grrr... used game won't work...

[supa dupa ninja]

darn it, has anyone bought a used game before that doesn't work?

I just bought my tony hawk pro skater 4 for at least 17.99 (not including tax), then I put the disk inside my xbox and waited for it to booth up but it won't! I tried wiping it with my p.j.s (cause it soft) but it still won't work, now I'll have to return it tomorrow and get a newer disk.

[Fsiphskilm]

Nope...I never buy used, exce

[madphilb]

I usually buy mine pre-owned... I don't usually have money to waste and that $5 I save on a pre-owned game will buy me a happy meal or something.

However, I usually get my used stuff from EB as they do have a good return policy and the guys there are pretty good at making sure what they sell you isn't scratched up too bad (worst problem I had was that they put a PS2 Splinter Cell in my XBox case!)

I had more problems with bad carts when I rented for my N64... and several of my N64 carts start half the time with the dreaded "green screen" reseat the cart and go most of the time.

I avoid getting games from places like Blockbuster as they tend to have poor quality disks (they get used very, very hard since most people don't seem to have any respect for their own property, let alone stuff that they got from a rental store).

[cbwing0]

I buy almost all of my games new, although I will occasionally buy something used if it is a good deal, and there is a reasonable chance that the game will be in perfect working order. I know a lot of you don't like to shop on Ebay, but I have honestly never had a bad experience with them, whether I was buying games, dvds, or other items. I have purchased Record of Lodoss War (DC), Robotech: Battlecry, Armored Core 3, and about 5 controllers on Ebay/Half.com, and they all work fine (on top of that, I didn't pay more than $20 for any of them). The important thing is to look at feedback, and carefully read the item description for signs that the item might not be all that the seller is claiming it to be. I used to get used PS1 games from Funcoland, and I also didn't have any problems with that.

However, I haven't had the same luck with Yahoo Auctions. I bought two Dreamcast games there. One was in perfect conditing, but the other was a burned copy of the Japanese version the game that I was supposed to get. The guy sent me another burned game to "make up" for it, but it was still a rip-off. Needless to say, I don't use Yahoo Auctions anymore.

One thing to avoid: buying used NES/SNES carts. Most of the time they work for a very short time, if they work at all; then again, the same can be said of most NES/SNES games at this point in time (although the situation is better for the SNES, and many titles are available in new/updated form for the GBA).

[Michael]

I've only bought PS1 & 2 used games and they all work fine.

[PXDN Gamer]

I work at our local EB Games and I always buy used if we have it cause the GMR discount stacks with employee discount saveing even more money! . and I stand behind our product ^^

[Kisa]

New games for me. The only time I buy used is when you can't get it new anymore. I got Lunar 1 used for like half the price it was in stores! Good quality too. Got rom Funcoland.

[shooraijin]

That's pretty much me and Dreamcast titles. Fortunately, I've never had trouble with GameStop used titles.

[MasterDias]

I usually buy new games but sometimes I'll buy used. It kind've depends.

[Htom Sirveaux]

The only time I buy a game new is if I've been looking forward to it and just have to get it now or I won't be able to sleep at night (e.g. Devil May Cry or GTA: Vice City).
Most of the time though, I either get them used or from the $20 Greatest Hits collection.
As far as a game not working right, the only time something like that's ever happened was when I got Alone In The Dark: The New Nightmare. Apparently, in many copies there is a glitch that won't let you get any further than halfway through. I swear, if not for that, I'm sure I could have beaten it. Grrr...
A shame, really, cuz it's actually a pretty good game otherwise.