2008 Woodie Awards
Gaming on a Budget
ROBERTO VALENTIN,OBSERVER STAFF WRITER
Issue date: 10/13/08 Section: Life & Leisure
With the fall semester in full swing, many of us have little time in our day for part time jobs. Chances are that those of us that do work are trying to find whatever shortcuts we can in order to save money. Well, just because you're low on dough it doesn't mean you have to miss out on some solid gaming. The following are my top three tips for saving money and still playing games.
Used Games
This is my least favorite tip, but it helps none the less. The market for used games has resulted in huge profits for game stores such as Game Stop, EB Games and the like. While the savings on fairly recent games are usually only around $5-$10, you can find some slightly older gems for more than half off. Even better, if you're lucky, you can find some games that are cult classics and out of print. For anyone that has an original Xbox, I strongly suggest picking up "Beyond Good and Evil." Classics like these run for about $10.
My only problem with the used games market is that newer games are still overpriced. The stores buy these games back for about $30, only to turn around and sell it for $55. But if you don't care about playing the newest games and just want some solid titles, than buying used games isn't a bad option.
Do What We
Always Do
Let's be honest; when was the last time you bought a CD or DVD? These days we pirate everything media related. In the past, playing pirated games meant that you had to modify your console. That entailed opening it up and being handy with a soldering iron. But like everything else, playing pirated games has been made much simpler. You still have to open up the consoles but, for some systems, soldering a chip is no longer necessary. Now you can just flash your drive and be off. But the process still isn't the most user friendly process… at least for consoles!
The best method for playing pirated games lies in the handheld market. With the PSP and the DS, opening up the handhelds is not necessary. For the most part, all you have to do is download software and put it on whatever form of memory the console uses. Take the Nintendo DS for example. I can't tell you where to find it, but you can find and buy a blank DS cartridge. The blank cartridge has a slot for a micro SD card. You download roms (and there are plenty of good sites for that), put them on the SD card and insert it into the blank cartridge. For those who need their hand held (See what I did there?), a simple YouTube search can give you step-by-step instructions. But of course remember, while this is the most cost effective method, it's also the most illegal. And we here at the Observer do not condone illegal activities.
Used Games
This is my least favorite tip, but it helps none the less. The market for used games has resulted in huge profits for game stores such as Game Stop, EB Games and the like. While the savings on fairly recent games are usually only around $5-$10, you can find some slightly older gems for more than half off. Even better, if you're lucky, you can find some games that are cult classics and out of print. For anyone that has an original Xbox, I strongly suggest picking up "Beyond Good and Evil." Classics like these run for about $10.
My only problem with the used games market is that newer games are still overpriced. The stores buy these games back for about $30, only to turn around and sell it for $55. But if you don't care about playing the newest games and just want some solid titles, than buying used games isn't a bad option.
Do What We
Always Do
Let's be honest; when was the last time you bought a CD or DVD? These days we pirate everything media related. In the past, playing pirated games meant that you had to modify your console. That entailed opening it up and being handy with a soldering iron. But like everything else, playing pirated games has been made much simpler. You still have to open up the consoles but, for some systems, soldering a chip is no longer necessary. Now you can just flash your drive and be off. But the process still isn't the most user friendly process… at least for consoles!
The best method for playing pirated games lies in the handheld market. With the PSP and the DS, opening up the handhelds is not necessary. For the most part, all you have to do is download software and put it on whatever form of memory the console uses. Take the Nintendo DS for example. I can't tell you where to find it, but you can find and buy a blank DS cartridge. The blank cartridge has a slot for a micro SD card. You download roms (and there are plenty of good sites for that), put them on the SD card and insert it into the blank cartridge. For those who need their hand held (See what I did there?), a simple YouTube search can give you step-by-step instructions. But of course remember, while this is the most cost effective method, it's also the most illegal. And we here at the Observer do not condone illegal activities.
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