The video game hype machine is geared to spend months — and sometimes, years — getting fans to want to line up at midnight sales and pounce on titles as soon as they become available. But it seldom makes financial sense to jump in immediately. You can stretch your gaming dollar by refusing to buy brand-new stuff.

Canadian Finance Blog offers several reasons day-one game purchases are a bad idea.

For starters, just-released games sometimes have bugs that aren’t fixed until developers produce downloadable patches after the masses have discovered them. Also, publishers often hold back downloadable content weeks or months after launch to re-interest gamers, but those who wait for the DLC to become available before buying in don’t have to take an awkward break before getting the full experience.

Waiting around also lets you buy used games online or at retail, often at hefty discounts. Publishers have started to fight back by charging used game purchasers to access features such as online play.

Lastly, the waiting game pays off best when the pre-release hype turns out to be unfounded and the game turns out to be a stinker. When a would-be blockbuster fails to live up to sales projections, publishers often slash the price in order to move more copies.

5 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Video Game at Launch [Canadian Finance Blog]

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