You would think that one of the hardest decisions to make after completing a game is which game am I going to play next, but it’s not. The hardest decision that I have to make after completing a game is what I’m going to do with it. Should I keep it just in case one day I have absolutely nothing else to play and decide to go back and play this particular game? (The way my backlog is right now I’m 99% sure this is never going to happen, but you never know.) Should I sell it and get some extra cash so that I could buy…well more video games of course. Or should I trade it into my near by video game store or even trade with someone for another game in return? Decisions, decisions! There are good and bad points to each of these, but I have a couple of general rules that I follow when it comes to what to do with a game when I’m finished with it.
When it comes to keeping games, I only keep the games that I absolutely love. Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Borderlands are just a few of those game series that when I finish with them I just can’t let go of them. Why keep these games even if I’ve gotten that platinum trophy or the 100%? I keep them because some days I want to play something that I’m familiar with. I don’t want a new game experience and I don’t want to try something new unsure if I’m going to like it or not, I just want something that I know and something that I’m comfortable with. It’s like that old T-shirt that you keep. Sure it has a bunch of holes in it and maybe a few random stains here and there, but it’s comfortable. It’s familiar. These games do that for me so I’ll keep them in my collection.
When it comes to selling games, I’ll sell the games that I really didn’t enjoy or know for a fact that I will never play them again. Assassin’s Creed, inFAMOUS: Second Son, Tearaway, and a hell of a lot more. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed a lot of these games and thought they were great, but I’m just never going to play them ever again and I know for a fact that I’m never going to want to play them again. Take inFAMOUS: Second Son for example. This was one of the best games for the PS4 so far hands down. I spent quite a bit of time fully immersed in Deslin’s life and the beautiful city of Seattle. So why sell it? Because I’m done with the game. I played Deslin as the good guy and I played him as the bad guy. I also did everything that the game had to offer. All of the side missions, all of the collectibles, all of the bonus missions. There were no new experiences for me to have with this game and there wasn’t a way to see things in a different light if I were to play again. Why keep a game knowing that I’m never going to play it again especially if I could make some extra money on it?
To be honest, I’ve never traded any of my games with someone. I came really really close to it once but things just didn’t work out. There’s a lot of trust when it comes to trading games with another person. If you give your game to someone are you 100% positive that you’re going to get another game in return? Maybe you will and maybe you won’t. You can never really be certain. Another thing is that a lot of my friends have the same exact game that I do so what would we be trading? To me it just makes no sense to trade games with someone else. I would also never ever “trade in” my game to a big box game retailer. Why? Because they totally rip you off. Most of the time you can’t even get cash for your trade in you either get store credit for a gift card that you then have to turn around and use at the same store. So they get a game that they’re going to sell for double to triple the price that they gave you and you get some store credit or a gift card for your next purchase. Gee, thanks. That extra $5 really helped me out.
Final Verdict? Keep the games that you absolutely love, sell the games that you’re done with and have no use for anymore, but never ever trade your games. If you don’t want a game when you’re finished with it you can easily sell new releases 1-2 months after release for $39-49 depending on the game. That’s some serious cash that can go right in your pocket.
1 Broke Gamer Girl 