I've played Persona 4 for almost 90 hours now. If the game + tax cost $45 and I've played for 90 hours, that's .50/hour value. Even more if you consider that there's a few extras after I finish.

By that same token, going to the movies are a terrible value. If we low-ball it and say $7 for a two hour movie, that's $3.50/hour. Plus you just sit and watch a movie, with a game you're having fun and interacting with it.

I know it's come up before in this community, but video games are a great use of scant entertainment dollars, in terms of getting your money's worth.

For example, say I play an MMO. For $15 a month, I can have virtually unlimited entertainment time. (Where "unlimited" admittedly means "except for work, commuting, family time, sleeping, and other responsibilities.")

My fiancé and I play console games together on Sundays (the one day we're home together). A used console game runs $10 - $30 and a new one runs $40 - $60... and the shortest one we've ever yet played clocked in at about 15 hours. Compare that to $12 per person for a two hour movie, that may or may not be good, or to $100 a month for cable that you can only watch so much of, and it really starts to look pretty good.

We don't go out too much, although we're both still (thankfully) employed, but we do use Netflix and GameFly to their fullest, and I find it well worthwhile. (Particularly as I play Nintendo DS games on my commute.)

I've always hated Game Stop's trade in offers. I'd rather brave eBay or Amazon any day of the week than take their pittance.

However, considering how many used games they have displayed on any given day, it's hard to argue with why they're doing so well.

Video games are an excellent value in entertainment, and you don't even have to have the latest games or systems to enjoy them. There are plenty of games out there that cost less than 10$ that are very good, even more that can be bought used for less than 10$ that offer many hours of gameplay enjoyment. You don't always have to own the latest systems in order to enjoy playing video games, and playing games can definitely be done on a budget.

If you have the latest systems your best off waiting for price drops or secondhand games if you want to save some money on your purchases and if you don't have to have the game the day it comes out. From my experience buying secondhand games will give you the exact same play experience as buying a brand new game would.

Gamestop does not offer the best deals however, and if your really looking to save money on video games you really shouldn't be shopping at Gamestop.

@concordia: Yup, its an excellent value even at the price point you mentioned. You can also find PLENTY of games for $20 or less that you can also play for 30 hours or more. A lot of the Final Fantasy games have dropped below 20$ and in some cases under 10$ and these offer hundreds of hours of gameplay depending on how you choose to play them.

Pokemon is a game that has proven to be a great value for me even at its most expensive full price point. I payed 35$ + tax for it however I have played Pokemon Pearl on the DS for over 300 hours. I cannot think of another game that has offered better value for me personally.

Gaming is also better for your brain than just sitting and watching TV since you are actively thinking and using the brain to play video games, but that's really irrelevant here.

Seriously, all I do is drink, work, and play Call of Duty World at War. Video games + alcohol + good paying career = Happy IT Chick.

The trade-in values are not very great, but, for the ease of the transaction, nothing is faster than walking into gamestop with a few games, and walking out with a new one. Sure you can sell your stuff yourself, but then you probably have to pay eBay/Amazon/paypal fees, plus deal with shipping, and hope that everything works ok. If you pay attention to promotions and DON'T HOLD ON TO YOUR GAMES FOREVER, you can net a decent price on your trade-ins (and by decent I mean around 30 bucks).

Gampestop can get bent. They twice sold me "new" games that were very clearly used--one even had some guy's name written in the booklet. Good luck returning them even if you're only out of the store a few minutes. Rather not give a company that does that my business. oh, and their PC game section is a terrible joke.

Definitely been doing more gaming, though.

I think I put more hours into Left 4 Dead and EVE Online last week than I did at my supposed full-time job. :/

@Etoiles:

Congrats on finding a Chick who plays video games, keep her around because the opposite of that is pretty horrid.

Doesn't surprise me. The markup is huge on the traded-in games. The game developers hate Gamestop for this very reason. They don't see a dime of used game sales.

If you MUST trade for games, try Goozex.com.
Not trying to plug, but it's a great website that uses a points system and you get virtually dollar for dollar on games, excluding shipping costs and the $1 transaction fee.

I just sent Fable II for 1000 points ($50 worth) when I bought it at launch for 50 bucks cash. It may take awhile to get a game you want, but its fantastic.

@IT-Chick: CoD:WaW? Ewww! CoD:MW was much better (even with the lousy server browser, which was still better than FFoW's browser)

Sins of a Solar Empire / RTCW:ET FTW

RockBand has been a great entertainment investment for the wife and I.

Since we first picked the first game (and the controllers) up about a year ago, to buying the 2nd game, to spending about $10 per month on the new songs (we don't get them all), we've spent about $360 on it. We play as a couple or with some friends over at least twice a week for a couple hours.

$30/month for at least 32 hours of entertainment is a decent bargain.

Besides, when I was unemployed for a few months last year, I considered that more as 'professional MMO time' than being out of work.

I completely agree with the above comments. Furthermore, I have used Gamestop for quite some time now. It seems like Gamestop has gotten quite a bad rap in the past (rude employees, low value for trade-ins, etc) but I've never experienced any of these. I'm just glad I get something for the games that are collecting dust and the process is far less work than selling on craigslist.

Just because I believe in recognizing superior service, the Bellevue Square store in Bellevue, WA is the bees knees.

I take a degree of issue with the tone people take towards gamestop's trade program.

GS is a guaranteed buyer. You have a copy of madden 2001 kicking around that you dont want anymore? well, no one else wants it either. GS will still take it. You don't have to spend time looking for a buyer, GS does that instead. the trade-off is that you get a significantly reduced value for your game. That difference between what you get and what they mark it for has to make up for all kinds of costs.

aside from the fact that a significant number of trade games are defective, and are sent back for refurbishment (or destruction) on the company's dime, they also have to account for the company's profit margin, as the weak margin new game sales can't keep the company afloat alone. Add to that the opportunity cost of lost wall-space, where your old copy of barbie's horse adventure is displacing a copy of killzone 2, which actually might sell, or is occupying space that could be sold for product features, and you start to see why you aren't always offered top dollar for your game.

Beyond that, if you aren't willing to go an try to sell the game yourself, then frankly you forfiet any legitimate argument you might have had against GS's offered value. If you think you could get 50$ for your game on Ebay, go to it! Nobody is holding a gun to your head forcing you to sell to GS. however, if you take the 20$ GS is willing to give you for it now, because that is worth more to you than the 50$ you might get off ebay a week from now, then accept that that's a cost of doing business and get on with your life. you haven't been screwed, you've made a choice.

@IT-Chick: I'm the chick.

It's not just video gaming that's growing. Analog gaming grew last year, too. IIRC, ICV2 quoted roughly an 8% growth last year.

"Analog gaming," in this case means "Board games, card games, tabletop role-playing games, and miniatures games."

I totally agree, I tried to return a brand new version of NHL 09 to Gamestop (gift, no receipt) and was told they would give 18 dollar store credit on a game they sold, then and there, for 59.99. Organized crime is so profitable in down economies! (BTW, I sold it on Ebay in one day for 46, suck on that Gamestopper, and for those who say try Best Buy, they stopped taking returns without receipts on January 24, bastards)

@IT-Chick: amen to that equation!

I play boardgames; some cost $40+ but when it'll take 4 hours to play a game with 4 people the value is good. When it gets taken out and played a lot the cost per game is very low.

@Etoiles: Well in that case
-How you doin-

@Inglix_the_Mad: Holy crap!!! could you use a few more acronyms? I have no clue what the heck your talking about.

@litbruin:
Walmart.

@Inglix_the_Mad:

C'mon, a pack of dogs! Way better than the helicopter.
I don't know why everyone liked 4 better, I haven't touched it since WaW came out.

"We buy used games."

Except PC games. -_-

@IT-Chick: How many chicks don't game these days?

@IT-Chick: @Inglix_the_Mad: Say, I was a huge CoD4 junkie, and I wasn't that interested in WaW until I heard about the special Nazi zombie multiplayer mode. Is it worth picking up just for that? (Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I'd enjoy it regardless, but not sure if I'd enjoy it enough to justify full retail price.)

@concordia: I was thinking exactly the same before I read your comment. I paid $40 for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and $50 for Xbox Live. I estimate I have gotten more than 100 hours of playing time from that games online mode (4+ days total, I'm at work so I can't get on XBL to confirm). $90 for 100+ hours of entertainment and counting is a great deal.

@Etoiles: who needs work, sleep, family time & responsibilities when you have wow?

I used to work at Gamestop and I thoroughly enjoyed ripping that place off. I'd come to work with about 100 bucks cash every day and buy games off of people who didn't want store credit. We'd just go outside and away from the camera's to do the exchange. Then I'd resell the games to coworkers from my other job and make a little profit. I could easily make a couple hundred extra dollars a month doing this.

Fuck Gamestop.

Most of their profit is from their used games scam. Gamestop is just slimy when it comes to buying and selling used games. I have bought "new" games that had a sticker on the case *underneath* the shrink wrap. I also got another that had the xbox security tape cut clean with a razor (I only found out after taking off the shrink wrap). And they sling the same bullshit story every time, "It is new, it was just used in a display xbox. It never left the store." I'm sorry, if it has been opened and used before I pay for it, it is not new. Oh, and I heard sales associates are allowed to "borrow" games from the store. They bring it back and sell it.

Their margins on selling used games and accessories is also ridiculous. Good business, I guess. They will buy your used slim PSP for $70 and sell it for $126. And if you happen to get a one of those money grubbing salespeople, they'll try their hardest to convince you to buy a used title for $5 less instead of the new one. They know how much more they are making on used games.

Yeah, Gamestop's business model is pretty obvious. Sometimes they are the cheapest source for used games, especially with coupons, but usually you're better off selling games on Half.com, where you get a bigger margin.

What is cool is that the used game market is now spurring better online distribution systems, which have some key benefits in exchange for your inability to resell games. My Steam account lets me play any game I bought from them on any computer, and they're starting to implement a feature that uploads my saves to their servers so that I can continue a game from any machine. And the games are often cheaper than on the shelf and sales are frequent. Plus, no physical packaging saves environmental resources.

@Inglix_the_Mad: agreed. waw has potential (i <3 m1 garand - pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,PING!), but the guns in waw play like cap guns. cod2 was much better in that respect. & it's like they took all the crappy parts of cod4 multi w/o fixing anything (server lag, timeouts, playing at different speeds, etc.)

still, the dogs & arty strikes are pretty cool add-ons.

@Marc Melton: I completely agree. Not to mention GS often times have special deals on trade-ins... add to that if you sign up for their Egde card program they give you 10% extra on your trade-ins AND 10 or 15% (I'm not exactly sure) off of the purchase of used games. My son and I both are constantly trading in games after we've beaten them or bored of them and depending on the promotions and which games, I can usually end up trading in 2 for 1 with paying very little extra.

@Etoiles: That's even hotter that you're both chicks.

@concordia: Totally agree.

Two recent examples from my household:

Game: Fallout 3 for Xbox 360
Cost: $40 (new)
Time: 150+ hours and counting -- I'm on my second play-through, this time trying to be as evil as possible in my choices

Game: Animal Crossing for Wii
Cost: $30 (used/almost-new)
Time: 200+ hours and counting between spouse and two of my kids

Interestingly, gaming and computer time have replaced >80% of TV viewing for everyone in my house but the 5-year-old. Of the hours still spent on TV, at least 20% of those are spent watching instant-streaming programs from Netflix using a Roku box and a broadband connection.

Why spend hundreds on vacations when you can spend $50-$70 on a trip to Albion or Helghan?

@Etoiles: Then congrats to your fiance. :-)

@Etoiles: Awkward!

@IT-Chick: wow, i think i'm in love!!

@Inglix_the_Mad: It is so sad that I know all of those acronyms. Even sadder that I'm at work so I can't play them.

Don't forget to add-in the per-hour cost of a gym membership everyone.

@concordia: I've spent 70+ hours on Fallout 3 myself, well worth the $60 price tag.

But it isn't just role playing games that have such great value.

Something like Street Figher IV is great too, where a gamer can take a long time learning all the characters, and playing online against all different people.

Usually, I hang on to my games (PC - I don't own a console) and keep an old computer going forever so I can play them. I've never had any problems with the GameStop stores here, but I don't shop there much.

There's this one game I have called "Titanic - Adventure Out of Time" that will play on my old desktop. I freaking LOVED that game. No chance for a reissue, because the company is long gone. Before that, I couldn't play it for a while because I upgraded, but I hung on to it and now it will go again. I don't know why but I'm glad I kept it. Whee!

@Inglix_the_Mad:CoD:WaW? Ewww! CoD:MW was much better (even with the lousy server browser, which was still better than FFoW's browser)

Sins of a Solar Empire / RTCW:ET FTW

So it's true, Gamestop's business model of becoming upscale pawnshops HAVE allowed them to reap a green harvest of cash money!

@rockasocky: [www.penny-arcade.com]

Let's say you have 20 bucks, and you have two choices: Go to GameStop and buy some used games OR watch a movie in a theater?

If you choose a theater, then you have to pay 8 dollars for the ticket itself. 12 dollars left, that's fine. Now, comes the refreshments. A large soda and a medium popcorn will set you back maybe 7 dollars. Now you have five dollars left out of your total 20. The movie is two hours long, starting from the titles and NOT counting the previews which are close to a half hour long. So.

$8 Ticket + $7 Refreshment = 15 Dollars. 15 Dollars / 2 Hours = $7.50 per hour of entertainment.

Now for the GameStop. Again, you have twenty dollars. One game catches your attention, used, and priced at a reasonable 8 dollars . The game is supposed to have a gameplay time of 50 hours. That's not bad right?

$8 Game / 50 Hours of Gametime = $0.16 per hour of entertainment.

I would go for the GameStop, because its a lot cheaper in the long run. :D

@torgonius: I'd be willing to bet that Harmonix makes more revenue (don't know about actual profit, but probably that, too) off of downloaded content than they do off of the actual games.

@IT-Chick: It just seems to me that they went backwards in the graphics. It's not as finely detailed as CoD4. It looks like a redone CoD3. Just doesn't cut it for me.

Just my $0.02, from an IT-Guy to an IT-Chick.