With the reveal that Switch 2 games will cost $80-$90, and speculation that the base version of Grand Theft Auto 6 might be $100, there’s a predictable (and understandable) uproar from gamers who want to keep enjoying their hobby during tough economic times.

The thing is, if you don’t want games to cost $100, you should never buy games at that price. There are a couple of reasons for this, but it’s important to know that refusing to pay these prices does not mean foregoing access to the games you want. It’s just a matter of exercising your power as a consumer.

The Games Industry Wants to Raise Prices Desperately

The people who make games want to (obviously) turn a profit by selling those games, and have been pushing hard against that psychological $60 barrier for years now. The truth is that this price has been largely an illusion for a while. If you pay $60, you usually don’t get the complete game in the sense that some content is gated behind a more expensive special edition that comes with several perks.

For example, like an absolute moron, I ponied up $100+ to buy Diablo 4 so I could play it a week before anyone else. Breaking my own rules about pre-ordering games. Well, it took less than that week to realize I’d flushed that $100 straight down the tubes because the game itself is awful, but they knew what perks to dangle to get me to bite!

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The important point here, though, is that pricing is mainly psychological. While the cost of developing a game plays a part in the minimum price that can be charged while still turning a profit, the maximum price that you can charge gamers is all down to what they are willing to pay. Which, in turn, has to do with how valuable they think the product is. This is why a veritable armory of methods has been deployed to change our minds about what the fair price for a game is.

I’m not taking sides here either, since if a company like Nintendo or Rockstar prices a game at $90 or $100 and don’t see a drop in demand for those games, then it’s absolutely the right thing to do. It would mean that they’ve been undervaluing their games, and leaving money on the table. If they see a drop in demand (and therefore in profit) with a price increase, they’ll have no choice but to back down.

You can probably see where I’m going with this: if no one buys games for $100, they won’t cost that much.

The Only Thing You Get for Retail Pricing Is Playing First

I’ve been banging this drum for a long time, but it bears repeating that the only thing you get by buying a game at full retail price at launch is the privilege of being the first to play the worst version of that game. That’s all.

If you just waited then the game will get better, and it will cost less. Even Nintendo’s reputation for never putting their games on sale is overblown, and you should get a chance at least once a year to pick up a digital copy for a decent sum under MSRP.

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Of course, there’s a counterargument about supporting the creators who make your favorite games financially, so that they’ll make more in the future. That may have some merit, but I’m looking at this from a pro-consumer viewpoint, which means getting the most value for your money. Besides, the gaming industry is intensely competitive, but there’s more than enough money in circulation to keep the best creators in business.

There Are Ways to Save Money on Release Day

If you really don’t want to pay the full asking price, but you absolutely have to play a game when it comes out, there are ways to avoid paying that full price on release day. The one I find least appealing is a pre-order discount, which is sometimes offered. As long as you have the option to refund the game if it’s broken, then this is one way to save a few bucks. It’s up to you.

Another option is to buy your games in physical form. While fewer shops are stocking physical games, you may save a few dollars by buying from a brick-and-mortar store because they have some leeway with their margins to offer discounts in the hope of diverting some digital sales.

If you’re a PC gamer, you can often get game codes from third-party sellers for less than full price, though you need to do your due diligence and make sure it’s a reputable site selling legitimate codes. Otherwise, you run the risk of having the code revoked later, and you’ll be out of pocket.

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Sell Your Physical Games as Soon as You’re Done

If you’re like me and play most games only once, and then never again, another strategy is to buy a game at full price, finish it in a week or two, and then sell it. If you buy a game for $100, sell it for $50, then it only cost $50 to play. There’s no loss here if you aren’t going to play it again. Besides, if you do feel like playing it again years later, it will probably be on sale for a pittance. So you’re still winning financially.

The corollary is also true. If you wait a week or two after launch, there should be some used copies of the game on sale from people who follow the above strategy, which means you can buy the game for much cheaper, and all it costs you was waiting a few weeks. I’d say this is the better strategy for someone who does try to get the most out of a game. If you’re someone who wants to get all the achievements in a game or explore every corner, buy it used a few weeks later and keep it long-term.

Use Game Subscriptions to Get Discounts

Except for Xbox Game Pass, you won’t find new games on subscription services day-and-date, but what you are likely to find are better discounts. Speaking of Game Pass, there’s a permanent blanket discount if you buy games that are on Game Pass, or that are leaving the service.So, that will slice a nice bit off the top of a game’s price that’s not on sale.

Likewise, PlayStation Plus subscribers get access to double discounts during sales, which also puts a serious dent in game prices, and if you buy quite a lot of games over the course of a year, PS Plus ends up paying for itself, and then putting money into your pocket. So it’s more expensive not to have it, depending on your purchasing habits.

Nintendo’s voucher system is also criminally overlooked. I don’t know if it will move over to the Switch 2, where these higher-priced games are set to appear, but currently on the Switch you can buy a voucher for a fixed amount (usually $99.99) and then redeem it for two games, paying effectively $50 for each.

You don’t need to redeem both at once, and you can keep the vouchers for up to a year. The games that are eligible are mostly first- and second-party titles, which are the ones that people complain most about never going on sale. Well, the voucher system means that you actually never have to pay the full retail price. You just have to remember to use it!

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FOMO Is Just a Feeling

I know it can be hard to resist buying a new game when it first comes out, but that’s because most purchasing decisions are more emotional than rational. We tend to use our gut to decide to buy something, and then rationalize that decision later.

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There’s nothing wrong with buying the things you want, but if you don’t feel comfortable with paying the new set of higher prices for games, then you need to take a step back and ask yourself why that is. Is playing the latest Mario Kart worth $90 to you? If the answer is “no”, then don’t buy it at that price. Wait for the opportunity to buy it at a price you think is fair. If you do think it’s worth that much to you, then you don’t have anything to complain about.

If we, collectively, aren’t happy with the new prices, and can clearly send a message with our wallets to that effect, then prices will go down. Somehow, however, I suspect that won’t be the case.