So I have no need to hang on to games I’ve already played. I can wait for a new release, go to Game and get extra value and points and come home with a much cheaper copy than I otherwise would have. Despite high street prices being generally quite a bit higher than online prices, trading in-store has always worked well for me and it’s always worth looking at trading with some of the online stores too and waiting for Double Value weekends. By trading two fairly old pre-owned games I got The Last of Us on release for a fiver at Gamestop, and at Game I got back seven quid more than I originally paid for Hyrule Warriors brand new. By being smart, shopping around and keeping your peepers peeped, trading can work very well.
Of course trading has its drawbacks. When New games are releasing like you’ve just dropped a match into a box of fireworks and the pressure to play quickly and trade before you lose top value can be intense. The October release frenzy is a good example of this. Not only can you rush a game, you can deprive yourself of some serious trophy hunting, which is sometimes the best part. Kiss some of those Platinums goodbye. It’s also very easy to trade away games that actually you probably would have played again, or at least played the DLC. By the time I completed Alien Isolation the price had already crashed drastically and I’d convinced myself that it was a one-time experience that I didn’t want to repeat. Regret. One of the best games I’d ever played and only got twelve lousy quid just three weeks after release. I wish I’d kept it. Dragon Age. Put a hundred hours into, loved it, knew I would never have time to play it all over again, so traded it, got a good price … forgot totally about the upcoming DLCs. Regret. I’ve certainly learned my lesson and have been hanging on to The Witcher III like a drowning Labrador holds on to a biscuit. The urge to trade is so incredibly strong, it pulls at me every single day, like an obsession – must trade must trade must trade. But I will not. Not until after the last expansion. Nope. No no no no….
I feel relief when a release is digital only; it takes away any and all decisions and it will always be there in my virtual library. I’ve heard talk of digital trades and pre-owned codes, but I can’t get my tiny little brain around how that would work and frankly I don’t want to think about it just yet. We are most certainly in the thick of the digital age and when the time comes that games become digital only, a part of me will feel overwhelming relief. While my PS4 and Xbox One fight for space on my shelf and bully my poor Wii U until it teeters on the edge, my physical game collection has no such problem. I run a tight ship, but I really wish I didn’t have to.
TOP TIP - Keep an eye out for Double Value weekends.
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