Rent it? Buy it? Wait?

[Knightshade Dragon]

So you are on the fence for whatever reason (length, middle-of-the-road review scores, whatever) on a new game.  Today's poll asks whether you would rent it, buy it, or wait for the eventual price drop.

[aledromo]

Consume reviews like they were water and my stomach was on fire + wait for price drop to buy thoroughly spoiled game.  

I wish I could bring myself to rent things, but I'm always so scared I'll like it and then have to add the rental fee to the purchase price.  I know, it's stupid.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Nah, that isn't stupid.  That's why I don't do the rent thing as well.

[aledromo]

Man, that's good to hear.  Considering I rarely pay more than $20 for a game, and usually manage to trade them in for roughly $10 per (waiting for specials and group deals), I like to think that the games I don't like I'm "renting" for $10.  I'm sure this level of creative bookkeeping is very common to those with our hobby.

[AgtFox]

These days, with EB eliminating their return policy, I will only buy things I know are going to be good or I will play (Spider-Man 2, Halo 2, the football games, etc. for example).  Other than that I will rent things I am interested in to see if I like them, but most of the time I will not purchase them because I'll either beat them or not feel they're worth the $50 to spend on them.

I will often read reviews, but I pretty much know what is going to be top of the line and what will have a bigger question mark on it.

[stiffler]

I don't ever rent, on account of hating the local mega-chain.  It's just not convenient for me.

I read plenty of reviews and the discussions on this board, asking any questions I might have.  If I am not sure I am going to be convinced before dropping my $50.

Lately I have been waiting for the price drops on most of the games I am after, regardless of the reviews.  Depending on the impressions/reviews that might mean waiting for a good sale price or it might mean waiting until the magical $20 mark.

[whiteboyskim]

I'm all for more data, and seldom fall victim to the Forum Effect so prevalent on GG and seeping ever so slowly into CG. Right now, the price tag on things has me most concerned so I wait until it either drops, or until everyone is practically foaming at the mouth on how good it is.

[Andrew Mallon]

If I'm interested in it, I usually just buy it on or shortly after its release date, even if I'm in the middle of another game. This has led me to have a number of games sitting on my shelf still in shrinkwrap.

[Nth Power]

I'll usually wait until I hear reviews from the forums or various sites.

If it was a game I was waiting for and it turns out to be less than great, I'll pass and wait until it drops in price.

[naednek]

that's why gamerrang and gamefly are awesome.  for $18 a month you rent 1 game at a time.  I try to finish 1 game per month (I split time with lots of pc games and already owned xbox games).  That saves me about $30 a month.

[phormio]

I usually wait for more reviews etc., or to see if OXM ever sends me a demo disc with the game demo in question on it.

Occasionally I just take the plunge though. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised, sometimes it's "Hello Ebay".

[jimmyorr99]

i do a mix of reviews and renting. renting after all costs money, not much , but the money coudl be used to rent a better game.. so i reade reviews to see if teh game is even worth renting. if it is then i rent it and see if its worth buying.

[stiffler]

This has led me to have a number of games sitting on my shelf still in shrinkwrap.

At least I take mine out of the shrinkwrap.  Otherwise people get a little bit weirded out when they see so much money spent on things I have obviously not played.  At the very least, when they are opened, you can spout off something you read in a review and not seem like you enjoy tossing money away for the fun of it.  Seriously, I have A LOT of games I haven't touched but nobody knows but me!

[Purge]

I've done the same.

No seriously, I keep meaning to play Splinter Cell 2; I just never do. I bought Amped 2 for 10$ canadian (that's about 7 bux US); same thing with PGR2 ... I'm halfway through both and still rarely start em up.

Damned KOEI games... Dynasty Warriors 4 and Samurai Warriors. And now Doom3, Sudeki, Worms 3d (which will get pushed back until Worms Forts is released )

[naednek]

I just learned Hollywood Video does a gamepass that is similar to BB, so I guess i'll be dropping Gamerang.

[EngineNo9]

Combination: Price Drop and Further Information (reviews, user/forum reviews and patch news)

[jimmyorr99]

combination of price drop and rent. if i rent it and like it enough to buy, i will usually wait for a price drop regardless. i cannot stand paying 40 plus dollars for anything, even if it rocks. i will usually wait until a game drops below 35.