/v/ - Video Games

>>14893911

>Only reason to really bother with Fucking Gamestop is if they outright have much cheaper prices than elsewhere, be it a clearance sale, or simply other places no longer bothering to try to keep prices competitive with them as the biggest game chain in the US.

This is the main reason I still bother with them. They can oftentimes beat ebay out with a pretty huge portion of their games, especially if you combine it with sales like buy 2 get 1 free type shit. Unfortunately I know the profit margins they make on preowned games is ungodly high and I really don't want to contribute to that.

>Anyhow, if you want some advice (being that you claim to be new at it), I can give a bit. Might take a little to write out though.

I'd certainly appreciate it greatly.

> mean, I'm not exactly complaining myself, but they tend to do better being once a month or so (and May had at least two from what I remember).

I've only participated in the last buyfag thread and only occasionally before then; my bad. Hopefully this is still good shit though.

I've been working for now on getting the most worthwhile physical copies of good games I can get on the Vita and DS. Its a nice feeling, building up my library. There's a shitton of great PC games with nice cases like Supreme Commander going for under 10 dollars at a certain bookstore.

The gift edition of Warcraft 3 I got is pretty great considering there's a copy of WC2 + its expansion included with it, all for 8 bucks. The case is also huge and lovely.

>50% loyalty discount

goddamn that's quite good, and a physical store too. How's the game? I've not even heard of it before.

>>14894024

>I've been working for now on getting the most worthwhile physical copies of good games I can get on the Vita and DS.

The DS suffers an unfortunate problem, at least if you're like me and prefer complete copies, that Fucking Gamestop fucked the aftermarket by trashing perfectly good DS cases, which also included the art and manuals. The idea being to clear space (for mobileshit at the time, where I live), and because prior cartridge based games don't seem to have had any problem in chucking shit out (but then again, prior cart based games, Sega aside, used cardstock boxes people were prone to trashing anyhow). For games that were shovelware, or that at least got reprints down the line (IE: Etrian Odyssey, Ace Attorney, Radiant Historia, etc), this hasn't had as much impact, but for higher demand titles, and especially ones that didn't sell well to begin with, prices can get really hiked up, and even when they're not it can be a crapshoot to try to find one that isn't just a cartridge at this point. Obviously it's easier to do using online vendors to "spread the net" so to speak, but that just runs the issue of everyone charging the the same, or close to the same, online-tier prices.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gamestop starts making the Vita library cart only soon (assuming a given game even got a physical here).

>goddamn that's quite good

Here's the thing: They do a loyalty discount based on accumulated points. That's a receipt from a multimedia chain out here, and as part of their store card system, you get one point per $13 spent or traded (some holidays they'll double points gained), and from there, if your points meet the dollar price on an item, you can spend your points to get it half off. It is NOT a fast process to build up, though I do have some family and friends that let me get points on their purchases on the occasion they come with, or send me out to buy something for them. But it does help. Said place also used to have a nigh constant 20% off anything preowned under $60 (game consoles being the exception) through post-purchase surveys, which were also stackable with points (you could effectively get something at 40% the price tag after it was all factored). Those went away for a while, but they recently brought them back at a lower 10% off.

>and a physical store too.

I get better finds locally than I generally have online. Chance is still slim of a place not charging online prices, or only slightly below, but it happens every so often.

>How's the game? I've not even heard of it before.

Pretty neat, for a licensed game. Cyborg samurai Hyakkimaru hunts the demons (specifically "the forty-eight fiends") that his father traded his body parts to at birth for immortality, using not just the swords that you can acquire through the game, but the weapons the doctor that took him in has infused his artificial body with: short arm blades he can toss his hands aside to use, a primitive machine gun within his right arm, and a cannon within his left leg. Ammo is rather scarce, given the period it takes place in, and needs to be used wisely. You've also got Dororo, a kid thief as an ally, who can find items for you and help in combat, albeit to a lesser degree than Hyakkimaru himself. It didn't do too well with professional reviewers, and sold like shit out here (I'm honestly a bit surprised we got it to begin with; Dororo saw thirty-six years of nothing between the prior 1969 anime and the game). And honestly, I don't think any licensed game really warrants the sort of price this game sees. Even that original $22 is MUCH better than it averages these days, and was still cheaper than I was seeing it on occasion for a few years back.

>I'd certainly appreciate it greatly.

Incoming wall of text then.

>>14894024

>>14894165

>Learn what your local options are, assuming there’s more than just Fucking Gamestop (or the equivalent thereof; GAME for PAL, etc) and big box marts that obviously focus on current gen. Gamestop has unfortunately done a number on the diversity of brick and mortar preowned game shops, as has the murder of video rental stores by way of redbox and kikeflix (which also took out the likes of GameCrazy and other vidya branches of such stores). At one point, there were a good ten or so Gamestops within a five mile radius where I lived, including one inside a mall and one right across the fucking street. They choked out anything they could, and when the last local non-Gamestop closed in 2012 (there’s a story there as well), I had to start branching out into the neighboring towns to find anywhere that actively focused on games older than just the directly prior generation. Some of those Gamestops have since closed down (because you don’t need one every other mile), but since then, there’s only one store that’s taken the risk of opening within my town itself, so I still go through the other towns for variety. Obviously it helps if you live somewhere that, while perhaps not sprawling shithole city, has a number of towns in reasonably close proximity as far as expanding options (low Gamestop density preferable).

>Study said local options for pricing and selection trends.

Most online vendors will just price on par (maybe a little less; undercutting in favor or swifter sales) with other online vendors for games at a particular quality. Most brick and mortar secondhand stores will do similar. However, not all of them do, and it’s worth finding out where the ones around you stand. Same for what the selection is like (though that speaks more of the interests of those living in the area than the store itself). This usually requires multiple trips to come to any sort of conclusion either way: Not every trip yields results, and some days are just bad as far as new material. It took me a good four or so trips to realize a place out here was worth actively checking, because prior to that their prices I’d seen ranged from average to way too much, only for me to find a $90+ game for $10 or so (and since then I’ve had many good occasional finds). Any additional customer perks are welcome, if not always related: free-to-join rewards programs, post-purchase survey vouchers, free disc cleaning on games you’re looking to buy, etc

>Patience and perseverance.

Know what a game you’re interested in averages in the condition that matters to you, so you can tell if what you’re looking at is a good deal, average, or an attempt to fuck you in the wallet. Beyond that, don’t feel that you have to buy the first copy of a game you see. With some waiting and/or travel, and some luck, you might stand to find it cheaper and/or in better shape. I didn’t want to drop the usual $25-30 on SMG2 up there, and I definitely wasn’t going to drop $110+ on BWT, without having encountered both cheaper (the latter was honestly one I had relegated to pirate territory for me prior to that).

>Do not go with a list of things you’re actively hunting in your mind.

This is NOT to say make impulse purchases. Merely that if you go expecting to find [X] cheaply and it's not cheap on average, more often than not you’ll be disappointed, as pricing fuckups have a good bit of randomness to them. I have a mental idea of some games that would be nice to find at cheap prices, but I don’t expect that to happen, and occasionally I wind up rewarded.

(con't)

>>14894211

>Buy what you actually have interest in both owning and playing.

Just because something exists does not mean you should feel you have to buy it, even if it’s deemed a “must play”, at least by fans of its series/genre. Going the “full set” route is stupid. Beyond simply wasting your money, popular systems always get inundated with shovelware, yearly sports shit, and licensed games (admittedly not all the latter are bad, but most are cash-ins) which will waste shelf space, and in the case of actually quality games, buying them because they’re there, without any interest in playing them yourself, just removes them from the pool for those that actually do want to play them. Buy to your own interests and nothing else. Likewise, and maybe this is just my own opinion (I know there’s a fair few anons that would rather fleece sheep), but don’t buy for resell purposes. I wouldn’t like to become part of a problem I complain about a lot myself.

>Supplement with flash carts, modded systems, loaders, emulation, etc.

It should go without saying that trying a game before buying it is worth doing. Unfortunately, not every store offers that option, and beyond that, not every game worth the time playing is actually worth buying at the current prices they’ve seen (IE: .hack//IMOQ is in no way an experience worthy of $200+). Some games also have fan made bugfixes, translation patches, audio patches, etc, which cannot simply be patched onto a legit disk or cart. Point being, even if you’re the sort prone to buyfagging, pirating, emulating, and/or modding your systems is still a perk to be taken advantage of

>Online shopping

I personally use it for three cases: the occasional new release, reprints of older games (being those are sold more through online vendors than shipped to actual stores), and the occasional game I simply cannot find locally after a while of looking. Always ask the seller to provide pictures of the game rather than just relying on description, but even then do note: sellers that use warehouse storage (as well as items sold specifically by Amazon as a company, and not as third party vendors through them) will NOT be able to provide such. This is part of why I prefer local options as well: ability to actually see for myself what is being sold, and to make sure it’s in the condition I’d like it to be before giving someone money. As an aside though, new vendors (as can be seen by having few ratings over X months) are risky business, but sometimes might ask much lower than average to (hopefully, for them) drum up some easy good ratings. And always be leery of online Goodwill vendors. Bunch of dodgy fucks in my experiences.

>Do not limit yourself to just game focused stores.

While obviously game focused places are going to have more reliability of stock, at least as far as in person places, multimedia stores, pawn shops, etc, can also pay off. Especially if, being that they don’t focus specifically on games, they might not know what they’re getting in stock.

>>14894132

no.

>Tfw ocotopath traveller and valkyria chronicles 4 are the only games ill be buying this year.

guess ill get some more games for my vita collection from local charity shops.

>>14893911

>Didn't we just have one of these last week, if not the week before? I mean, I'm not exactly complaining myself, but they tend to do better being once a month or so (and May had at least two from what I remember).

We did, and didn't even reach 30 posts.

>Also the occasional "Gamestop Exclusive", like Xenoblade Wii was, but obviously that is few and far between and only affects new copies being shipped (though aftermarket for such can be a crapshoot; see XBC hiking up to $90+ complete for a while until it got reprinted).

That reminded me to check on the status of other "gamestop exclusive" runs, and they've all sunk like a rock, even that one piece game they arbitrarily decided was a going to be a SUPR RAR LIMITED RAN is stuck at retail. Hah.

>>14894165

>I wouldn't be surprised if Gamestop starts making the Vita library cart only soon (assuming a given game even got a physical here).

They already have at my gamestop, the only vita games that keep their box are the new releases at this point. Gotta make room for all those funkopops and fucking pokemon cards noone ever fucking buys.

>>14894725

>Listen to the huenigger.

No.

>most of the "retro game" shops near me shut down because they charged so much for the games

Poetic justice. Saying that, the only sources I have left that aren't scalpers are charity shops and the odd local sale or carboot/yard sale.

>>14894871

Consider multimedia places as well. Might get lucky and have some like the ones around where I am that aren't always on the ball about prices.

>Visiting with father last year, and road trip the way to his place

>State he's in has no sales tax.

>Take trip to vidya store out there.

>Prices are ridiculous, even more than they'd be with tax here on average.

Between that, and some other stores we stopped at on the way, the plcaces out where I am look all the better. Which isn't to say they're all good, but it feels very strange to see something that would average $20 or so where I live be priced at $45, with the other customers in there saying that's better than average for the area.

I'm looking to pick up a copy of Kero Blaster for a friend, I think he'd really love it and it's a game I adored.

>>14895406

It's not as good as Rez but it's a lot of fun. Very nice visuals too. I haven't tried it with the move controller but otherwise it feels like Rez in its controls. I've seen kinect game play that looks bad but Move works differently so it might be worth giving it a try if you can.

>>14895718

Looks good, convergence is very slightly off but it's not a big deal. Definitely wouldn't be noticeable in a short distance.

Also, it's important to report shitposters, the hugenigger, and let them be taken care of.

>>14899318

physical is still where most sales happen, and due to the size of games only getting bigger it'll likely be around for some time to come. It's still the dominant market in America by a decent margin, and the dominant market in Asia/Japan by a gigantic margin. So if physical goes away in the West, importing will only get bigger, many games are already Asian only, and asian-english copies are a blessing for this.

>>14894767

Not any time soon, any console that demands digital only, or god forbid, cloud gaming or tries to fuck with physical so far has done nothing but shoot themselves in the fucking foot, like steambox, xbone or Onlive. Consoles i would say have seen an uptick in physical media over the past few years, thanks to the rise of the Limited Run Games type outfits. I don't really know why it didn't work for PC though, Indiebox i would have said was the best Limited Run service out there, if only because they at least tried to give you a good bang for your buck, but seems like they couldn't really sustain it.

>>14899318

I've seen it said physical isn't going away, for console and handheld, anyhow (PC did indeed get fucked on that end; a thumbstick with a steam installer is not a physical copy), but digital not having as high a production cost does make some companies leery of doing physicals for particular games/series, resulting in limited prints in select cases, but digital only for a given reason is usually the outcome instead. And it's not just indie shitters that go that route, where they might just be a small upstart team, but big publishers that should be able to afford the possibility of a hit to the wallet with a physical release.

>>14900216

Reply to the wrong anon?

>>14900221

>Reply to the wrong anon?

yup, meant to reply to >>14899318

>>14899338

Yeah, but that was a part of what has got me worried. For some games you need to import from Asia to get a physical edition, it didn't use to be like that.

>>14900221

What's stopping a lulu service but for games to appear? If there is a demand there should be someone there to meet it. A service that produces physical releases after demand and maybe lowers the price depending on how much demand there is would be great. I'm pretty tired of the limited run ratrace honestly. If I'm willing to spend a lot of money I should be able to get a physical release.

>>14903033

When the civil wars in Europe starts I'll have a ton of games to play and you won't be able to play anything due to the Internet blackout.

>>14903082

Whiter than thou.

>>14903118

>Seagate

>8TB

Enjoy your no games after the inevitable harddrive failure. And of course I have a future proof portable HDD full of PC games. I've gotten all the good stuff while Underground-Gamer was still alive and kicking and have so many great games on it that I could get by with only it. Having a huge backlog of physical games makes me ready for pretty much anything. I even have a generator in case shit really hits the fan.

>>14903033

>>14903118

>Doesn't actually enjoy his hobby

What a sad life.

>>14902948

>What's stopping a lulu service but for games to appear?

Lulu? But yes, it would be nice for a company to see that, if a game is popular enough, to give it a belated physical print that it didn't have before. But that's not apt to happen, because if it's popular enough digitally, that's all the more reason for them to keep it digital only due to not having any further physical production costs, and "official" availability lasting as long as the service providing the digital store exists for the system. And then they can just port it for use with the next iteration of system and try to get even more sales on the existing game. If memory serves, Limited Run even tried to get in contact with the likes of Sega and TK for belated western physical runs for Yakuza 5 and the Vita Atelier ports that didn't even see a limited print prior (Arland Plus trilogy, and Ayesha Plus), but nothing ever came of them. Though, in Sega's case, I'm not sure what the maximum physical limits of PS3 era blurays were, and Yakuza 5 was 22GB in size digitally here, due to all the DLC being bundled for free (I suppose that wouldn't have to stop the base game from being compressed to a forced disc install, and the DLC being free packs on the PSN).

>>14906397

I've got an oldish 27 inch Vizio that has input options in the back for HDMI, Component, Composite, and I think even the old cables (though I haven't actually tested it for those). Not a 4k TV or anything, hence why I haven't had reason to look into a Pro (high cost and the drawbacks would outweigh the benefits). It can also run older games as 4:3 mode, though I suppose CRT is still likely the best. Helps cut down a bit on the space needed to play what I have though.

>>14906568

Yeah what this guy said. Just find a nice 1080p capable TV, make sure you don't get a 1366x768 TV that is sold under the guise of 1080p. Those panels are disgusting. I wouldn't actually be too concerned about analog input support, you may just want a component/composite capable CRT rather than deal with playing old systems on an LCD with that.

4k smart TV.

Just so I won't have shit overscan and audio issues and I will finally be able to play Nier. It is also quite fun as it is basically all-in-one PC. I actually realized now that I own AndroidTV so technically I could somehow manage to run steam link app on it with Steam Controller.

Also slowly getting to a point where I will be able to afford M.2 drive and proper NAS alongside better Router and Modem.

I gave up on buying specific vidya as I barely play on consoles. On PC every physical game is basically steam code and DVD that you don't even bother to put into your PC. I would buy some random collectors editions but I never buy games at release. Most of games with collector editions are AAA bullshit or weebshit I don't care for anyways.

Merchandise on the other hand is just useless. I have much better ways to decorate my living space.

>>14906397

If you don't intend to watch 4k stuff on it, go buy 1080p. Size depends on how far you sit from it. Find some graph that allows you to see from how far away you can see pixels.

As you won't find smartTV at 1080p just skip that option.

Yes I just told I did exact opposite. It is because I hope I will impress someone with my parents money as I am most miserable human being imaginable.

>>14906568

>>14906397

Another thing to bear in mind: As TVs keep getting larger, Entertainment centers and TV stands get bigger too. When I was replacing my old stand in the spring (open air horizontal glass is a horrendous dust magnet), I checked some stores to see what was around, and all they were selling, at least local options anyhow, were way too big, and way too far out of the budget range, being made to fit current TV sizes (which are bigger than mine, it seems). Had to resort to converting a glass doored cabinet into what I needed, and while it's a bit taller than I'd hoped, it's not like I can't raise the computer chair I've got to a better height.

>>14906705

There are hardly any real 4k films worth watching and very few genuine 4K games so I will probably go for an 1080p. What's the deal with """smart""" TVs? I feel like I'm a hundred years old, what benefit would making your TV hackable bring?

>>14906568

How's the responsiveness (or refresh rate I guess) for that Vizio, decent?

>>14903121

>>14903298

>Making fun of seagate

>Offering no solutions

My only wish is that both of you stub your toes today.

>>14902948

>What's stopping a lulu service but for games to appear?

Can't have all the shit made to order, especially with console games.

>>14907507

Well like I said you basically have PC in your TV or at least Android phone. I choose AndroidTV specifically for that reason. Real reasoning is that you use your TV instead of separate PC for shit like Netflix. It is especially nice when you use build in Chromecast as it keeps your TV always in standby.

So basically it turns TV back into TV from being large monitor.

>>14907647

Do people actually want Sorosflix on their big screen?

I managed to pick up about 8 360 and PS3 games for $40. As I'm working on those two consoles at the moment since prices are decent and I missed out on a lot during the 7th gen. I also managed to sang Deus Ex, Parasite Eve, inFamous, Worms Blast, and Mass Effect 3 from my favorite Goodwill bookstore for about a dollar each not too long ago. I do notice that I have better luck looking for older video games at Goodwill bookstores as opposed to general Goodwills. Needless to say, this also depends on the neighborhood and proximity to other stores.

The games were Final Fantasy XII-2, Sleeping Dogs, Mass Effect 2, Blue Dragon, Mass Effect 3, Ratchet and Clank Tools of Destruction, Alan Wake, Soul Calibur 4. Granted it WAS from Gamestop's 4 for $20 sale which is the only time I'll buy things from there. I'd like to start working on my DS collection but similar to what another anon said, I fucking loathe that Gamestop has thrown out perfectly good cases and manuals for the sake of saving space and reselling their 3DS titles with those godawful cases.

Thankfully I live in a huge city so I have a bit of a selection and won't be going inside a gamestop for a very long time. Wish I could break that habit though.

>>14907507

It has spyware built in like your google phone.

>>14907507

I haven't noticed any issues that the games I was playing weren't already noted to have, but then again I wouldn't consider myself an expert as to refresh rates. Model is an E321VL if you're looking to research it.

>>14908424

>as opposed to general Goodwills

I remember something about Goodwill opening some electronic media specific location on the east coast some years back and sending what worthwhile games they'd had at the time there. Maybe the bookstore ones didn't have to obey the ruling, or are a new development themselves. Where I live I've never seen anything but run of the mill shitty goodwills.

>I'd like to start working on my DS collection but similar to what another anon said, I fucking loathe that Gamestop has thrown out perfectly good cases and manuals for the sake of saving space and reselling their 3DS titles with those godawful cases.

It's not impossible to find complete copies of games (assuming one isn't solely restricted to Gamestop as an option), but they did make it a harder, longer process, as well as causing prices to go up (in some cases not that much, in others by a whole lot). Once again a matter of patience and perseverance in trying to find stuff, assuming you're not just going to look online and deal with most everyone asking similar prices on stuff. Of course, the prices some games are seeing these days, you might as well look into a decent flashcart (which would also give access to playing romhacks and fan translations on the actual system they were meant to play on).

>>14910539

You the guy that's been waiting for them to get a PS3 with?

>>14910544

yes.

>>14910547

Well, hopefully it arrives for you soon, or if not, you can inquire as to if anything got sent to the wrong address, or something. I remember years ago, waiting for payment for testrunning an exam the CC I was at was debating as to if they should make required or not; got here just a few weeks before Xenoblade (what I'd been planning to spend it on) shot up in price once people realized it had been shortprinted a month or two after it had released.

>>14908476

>On the morality of buyfaggotry, do you consider archival and hording acceptable if the material is, unbeknownst to you or not, going to end up in the publics hands by a hand picked means?

No, the way i heard the story that was just a coincidence. The store only dumped the prototype to see if Nintendo would react, and whether or not it'd be a good idea to auction it off. Frankly, as someone who has dumped a prototype before, the fuck is the point of keeping that shit to yourself past the point of your death bed, when you don't know if the other party's even going to follow through on the promise or not, other than jewery and making yourself feel special.

>>14910761

Oh really

I didn't realize it only came out to see if they'd get sued for selling it. While that has the end product of something I appreciate I do not appreciate that reasoning.

>Why keep it that long

Sure but I believe in private ownership of property so I personally don't fault someone for not sharing what is theirs.