Video game trade in

In this difficult economy, finding the money to buy new video games is becoming more and more of a struggle for many gamers.  Department store prices are high and sometimes a couple of games can cost almost as much as the console itself!

Fortunately, there is an alternative.  The way to get more for your money is to take games that might be sitting around gathering dust and do video games trade in toward the purchase of different titles at your friendly local used video game store.  When you do a video game trade in and receive store credit toward a new purchase, it can greatly reduce or even eliminate the need to come up with actual cash.  When you’re broke and you just have to have that hot new Halo or Call of Duty title, look no further than your own game collection for the solution.

But what if it’s a whole new game console you’re after?  Say you’re tired of the PlayStation 2 system that you’ve had for years, and you want to upgrade to a PlayStation 3 – normally that would set you back quite a bit of money, especially if you want to buy some games to play on your new console.  When you have a whole collection of video game trade in as well as the PS2 console, you could cut your cost in half or even get the PS3 for free (depending on how many PS2 game titles you have available to trade).  Not only does this save you a whole bunch of money, but you won’t have all those old games cluttering up your home and gathering dust.

Even if the game store doesn’t have the game or system console that you’re looking for, you can still do a video game trade in and get cash for them.  Cash is which you can take to a store that does sell what you want to buy.  It’s usually worth your while to buy at the same store where you sell your games though, since the store credit prices given are often higher than cash prices.

In some areas, you may find that there are no used video game stores operating within a convenient driving distance.  That need not be an obstacle though, as you can create a video game trade in through numerous online web sites as well.  When you visit such a site, you will generally type in the titles of the games, accessories, and system consoles you wish to sell and a price quote will be generated.  Some sites will even provide a pre-paid postage label for you to print out so that your items ship for free!  (However, if you are doing a video game trade in for many games or a system of very high value, you will probably want to ship them by an insured and traceable method, such as UPS or FedEx Ground.)

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In another article, we described a great number of educational opportunities that lay hidden in video gaming. This time, we’re going to introduce a few employment opportunities as well.

1. Working as a Video Game Clerk. Working at video game store or rental place – either permanently or temporarily – has got to be a teen gamer’s dream. In a single place, employees have access to the first games and game systems hot off the market and they’re privy to peek inside magazines hot off the press before anyone else. If that wasn’t enough, gaming clerks get a discount on what would otherwise be too expensive (games, game systems, and game accessories) to even think about buying. Sweet!

2. Working as a Game Tester. Before a game hits the market, it has to go through extensive testing and if you think the programmers behind the game test their own material, think again. The gaming industry is extremely sensitive about what it puts out into the public. In an effort to remain competitive, it must make absolutely sure that the games it produces work as intended. This is where testers enter the picture. But it isn’t easy to become a game tester. Becoming a game tester requires a little inside help but once you’re in there, you’ll not only have access to games that no one else knows about, you’ll also have an opportunity to shape the game into an experience that you and your comrades prefer.

3. Working as a Game Designer. Do you have good artistic skills? Can you whip out a character faster than you can say, “I drew that”? If so, you may be able to get a career designing video games. Today’s video games exude some of the most beautiful graphics ever seen and if you have a good imagination, are able to use some of the most advanced graphics software programs available, and can follow instructions, you could see your own artwork in the next popular video game.

4. Working as a Game Critic. The gaming industry is always looking for good content and if you have a flair for writing combined with a love for games, you could write for game magazines like Game Informer or you could write content for a highly popular gaming website.

5. Working as a Game Programmer. Not a career for everyone, a good game programmer is always in demand. As player preferences change and new technology is developed, someone with the right programming skills has to be there to fill the gap between what players want, and what the gaming industry can supply. Becoming a game programmer requires extensive training in several different development languages – so if you don’t have a clue as to what we just said, skip this profession and look into some of the others.

The great news about all of this is that the gaming industry shows no sign of disappearing any time soon. Even colleges are getting in on the gaming craze as they fill their course books with game programming classes and game design curriculums. There will always be an opportunity for you to blend your love for games with a steady paycheck as long as you remain dedicated to looking for these opportunities, and you make an effort to stay abreast of what’s happening in the gaming world.

Check the employment section of your local paper for more, or visit the nearest college to find out what classes and training are available.