I’ve been testing video games for 11 years, but I’ve been playing them for a lot longer. When I was in high school and college, buying each and every new edition that caught my eye seemed like a smart idea. After all, $60 each and every few months didn’t seem like much when I had a part-time job and all my other expenses were covered.
But, as most readers can attest, adulthood comes to us temporarily and strongly. Suddenly, I needed things like “a place to live” and “something to eat” more than video games needed. If I was looking to be wise with my finances, game launches from day one had to be an occasional gift than a monthly necessity.
Over the years, I have developed a formula for saving on video games, based on two undeniable principles:
1. Don’t buy on the first day
2. Monitor sales
That’s right. There is no special trick to this; it’s just a matter of being patient and checking your email from time to time. (My apologies to readers who came to this article looking for some sort of miraculous approach to getting reasonable games. Hopefully there is one!) The first point requires discipline; the timing requires only a small setup.
While there’s something to be said for buying new versions as soon as they’re released, it’s also not strictly necessary. The solo titles will be the same in a few months as now; Multiplayer titles tend to go through “seasons” of content that give new players a fair chance to make a decision for themselves.
Whether you’re looking for video games in the most productive PS5 games, the most productive Xbox Series X games, the most productive Nintendo Switch games, or the most productive PC games, here’s how you can save money without running out of a game in the process.
A sensible guy once said that “waiting is the hardest part. “For the purposes of this article, that’s true. It’s no secret that video games, like most other consumer electronics, lose value after a while. There is no express timeline for every game, and quality and popularity seem to play a vital role. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, for example, went on sale before its release, and this game sold millions of copies and incredibly well rated.
Generally speaking, however, you can expect a game to make a small sale a few months after its release and a more permanent drop in value after about a year. The time you should wait depends entirely on how much you need to spend. example, the ratchet
Generally speaking, if you’re not going to buy a game on launch day, you have a great resource by your side: critical reviews. By reading reviews (including those from Tom’s Guide, of course), you can whether a game is the value and how much you’d be willing to spend. Once you have a total number in mind, it’s time to check out some value tracking websites.
The web has resources to track video game prices, and if you’re looking for a sale, you definitely deserve to do some studies before you pull the trigger. Take the example of Ratchet
Here are other retailers worth tracking. This is not an exhaustive list:
Many of those sites offer email alerts when gaming costs drop. And since virtual video games don’t have the same scarcity issues as physical consoles, you don’t want to monitor your emails 24/7. Most sales last a few days, so have plenty of time to buy your game, or expect a bigger discount.
However, there is a more direct way to keep track of game prices. To begin with, all you have to do is make a list of the games you want.
You’ll be very happy to know that saving money on games starts with a fun exercise. First, make a list of all the games you need to play in the near future. They can be upcoming games, old games, anything. If there’s a smart chance of actually playing the game over the next year, put it on a list and find out which platform you need to play it on, if any.
(I would propose restricting this list to around 10 or 15 games. If you buy a ton of reasonable games, it’s nothing more financial than buying some games at full price. )
Now, all you have to do is move to your selection platform and upload it to a wish list. This procedure varies depending on your platform.
On PS4 and PS5, pass through the PlayStation Store. Find the game you want, then look for a central icon next to the “Add to cart” option. You can view your wishlist at any time by clicking the center icon next to your profile icon. In your wishlist, you’ll also be able to adjust the “push notifications for wishlist updates” options.
On Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, search for the game you need in the Microsoft Store, and then click the center icon next to the game price. This will load the game to your wishlist, which you can see under “Lists” and “Wishlist” in the main menu of the Microsoft Store. The console will notify you that one of the games on your wish list will go on sale.
On Nintendo Switch, open eShop and then search for the game you want. Click the center icon near the price, which will load the name on your wishlist. You can view your wishlist from the eShop main menu. notifications turn out to be a bit more complicated. It seems that Nintendo will only send you wishlist updates if you agree to receive promotional emails (this can be found in the “More Settings” menu of your profile).
On PC, receiving wishlist notifications depends on how you buy the games. For the sake of discussion, let’s move on with Steam, but the procedure is similar on other platforms. Open Steam and then search for the game you want. Click “Add to your wishlist” below the screenshot panel and then click “Wishlist” just below your profile picture. To get an email about the reductions, move on to your profile, then account details, touch information, and email preference management. Sending me an email when a reduction is implemented on an item on my wishlist” is an option you can toggle (you can also check out our list of the most productive Steam games).
It’s worth taking a moment to take on game subscription services, such as Xbox Game Pass and Plos Angeles andStation Plus, which will soon be renewed. From a safe point of view, you can, in fact, save a lot of money with those services. . Xbox Game Pass, for example, offers more than 400 games and costs $15 per month. Buying Los Angeles’ 400 a la carte games would cost a lot more than that.
On the other hand, $15 per month accumulates indefinitely over time. The one-year bachelor subscription costs $180, and the moment you cancel your subscription, your game library necessarily disappears. A smart, low-price hunter can potentially get a year of play for less money than that, and games wouldn’t have an expiration date. However, subscriptions are worth contemplating if you want to design dozens of titles instead of diving into a few. Also check out our mind about the most productive Xbox Game Pass games. .
Of course, not buying games for full value has a big drawback: you can’t play exactly what you want, when you need it. However, I have found that this can be beneficial as it offers an excellent opportunity to work on my order book. I’m sure each and every player has an ever-growing list of titles that they will “someday pick up. “Well, if you can’t buy each and every new edition as soon as they launch, today is “One Day. “
On the other hand, waiting for games to go on sale is not an ethical statement; it’s just a monetary choice. You don’t get any special rewards for buying all of your games at a discounted price, and you don’t lose anything (except cash) by buying them at full price. desire to play, my recommendation is to go ahead and buy it as soon as you can. The trick is in which games you surely want right away and which ones can wait a few months.
Marshall Honorof is the editor-in-chief of Tom’s Guide and oversees the site’s policy on gaming hardware and software. He comes from an experience in scientific writing, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Can he practice taekwondo or do deep dives in classic science fiction?
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