Im a hardcore gamer but I havent bought a new game in 10 years Readers FeatureGameCentralPublished November 23, 2024 1:00amUpdated November 23, 2024 1:00am Very few people bought it at full price (Ubisoft)A reader explains how and why hes never paid full price for a video game in over a decade and why he never gets a new title on day one.There was some talk recently about what the term hardcore gamer really means but I think its clear that, like most things, its all a matter of perspective. Im sure theres lots of Call Of Duty and EA Sports FC fans that play the games non-stop and consider themselves hardcore, but to many other people theyd be considered casual gamers, since they only play the most mainstream of games.Ive been gaming for over 30 years and have a collection of literally hundreds of games from across those years, from the Amiga all the way up to the PlayStation 5. I know who Hidetaka Miyazaki is and I was downloading what would now be called mods for Doom off a BBS in the early 90s. Im pretty sure most people would call me a hardcore gamer (if they didnt just opt for nerd or something even less pleasant).And yet I havent bought a brand new game, on day one, for over 10 years. Everything Ive purchased has either been in a sale or second-hand, and where possible physical. This includes digital-only indie games, which I find are discounted just as often as anything else. The idea of spending over 100 on digital deluxe versions of games seems crazy to many people but to me the idea of paying 60 or 70 is just as mad. I doubt Ive paid more than 50 for anything in over a decade.I imagine I dont need to spell out my main reasons for doing this, but I feel the ever increasing prices of games makes the savings I enjoy all the more important. Despite the maximum price of games constantly rising I find the minimum is exactly where it always was and even if a game is sold for 70 at the start it can quickly drop to 20 or less in a few months, or at most a year. I just checked Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League and it was 23 on Amazon earlier in the month and is now 18 in their Black Friday sale.Im not sure Ubisoft fully realise this, but the moment Star Wars Outlaws got an August release date its fate was sealed. Every sensible person knew it would end up in the Black Friday sales and lo and behold its currently the headliner for most stores, at around 40 depending on the format. Ive already picked it up.Actually, I say Ubisoft dont realise it but I dont think its any coincidence that the games big new patch and the Lando Calrissian DLC came out this week. I dont think they realised the game was doomed when they first planned its release date, but they clearly know now that everyones waiting to get it cheap during Black Friday.Im not going to insist everyone do what I do or suggest anyones wrong for buying day one or soon after, but for me it makes no sense. Maybe if I was into multiplayer games I could see some exceptions, since nobody wants to start the latest Call Of Duty after everyone else has had six months of practice, but thats not my thing so it doesnt affect me.I will say though that buying late not only saves money, but it means that the game itself is almost certain to be working properly, no matter what it was like at launch, and often it has some substantial DLC ready as well, that I dont have to wait a year or more for.The only downside is potential spoilers for story-based games, but I cant say Ive ever had any real problems with that, since its fairly easy to avoid the places that would obviously give things away.More TrendingIts a great way to buy and enjoy games and allows me the freedom to take risks with what I buy, in case I dont like it, since I know I can easily just resell the game on eBay if I dont like it. There really is no need to buy games the way publishers want you too and I feel Ive both saved money and kept my hardcore credentials.By reader Tacle Suicide Squad is cheaper than chips in less than a year (Warner Bros. Games)The readers features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you wont need to send an email.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy