Buying games vs Renting games

[SuperSabin]

Ok so many of us gamers either buy or rent games. Which one do you think is the better choice of the two? I would go with renting games, its smarter and cheaper. You get to TRY the game before you shell out 50-60 dollars for each hot new title. Not all games are as good as advertised and I hear people say they play the game once and beat it and never pick it up again.

Gamefly is a very good service for that kind of stuff. You can rent games as long as you want and if you like it you can keep the game by paying for it in which you could get it for less than the normal amount when its offered.

So again, what is your method of playing games?

[DragonHeart]

I used to be more of a collector, so I never rented games at all. If I wanted a game, I bought it. It did help that I was very particular about my selection, so I rarely got stuck with a dud.

These days I do most of my gaming courtesy of Gamefly. I just don't have the money to spend on picking up new games like I used to. I'll only buy games that I am very certain of, usually the next installment in a series I know and trust. Everything else is rented. However, if I really like the rental I will buy it if I can get a good enough deal. I'd love to buy all my games brand new but until I move up in the world, it just isn't an option.

~DragonHeart~

[Pete]

I buy. I used to rent, but my schedule is really all over the place, and I can't guarantee that I'll be able to get everything out of a game during the rental period. Plus, I'm making money and don't have a ton of time, so really only play the blockbuster games that fit my style, regardless of how many amazing niche games there may be out there.

Next game I'll pick up will maybeee be Halo Reach, but most likely will be Fallout New Vegas.

[norman]

buying a game is better then renting a game because when you are renting a game you have to bringing it back by a certain time or else you have to pay extra. When buying a game, you can playing as long as you want. Went you want don't want to play the game you can just leave it sitting there were as when you are using a rental game you have to bring it back and you can't stop playing or else you will miss alot.

[Heartless Angel]

I'm a buyer, never a renter. I usually do a fair bit of research before buying a title. Quite often I'll play it at a friend's place, or wait for one of them to beat it so i can get a review from someone I know, but when the time comes, I buy the game myself. I replay pretty much everything at some point. I never kow when I'll get the random urge to go find an old game somewhere in my pile of crap to replay it.

[Unknown Entity]

I've not rented a game since before I bought my PS3. When there was a rental shop down the road, I used to rent games quite a lot. It was only £3 for three nights, and because we were cool with the owners, they'd chuck in a bag of popcorn. Sounds like a sweet deal, but when you're renting the same games over and over again? I may as well have saved up all my rental money and bought a game instead.

For example, I can't even remember how many times I rented Dark Cloud. It must have been over ten times, meaning I spent over £30 just renting it. I could have spent way less than £30 buying the damn game. Unfortunately, it was a difficult game to come by at the time. In the end, my aunt found a pre-owned copy in GAME, and gave it to me one Christmas.

I'm pretty sure I didn't learn my lesson from that, and still rented games, but not as much as before. Just the odd game to try out every few weeks... the lesser and lesser we went there though, the less popcorn they gave us. =(

So I prefer to buy games. If you're stupid like me, it's much cheaper to buy, and you can put it on your game stack, and play whenever you want without any time constrictions and/or fines. Even then, I only buy games I know I definitely want. If it's not a game I want, but I'm curious about, I'll only buy it if I can find it really cheap. Like (for me) Mirror's Edge and Nier.

[Xanatos]

There's no such thing as rent a game here where I live, it's either buy the damn game or not, simple as that. Luckily games are fairly cheap due to piracy being pretty much legal, so even if you're not satisfied with particular game you bought it's not a big deal.

Even if there was a rent option it wouldn't make any difference, at least not in my case. I buy games I'm certain I'm going to like, rarely do I regret my own purchase.

[Fate]

I used to be more of a collector, so I never rented games at all. If I wanted a game, I bought it. It did help that I was very particular about my selection, so I rarely got stuck with a dud.

That's exactly how I am right now. I never rent a game because before I buy something, I make sure to look it up, watch several videos, read reviews, view ratings, and be absolutely sure that I'll like the game. In fact, the ONLY game I've been wrong on (since I didn't even do that much research, really) was The Last Remnant. Other than that, I've not regretted a single game I've bought.

It's just, I'm confident I'll like the game, so I'd like to be able to keep the game after I "am done with it." I'm somewhat of a collector, but it's great when you get that mood for re-playing or nostalgic feel and just HAVE to play through that game once more.

[Dodie16]

I buy games too. I thought about getting a sub to Gamefly so I can play some titles that I'm not sure about buying yet, but I don't think I would use it that much to justify a monthly fee. It's not that expensive, I know, but it does add up.

I also like the feeling of owning games, so that if I ever get the urge to play them again, I can just pop it into the console without having to wait for it to ship.

So yeah. Buying games is the way to go for me.

[ZantetsukeN]

I have never rented a game. I always try to buy games I know I will like. I rarely buy a game I don't like!

I would rather buy a game, because I am a collector. I like to keep whatever I pay for. Maybe one day if I'm REALLY not sure about a game, I will rent it. If I like it I would then promptly buy it.

Overall, buying is best for me.

[SuperSabin]

Well, seems i'm outnumbered in renting games, but thats ok. Those of you who are thinking about Gamefly I totally recommend it. You rent the games as advertised but if you like the games you can choose to keep them and you can get it cheaper than the normal price.

[Taco-Calamitous]

Back in the days of the NES and SNES, I would rent video games. That seems to have been the optimum time for it, because games used to be a lot shorter, and you could beat them in a few days. Most games these days take a little longer to get into, and I wouldn't want to feel rushed playing them and not getting the whole experience. Although I suppose that if you rent a game and decide you like it, your save files are on your system, and not the game itself anymore... Still. I don't rent anymore. I mostly impulse buy cheap video games (unless it's something I really wanted. Then it isn't an impulse, but premeditated.) Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Josh_R]

I usually Gamefly a game. Then if I like the game I go out, and I buy it.

I don't go out to places and rent games. To expensive.

[kupo]

buy em. ive never rented a game in my life. i usually dont have a lot of time to play games as it is so if i just buy them i can play them on my own time and not have to worry about returning them by a certain date.

[GeLeHa]

Unless it's a game I really want, I'll either do without, or borrow it from a friend if they have it.

I never rent games, as I almost never beat the games in time before I have to return them, unless I'm really feeling like gaming for the next few days, so I don't really rent. It's been a while since I've bought a game, actually.

[Selcopa]

I got the swine flu last year so i rented a couple games to kill some time since I couldn't do anything else, but if the game is good enough for me to play, its good enough to buy generally. I love to replay my rpg's especially, and it's somewhat odd to rent FPS

[Furore]

I haven't rented a game since I was a kid and didn't have the money to buy games (mostly rented games for SNES and Gameboy/Colour.

These days I tend to just buy several titles every couple weeks and after I get a buildup of them I shelve the really good ones and either sell or trade-in all the lesser titles. It just means the majority of titles I own at any given time are games I really love.

I've also been getting into downloadable games as since they don't take up any physical space I can very easily keep the full collection indefinitely. It's part of why I love my iPhone, PSP and PSP Go so much.

[Trodorne]

I rent games now. based on the games ive seen and played and the utter dissapointment from certain games that look to be good but have either really poor story or the gameplay was trash. but if i do come across a gem from renting then yeah ill go out and buy it. but always try to get lowest price possible. like i mean why waste $80 on a collectors edition in a pre order and then find out the game is crap and never touch the game again.

Replay factor is important i mean, why buy a game if you will only play it to the end and then just leave it. i know for most they do not have the time so the game can last longer. but for those who try to sit down and beat halo 3 only 3 hours after getting the game on opening day and do not touch it again. there just has to be better judgement when it comes to games and not just buying what ever looks cool at the time. its the same reason why i play any new final fantasies through a friend or rent the game cause i have low expectations for how the games going to play out for me and maybe i hope it might shock me.

at least with renting you payed like what $8 for a weeks rental. thats less tim hortons coffee after a week.