is it ok to buy used games

ok hello

i'm new to pc gaming and will be building my first pc along with some pc games

setup

AMD Phenom II @ 3.2GHz and Asus Motherboard

OCZ 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM and OCZ 700W PSU Combo

1TB (1000GBs) HDD

Win7 64-bit

Samsung DVD Burner

visiontek 6870 video card

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212

Logitech MX 518 8 Buttons

my question is it ok buy used pc games? as long you have the cd key right?

Be careful with newer games, more and more require registration/activation.

Ethically or Whether they will work ok? If you don't mind not giving the game developers any money then most of the time you should be OK. Sometimes however certain DRM restrictions limit the amount of times a game can be freshly installed (e.g. Mass Effect). Online play may also restricted to new copies of the game. So checkout the Games DRM before purchasing. If you have access to Internet your best bet is to go for the Sales on Steam e.t.c or GOG for older DRM free games. There's less reason then ever to go for the 2nd hand market unless you like a physical box.

Ethically or Whether they will work ok? If you don't mind not giving the game developers any money then most of the time you should be OK. Sometimes however certain DRM restrictions limit the amount of times a game can be freshly installed (e.g. Mass Effect). Online play may also restricted to new copies of the game. So checkout the Games DRM before purchasing. If you have access to Internet your best bet is to go for the Sales on Steam e.t.c or GOG for older DRM free games. There's less reason then ever to go for the 2nd hand market unless you like a physical box.

dison_uk

I would strongly suggest you buy only new PC games. Better safe then sorry.SF_KiLLaMaN

This. Besides, it's not like PC games are very expensive. You can find them easily for dirt cheap if you know where to look. Just buy them new.

What game is this anyway?

What game is this anyway?

Drazule

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

[QUOTE="Drazule"]

What game is this anyway?

k2theswiss

you can buy used games.

more recent games might not be a wise idea with different DRM methods now in effect.

if you haven't already, just affiliate yourself with STEAM, Direct2Drive etc. their sales at times are better priced than used games.

[QUOTE="dison_uk"]

Ethically or Whether they will work ok? If you don't mind not giving the game developers any money then most of the time you should be OK. Sometimes however certain DRM restrictions limit the amount of times a game can be freshly installed (e.g. Mass Effect). Online play may also restricted to new copies of the game. So checkout the Games DRM before purchasing. If you have access to Internet your best bet is to go for the Sales on Steam e.t.c or GOG for older DRM free games. There's less reason then ever to go for the 2nd hand market unless you like a physical box.

FelipeInside

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

exarro

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="dison_uk"]

Ethically or Whether they will work ok? If you don't mind not giving the game developers any money then most of the time you should be OK. Sometimes however certain DRM restrictions limit the amount of times a game can be freshly installed (e.g. Mass Effect). Online play may also restricted to new copies of the game. So checkout the Games DRM before purchasing. If you have access to Internet your best bet is to go for the Sales on Steam e.t.c or GOG for older DRM free games. There's less reason then ever to go for the 2nd hand market unless you like a physical box.

k2theswiss

[QUOTE="k2theswiss"][QUOTE="Drazule"]

What game is this anyway?

HavocV3

you can buy used games.

more recent games might not be a wise idea with different DRM methods now in effect.

if you haven't already, just affiliate yourself with STEAM, Direct2Drive etc. their sales at times are better priced than used games.

[QUOTE="k2theswiss"][QUOTE="FelipeInside"] This.... Be very careful when buying used games.... Better bet (like I do when I'm short on money), is buy brand new games but from places like eBay or Amazon (and from trusted sellers)....FelipeInside

:) :) :)

not tlaking about dinorsore games lol. like games old to the people. great games come out but some fall through the cracks because unknown names even thoughts stores drop prices down to 10-15 they sell for half if not less or so on ebay.

first two games i am getting for pc is dragon age (actuley bought for xbox because i wasn't thinking i would have a gaming rig so soon.) and two world 2 pre orderd already

[QUOTE="exarro"]

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

FelipeInside

is my post really worth flaming?

you know im right...

[QUOTE="exarro"]

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

FelipeInside

What a load of cow-poo.... Prepare your flame shields son....

... wow shields

what i'm i getting my self into...

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="exarro"]

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

exarro

is my post really worth flaming?

you know im right...

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

exarro

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="exarro"]

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

exarro

is my post really worth flaming?

you know im right...

...You sure you really wanna do this?

[QUOTE="exarro"]

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"] What a load of cow-poo.... Prepare your flame shields son....marcogamer07

is my post really worth flaming?

you know im right...

...You sure you really wanna do this?

you should stick with the consoles. pc gaming really isn't worth it these days.... unless you plan on playing alot of RTS games, don't bother.

exarro

Give me a break, there are tons of great agmes to play on PC and alot of awesome ones coming next year.

RTS games are my least favorite and there are still tons of good games to play on PC. I own all consoles and I enjoy them but I seem to always use my pc the most for my gaming.

[QUOTE="marcogamer07"]

[QUOTE="exarro"]

is my post really worth flaming?

you know im right...

FelipeInside

...You sure you really wanna do this?

for me it really wasn't worth all the trouble i went through to get my pc running. i can expect this guy to run into a lot of the same things i did. pc gaming is a hassle compared to console gaming. once you get past all that, pc gaming is the superior platform but IMO the money + hassle isnt worth it.

It's amazing that some PC fanboys complain about console gamers having short attention spans yet this thread passed from a simple question about used PC games into a "Console Vs. PC" debate which proves the exact opposite. EL OH EL

Anyways, it depends on the DRM, Steamworks based games and some Ubisoft and EA Games can't be activated more than once, but most PC games can be bought used. Just check the DRM and you'll be fine.

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="marcogamer07"]

...You sure you really wanna do this?

exarro

for me it really wasn't worth all the trouble i went through to get my pc running. i can expect this guy to run into a lot of the same things i did. pc gaming is a hassle compared to console gaming. once you get past all that, pc gaming is the superior platform but IMO the money + hassle isnt worth it.

[QUOTE="exarro"]

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"] I warned him.... and loaned some flame shields.....lol But let's play his game for a second... exarro - Please expand on why you think PC gaming isn't worth it?FelipeInside

for me it really wasn't worth all the trouble i went through to get my pc running. i can expect this guy to run into a lot of the same things i did. pc gaming is a hassle compared to console gaming. once you get past all that, pc gaming is the superior platform but IMO the money + hassle isnt worth it.

i would assume dude don't care enough... because he just amiited pc gaming is best but not worth the hassle.

but me i don't know much about pcs yet. But when i want something i go after for it.... when i started hunting for pc i was going buy a pre build but it got to a point well wtf why not build my own cost me less, i get what i want, i need to learn anyways

I have a moral obligation to buy games brand new whether they are full price, discounted, or on sale. The used game market is questionable. Some people like being able to sell their used games so they can put the money towards a brand new game. I can't really say that the used game market is completely detrimental to the video game industry, but it does affect developers and publishers to a certain extent.

I have a moral obligation to buy games brand new whether they are full price, discounted, or on sale. The used game market is questionable. Some people like being able to sell their used games so they can put the money towards a brand new game. I can't really say that the used game market is completely detrimental to the video game industry, but it does affect developers and publishers to a certain extent.

Elann2008

I have a moral obligation to buy games brand new whether they are full price, discounted, or on sale. The used game market is questionable. Some people like being able to sell their used games so they can put the money towards a brand new game. I can't really say that the used game market is completely detrimental to the video game industry, but it does affect developers and publishers to a certain extent.

Elann2008

Sadly, most of my games are used, why? Because a game costs 80+ bucks here in Mexico.

Until games are cheaper I'll keep buying used games.

The only difference between someone who pirates and someone who buys their games used is a small matter of legality and morals, but neither of them are supporting the people who put the hard work and effort into the game. Just wanted to put that out there. I always buy my entertainment, brand new.

pc: buy new

console: go used, it wont matter for gameplay purposes and its cheaper

k2theswiss,

I just wanted to mention something regarding your setup.

If you haven't ordered the parts already, I recommend that, instead of trusting all your data to a single huge (1TB) drive, you should instead get two 500GB drives (or whatever capacity configuration you want) instead. In other words, you should really have more than one hard drive.The reason is that you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket; hard drives go bad all the time. Plus, if you keep all your personal data (photos, documents, music, etc.) on its own drive, then if you ever have to reinstall your OS, you don't have to worry about figuring out how to backup your stuff.

Hell, I take it even further than that. I have four physical hard drives:

C: - 120GB - Holds the OS and applications.

D: - 250GB - Personal data (projects, documents, photos, music, etc.)

E: - 250GB - An exact mirror copy of D: (not RAID). D: and E: essentially backup each other.

F: - 500GB - My new drive solely for games.

Just to give you an example. It may sound overkill, but storage is really cheap, and the first time a drive fails or you have to reinstall the OS for any reason, it becomes absolutely worth it. Just my two cents. ;)

I copy my documents on every HDD, laptop and high capacity USB I own, and I also periodically write them on DVDs:|

pc: buy new

console: go used, it wont matter for gameplay purposes and its cheaper

wis3boi

that

k2theswiss,

I just wanted to mention something regarding your setup.

If you haven't ordered the parts already, I recommend that, instead of trusting all your data to a single huge (1TB) drive, you should instead get two 500GB drives (or whatever capacity configuration you want) instead. In other words, you should really have more than one hard drive.The reason is that you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket; hard drives go bad all the time. Plus, if you keep all your personal data (photos, documents, music, etc.) on its own drive, then if you ever have to reinstall your OS, you don't have to worry about figuring out how to backup your stuff.

Hell, I take it even further than that. I have four physical hard drives:

C: - 120GB - Holds the OS and applications.

D: - 250GB - Personal data (projects, documents, photos, music, etc.)

E: - 250GB - An exact mirror copy of D: (not RAID). D: and E: essentially backup each other.

F: - 500GB - My new drive solely for games.

Just to give you an example. It may sound overkill, but storage is really cheap, and the first time a drive fails or you have to reinstall the OS for any reason, it becomes absolutely worth it. Just my two cents. ;)

JN_Fenrir

You're setup is good, but if a huge surge comes through the machine you can kill all hard drives and bye bye data. You really should keep an OFFLINE backup too...FelipeInside

k2theswiss,

I just wanted to mention something regarding your setup.

If you haven't ordered the parts already, I recommend that, instead of trusting all your data to a single huge (1TB) drive, you should instead get two 500GB drives (or whatever capacity configuration you want) instead. In other words, you should really have more than one hard drive.The reason is that you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket; hard drives go bad all the time. Plus, if you keep all your personal data (photos, documents, music, etc.) on its own drive, then if you ever have to reinstall your OS, you don't have to worry about figuring out how to backup your stuff.

Hell, I take it even further than that. I have four physical hard drives:

C: - 120GB - Holds the OS and applications.

D: - 250GB - Personal data (projects, documents, photos, music, etc.)

E: - 250GB - An exact mirror copy of D: (not RAID). D: and E: essentially backup each other.

F: - 500GB - My new drive solely for games.

Just to give you an example. It may sound overkill, but storage is really cheap, and the first time a drive fails or you have to reinstall the OS for any reason, it becomes absolutely worth it. Just my two cents. ;)

JN_Fenrir

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]You're setup is good, but if a huge surge comes through the machine you can kill all hard drives and bye bye data. You really should keep an OFFLINE backup too...JN_Fenrir

Ever bought used dvds, cars, music instruments, cds, houses, basically anything? Yeah, it is okay to buy used games.

edit, like others have said...I forgot about this: you need to check with newer games because of the online activation drm. Otherwise, you're good to go.