Renting over buying? I think so.

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ameratsu said:

I find renting expensive, and I also like owning games. Most ps3 games I own were:

- Bought using trade-in deals. I find cheap games for sale, mostly at b&m rental places, that qualify for promos and trade those in. This allows me to purchase a brand new game for $15-$30 depending on how much I spend purchasing crappy qualifying games to trade in.
- Bought used. 2 games for $40 is common promo at one rental place where I live.

What I dislike about renting is that if new content comes out for a game, or if I get a sudden impulse to play it, it will cost me another $9 for a brief rental period. Why bother with something so expensive when I can get used games for $20 a month or two after release and (most) new games for $30. I've paid full price for two retail games this generation: Uncharted($60) and Demon's Souls($75). Be creative and you can easily get games for less than $60.

 

$9 per rental is ridiculous. I agree with you there. I assume you're referring to Blockbuster vs. Gamefly as Gamefly has a set monthly fee and you can cycle through unlimited games on it. I happen to use the 2 at a time plan with them and that's $22.95/mo. I figure in a year's time I probably go through about 40 games give or take a few and I spend a grand total of $275 for the year to do it. Now, if I were to buy that many games - be it used or new - I'd be looking at an investment in the $1000 range so I'm saving a considerable amount.

I do understand the desire to own games to some extent however I fail to find that many worthy of ownership. That said, when I do I've always had the chance to rent them and play them prior to making the commitment so I know exactly what I'm getting. Nice thing there is that I can buy them directly from gamefly at a discount. I probably do this 2, maybe 3 times a year tops. Case and point: I just bought Resident Evil 5 for $39. I had a $5 gamefly coupon and they'd listed their keep it price for $44.