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Purchase vs Rent

Published: Tue 28 Oct, 2008 | 18 Comments
Tags: Mirror's Edge, Motorstorm 2, Resistance 2, Tomb Raider: Underworld, LittleBigPlanet, Guitar Hero, Dead Space, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Sonic Unleashed, Valkyria Chronicles

It's that time of the year again: when every frickin' game under the sun comes out in one big chunk as publishers desperately try and grab themselves a slice of your holiday dollars. If I was to list every game that I took even a passing interest in... in fact, I will.

-- Mirror's Edge
-- Motorstorm 2
-- Resistance 2
-- Tomb Raider: Underworld
-- LiitleBigPlanet
-- Guitar Hero: World Tour
-- Dead Space
-- Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
-- Sonic Unleashed
-- Valkyria Chronicles

At full price, that's like $1000 worth of software right there. I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of cash to blow on games. So, for me, it comes down to working out what I'm going to spend my hard-earned cash on and what I'm going to simply try out for a few days by hiring from the local video shop. How do I decide this? Well, I have a set of criteria that must be filled.

Value

Perhaps the biggest one for me, a game has to offer value for money. Now, it doesn't have to be a 150-hour epic and it doesn't need to have multiplayer. It just needs to give me something that I couldn't get out of an eight-day rental. Immediately, I'm thinking that Tomb Raider, Mirror's Edge, and Dead Space do not fit this criteria. Resistance 2 and LittleBigPlanet are sure bets, and depending on how much fun Sonic Unleashed is (ie, is it worth playing more than once?), that might also fit the criteria too. So we can cull the above list down a little.

Genre

Generally speaking, for me to want to purchase a game it has to be in a genre that is absent from my gaming library. At the very least, I have to have exhausted all potential value from the titles I do own in that genre. Immediately, we can eliminate Naruto and Motorstorm 2, as I'm still engaged with Soulcalibur IV, Ridge Racer 7, and Juiced 2. Guitar Hero is also out as I just bought Rock Band. I'm still churning through Persona 3, so that elimates Valkyria Chronicles. Sonic just squeaks in because I only have Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty and that's not really a very long game. So, now we have a list that contains Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet, Sonic Unleashed.

Quality (or Is It Worth $100)

Next, we have the big question: can I assure myself that the game in question is worth $100+? Resistance: Fall of Man was a great co-op game and they have really upped the ante on the sequel, so that looks like it's a safe bet. I've also played LittleBigPlanet and I know that rocks. Sonic, however, is an unknown entity. I mean, some of it looks cool, and then some of it looks like what a boardroom thinks is cool. It's not worth slapping down $100 on a game I'm not sure is going to be good.

Pre-order Incentives (or Go On, Bribe Me)

Finally, we have the real reason not to wait for a game to go on sale or go Platinum. Resistance 2 doesn't offer, as far as I know, any kind of pre-order bonus, although it's still a few weeks away so EBsman might not have got their s*** together on that front. LittleBigPlanet, however, offers me the chance to get a very cute Nariko Sackgirl if I pre-order and purchase on day one. Consider me successfully bribed.

So, after these criteria, I have taken a list of ten games and taken it down to one, possibly two. This is saving me at least 80% of the money I would have spent otherwise. By having these criteria, I make sure that my wallet is heavier and that my gaming library is more refined. Sure, Dead Space looks tempting, but am I really going to play it more than once? (I learnt my lesson from Metal Gear Solid 4). So, ultimately, you can consider my holiday purchases to be LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2. The rest of the money I save I will use to set aside for Street Fighter IV, because that game has Sakura and that just means I have to purchase it.

So how about you? How do you decide what games you purchase and what games you rent? And if you buy a lot, how do you finance/justify the purchases?

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