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Constant trade-ins:
I grew up playing between the NES, SNES, and then playstation 1 and 2. Within this era, I never had much of a say in gaming. I played a list of random games my dad had, enjoyed things he tried and then threw to the side, and I usually just ended up waiting for him to buy the next game for me. I didn't know anything about a place called gamestop, or how trade-ins there worked. I kept the pile of games that I played, and enjoyed them. I kept this habit of game hoarding even to this day where 90% of the games in this house are mine and most were likewise bought or gifted to me. So when I learned about the trade-in business, somewhere in the middle of my gamer hobby, I kind of cringed at it. How would I be able to give up an old game for less than $10, these games were easily worth more to me and were worth way more to gamestop who would just re-sell them at triple the price of what I got back. What if I wanted to replay them again? Then when I got more involved in online gamer communities, and also met more gamer friends in real life. I soon found out the world of gaming was surrounded by people who constantly traded in just about anything they bought. Inversion? Oh yeah, it was meh so I traded it in after a quick run through. Crysis 2? Interesting, and fun, but I traded it during its launch week. Metal gear solid 4? Oh my god what a classic! I should re-purchase that game some time.
WTF!? Seriously? I can't imagine how this mentality works. People are selling everything from "meh" to classics with great replay value for 1/4th or less of what they just payed for with it. I don't go around crusading about this issue, because its self-destructive and hurts them more than it ever will me. Besides, I may end up buying their used games as I am a bargain bin digger. It wont harm me if somebody plays uncharted 3 to the end credits, and despite the $60 investment they'll take it back next day and get less than $30 back for it. It's insanely stupid, especially without at least giving a trophy hunt or multiplayer a try, but hey at least it's not harming me. Its also confusing, considering most of these guys still love the games they trade. They are literally getting ripped off selling their own happiness. I guess my alternative, hoarding a ton of discs, isn't the best solution either. Maybe I should have traded two worlds 2, mario party 8, Assassins creed brotherhood, and street fighter 4 when they were going for better sale prices considering they have been collecting dust for a good period of time now. However I'd rather have a collection of 40 discs where I only play 10, than a collection of 3 and no way to replay all the memories I had unless they just so happened to be on the 3 that I didn't sell (and don't forget about the conscience that is telling you about how much money you lost getting ripped off in the trades).
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| Most pictures that look like this are a joke or a satire... I can only wish this one was. |
Sure some trading is a great thing. Especially if there is a great deal going around that allows you to get less ripped off. I remember getting the force unleashed 2 for christmas, beat it in 3 days, thought it was one of the most boring and forgetable linear games I've ever played, and sold it with a 30% bonus deal which took a lot of money off of my Killzone3 purchase. It was a win-win situation, and I enjoyed a discounted killzone3 10X more than FU2 (oh wow, those initials are hilarious when you think about it). Likewise, I should have traded a few more games when I had the chance. However I still think that the constant traders are on par with drug addiction, and it simply shouldn't be done.
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