Games are expensive, here's some tips

[Mittens]

Games now cost more in many parts of the world - it's a reality we have to deal with. It requires some of us to be resourceful and choose our games well. Even if you aren't so concerned with saving money, you may benefit from some of these tips if they're easy for you. I'll share my experiences with mistakes I've made and if you feel like adding your own tips, this could help everyone!

Recommendations:

1. Create a large wishlist of the games you wish to buy and rank them from largest discount offered. This helps you find something you love in your budget range most times of the year. You're unlikely to be able to play everything, so allow your wishlist games to compete with each other.

2. Buy games outside of Steam and redeem their codes or buy them on another platform. I weigh this up with my desire to access Steam achievements.

3. Save your wishlist of games for major sales events like Black Friday or anniversary events with your developers and publishers of choice.

4. It's essential that we have some people that like playing Early Access games as soon as they come out so they can help developers and publishers refine features, but you're likely to potentially miss out. I made this mistake with Dragon Quest XI, where I didn't have access to the 2D switching mode or the orchestral soundtrack which unfortunately for me was included in a separate definitive version released approximately two years later.

5. Play games that have a great play time to cost ratio. For me, I look at reviews to see an average length of time people play the game and use that to understand how much I may enjoy, pay, and get out of a game.

6. My most egregious Steam purchases have been with DLC (I'm looking at you Stellaris and City Skylines). It's better to look at these in whole, together with average length of playtime to see if there is another game without DLC that you could enjoy at a much lower cost. Alternatively, wait until a complete collection in one bundle comes out together with a sale to save your budget for other things. I don't want you to have post-purchase regret!

7. On a final note, let your friends know when you've come across a fantastic deal they might enjoy and we can all help each other out.

Feel welcome to add to the list and good luck!

[76561199807885542]

Appreciate this a lot, man. Never bought a game before since I’m broke, but with these tips, I might actually manage to. That’s some real FitGirl-level help, respect.🫡

[Certified Auto User™]

Originally posted by Mittens:

Games now cost more in many parts of the world - it's a reality we have to deal with. It requires some of us to be resourceful and choose our games well. Even if you aren't so concerned with saving money, you may benefit from some of these tips if they're easy for you. I'll share my experiences with mistakes I've made and if you feel like adding your own tips, this could help everyone!

Recommendations:

1. Create a large wishlist of the games you wish to buy and rank them from largest discount offered. This helps you find something you love in your budget range most times of the year. You're unlikely to be able to play everything, so allow your wishlist games to compete with each other.

2. Buy games outside of Steam and redeem their codes or buy them on another platform. I weigh this up with my desire to access Steam achievements.

3. Save your wishlist of games for major sales events like Black Friday or anniversary events with your developers and publishers of choice.

4. It's essential that we have some people that like playing Early Access games as soon as they come out so they can help developers and publishers refine features, but you're likely to potentially miss out. I made this mistake with Dragon Quest XI, where I didn't have access to the 2D switching mode or the orchestral soundtrack which unfortunately for me was included in a separate definitive version released approximately two years later.

5. Play games that have a great play time to cost ratio. For me, I look at reviews to see an average length of time people play the game and use that to understand how much I may enjoy, pay, and get out of a game.

6. My most egregious Steam purchases have been with DLC (I'm looking at you Stellaris and City Skylines). It's better to look at these in whole, together with average length of playtime to see if there is another game without DLC that you could enjoy at a much lower cost. Alternatively, wait until a complete collection in one bundle comes out together with a sale to save your budget for other things. I don't want you to have post-purchase regret!

7. On a final note, let your friends know when you've come across a fantastic deal they might enjoy and we can all help each other out.

Feel welcome to add to the list and good luck!

average chatgpt post

[Silicon Vampire]

Seems ai isn’t so bright after all…

[Бобок]

It reminds me of those guides: ‘how to start the game? press PLAY and the game will start’. They are useful for lots of people, judging by their awards.

[Mittens]

Originally posted by MountainDew_is_BestSodaEverMade:

Appreciate this a lot, man. Never bought a game before since I’m broke, but with these tips, I might actually manage to. That’s some real FitGirl-level help, respect.🫡

Thanks! You've got this

[Mittens]

So, due to the discussion about AI, I prompted ChatGPT for some answers - some of which I didn't think about and might help y'all.

I asked "What are some ways to buy Steam games at the lowest cost possible?"

ChatGPT responded:

"There are several strategies to buy Steam games at the lowest possible price:

Steam Sales: Steam regularly holds large sales like the Summer Sale, Winter Sale, Autumn Sale, and Spring Sale, where most games are heavily discounted. Keep an eye out for these seasonal events and add games to your wishlist to be notified when they go on sale.

Third-Party Key Sites: Websites like Humble Bundle, Green Man Gaming, and Fanatical often sell Steam keys at discounted prices. They frequently have promotions and bundles where you can pay less for games, sometimes even paying what you want for a bundle.

Steam Wishlist: Add games you're interested in to your Steam wishlist. Steam will notify you when those games go on sale, ensuring you get the lowest price possible when the game discounts.

Price Tracking Websites: Websites like CheapShark or isthereanydeal.com track Steam game prices across multiple regions and sites. They’ll alert you to the lowest prices available at any given time.

Regional Pricing: Steam has different pricing for different regions. Sometimes using a VPN can give you access to lower prices, depending on your region and the region you choose. Be cautious, though, as this could violate Steam's terms of service, and it's important to check whether this is allowed in your country.

Steam Subscriptions and Bundles: Services like Humble Monthly (now called Humble Choice) or Xbox Game Pass for PC offer access to a large library of games for a monthly fee, which can be a cost-effective way to play many games without buying each one individually. Occasionally, Humble Bundles also offer Steam keys at low prices when you pay more than the average for a collection of games.

Early Access or Pre-Orders: Some games are cheaper during their early access or pre-order period, although this may come with risks since the game might not be finished or have bugs.

Promotions and Flash Deals: Watch out for limited-time promotions on various websites. Steam itself sometimes holds flash deals that offer steep discounts for a short period.

Trade with Friends: If you have friends who play Steam games, you can sometimes trade Steam gifts or items to get games at a lower price.

Steam Gift Cards: Sometimes you can find discounted Steam gift cards on other websites or promotions, which you can use to buy games at a lower overall cost.

By combining these methods and keeping an eye on the market, you'll be able to secure the best possible deals!"

[RPG Gamer Man]

I already have a big wishlist and use it for the same purpose, to debate which games i want to buy. I would also avoid buying Early Access games as alot of times they get abadoned after awhile.

Oh yea #4, i did that too..i am still pissed off square enix pulled that stunt and made the S version, while im stuck with original delisted version.

Maybe i will rebuy when it goes down to 10 dollars or less.

[Silicon Vampire]

I've wish-listed Early access games more than a decade ago and many are still NOT released. I remove them every time I run across one in my wish-list. I would never purchase EA with that track record. With all the issues with support and "moderation" as of late, that is not going to be any kind of problem anymore.

If alienating decades old account owners with 1300+ game on a SINGLE account (over 2500 in our Steam Family group), they have done a great job. They have made us STOP all purchasing unless ♥♥♥♥ gets better.

[RPG Gamer Man]

Originally posted by Silicon Vampire:

I've wish-listed Early access games more than a decade ago and many are still NOT released. I remove them every time I run across one in my wish-list. I would never purchase EA with that track record. With all the issues with support and "moderation" as of late, that is not going to be any kind of problem anymore.

If alienating decades old account owners with 1300+ game on a SINGLE account (over 2500 in our Steam Family group), they have done a great job. They have made us STOP all purchasing unless ♥♥♥♥ gets better.

The good thing is now steam warns players on Early Access games in telling you how long the game was updated last. This is always good transparency for all the buyers. The more transparency, the better for all of us consumers.

[RPG Gamer Man]

Waiting also for a sale on major rpg games, like some that came out near end of last year. if you can wait and be patient, you can buy mainstream RPGS at low prices, even at 90% off. i got one of the mana games from square enix for this price.

[Cryptic]

a tip to be able to get games: find work. not being a jerk, just realistic.

[JacquesPatat]

not bad list, but you are missing a few side advice tips. point 1, be careful of sites, as there are sites what is not legit sites, point 2 if using a website what is not steam, look at their refund policy. Point 3 sometimes buying a bundle instead of buying the things in the bundle individually can save you money as well

[Бобок]

Originally posted by Cryptic:

a tip to be able to get games: find work. not being a jerk, just realistic.

And where to find time to play those games then?

[GRIMM]

Here's the condensed version without all the unnecessary filler

1.) Wait for sales on Steam. Wishlisting also helps since you can sort and filter.
2.) Use https://isthereanydeal.com/ to find good deals on games outside of Steam that can be activated here. ITAD also doesn't list gray market sites. Everything is partnered.
3.) Check Humble Bundle[www.humblebundle.com] and Fanatical[www.fanatical.com] frequently for bundles.
4.) Use steamdb[steamdb.info] to keep track of record lows on sales to make sure you are getting the best deal if you can only purchase it directly through steam.

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

If you are old enough, invest in a HYSA (High-Yield Savings Account).

I buy like idk, about $1k worth of games/year with the interest compounded and received.