Student Life: Gaming on a Budget

Given the tendency in most students for being frugal (i.e. stingy) and the high price of new releases, the majority can only afford to put up the cash for the occasional must-have games without fear of having to cut into their alcohol fund for the evening. However, this has led to the rise and rise of the second hand games market.

Shops like Gamestation have made a business out of re-selling games that have been played to death by countless users, only to be sold on again to another happy buyer. For most of us, pre-owned games have simply become a staple of our gaming diet. But the trek to the shops that have them can be long and tiring, which is why you can now turn to the trusty Internet to supply all your gaming needs.

As always there is the ever-reliable eBay, which holds bargains aplenty if you know what to look for and when to bid. Nigerian cash scams aside, it's a reliable way of getting the rarer games which are harder to come by as well as the newer releases at a much cheaper price than in the high-street shops.

Another wallet-friendly concept, which has recently made the transition from dvd to games, is online rental services, where you pay a monthly fee and have titles delivered to your door. The best part of this is there's no rushing to get it back on time, you can keep it as long as you want.
There's a lot of competition in this new market, and with most offering a 10 day free trial, there's nothing to be lost by trying it out. Some of the dvd-rental companies also do some limited game service but companies like Nimblethumbs.com, Postboxgames.com and Swapgame.com are more specialised.

Monthly payments too much hassle? Also new on the scene is swopex.com, a new trading website, where you look for the games you want, and offer the ones you want to trade-in. What could be simpler?