Where do you buy your games from?

Squeekmore · 05-05-2006, 05:34 PM

I’m curious – where does everyone buy their games from?

I live in Vancouver, Canada (or near enough) and when I’m looking for adventure games if I see one on a shelf it’s an event that I need a double-shot at Starbuck’s just to get through. If the game is the one I’m actually looking for, well, I can’t tell you what I’d do because I can’t remember the last time it happened.

EB has had the great idea of only carrying a top-40 group of PC games, which isn’t likely to include many adventures. Not only does EB not have Dreamfall or Paradise, they’ve never even heard of them in my local stores. My other choices are Future Shop, which has Paradise online but not in-store, Best Buy (which is the same thing as Future Shop except it’s blue), London Drugs, Staples (and other office stores) and that’s about it.

The only place I can find in Canada to buy Dreamfall is Amazon.ca, and Paradise at Amazon or Future Shop online.

It’s irritating me because I’d like to get one or the other for my vacation next week (I’ll be on a plane for about 12 hours) and online will not get them to me in time. I wish I could just download them from the publisher.

So, where do you go to get your fix?

Hamham Chan · 05-05-2006, 05:50 PM

Since i live in a small town with no gamestores, i have to buy all my games online.

Iceadventure · 05-05-2006, 06:46 PM

Only the high profile adventure games get in stores here. Like fahrenheit, broken sword 3 and the syberia games and games like that. Games like nibiru and black mirror for example don´t get here. So when I can then I buy my adventures at the store. Recently I have been getting game sent from denmark so I have gotten all the games I have wanted and missed in the last 2 or 3 years. I don´t have a credit card to order games online so the ways mentioned above is how I get adventure games.

05-05-2006, 08:07 PM

Amazon most of the time, and GameXChange (local) sometimes. I'm boycotting EB for terrible service.

Trunkyo · 05-05-2006, 10:37 PM

Hmm, there's another thread about the availability of Dreamfall in Canada...

Anyway, I think I've replied about buying games in a different thread before, but here I go again:

New games:

EBGames (now 6 locations in my city

): They generally sell most of the recent games, Dreamfall included, also Paradise, Crime Stories (Martin Mystère), Keepsake, Scratches, Daemonica. Guess who bought practically all of the used adventure games they were selling???

(Selection of used games varies greatly by store.) The service isn't too bad here, the salespeople are mostly knowledgeable and courteous, so it just depends on the store, I guess.

Wal-mart: Sells some of the newer titles cheaper than EB.
I recently bought AGON (Mysterious Codex), Scratches and Crime Stories each for under $20 CDN!

Also available: The Black Mirror, Syberia 1, Nancy Drew games for under $10.

Staples: Also sells some newer titles. The best bargains here are for older TAC games (i.e. at least a year after their original release), which are sold in smaller boxes (CD size, some without jewel cases, only paper sleeves), for $12.99 or less. (Aura, Jack the Ripper, Mysterious Journey II, ECHO), Also, 2-disc version of TLJ, Beyond Good and Evil.

Older, non-rare games:
I try to find online game stores in the US and the UK that still sell new copies, or use Amazon (Runaway, Broken Sword 1&2, Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Journey to the Center of the Earth, URU: CC, Gabriel Knight 3, The Dig)

Used games:
EB, and Value Village stores. Sometimes you can find a real gem of a game at VV, in my case, a lot of Sierra games (King's Quest 4 & 6, Space Quest 4, Torin's Passage, Conquests of the Longbow) and titles like The Neverhood, Toonstruck, Blade Runner.

Hard-to-find, rare games:
eBay, of course. I recently managed to snag Reah and Obsidian, but I've been outbid more times than I care to remember for The Black Dahlia!!!

Terramax · 05-06-2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamham Chan

Since i live in a small town with no gamestores, i have to buy all my games online.

That SUCKS! I mean, my city isn't very big really but we have 4 in the town centre area.

Despite this, I usually get mine off of Amazon or Ebay. I spend most of my time and money getting really old adventures that won't be found in stores, or PS2 games which are for sale for about 5quid on the net.

Reflection · 05-06-2006, 01:22 AM

eBay, DVDBoxoffice.com, Amazon.co.uk, and another I can't remember.

RLacey · 05-06-2006, 01:30 AM

I buy my games wherever they're cheapest - which could be online or in the high street - though I tend to only buy on eBay if something is unavailable elsewhere.

Jelena · 05-06-2006, 02:04 AM

We´ve got two gamestores where I live and I´ve bought a couple of games there when I´ve found good prices. Mostly from online stores though since it´s so convenient. And since not all games are released in Sweden I also buy from Amazon.UK

mbv · 05-06-2006, 02:34 AM

I'm in the UK and usually buy from Play.com or Amazon.co.uk, but recently I have had to resort to the JA Game shop in the US because so many of the new games are released late in the UK (Scratches) or have no release date at all (Paradise).

LeisureSuitedLooney · 05-06-2006, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squeekmore

Best Buy (which is the same thing as Future Shop except it’s blue)

Weird...my local Best Buy (Nashua, NH) has Dreamfall, The Black Mirror, NiBiRu, Still Life, Missing:Since January, Paradise, Keepsake, Daemonica, Crime Stories, and Beyond Good & Evil. All on-shelf, not online.

In other words? Move to Nashua!!!!

Dasilva · 05-06-2006, 04:29 AM

play.com - I buy everything there.

paul1275 · 05-06-2006, 04:29 AM

Usually get my games from Amazon. The prices in the UK vary so much from store to store. I try to stay away from the high street as much as possible due to the amount they hike up their prices.

Recently I've had to start using companies other than Amazon. Games like "The 13th Victim" are not being released in the UK by The Adventure Games Company so I have to do some jiggery pokery to get hold of them.

In the long run, Amazon is a great one stop shop and has good reviews of the games.

Terramax · 05-06-2006, 05:13 AM

BTW to all UK people, go to GAME.COM and get 'The Moment Of Silence' for 1.99 and about 2pounds P+P. I got mine for less than 5 new and received 2 days later. Not bad ^^

such great heights · 05-06-2006, 05:35 AM

Amazon, mainly. The Gamestop near my house has a very crappy selection of PC Games, though I'm sure they'll be getting lots of my money once I get a DS! There's a fantastic EB Games at the mall, but there are few things worse than driving to that damned mall.

colpet · 05-06-2006, 07:27 AM

I'm in Ontario, and I usually find new games at my local EB or Staples. I was just at EB yesterday and they had Dreamfall , Paradise, and Keepsake.
Other than that, I buy a lot of indy games from the developer whenever possible, or buy games through JA+ - they have a great selection and only $4 shipping to Canada.
http://www.justadventure.com/BuyGamesJA.shtm

For used games, you can't beat the Trading Post at Gameboomers. The vast majority of my older games were aquired that way.

RLacey · 05-06-2006, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terramax

BTW to all UK people, go to GAME.COM and get 'The Moment Of Silence' for 1.99 and about 2pounds P+P. I got mine for less than 5 new and received 2 days later. Not bad ^^

Actually, postage is free from them this weekend

.

It does though, allow me to raise the point that high street shop discounts are often substantial. Occasionally they reduce something to a crazy price, and that's when I actually buy from a shop.

Squeekmore · 05-06-2006, 12:05 PM

Thanks for the info everyone, I've never thought to go to Wal-Mart and browse the software section. I went there today and picked up Paradise - still no sign of Dreamfall though. Maybe I'll go to Zellers soon!

rtrooney · 05-06-2006, 12:25 PM

Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, CompUSA. I rarely go to a game specialty store. The help is surprisingly unhelpful and they are usually charging full price for older games.

Amazon and similar online retailers. I've ordered from Canada on occasion when a game was being released there before there was distribution in the US.

wezyap · 05-06-2006, 01:46 PM

i buy most of my games from amazon.com since buying on from the u.s is way cheaper then buying the same game from a local store here, even when you have to pay shipment, also buy some games from the companies web shops.
resently bought TLJ 2 disk edition from the funcom online shop for 14 bananas.

05-05-2006, 05:34 PM	#1
Squeekmore Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 6	Where do you buy your games from? I’m curious – where does everyone buy their games from? I live in Vancouver, Canada (or near enough) and when I’m looking for adventure games if I see one on a shelf it’s an event that I need a double-shot at Starbuck’s just to get through. If the game is the one I’m actually looking for, well, I can’t tell you what I’d do because I can’t remember the last time it happened. EB has had the great idea of only carrying a top-40 group of PC games, which isn’t likely to include many adventures. Not only does EB not have Dreamfall or Paradise, they’ve never even heard of them in my local stores. My other choices are Future Shop, which has Paradise online but not in-store, Best Buy (which is the same thing as Future Shop except it’s blue), London Drugs, Staples (and other office stores) and that’s about it. The only place I can find in Canada to buy Dreamfall is Amazon.ca, and Paradise at Amazon or Future Shop online. It’s irritating me because I’d like to get one or the other for my vacation next week (I’ll be on a plane for about 12 hours) and online will not get them to me in time. I wish I could just download them from the publisher. So, where do you go to get your fix? Share Share this post on Twitter

05-05-2006, 05:50 PM	#2
Hamham Chan Fulci lives Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 981	Since i live in a small town with no gamestores, i have to buy all my games online. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ - And you will face the sea of darkness and all therein that may be explored -

05-05-2006, 06:46 PM	#3
Iceadventure Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 303	Only the high profile adventure games get in stores here. Like fahrenheit, broken sword 3 and the syberia games and games like that. Games like nibiru and black mirror for example don´t get here. So when I can then I buy my adventures at the store. Recently I have been getting game sent from denmark so I have gotten all the games I have wanted and missed in the last 2 or 3 years. I don´t have a credit card to order games online so the ways mentioned above is how I get adventure games. Share Share this post on Twitter

05-05-2006, 08:07 PM	#4
SamNMax Guest Posts: n/a	Amazon most of the time, and GameXChange (local) sometimes. I'm boycotting EB for terrible service. Share Share this post on Twitter

05-05-2006, 10:37 PM	#5
Trunkyo Beamin' Demon Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: C&D HQ in London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 3,005	Hmm, there's another thread about the availability of Dreamfall in Canada... Anyway, I think I've replied about buying games in a different thread before, but here I go again: New games: EBGames (now 6 locations in my city ): They generally sell most of the recent games, Dreamfall included, also Paradise, Crime Stories (Martin Mystère), Keepsake, Scratches, Daemonica. Guess who bought practically all of the used adventure games they were selling??? (Selection of used games varies greatly by store.) The service isn't too bad here, the salespeople are mostly knowledgeable and courteous, so it just depends on the store, I guess. Wal-mart: Sells some of the newer titles cheaper than EB. I recently bought AGON (Mysterious Codex), Scratches and Crime Stories each for under $20 CDN! Also available: The Black Mirror, Syberia 1, Nancy Drew games for under $10. Staples: Also sells some newer titles. The best bargains here are for older TAC games (i.e. at least a year after their original release), which are sold in smaller boxes (CD size, some without jewel cases, only paper sleeves), for $12.99 or less. (Aura, Jack the Ripper, Mysterious Journey II, ECHO), Also, 2-disc version of TLJ, Beyond Good and Evil. Older, non-rare games: I try to find online game stores in the US and the UK that still sell new copies, or use Amazon (Runaway, Broken Sword 1&2, Zork: Grand Inquisitor, Journey to the Center of the Earth, URU: CC, Gabriel Knight 3, The Dig) Used games: EB, and Value Village stores. Sometimes you can find a real gem of a game at VV, in my case, a lot of Sierra games (King's Quest 4 & 6, Space Quest 4, Torin's Passage, Conquests of the Longbow) and titles like The Neverhood, Toonstruck, Blade Runner. Hard-to-find, rare games: eBay, of course. I recently managed to snag Reah and Obsidian, but I've been outbid more times than I care to remember for The Black Dahlia!!! Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world. Jack Layton, 1950-2011 Last edited by Trunkyo; 05-05-2006 at 10:43 PM.

05-06-2006, 01:22 AM	#7
Reflection Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 517	eBay, DVDBoxoffice.com, Amazon.co.uk, and another I can't remember. Share Share this post on Twitter

05-06-2006, 01:30 AM	#8
RLacey The Thread™ will die. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 22,542	I buy my games wherever they're cheapest - which could be online or in the high street - though I tend to only buy on eBay if something is unavailable elsewhere. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ RLacey \| Killer of the Thread™ I do not change to be perfect. Perfect changes to be me.

05-06-2006, 02:04 AM	#9
Jelena Lazy Bee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 7,518	We´ve got two gamestores where I live and I´ve bought a couple of games there when I´ve found good prices. Mostly from online stores though since it´s so convenient. And since not all games are released in Sweden I also buy from Amazon.UK Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Temporary guest in your life

05-06-2006, 02:34 AM	#10
mbv Junior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 8	I'm in the UK and usually buy from Play.com or Amazon.co.uk, but recently I have had to resort to the JA Game shop in the US because so many of the new games are released late in the UK (Scratches) or have no release date at all (Paradise). Share Share this post on Twitter

05-06-2006, 04:29 AM	#12
Dasilva Hitch-Hiker Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: The Mediterranean Sea Posts: 4,364	play.com - I buy everything there. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Regards, DaSilva "If you don't get out of the box you've been raised in, you won't understand how much bigger the world is." - Angelina Jolie _ <Susan falls through the floor and gets stuck> <Paco looks at her blankly> "Whats wrong with you?! Lassy would of had a firetruck here by now!" - Susan Mayer, Desperate Housewives

05-06-2006, 04:29 AM	#13
paul1275 The hell of it all Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Manchester Posts: 56	Usually get my games from Amazon. The prices in the UK vary so much from store to store. I try to stay away from the high street as much as possible due to the amount they hike up their prices. Recently I've had to start using companies other than Amazon. Games like "The 13th Victim" are not being released in the UK by The Adventure Games Company so I have to do some jiggery pokery to get hold of them. In the long run, Amazon is a great one stop shop and has good reviews of the games. Share Share this post on Twitter

05-06-2006, 05:13 AM	#14
Terramax Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,595	BTW to all UK people, go to GAME.COM and get 'The Moment Of Silence' for 1.99 and about 2pounds P+P. I got mine for less than 5 new and received 2 days later. Not bad ^^ Share Share this post on Twitter

05-06-2006, 05:35 AM	#15
such great heights Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 85	Amazon, mainly. The Gamestop near my house has a very crappy selection of PC Games, though I'm sure they'll be getting lots of my money once I get a DS! There's a fantastic EB Games at the mall, but there are few things worse than driving to that damned mall. Share Share this post on Twitter

05-06-2006, 07:27 AM	#16
colpet Easily amused Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,091	I'm in Ontario, and I usually find new games at my local EB or Staples. I was just at EB yesterday and they had Dreamfall , Paradise, and Keepsake. Other than that, I buy a lot of indy games from the developer whenever possible, or buy games through JA+ - they have a great selection and only $4 shipping to Canada. http://www.justadventure.com/BuyGamesJA.shtm For used games, you can't beat the Trading Post at Gameboomers. The vast majority of my older games were aquired that way. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ Occasionally visiting Uru Live (KI 00637228).

05-06-2006, 12:05 PM	#18
Squeekmore Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 6	Thanks for the info everyone, I've never thought to go to Wal-Mart and browse the software section. I went there today and picked up Paradise - still no sign of Dreamfall though. Maybe I'll go to Zellers soon! Share Share this post on Twitter

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05-06-2006, 12:25 PM	#19
rtrooney Codger Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,080	Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, CompUSA. I rarely go to a game specialty store. The help is surprisingly unhelpful and they are usually charging full price for older games. Amazon and similar online retailers. I've ordered from Canada on occasion when a game was being released there before there was distribution in the US. Share Share this post on Twitter __________________ For whom the games toll... They toll for thee

05-06-2006, 01:46 PM	#20
wezyap Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 75	i buy most of my games from amazon.com since buying on from the u.s is way cheaper then buying the same game from a local store here, even when you have to pay shipment, also buy some games from the companies web shops. resently bought TLJ 2 disk edition from the funcom online shop for 14 bananas. Share Share this post on Twitter