As hobbies go, playing games at home is generally a relatively inexpensive none. Once you’ve got your console, there’s not a great deal else to spend money on. So how come your bank balance is always zero at the end of the month?! With the odd expansion pack here and a mobile app cheat there it soon adds up, so it’s wise to find ways save money when doing it.
How to save money on playing games at home: 6 strategies
If you’re keen to keep gaming but need to tighten the purse strings a little bit then we’ve got some tips for how to save money on playing games at home that could really help you.
1. Look Out For Bonuses
If casino games are your preference then there are lots of different ways that you can save a little here and there. One of the best ways is by keeping your eyes peeled for bonuses. These tend to be available to new customers only, so it’s worth looking around to see what is available on sites that are new to you. Bonuses could range from deposit matches – where whatever you deposit into your play wallet, the site will match it, giving you double the play time – to free spins to use on online slots, or even just straight-up free play money. Spend a little time working out which ones will be the most beneficial to you and treat finding them as a game all of its own.
2. Become a Beta Tester
Do you always need to be the first one in your friendship group to get your hands on the latest title? If so, then the chances are you’re paying an awful lot more for that privilege! It’s exciting getting a new game, but it can be incredibly expensive. People who are particularly good at gaming and have an eye for the details that people sometimes miss make brilliant games testers. Beta testing is not possible for everyone to get into, but if you have the right qualities then you can have great fun with it. Testing at this stage of the game’s development means that you will have to be prepared for glitches, but you also get to play before anyone else does. Don’t get too emotionally invested in your character’s progression, just in case you encounter a massive problem, and everything will be ok.
3. Research the Big Buys
Perhaps Beta testing isn’t for you; that’s not to say you’ll never get your hands on a new game again, you’ll just have to think a little bit more carefully about it. If you see an expensive game coming out that really piques your interest, then hold fire until some reviews roll in. Splashing out with all of that money on a game that turns out to be less great than you’d imagined is not only annoying, it’s a total waste of your hard-earned cash if you want to save money on playing games at home.
Give it a couple of weeks and spend a few hours down the YouTube wormhole listening to honest opinions of what other gamers thought about it. If they thought it was brilliant, then you can buy with confidence, but if they thought it was a bit of a disappointment, you can save it all up for something else.
4. Keep An Eye On Sales
Caption: You might have to wait a little while but you could save yourself a lot of money in the sales
This brings us neatly to the next point: sales. The saying that the early bird catches the worm could not be less appropriate here. In the case of video games, the early bird does catch the worm, but it’s the most expensive one and no better than any of the others. Bide your time before buying a new video game and you might get lucky and snag it in a sale.
Providers like Steam and EA have sales incredibly regularly, so it would be crazy not to give it a month or two and grab yourself a deal. Whilst new releases take a little while to reach really low prices, a game that’s been around for 6 months or so could be as little as half price.
5. Turn it Into a Career
For some people it doesn’t matter how much money they save, it’s never quite enough. If this sounds familiar then there’s one tip for you that’s a little bit ‘out there’ but, if you put the work in, will pay you handsomely: turn your hobby into a career. Perhaps you have the gift of the gab, or you’re a whizz at video editing. If so then put these skills to good use.
Platforms where gamers can share reviews, feedback on gameplay, or just show off their skills, are hugely popular at the moment and advertisers pay big money to appear on those sites. In order to get your slice of the pie, all you need to do is upload good-quality videos with engaging content. It takes a little while to build up a following on platforms like Twitch, but once your name is out there you can start earning really good money.
6. Set Yourself Spending Limits — and stick to them
Mobile gaming used to be one of the cheapest ways to enjoy a video gaming hobby. Apps were rarely more than a couple of dollars each and you could play with absolutely no limits. Unfortunately, developers clocked on that they could be making a great deal more cash out of their customers and microtransactions were born. Microtransactions, as the name suggests, are small transactions that generally take place during gameplay.
Many mobile games give you the option to pay with a premium currency in order to skip ahead to more exciting parts of the game, or buy new gear for your character. While it is sometimes it’s nice to treat yourself, constantly skipping ahead can soon add up.
If you regularly get your bank statement through and seem to spend a small fortune on transactions of a dollar here and a dollar there then you’ve fallen into the microtransaction trap. Sure, a single dollar isn’t a lot, but if you’re spending that multiple times every time you play, then pretty quickly you’ve spent enough to have bought a brand new release for a games console.
Your mobile provider should let you set yourself spending limits, which will enable you to be firm with yourself on stopping the excessive microtransactions for good.
