GameCentral readers discuss the most impressive video game deals of the year, from new console to cheap amiibo.
With Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) just gone the subject for this week’s Hot Topic was what video game-related bargain you’re most pleased with this year. What game, console, or other items have you bought for cheap and why do you feel it was such a good deal?
Although most people were disappointed with Black Friday everyone seems to have got a bargain at some point, with many admitting they’ve changed their buying habits to account for regular sales.
Free console with every game
It seems a lot of folks here were disappointed with Black Friday deals this year, but I managed to pick up Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Zelda: Link’s Awakening for £37 each. Not a massive saving I suppose, but since Nintendo games rarely fall far below £40 I’m quite happy.
My best gaming bargain ever though? That would have to be my GameCube. I’d always planned to get one, but when GTA 3 was released for PlayStation 2 I decided my GameCube fund would be better spent on Sony’s console.
Years later, when it was clear the GameCube was struggling, Asda decided to stop selling the console and clear all stock by heavily reducing it. After a few phone calls, ironically a few staff I spoke to didn’t even know what a GameCube was, I managed to snag a console with a copy of Zelda: The Wind Waker for £40. I doubt I’ll ever top that.
Matt
One bargain
I’d have to say the £129 for an Xbox One S All-Digital Edition was my best bargain. I know Black Friday was a bit of a wash in general but that was the best deal and it’s one I could say no to. I’ve had a PlayStation 4 all generation and was looking for an excuse to pick up a cheap Xbox One and this was it.
Haven’t really played with it much yet but picking it up for that little amount of money was great to me and certainly not something I would’ve done if it hadn’t been that cheap. I realise it’s only because Microsoft lost this gen though and that if it hadn’t been for that there probably wouldn’t have been any decent bargains during Black Friday at all!
Cubit
Under the tree
I wasn’t after anything particular in the way of games this Black Friday but still kept my eyes out for a bargain and when I saw Diablo Eternal Collection on Switch pop up for £24.99 at Amazon I quickly made a purchase.
I’ve never played a Diablo game before but I’ve only ever heard good things from people about it and it got decent reviews and from yourselves also, GC. I won’t know if my money has been truly well spent until Santa comes down the chimney though as I’m planning on making it my Christmas game this year.
The only other thing I saw of interest for me was Mortal Kombat 11, which had dropped to £17.99 at Argos. Still I kept my cash firmly in my wallet as they’ll no doubt release an XL version again with everything included at the end of its life span.
One last thing, I think someone else, alongside myself mentioned it a month or so ago here, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is getting a limited time physical release which you can pre-order online here.
Nick The Greek
E-mail your comments to: gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk
Cabinet of shame
2019 was my first year of console gaming since early 2015, beginning with a PlayStation 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 last Christmas. I’m told that was £200, so a reasonable deal and fortunately I enjoyed the game so much that I completed it 100% and so feel I got good value out of it. In that respect I think a bargain is only a bargain when considered in relation to the value it provides. That said, my bargains for 2019 are:
1. Borrowing my brother-in-law’s PlayStation 4 games. You can’t beat free.
2. Catching up with some of my console backlog. A £5 game is not a bargain if it’s never played and I still have a full cabinet of shame.
My purchases this year have been limited to some cheap deals for around a fiver, though The Last Guardian was a tenner. These include Soma, Dishonored 2, and Journey Collector’s Edition. My spending pattern was formed when I re-joined gaming in 1998, after abandoning ship in the mid 1980s. I began buying PS! and N64 games when I saw them quite cheaply, which more than saw me through the early years of the PlayStation 2/GameCube. I did the same at the latter end of their cycle, and it seems to have been rinse and repeat ever since, with an ever-growing backlog.
The past exception has mainly been when buying games for the kids on DS, 3DS, and Wii, where we spent an absolute fortune with Nintendo. Apart from being a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to buying for myself, I like to try games that sound interesting/different and I don’t feel so bad about wasting money when I don’t like them if they’ve only cost a few quid.
I’ve got a shortlist of games that are going to be added to the backlog when they go into my sweet spot of £5 to £10. My wife has about five wardrobes full of clothes so perhaps I can allow myself that?
‘Daley’ Thompson
Down a gumtree
A few weeks ago I got a great deal on Gumtree for an Xbox One X. I had Game Pass Ultimate prior to buying it on my PC, but didn’t find myself using it due to my laptop staying at work and I wanted to have the Game Pass titles I wanted to play easily accessible on the TV.
So I hunted around and got a pristine condition Xbox One X with all the above for the lowly sum of £300, I was delighted and have been loving it so far. I think it’s much better than my PS4 Pro, which was a tad disappointing as an upgrade from the standard one.
Angry_Kurt (Twitter)
Now playing: Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch) and Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare (PS4)
The opposite of a bargain
A difficult Hot Topic for me to answer this week. I’ve never really bought anything gaming related with any significant discount. I usually overpay, especially when acquiring retro games, due to their inflated value and difficulty of locating. During the N64 era I shudder at the amount I paid for games!
I did manage to find a very good condition boxed Hagane on SNES for £7.99 from the, now closed, large Gamestation which was on New Street, Birmingham way back in 2004. Retro games were so much better priced and affordable back then.
The other worthy deal I can recall is in Gamestation’s 2 for £20 deal, where I snapped up, without hesitation, GameCube games Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance and The Legend Of Zelda: Four Swords Adventure. Two great games and at a bargain price.
The Gamestation store was probably the greatest and most comprehensive gaming emporium I ever visited. It hosted two floors and a host of retro games, I’m sure anyone that visited would agree.
Special mention goes to Future Zone in Coventry (circa 93-95) which evolved into the corporate giant that is now GAME (hate it now!).
Steve Derricourt
Currently playing: Zelda: A Link To The Past (GBA)
Catch up on every previous Games Inbox here
Everyone love a bargain
In the January sale of 2019 I purchased the Resident Evil super bundle for £7.99 from the PSN store on PlayStation 3 which contains 10 full games; the lemons of number 6 and Operation Raccoon City and all the good ones.
I’ve only replayed a few because my PS Plus subscription didn’t run out until July, but I’m looking forward to playing the PS1 originals again.
Over the summer I picked up Marvel’s Spider-Man and God Of War for £23 from Argos. Which at the time were and are good deals.
I then finally purchased The Last Guardian for £13 from eBay and got a 10% refund because the case was cracked on the inside. I was waiting so long for this to drop in price and didn’t think it would get any lower.
I’m mostly very happy I bought from eBay a mint condition Resident Evil 2 with the lenticular holographic sleeve for £25 in October, although two weeks after I buy it, the standard edition dropped to a very low £15 from various online retailers.
At the end of October I got my best bargain from Currys PC World for £20 delivered to my door: Red Dead Redemption 2, after finding it via hotukdeals. The most annoying thing is Currys reduced it to £20 back in May (six months ago!) and I couldn’t purchase it because the transaction wouldn’t complete on my phone but probably would have if I had turned on my laptop.
If I had purchased Red Dead Redemption 2 in May, I would’ve held off all of my other purchases and bought the ‘Only on PlayStation’ version of each from GAME, which have been dirt cheap for some weeks now and come with beautiful lenticular sleeves.
So, all in all I’m happy with the value for money I get and would pay full price if I didn’t have any other new games to play.
And who doesn’t love a bargain?
Oni-Samurai (PSN ID)
Currently playing: Resident Evil 2 remake, repeatedly
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