I still buy all of my new games at brick and mortar stores, and as long as I can, I will!  I primarily buy titles from Best Buy thanks to their rewards program, but if I see titles have better prices at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us then I will pick up games there instead.  I don’t actually buy from EB / Gamestop anymore because I disliked their handling of new titles.  I have many GameCube games that look almost used even though they were bought new thanks to their system of removing the disc from the box and storing them separately.  Often times they would insist on giving me the shelf copy of the box as well.  I don’t want to sound anally retentive about my game collection, but when you’re paying new prices you shouldn’t get used quality items.

I'm also not too fond of digital download because I was never comfortable with the idea that I'm paying for a non-physical item.  A digital file feels more like it's on loan to me, or that it could be lost more easily than a physical copy.  Given the option between a digital file of a game for $30 and a hard-copy for $50, I would buy the physical disc.  Call me old fashioned, but hey, I'm someone who still misses cartridges.  I digress though, because this almost seems like another Wringer all together!

As for buying online from Amazon or some-such...  There just isn’t that personal touch to it.  I’ve bought a select few titles online if the price was right, but receiving it in the mail is somewhat anticlimactic.  Odd to say, but really I think my personal preference to buy from brick and mortar locations comes from the whole experience it holds for me.  I still vividly recall picking out NES titles from the glass "World of Nintendo" case at the local Canadian Tire (hardware / automotive store for those who don’t know) on Saturday mornings.  Of course the thrill of finding new titles is gone thanks to firmer release dates than a predicted release month, but it's just a part of my video game roots to go to a real-world store.  I may not think of it in a nostalgic way every time I buy a new game, but I can’t deny there’s a certain child-like thrill to make my way through a physical store to the game section in order to find the title I’m looking for.

And thanks for the shoutout about my X-Men Arcade story!  It's definitely a great gaming memory of mine, and I was happy to share.

Normally will buy from GameStop they are convinet to my location and their selection is always better than anywhere else i go to look. 

I just bought/Picked my 3DS and SSFIV from a gamestop and i would never concider getting it from some place like walmart because at least at game stop for the most part i know it will be there and i know that i wont have to deal with the people who dont know anything about video games gamestop employees at least the ones andthe store i go to have at least some knowlage to contribute.

P.S. Your Audio is out of sync with your movements.

EB Games is now GameStop here in Canada but it's still called EB Games. In the UK GameStation is the one that keeps popping up when people talk about a video game store over there.

Yes I only buy new games from retail stores, mainly from the electronic department in a store (expect for one since it was discontinued). I like to browse the shelves for a random game and look at the value games (a lot of them I can see why they are a cheap prices but do find great games), and if one catches my eye I can look a the back of the case for more info.

You mentioned GameStop so it must be talked about. I do not buy new games from EB Games for two reasons, (1) Their new games are the same price or five dollars more than other stores and with other stores you get a sealed copy. (2) I like my games sealed because sometimes I do not get around to playing it right away and will know that I haven't played it yet since I have multiply games for the PS2 and DS that are still in their wrappers.

On the topic of GameStop making millions/billions NO FRELLING KIDDING, their used games are the same price as new games or for five dollars more you can buy it new. I will comment on one game: I was with someone else and they were looking at Super Paper Mario for the Wii and both new and used were $44.99, the sale clerk said Nintendo hasn't dropped their price yet. (Game companies do not see a cent/penny/$0.01 from the sales of used games.)

Edit: Since when I started typing no comments were let posted and forgot about digital downloads.

Same here as gra007 about digital downloads. (I thought the question this week would be about that the way that Commodore talked about the future of games.) (Also Canadian Tire is not a place I think of when thinking of places to buy video games.)

Usually I buy my games from Gamestop if they are recent releases or if they are new. If the game I want is more then 3 or 4 years old I typically buy from Amazon or this cool little game shop out here in Colorado called "Game On."

I like Gamestop because I can chat with the people who work there about upcoming titles and they know me well enough by now to show or recommend RPG's to me when I'm just aimlessly looking around. I like Amazon.com because shipping is (usually) at a reasonable rate and games are shipped to me fast. It's where I usually get most of my older games, (SNES, NES, Dreamcast.) Because even if it's a used tit;le I find the listings are much more honest than eBay.

I actually live in a small town in Newbrunswick, Canada, called Sackville.We don't even have a store that sells video games. The closest to it is a video rental store which sells a few used games for various consoles(a few meaning under 20 games and horrible ones). Since I've been alive(22 yrs) I've always had to go out of town to get games. It is either a 15 minute drive to a close town called Amherst, or a 35 minute drive to the nearest city, Moncton. This has always been a problem for me growing up being a gamer, but gratefully my parents usually would drive me if I *NEEDED* a hot new title. I have now recently started buying games online because of my lack of transportation,and location, but I usually only buy used games online.I still have to go out of town to get my New titles. I'm actually building a gamecube collection at the moment off EBay mostly. If I could though I would be definitely buying from a store, but since I don't have that option, sadly I must buy most things online. I wish there was a store around where I live dedicated to retro gaming and new/used games.

In closing stores are the funnest, safest, fastest, way of buying your games in my opinion. I've had to return a few games for not matching the quality in the description. This is my biggest gripe about ebay. Then you have to wait a week or more for your item to come in. Then on the offchance there is a problem, you can't simply return the game to the store where you purchased it, but rather email the seller,ship it back, then wait for the seller to process your refund. Trust me this is a very annoying process which I have experienced. ( DAMN YOU ELITEGAMEREPAIR YOU SCUM!!! RAW RAWR!!!YOU OWE ME 7$!!!!!) Haha anyways thats my opinion

I didn't really think you could get new games anywhere else! (except for Steam I guess...)

>buying games

I laughed a little when he said that.

To be honest, I've been scratching around lately at places to buy my vidya. I hardly buy any games new, except certain ones that really catch my attention.

Here is a pretty quick run down of places I buy my vidya, and why.

Steam: When I'm PC gaming I either pirate, or buy it from Steam. I also wait for games to go on sale. Steam has sales all the time, ALL THE TIME! I bought Elder Scrolls 4 last year for $10 with all the expansions and official DLC.

Wal-Mart/WalGreens: Ok, if you're looking for clearance items, these are the places to go. Walgreens normally has one rank that has games, You don't often find anything worth while, but sometimes you can find some pretty decent games for $15 to $20.
Wal-Mart has a clearance isle, which is normally full of junk... but every so often you can find a gem or two in there. However, their clearance games tend to be garbage. I found the full DJ hero set up for both PS3 and 360 for $60.

Rental Stores: Blockbuster is closing where i live, I got loads of cheap cheap vidya there. Every so often, my local Family Video will sell games they are over stocked on. I got Fallout New Vegas, and Assassins Creed Brotherhood for $30 a piece, buying those used at Gamestop at the time would have been around $60 a piece.

I know the question was for new games, but besides, Amazon, Wal-mart, Gamestop, and services like Steam... where else are you going to buy them?

Well, I work at a GameStop, so I get a discount there. >.> As far as GameStop goes, yeah, I agree with the complaints. Gutting new games to put out on the shelves, often with their manuals (or for stupider employees, CD/product/DLC keys) still inside, invites damage and theft. Even if the game itself isn't stolen, that doesn't mean the eventual buyer hadn't suffered if he has damaged, dirtied, or even missing packaging. Often, GameStops will even straight-out throw away cases or manuals or even bonus items that are traded in with *used games.* Neither of these things I agree with, and have argued about; as a game store, we owe it to our customers to present items in the best condition we possibly can, not cause them to have a worse item through actions or inaction. But all the managers I've had have not really liked me for this stance, even when I come up with alternative solutions. I can't really expect GameStop to not gut new games, though, as they'd have to completely change their stores (electronic, touch-panel displays, glass displays, barbed wire maybe...) in order to not do it. It'd be nice, though.

But seriously, I buy games at actual locations because I like to actually BUY a copy of a game. Want to go download the patch for X-Wing: Alliance. Go ahead, check LucasArts' website for it. Oh wait, it's not there anymore? Okay, let's go get a Satelliview and play some BS Zelda to really get a bunch out of the experience. Wait, that service stopped many years ago, and broadcasts of BS Zelda long before then? Well surely the Sega Channel has their downloads still available! No...? Up for some Halo 2 on XBox Live? Hmmm, that might be hard...

Huh, go figure: companies stop supporting games shortly after they stop making money off of them... Could that mean that if you buy a PSP Go, or Steam downloadable games, or anything like that, you're essentially at the mercy of whatever the company behind those services wants to do? Yes, yes it does mean that. In time, all these games won't be supported (MAYBE with the exception of Steam, although we already see them starting to monetize TF2 probably because they want to support some Steam features). If you have temporarily erased a digital copy of a game from your drive, or if it needs to be authorized before being reinstalled even if you had backed it up somewhere else, then you're really SoL. I still go back and play my NES games and some DOS games sometimes. You're delusional if you think Sony's gonna keep supporting PSP Go downloads, or if OnLive is gonna keep streaming their current games, or anything like that 5-10 years from now. There might be a few exceptions, but you're really gambling on which ones they'll be (almost literally, since you're using real money). Oh, and with the PSP Go RIGHT NOW, if you download the game 5 times (it was 3 previously) after deleting it or getting a new memory card or whatever, you have to buy it again. Wooo!

I'm hesitant EVERY time I buy a digital copy of a game. For Wii, fortunately, I can literally back up those games on my computer. For PC games with CD Keys (most of them), if the server the game is supposed to communicate with moves or is taken down, the game can be cracked. Anytime I can buy a game at GoodOldGames instead of Steam, I do, since you literally have the entire game (and manuals, and soundtrack often, and other bonus material) on your computer and can to pretty much anything you want with it.

As far as ordering online, I do for some really old games that'd be impossible to find in new or great condition otherwise. I also might order online if there's a bonus I want and can't get any other way, or it's a REALLY good deal. But GameStop has most preorder bonuses right now, not that I agree entirely with the practice. And as mentioned before,  going into a game store is a fun experience. Right now, working at said game store and having seen some of the dirtier practices at GameStop, it's not fun and I'm not sure if I'll shop at GameStop primarily once I get a good job. But in general, especially for a mom-and-pop game shop, it can be a good experience. And you don't have to worry about not knowing what condition shipping will leave your game in since you see RIGHT THERE what you are buying, or when it will arrive, or if someone tried to rip you off, or if your credit card information will be stolen (cash FTW).

Definetley. In fact, where I'm from, it's almost custom that if your a guy, you get at least one Gamestop giftcard for your birthday every year.  I buy tons of shit from Gamestop. The main reason if really because I don't like spaying for shipping and all the extra crap (that, and I don't have a credit card) Gamestop is the place I go to when I need to get a new game. I only shop online when I'm buying games for my new (and expanding) classic games collection.  In fact, I can't think of one game (n64 and newer) that I own that I didn't buy from gamestop. I've been shopping at Gamestop since I bought Mario 64, and I remember when they stopped sellinf N64 games about a year ago. Gamestop is where I buy games, because I really don't do where else to go.

I generally buy games used these days, when I do buy new I do still buy mine at EB. I like everyone else I'm not thrilled with the way they store their products, but around here they genreally have prices that are on par or better than other places. I'll also occasionally buy from Microplay, however their prices are usually worse.

When I buy a game I like having the physical product. I enjoy leafing through the manuals (even if i don't really read them) to see if they've done anything like having little quips from in game, or have it set as something like a comic book or fake product user guide.

I tend not to do DLC, however I don't mind purchasing games where that's the only method... Like Peggle.

On a complete tangent... I've been to Sackville. and holy crap, just how many Canucks we got here?

I usually buy my games at GameStop, but I really only do it because I have a friend who works there. If I reserve games there, there's less pressure for him to get reserves. I don't mind helping him out.

Other than that though, I wouldn't even bother going to GameStop. I don't buy games used, and I have found that buying games online is sometimes as much or cheaper then buying the games in stores. There are very few games that I must have on release. Also, GameStop employees are allowed to borrow new games for a few days, so a game you think you're buying new could actually be used. Conveinence is another thing, as while there are GameStops that aren't far for me, it's a lot easier for me to just order a game online and have it delivered to my house.

I'm also not really a fan of buying digital copies of games, unless that's the only way they're available (Minecraft, Super Meat Boy, ect.). I'd always rather have a physical copy of a game. Having said that though, I do have sooooooooooooooooooooooooo many games on Steam. I freaking love Steam.

One last thing about buying in retail stores is that you always get asked if you want to reserve/buy other stuff. I know the people there are doing it because they have to, but man, I really get tired of it. =P

It's mixture based soley on convenience for me.

EB/Wal-mart/Back Alley if I know the game I desire will be there and at a decent fair price. Also I don't really care for the services at Amazon simply because nearly everything I order from the site is either late by a month or damaged or both (In fact I think I'm still waiting for a CD I ordered in December slightly off topic but seriously this really cements my apathy/ totaly dislike for Amazon in general) EBGames and Best Buy annoy me to pieces though, I'm sorry but I find upselling kind of pushy and rude. I understand that games  can get scratched and unforseen circumstances can come up and damage the source of my lovely entertainment but I've yet to see a reason I need to buy a 60 day warranty or or a five dollar insurance deal whe I take care of and respect my things (Maybe getting death glares from the clerk behind the desk when purchasing PkMn White had something to do with this random burst of EB hate)

But lately I find myself much more attracted to the idea of digital distribution, mostly due to the fact that not every game I want will be at the store or at the offered price. Living in the friggan boonies has something to with that also seeing as gas is a fairly pricey resource at the moment.

That said I'm not too happy with Steam at the moment I created an account on Steam probably 3 or 4 years ago and have since forgotten my password and my security question, so bye bye Orange Box and all your tastey contents. That's more of a my fault thing but when I contacted Steam customer service they more or less said I was SOL which was ever so comforting.

I remembered I took a screenshot of EBGames.ca which redirects to GameStop.ca a while ago, (just checked the file creation date and it was around Christmas 2009.) The link will be for the entire screenshot and the image is only the section that caught my eye. (I would not even pay that price if they were new.)

http://img225.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=462978819_EBGames_122_753lo.jpg

Ridiculous prices!

On the note of employees being able to check out new games, yes we can but at our store it is frowned on.

Well, on the rare occasion I buy new games (I have none of the current gen home consoles, and although I do have a DS, I normally buy used because I'm broke), I buy from brick and mortar stores

There are three in particular I use - Game Station, Playtime Media, and Game Spot (not sure if it's the name of a chain anywhere, but to clarify, the last one is a local small time game store.). Game Station is primarily for new, and Playtime for used, with Game Spot for a few rarities. However, I've bought new and used games from them all at various times.

I buy from Brick and mortar stores, because I can see what I'm getting before I get it, and I know that (barring a set of very confusing and unfortunate circumstances) I'm going to end up with what I paid for - I've been stung buying games online before, and I don't feel like going through that again.

It depends on the game and where I am.  If I "need" a new game, I prefer to buy from brick and mortar places because I'm impatient at times. However I can't always do that.  I used to be stationed in northern Japan.  If you wanted to buy a game in English, you first had to check out the Base Exchange (BX).  Up north, the BX would get the items that the other bases either missed or didn't want.  They only received 4 copies of Halo 2, but got about 50 copies of 50 Cent: Bullet Proof.  I had to buy Tomb Raider: Legend off of the internet. (and Enchanted Arms AND PRINTER PAPER) 

After I got back to the states, I became a "hardcore" used gamer!  I almost stopped going to gamestop though. One store in Abilene, TX kept trying to talk me out of almost every purchase I wanted to make.  Now, I shop around for the best price. I usually look for a "greatest hits" or "platinum collection" release.  I usually find better deals at wal-mart but find a better selection at best buy.  If I don't "need" a game, and I hardly ever do, I would have no problem buying it online and having it shipped to me.  Only if its cheaper, though!

Well, I buy nearly no new games, I am mostly a retro gamer, but when I see one which interests me I follow a pattern:

I first watch a few reviews of the certain games which interest me (mostly RPG's) then I decide to get a copy of the game or not. 

Then I search on Ebay for a good deal on a used copy of the game.

End of the Pattern. ^^

I mostly don't buy retail priced games, because nowadays you really have the problem that you cannot control the quality 100%.

So I just buy a used game which costs the half or less, and can be sure that I didn't waste too much money.

...and can be sure that I didn't waste too much money.

That is one reason most of my new games I buy are around $20 or lower but do make exceptions like Dragon Quest games on the DS since afterwards used prices are the same if not more. The only time I spent $70 on a game was when I ordered through the Sears Christmas Wish Book catalog since it was the only place I could find Twilight Princess for the GameCube.

I hate supporting major companies but all my new games come from Gamestop, it is just so close to my house and two of the "Mom N Pop" stores are way to far to travel (I.E. Game Attack), but I still like the feel of a game in my hand and the smell of a new game to (probably isn't healthy cause it's plastic) the fact that have a physical copy of the game reminds me of when I was younger. I don't think I'll ever go with Digital Downloading, unless I absolutely have to like with Steam then I won't do it, I'm like that with a lot of things such as: Books, Comics, Magazine's, having it actually there in front of you makes a difference. 

I posted part of this in the forums but not sure if Commodore reads them often, so I am posting here on why I like browsing the value games for new games.

Genji: Days of the Blade - $5 (PlayStation 3)

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith - $1 (PlayStation 2)

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - $1.99 (PlayStation 2)

Soul Calibur - $1.99  (PlayStation 2)

Tekken 4 - $1.99  (PlayStation 2)

Others game I found in the past:

Folklore $19.99  (PlayStation 3)

Izuna 2 $14.98 (Nintendo DS)

F-Zero: GP Legend & F-Zero Maximum Velocity $8 each or 2/$10 (GameBoy Advance)

The Hobbit $19.98 (GameCube) With The Hobbit it was one of my first GameCube games and is one of my all time favorite games. I wanted to read the book after playing this game, which is now one of my favorite books.

I'm pretty much a Retro gamer. I do buy new games, but most of the games I now buy are second hand, so I usually get them off eBay.

And, on the subject of arcades, I think it's impossible to mention arcades and not mention Sega. Man, their arcade pedigree in the mid 80's to mid 90's was phenominal.

MWM, of course he reads this part of the forum. Otherwise, how would he do each Weekly Wringer response? O.o

And, on the subject of arcades, I think it's impossible to mention arcades and not mention Sega. Man, their arcade pedigree in the mid 80's to mid 90's was phenominal."

In Japan, there is an arcade called "Sega World".  On the ground floor they have some cool games like some new Time Crisis and House of the Dead games.  They even have games where you save your stats on a paper credit card thing so the next time you play you can continue where you left off. 

Don't get too excited though! Most of the ground floor is just claw machines.  Yes you could try to win stuffed animals, but you can also try for Lupin the 3rd or Evangelion figurines, to name a few.  The second floor is all "gambling" games.  You buy game tokens and play them in machines where, if you are lucky or skilled, you could get a lot more game tokens.  When you are done, if you have any left, you "cash in" the tokens for money.

I guess you could say it is for the whole family! Kids downstairs, adults upstairs.

Knightcrawler - What I was trying to say is I don't know if the Commodore reads the post regularly over at http://www.clanofthegraywolf.com/forum

All I could know is that the Commodore reads the comments from the Weekly Wringer and his own blog posts and doesn't check other parts of the site.

I wanna weigh in on last week's Wringer first, since I was in the hospital and missed out. And then like an idiot, forgot to comment in the time since.

My mother used to work at a day care. This was before I could drive, so I was there in the afternoons. They had free-to-play cabinets of Pac Man, Super Mario Bros. and Mike Tyson's Punch Out. I never could beat E Honda (the first time) on the machine, but I could get to Bald Bull on the NES.

Other than that, it was always a "waste of money" to my mother. When I "had" money, she typically kept it in her purse so she'd buy clothes I hated with it. *cue Will Smith's Parents Just Don't Understand*

When I was in high school, I never had any free time between baseball and band, and was equally broke because of my extracurriculars. So I didn't get to go to Diamond Jim's in one mall, or Aladdin's Castle in the other. But they were there, and occasionally I'd drop a quarter or two. Typically in Wave Racer or some snowboard or off-roader game with something to sit or stand on.

Anyway, onto this week's question. I can actually trace back the last dozen or so games I've bought.

Most recently, Final Fantasy 13 from Best Buy (only because I had a gift card). Yeah, a year ago.

I got God of War 3, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Metal Gear Solid 4 from Wal-Mart. Along with GTA: Vice & Liberty City Stories. Wal-Mart's biggest problem is sometimes they either have employees who don't care or they miss the release date, which is big deal. But most of the stuff I buy has been out a good, long while, so rarely does it matter.

But as for Final Fantasy 6-12, I got at Gamestop (and formerly Babbages). I also got MGS3, the other GTA titles and my PS3. The other week, I actually bought an XBOX 360 controller to use for my computer. From Gamestop.

So I think it has more to do with neccessity than anything. To me, there's very little worth buying these days. In my SNES days, I'd save and save and buy three or four games a year. Now I do well to buy one every 18 months. Most likely if I need one, I get it at Gamestop. Or Wal-Mart.

I havent even touched a game stop in nearly 4 yrs, really cant stand them.
Dont know why that is i guess i like shopping online.
I guess if GameStop had some exclusive  release i want,
i might go back.

If i wanna see what is on sale i use cheapassgamer.com
Sometimes Frys electronics isnt bad if they have a good sale or newegg.com
Buy most of my games i buy are on amazon.com or gogamer.com and even
bought mario all stars on the wii at wal mart a while back,

Steam is another place i use time to time.I really prefer to own a
physical copy of the game if possible,just seems more collectible.
Even used cragilist to buy some old snes and nes games not long ago,
Ebay is a good place to buy old retro games,
I have started to collect Super Famicom games of recent like
Final Fantasy VI was the first one i got off Ebay.

I have just been in this retro  mood of late.
Been replaying Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo Ds these days.
Over all i prefer online shopping, because the prices and the good service.
Still dont think digital downloading will take over 100%
Because people still like to own the physical copy to call their own.
 

I buy new and used at the store imply because I can, at one glance, see many titles available to me instead of trying to dig through a site, where the games I would be interested in don't typically get front page treatment.

I can also pick up the box to look at it to se if it is something I would even be interested in..

However, I would probably (unless I really like the series or it's a gam for the kids) go home and look it up to see what the reviews say about it.

@Arkus: You know WalMart is the devil.