Did online gaming help us cope with lockdown better?

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Are you one of the millions who’ve been playing more computer games during lockdown? It’s not surprising that demand for games consoles spiked in the last few months as people isolating at home looked for things to do. Whether it was slaying dragons, exploring new worlds, or playing Football Manager to make up for the lack of live sport to watch, gaming across all platforms rose exponentially during the spring and early summer. Many people found that their PS4, Xbox or Switch was the ideal way to spend all that extra time, whether they were on furlough or no longer commuting for hours every day.

Apparently, video gaming may even have been good for us, helping us manage the strange new world of being stuck indoors apart for our hourly exercise. Research from Hull University suggested that some online gamers were able to cope with lockdown better because they were more accustomed to socialising over the internet. It’s an interesting thought.

Many people bought new games consoles when they realised that they were going to be at home for some time and needed something to occupy them. Sales of Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch all increased more than 160% in April 2020 compared to April 2019, and the Switch broke the Wii’s record for highest year-to-date dollar sales for any hardware platform.

Some games were particularly popular. Multiplayer shooter game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive saw an increase of 360,000 players during March, while battle arena game Dota 2 received 120,000 new players.

Unfortunately for many would-be gamers, the virus also meant that fewer games consoles could be manufactured and delivered. The result was shortages around the world, just as demand spiked. This would have been the ideal time to sell your old device and games!

Sell Your Old Gaming Console for Cash to Buy a New One!

If you missed this opportunity in the spring, it’s not too late to take advantage of the increased interest in gaming. With life still not back to normal, and the prospect of further localised lockdowns ahead, never mind the winter months when we won’t be able to sit outside at pubs and restaurants, we can expect demand to remain high. So now could be the perfect time to dig out those old games consoles you no longer use and sell them to someone who will make good use of them.

There’s a thriving resale market for all the major gaming consoles, including older models such as the PS Vita, PS3 and Xbox 360. You could, of course, sell them privately, but that means listing them, deciding if the potential buyer is genuine, then packing them up and queuing at the Post Office in your mask to send off the parcel. A quicker solution is to use an outline marketplace to compare prices and find the best offer. You can sell your PlayStation, Xbox or Wii to a reputable company and they will even send you the packaging, so the whole process becomes much easier. If you have several items, you can choose the best offer for each.

Even if your console hasn’t been used for some time, there may still be value in it. It could be refurbished and then resold to someone who couldn’t afford a brand-new console. In the worst case, it will be dismantled for parts and the useful materials recycled following Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) regulations.

So, what are you waiting for? Dig out that old console now, so someone else can benefit from it, and buy yourself some new games with what you earn through Sell My Gadget.