Out with the Old Games and In with the New

JimmyJames70 Says: Gone are the days when only teenage guys played video games. These days it seems like everyone plays games, whether you’re a mom playing the Wii with the kids, or a 20-year old female holding her own—or better—on Xbox Live, game demographics are now 50% women and that figure is likely to grow. Reuters reported that 800,000 Wii’s were sold over the last Thanksgiving holiday. This family-friendly gaming console provides everyone a chance to play and have fun. Unfortunately, these games aren’t cheap. A new game can cost you $60, which helps explain how the gaming industry is worth $35 billion. How do you keep your family in new shoes and new games at the same time while the economy is crumbling? It’s simple, trade in your old games for new ones.

Most kids don’t want to trade in their old games, mostly because they might want to play them again, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting new games. Jennifer Galloway, mother of three and Goozex member (TNmomwith3kids), explains it to her kids this way, “They can wait on someone to buy them a new game while they just keep beating the same old game over and over, or, they can trade their beaten game for someone else to enjoy, and in turn get a different game for themselves!” This is especially great if they have a game that they didn't really enjoy and want a new one.

Several game-trading and rental sites exist, such as GameFly, SwitchGames, and SwapTree. Goozex.com happens to lead the pack. The site was profiled in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Cnet, and several notable gaming sites. The people behind Goozex have a caring heart, last December they partnered with Cause and held a two-month charity drive for America’s military wounded. They also act as mediator for any disputes that might arise during trading.

Chain stores like GameStop buy used video games for a fraction of what they are worth. Galloway says, “My kids were into trading their games for store credit at the Rhinos/Game Stop before I found Goozex. When they saw that they could get equal credit for their old game towards a 'new to them' game, they jumped at the chance.”

The concept behind Goozex is simple. When you’re done playing a game, make it available, and the system finds another gamer who is requesting that game. When the match is made, you are notified via email and you can choose to accept or reject the trade. If you accept the trade, you receive Points (the number of points you receive is based on the age of the game and supply and demand). You then use your Points to request a game you want. Each trade only costs $1. If you have a kid, or a husband—or even yourself for that matter—who burn through games faster than you get paychecks, then a service like this is a must.