All hobbies can be costly, even when you enjoy doing things that are low-cost or free. Enjoy hiking in the great outdoors? Just be prepared to cough up a few hundred quid for some sturdy boots and other hiking gear. Crochet or knitting more up your street? Then filling your house with balls of yarn will quickly begin to add up.
Gaming is no different. If you want to play the latest releases on a state-of-the-art gaming PC, you can expect to be shelling out thousands of pounds for the hardware and upwards of £50 for each new release.
It doesn’t have to be this way, however. There are plenty of ways you can have a thrilling playing experience without having to break the bank. Here are some of the best ways to do it.
Be Patient
Let’s be real – we’ve all been there. A new game drops, and suddenly it’s like our brains go into overdrive. We’re refreshing store pages, watching unboxing videos, and daydreaming about that first epic gaming session. Before we know it, we’ve dropped a cool hundred bucks on the latest and greatest, complete with all the fancy extras.
Fast forward a couple of days. The initial high wears off, and life gets in the way. That shiny new game? It’s sitting on the shelf, barely touched. Maybe you squeeze in an hour here and there, but it’s not quite the earth-shattering experience you built up in your head.
Then comes the real kicker. A month or two later, you’re scrolling through your favorite gaming store, and bam – there it is. That same game you couldn’t live without is now on sale for half the price. Ouch.
It’s like a punch to the gut, right? Suddenly, that game you were so hyped about loses its luster. You start thinking about all the other stuff you could’ve bought with that extra cash. Maybe you even start resenting the game a little bit, which is totally unfair to the poor thing – it’s not its fault you got caught up in the hype machine.
This cycle of buy-regret-repeat is a trap many of us fall into. We’re bombarded with marketing, peer pressure, and our own impatience. It’s like we’re afraid of missing out on some magical gaming experience that’ll disappear if we don’t grab it right this second.
But here’s the thing – games aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they often get better with time. Bugs get patched, extra content gets added, and communities grow. Plus, let’s be honest – most of us have a backlog of games we’ve been meaning to finish anyway.
So next time you feel that itch to pre-order or buy on day one, take a deep breath. Ask yourself if you really need it right now, or if you can wait a bit. Chances are, a little patience will not only save you some cash but might actually improve your gaming experience in the long run. After all, isn’t gaming supposed to be fun, not a source of buyer’s remorse?
In gaming, like with other forms of entertainment and technology, being one of the first to buy costs a premium. But if you can wait just a few weeks or months, you can usually save a significant sum off the sale price.
Take Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, for example. When it was first released in the autumn of 2023, the Xbox version was priced at an eye-watering £99.99 on Amazon. However, by mid-November, it had fallen to around £60, and a month later, it was below £55. Come March 2024, around six months after its release, you could pick up a copy for £45.99.
Waiting doesn’t mean you can’t play games in the meantime, there are still many other titles you can enjoy while you wait. In the case of Call of Duty, its previous release will still have almost all of the same features.
Look for Promotions, Discounts, and Deals and Utilize Them
Let’s talk about something that’ll make you facepalm – how many times have you bought a game online and completely spaced on entering a promo code? Yeah, we’ve all been there. It’s like leaving free money on the table, but for some reason, a ton of us do it. Picture this: You’re at the checkout, credit card in hand, ready to pull the trigger on that game you’ve been eyeing. There’s a little box that says “Enter promo code,” but you scroll right past it. “Nah, I never have those anyway,” you think. But here’s the kicker – there’s a good chance you’re missing out on some sweet savings.
It’s crazy how many of us skip this step. Maybe we’re in a hurry, or we think it’s not worth the effort to hunt down a code. But let me tell you, those few seconds of Googling can sometimes save you a chunk of change. And in the world of gaming, where every buck counts, why wouldn’t you want to keep more cash in your pocket for the next big release?
Just like you can find discounts and voucher codes for all other types of shopping and spending you might do, you can also find similar promotions and offers for games. We have organized a complete set of gaming deals for you here. How and where you find these deals will depend on the type of games you want to play.
You’ll find discounts for everything, from video game retailers like GAME and Currys to bowling alleys like Hollywood Bowl where you and your friends can go to play together. Alternatively, if you’re a mobile gamer, you’ll find regular promotions inside your respective app marketplace, including some titles that are temporarily offered for free.
If you enjoy having a flutter on card games or slots, many of the UK’s leading online casinos offer promotions, too. For example, PokerStars Casino runs several free spins promotions, including a sign up bonus for new users, as well as for completing challenges. These types of offers allow you to play selected slot games for free, helping to make your bankroll last longer and give you more opportunities to play.
Now, I know what you’re thinking – “Come on, how much difference can a promo code really make?” Well, buckle up, because I’m about to hit you with some mind-blowing facts:
- According to a survey by RetailMeNot in 2021, only 53% of Americans said they always search for discounts before making an online purchase. That means nearly half of us are potentially missing out on savings every time we shop!
- The same survey found that the average shopper who uses coupons saves about $30 per transaction. Now, imagine if that was $30 off every game you bought – that adds up fast!
- A report by Juniper Research predicted that digital coupon redemptions would reach $91 billion by 2022. That’s billion with a B, folks. Clearly, some people are cashing in big time.
- VoucherCloud reported that in 2020, the average discount code was worth 19% off. On a $60 game, that’s over ten bucks back in your pocket.
- According to Invesp, 68% of consumers believe that digital coupons generate loyalty. So not only are you saving money, but you’re also more likely to stick with retailers that hook you up with good deals.
- A study by Valassis found that 94% of consumers said they’d use a coupon code if one was offered to them. So why aren’t we all actively looking for them?
Compare Prices
Whenever you decide to buy a new game or a piece of gaming hardware, it pays to shop around. In years gone by, this meant dragging yourself from store to store, physically inspecting price tags and then heading back to the cheapest to make a purchase.
You’re itching to get your hands on the latest Assassin’s Creed game. You’ve been hyped for weeks, watching trailers, reading reviews, the whole nine yards. Launch day rolls around, and you’re ready to pull the trigger.
Now, here’s where things get interesting. Let’s say you’re a creature of habit – you always buy your games from GameStop because, well, that’s just what you do. You head to their site, and boom, there it is: $59.99. Not bad, right? Standard price for a new release. You’re about to hit “Add to Cart” when your buddy texts you.
“Yo, did you get AC yet? It’s on sale at Best Buy!”
Hold up. What now?
You pop over to Best Buy’s site, and sure enough, they’re running a launch day special. The exact same game: $49.99. That’s a crisp Alexander Hamilton you just saved yourself.
But wait, there’s more. Your curiosity is piqued now, so you decide to check Amazon. Plot twist – they’ve got a deal for Prime members: $45.99.
Now you’re on a roll. You hit up Green Man Gaming, and they’re offering it for $53.99, but with a 10% off coupon for newsletter subscribers. That brings it down to $48.59.
Last stop: the official Ubisoft store. They’re selling it for full price, BUT they’re throwing in some exclusive DLC worth about $10.
So, let’s break this down:
- GameStop: $59.99.
- Amazon: $45.99 (with Prime).
- Green Man Gaming: $48.59 (with coupon).
- Ubisoft: $59.99 + free DLC.
- Gamivo: $20 without any coupon (save 25% further by using a promo in the cart).
See what just happened there? In the span of about 5 minutes, you went from potentially dropping 60 bucks to having a range of options that could save you up to 25% off the original price. That’s like getting a large pizza for free with the money you saved (and let’s be real, what goes better with a new game than pizza?).
But here’s the kicker – tons of people don’t bother with this quick price check. They get excited, go to their usual store, and bam, full price. It’s like walking past a $10 bill on the sidewalk because you couldn’t be bothered to bend down and pick it up.
The moral of the story? Those few minutes of comparing can put real money back in your pocket. Maybe it’s enough for that DLC you’ve been eyeing, or it could go towards your next game. Either way, you’re getting more bang for your buck, and in the world of gaming where new titles are always dropping, every dollar saved is a dollar towards your next adventure.
So next time you’re about to buy a game, take a breather. Do a quick comparison. Your wallet will thank you, and hey, you might even find a new favorite game store in the process. It’s a win-win, and in gaming, that’s what we’re all about, right?
Today, things are much easier. Just load up a price comparison site like Google Shopping or Kelkoo and you’ll search for the game or product you’d like to buy. You’ll then be presented with a list of places you can buy from, including the current price offered by each one.
You can also compare prices over time. Services like CamelCamelCamel offer a look at the historic price of products sold on Amazon so you can see if the price being advertised right now is an attractive offer or not.
If it’s not, then CamelCamelCamel allows you to set up an alert at a price you want to pay. It will then continually monitor the price shown on the Amazon website and send you an email to alert you when your target has been met.
