Game Avalache 2015: Guide to the Fall Game Rush

In a few short weeks, we enter the craziest time of the year—the avalanche known as the fall game releases. The sheer amount of games releasing in the period of one month is unbelievable. Most of them of huge AAA titles, like Halo 5, Black Ops III, Fallout 4, and Star Wars Battlefront, that will easily make a big dent in your wallet. With all these great games permeating store shelves the world over, the temptation of buying them all is definitely there. Unless you have a whole lot of disposable money, you sadly can't afford buying every game outright. For those money conscientious people out there, I'm here with some tips and tricks to help you through this trying time.

Pick and Choose
With new games selling for 70 to 80 dollars a piece, it's just too expensive to be buying every major release nowadays. Add in the nearly 20 hour plus campaigns and/or extensive multiplayer suites of modern titles, there is no way one person can beat each game in time for the next big release. There is too much coming out and not enough time or money to play them all right now. With all that in mind, best to stick with one or two new titles this holiday season and get the most out of them rather than trying to cram them all in.

Use Alternative Funding
Money can be an issue, especially for students and those dealing with debt. While it is important to budget your money in order to afford the necessities of life, the urge to get the latest and greatest game can be hard to overcome. If you need to pick up a game at launch with limited funds, it might be best to look at your backlog and see if there are any games you are willing to part with. Since most retailers nowadays accept games and other pieces of media for trade-in credit, trading in older titles is a viable solution for funding new game purchases.

Forewarning: don't go in expecting to get more than five dollars a game. Video game prices are in constant flux, so a title's trade-in value can change weekly based on factors such as rarity, popularity, or age. Unless a game's rarity or popularity trumps its age, the older the title is, the lower its resell value will be. Also the resell price of yearly releases, especially sports games, plummets once the newest entry hits store shelves. So it's best to trade those titles in before the new game comes out. Plus, keep an eye out for trade promotions because they will get you more money for the games you're looking to trade.

Play the Waiting Game
Good things come for those who wait. This adage is especially true when it comes to video game shopping during the holiday season. If you don't feel like buying a game within the first week of release, it's better to just wait. Sales happen regularly over the course of the last two months of the year. You might just find the game you're thinking of buying for 10 to 20 dollars off (sometimes more on Black Friday or Boxing Day) or somebody may give it to you for Christmas. Holding off your money spending urges might lead to the best rewards during this expensive season.

Boxing Day Deals

Every year after Christmas, here in the Great White North, in order to get rid of a lot of stock, stores put on huge sales on almost everything from DVDs and games to big name appliances.  It is Canada's version of Black Friday, but instead of rabid people almost killing each other for great deals, most Canadians are a little more polite.  You will still get rude and inconsiderate people in Canada, they are just a little more dispersed than in the US.  With Boxing Day comes big sales on some of the biggest games of the year.  Making it the best time for gamers to run to their nearest mall, big box store or game store for some huge sales on games they could not afford earlier this year.

A lot of the big deals on video game consoles are the same across every store you go to.  The 4 GB model of the Xbox 360 Slim is 130 dollars, the 160 GB model of the PS3 Slim is 200 dollars, the Nintendo 3DS is 140 dollars and the PlayStation 3D Display is 300 dollars (200 dollars cheaper than it originally came out) at any store you go to.  If you are looking for just games themselves, stick to EB Games as they have the best deals.  The two huge sales are Assassin's Creed: Revelation for only 20 dollars (40 dollars in savings) and Saint's Row: The Third and Rage for 30 dollars (30 dollars in savings).  These deals are for just today only so if you want them, make sure you beat the crowds or you will have to wait in long lines.  That is not all because the other games are dropping in price from Rayman Origins to Mortal Kombat.  EB also has great deals on used games and systems with savings of 10% off all the way up to 50% off depending on the amount of used games you buy.

If you plan on going out at all today, make sure you know what you are looking for because no matter where you go it will be very very busy.  Easiest thing will be to check online to find the deals you are looking for and mark them down so you remember what to get.  It will be one insane day.  Hope you enjoyed my little Boxing Day Deals primer and have a good day shopping or avoiding shopping.