To Get Discounted Video Games

Older generations have always been a little behind the times when it comes to entertainment. Video games are no different, and even though they've probably been the primary purchasers of games for their kids, most parents have no idea how much used games are worth. After all, it's not uncommon to see used DVDs on sale for a dollar or less, so why should video games be any different? They're all media discs, right? 

While you probably won't find this year's new Call of Duty game at your neighbor's garage sale, older games are often set out next to the rest of the "old toys," and you usually don't have to haggle too much to get a good price. 

The subscription service Playstation Now boasts a catalog of over 600 games, though it will set you back $100 per year or $20 a month if you go the reoccurring payment route. That's a solid deal, considering all the great content you're receiving (including The Last of Us, Uncharted, and God of War), but it's still something of an investment. Additionally, some gamers have reported lag when streaming games, especially when playing on a subpar internet connection. 

Xbox Game Pass is only $10 a month, but it also has fewer games. However, all new first-party releases hit the service the same day they go on sale, and players actually get to download the titles they want to play, eliminating any danger of lag. 

These days, increasingly fewer people are actually purchase games from GameStop, but it can still be worth it to take a gander inside one of their retail locations every once in a while. Maybe the biggest incentive to step back inside the store is their massive collection of cheap PS3/Xbox 360 games. 

GameStop has largely moved on from that console generation, but they still have a huge stock of older games. Some of them they can still make money on, but many of them they just throw in a bin marked $10 or less. Those games can be a real steal for anybody willing to take the time to manually scroll through the options.

GameStop's prices are often higher online, so it's worth venturing out into the real world to score some deals. Generally, 360 games that aren't backwards compatible on Xbox One are more discounted, but Microsoft has been steadily adding new backwards compatible games for the past few years, so there's a good chance the $3 copy of The Darkness you picked up will one day be playable on current-gen hardware. Additionally, retail locations are run by humans, who are totally capable of making mistakes, so it's possible to find games that have been listed for less than their established values by accident.  

Most Americans are aware of the large sale that happens on the Friday after Thanksgiving each year. Black Friday is a fantastic time to pick up new games (and just about anything else) for dirt cheap prices, but many game retailers also host several other massive seasonal sales each year.

For example, Steam has four major sales per year, while companies like Sony and Microsoft frequently have things like spring sales or other holiday sales that can last for a month at a time. Even if a sale isn't currently happening, it's worth waiting a bit to see if one will happen soon, especially if there's a game that you only sort of want to play. 

Steam has a system where players can acquire "trading cards" by playing certain games. No one game will give you all of its cards, so players are forced to barter with others to get a complete set. Sometimes that means trading, but other times, people are willing to down to fork over cold hard cash, which can be used to purchase more games.

The kicker is, you don't actually have to physically play a game to collect the cards. Steam doesn't care if you're participating in the game you have open on your desktop, it just tracks amount of time it's open. That means you can open up a game, take a shower, go to bed, and come back to a bunch of steam trading cards sitting in your account. If you're still a little confused about how it all works, PC Gamer wrote a helpful guide to get the money ball rolling.

If you don't trust the professionals, sites like Reddit or Cheap Ass Gamer can help players find truly niche deals. Both offer threads dedicated to finding game sales, and the best deals tend to rise to the top of any particular forum.

Some of these community-driven sites are even frequented by Humble Bundle or Amazon employees who are hoping to draw attention to their special sales. It takes a little effort to hunt down the right threads and the users you trust, and it can yield some serious long-term rewards.