How to save money on video games

How to save money when buying video games.

If you love video games but are tired of paying upwards of 50 dollars a game, you'll want to continue reading.

You can save money on your video games with these ideas and tips that will give you access to some of the latest games without breaking the bank.

Buy used games.

You can buy games for almost any console used and not all of the used games out there are for your Sega Genesis or Atari. Many recent releases are available used and you can often buy used copies at huge discounts.

Go to local video game stores where they allow trade-ins to get access to thousands of games. Many gamers will beat a game and then trade the game in for a new game to beat. Whenever I've bought used games at a video game store the clerk has checked the game disc to make sure it is still fully playable.

You can also buy used video games at video rental stores such as Blockbuster. Rental stores often start out with a large number of copies of the hottest releases but once the initial newness wears off they begin making room on their shelves.

This means that rental copies will be offered for sale at a fraction of the price of a new copy. This also holds true for movie releases. You may not always get the original packaging or booklets, but you'll get the game at a huge discount.

Trade-ins.

You can trade in video games you don't want anymore and either receive cash or store credit to buy new games with. Check prices on sites such as E-bay first to see how much you could make by selling games there. Sell online if the price is right or go to your nearest video game store to trade in if you can get more there.

Game subscription services.

Services such as Gamefly act as the video game equivalent of services like Netflix. You sign up and pay a small monthly fee for access to thousands of games. You fill out online which games you want and they get sent to your door in the order you request them. Every time you return one game a new one comes to your door.

You don't have to shell out 50 bucks for a new game and you can play it as much as you want without late fees. You don't have to worry about trade-ins or having a ton of old games laying around. Plus you'll get access to games for nearly every system, new and old.

Don't by the newest version of yearly releases.

You know exactly what I'm talking about here. Games such as Madden and NBA2K come out with new editions once a year. But the latest version usually costs full price for a new game and for what?

The changes from year to year are usually very small and while you can get a discount on the latest release by trading in last year's release, you'll save more money by buying previous releases of these yearly games.

The best part is that you don't often have to wait too long for get this year's version (usually released late summer the previous year) for a fraction of the cost of the next one. Usually after about 6 months after the release date, the latest version begins dropping in price as talk of the new version begins.

For maximum savings go a few years back in the releases of the yearly game and you can score a version for under 10 bucks. I got Madden 2002 for Playstation 2 for 99 cents when I bought it in early 2005 and I got Madden 2006 for about 12 dollars when I bought it in mid-2007.

Consider these ideas when looking for a new video game and you'll save money when buying video games.