Blog about Gaming, Computers and Technology

Despite the fact that billions are spent on video games each year by consumers, there are those who have never heard of Mario or Zelda, people who have never picked up a joystick or had the thrill of winning a game of Super Smash Bros. Though these people may have strict reasoning behind their decision to avoid video games, others simply may never have had the chance to get behind a racing wheel or Playstation 3. If you’re one of these people, there are many reasons why you should get involved with video games.

1. Video games are fun!
I have yet to meet someone who played video games and didn’t enjoy the experience. While it can be said that there are some video games a person might find boring, there is a game out there for everyone. From Barbie and LEGO video games meant for small ages to games like World of Warcraft and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion that appeal to an older audience, no matter what you’re age, there’s a video game for you.

2. Create your own world.
With video games, you can do things you normally wouldn’t be able to in real life. This often gives people a sense of self-confidence and pleasure. In the Grand Theft Auto series, for example, players can get away with things like car jacking, public brawling, and murder, actions that would certainly not be tolerated in the real world. In Ace Combat, the player can fly historic fighter planes and bombers under the setting of World War I. In the Need for Speed Series, forget about speed limits. Players street race their souped-up cars against a variety of opponents while avoiding police. All things being said, there is no doubt that video games provide experiences unavailable in real life.

3. Even the elderly can play video games.
Think you’re old to frag in Unreal Tournament or obtain level 15 in World of Warcraft? Think again. There have an increasing number of stories on the news as of late about older people playing video games- and playing them well. Take the Sedgebrook Retirement Community outside of Chicago, where people of an average age of 77 who have never touched a game controller can’t get enough of the Nintendo Wii. Wii Bowling has become so popular amongst this older crowd that they now host their own tournaments in which many of the residents compete. Take a trip to Cleveland, and you’ll find Old Grandma Hardcore, a 69-year-old who enjoys first person shooter games and now works for MTV as a senior video game reviewer.

Most game lovers have debated about subscribing to an online video game rental website. There are many, many benefits to online video game renting.

–There are no due dates. You can play each game title as long as you want without having a set time you have to return it.

–There are no late fees. You can keep your game titles for as long as you like without having to worry about late charges to your account.

–You won’t have to return your games to the store. It can be somewhat of a hassle having to make a trip to your local store to return your gaming titles. Returning your games with online video game renting is as simple as going to the mailbox.

–You don’t have to buy a game before you know if you’ll like it. Don’t you hate purchasing a brand new release before you’ve played it just to find that it wasn’t as great as you suspected? By using online rentals, you can play games first before you commit to buying them.

–You don’t have to sit around waiting for available titles. With local renal stores, there is a limited supply in stock. You often find yourself waiting for interesting games to become available. With online video game renting, there is always a game in stock, so you won’t be waiting on the game you want forever.

–Discounted used games are awesome with online video game renting. Gamefly and RentZero both offer discounts if you try something out and would like to keep it. This way, if you play a game before buying to make sure you’ll like it, you won’t have to make a separate trip to the store to purchase the video game. You can simply choose to keep the game and it will be charged to your account at a very low cost.

–You can set ESRB parental controls on games if you wish. The ESRB is a non-profit program that rates video games as to what age group should be playing them. Their ratings are placed on the outside front and back of every video game so you will know if it is appropriate for your child. ESRB ratings are: Early Childhood–for ages 3 and up, Everyone–for ages 6 and up, Everyone 10+–for ages 10 and up, Teen–for ages 13 and up, Mature–for ages 17 and up, and Adults Only–for ages 18 and up.

Gamefly is the most well-known online video gaming rental company. They offer a free 10-day trial or $8.95 for the first month. There are over 7,000 game titles to choose from, which is the most of any online video gaming rental company. Gamefly has many shipping locations all over the United States, so the turnaround time to receive your games is 1-2 days. Games are available on 9 of the major gaming platforms and new releases are available immediately. Gamefly also provides gaming information and walk-throughs.

Gamemine is another online video game rental company. Gamemine offers all the perks listed above and more. They also rent movies for PSP. They have game titles for new and older Generation systems. Gamemine also provides game information and walk-throughs. Another plus to renting from Gamemine is they offer a “speed-boost” after 90 days of renting with them. On your 91st day, you can click a button online, telling them you are sending your current video game back, and they will automatically send you a new game without waiting for your current game to be mailed back to them.

Another good online video game renting company is RentZero. RentZero offers a free 14-day trial for signing up. They only have around 4,000 game titles available on 6 different platforms, but they also have plans starting at just $9.95. RentZero is the cheapest online video game renting company there is.

The world is moving with fast pace with new technologies, discoveries, inventions, modifications and explorations. The whole aspect of living has changed and now days it would not surprise you to know that people are going after material and synthetic things rather than the real ones. This can be proved with the example of children leaving the real games just to enjoy computer games on their computers, televisions and play stations.

This article mainly focuses on computer games and how they have completely changed the life of teenagers all around the world. Let me now share with you some of the Top Reasons due to which children as well as adults love computer games.

1. Easy accessibility of Computer games
It is often said that computer games are very easily accessible. In today’s’ word almost everyone has a computer or a lap top with internet facility. This makes it easier for us to download new games and play them during free time or as and when desired.

2. Virtual world is loved by everyone
Computer games take us to a virtual world which is hard for us to imagine in our real world. It is a whole new world of mysteries, fights, mythology, fun, adventure and education. You can even choose the games according to your own interest and likings. Some may fancy sports while others may prefer knowledgeable games or the funny ones.

3. Computer games give us challenges
Almost every game that you play on your computer or play station has levels which you need to qualify in order to win it. This gives us a sense of challenge and triumph. Sometimes games which are played with multiplayer helps us to interact and complete in order bring out the best in us.

4. Helps in a creating a whole new world
Computer games can easily be created with new advance technologies. The things that you can not achieve in your real life can be easily be done while you are in that virtual world, you can become rich beyond your dream, powerful enough to kill everyone or intelligent enough to destroy anyone, this is all possible in the world of computer games.

5. They are interesting and enjoyable
It is often seen that computer games are more interesting. They have strategies and puzzles which we need to solve in order to proceed to the next level. You can play thousands of games involving different subjects and situations, which surely gives a sense of enjoyment to all the people who are engaged in playing these games.

Computer games open up a whole new world in front of us which is beyond our wildest dreams. There is fantasy, war, mythical creatures, sports, movies and adventure in these games, which like an irresistible force attract us towards them.

Here’s the scenario… The next “hit-game” has just been released but you don’t have the money to buy it. What do you do?

Or, even better…

You have just completed campaign mode on Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare when you hear of the next chapter in the series being released; Modern Warfare 2. As you realise this, you start to feel an over-powering, strange sensation rippling through your body. You soon accept that you have just been possessed by a gaming demon who manages to convince you that you must get this new game!

O.k… maybe that was no possessing demon after all, but an excuse for the desire you feel when wanting something. You know, it’s really the excuse we like to make to justify to ourselves when buying things we absolutely want rather than need! Anyway, continuing on with our scenario. You head on over to your local game store where they accept old games for a trade-in value (or credit), to buy new games in the same store; only to be disappointed when you hear that the trade-in value, given to you for your old game, will not even cover a quarter of the price of the new game. You also discover that you just about have to trade-in all your old games to get any decent credit for purchasing that new game!

There must be a better way… There is!

In this article, I will reveal a great alternative to trading in your old Xbox 360 or PS3 games. I will discuss why the game stores will never give you much for your old games, and why you should avoid these stores when it comes to trading them in anyway.

You see, why trade-in your old Xbox 360 or PS3 games anyway? It’s just not worth it! Why not wait a little longer before getting the game you want in exchange for getting it cheaper or completely free!

When I outplayed my Xbox 360 game titled “Frontlines – Fuel Of War”, I headed down to my local game store to trade it in for another game I wanted; Grand Theft Auto IV. The price of this title was $79 at the time. I was shocked to be told that my old game would only give me a $10 credit towards purchasing the game I really wanted. I thought my old game must be worth more than this as it was still selling for $40. I then tried a competing game store that also accepted trade-ins; I didn’t do any better there either. At this point, I decided not to trade this game and wait a few days before buying the new game I really wanted. It didn’t take me long to realise that the game stores need to make a profit with the old games that are traded in. The older the game, or if it’s a less popular game (or even if the store already has large numbers of the same game for sale), can affect the trade-in value given to you.

I went back home and did a little research online for a better option and found it!

Instead of trading in your old games at any of your local game stores, you should sell all your old games on-line instead.

Here are five reasons why:

1. Making more money for your old games – The amount you can get for your game is usually more, much more, than the trade-in value you receive from your local game store.

2. Selling your old games online is easier and hassle free – Why deal with organising a home garage sale or traffic hassles when having to travel to your local game store.

3. Selling online is free – Unless you choose eBay as an outlet to sell your old games, you can offload them without paying any money.

4. Selling online can be quick – It only took me three minutes to create and submit an ad for my old game.

5. Selling online can be fun – The idea of creating the for sale ad, taking and posting a few pictures online (only if you want to), then seeing your old games sell in no time at all – some times literally minutes – can be exciting.

I managed to sell my old game “Frontlines – Fuel Of War” by posting a for sale thread at a highly popular game related forum site in my country for $30 plus post. It was super easy. I spent three minutes creating and posting the for sale thread. In the ad, I stated that I was looking to let the game go for $30PP. Only minutes later, I started to receive replies. People were making bids on how much they would pay for the game. As the bids came in, the price was climbing up closer to the price I set. My wanted price for the game was matched in less than twenty minutes. I was a very happy person. The buyer then sent me a private message via the site containing his shipping address. I responded with the postage price (a value I obtained from my local post office website) and my Pay Pal address for the funds to be paid to.

When posting for sale threads via game related online forums, you may come across a few obstacles along the way. Here how to deal with one of the most common ones.

Some forums have rules preventing you from posting in the for sale threads until you meet a certain criteria; i.e. like having a certain amount of general discussion type posts accredited to your name. This is usually to prove-your-worthy (so to speak) to the forum. You can easily achieve this by searching for topics that interest you and then join in on the discussion. Don’t just make any lame type of reply. Make sure you add some value to it. By adding value, you will start to build rapport with others and that builds trust. Before you realise it, you will have made enough posts to qualify posting in the for sale threads.

Once you have successfully sold one or more of your games. Simply make contact with the buyer then mutually agree on the best way for them to make a payment plus where to post the game(s) to.

That’s it. Once you have received the money for your old games, depending on the amount, you can either get your next game purchase cheaply or even FREE!