When you think of video games, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The answer to this question might have something to do with your age. When I grew up video games were just being introduced. For many years we used to play the pinball machines at the local amusement arcade, bowling alley and milk bars. Pinball machines were great as you would have a lot of friends in your team to play and you would have a lot of fun trying to get the ball in the hole and get as high a score as possible. You could improve your game easily by lifting the machine or leaning on it. This was not considered cheating just part of the fun.Video games were a whole different world when they were introduced. If you can consider going from a wooden pinball machine to an electronic wizard in the same category. As soon as they were introduced in our area they were a hit. Many afternoons were spent playing pacman, space invaders and donkey kong. All the games from my youth which would all seem pretty tame and unchallenging to today's kids.For parents today the choice is enormous on how to spend the video game dollar. You might elect to buy your child games so that they can play at home and become part of the interactive gaming community playing globally. This has advantages as the game, if it is popular, and challenging enough will be used often and work out good value for the family. In addition, parents have the benefit of knowing where their children are and that they are safe.Often however, the popular games are beyond the family budget or are games that you can easily tire of playing. If that is the case, then it is easy to rent a game for a week or two from your local video store. You can also rent games online. The advantages of renting online are that you have access to a number of games that your local video store may not carry and you can browse through the selection at your leisure in the comfort of your home and download immediately. The other alternative to cutting the costs of buying games is to buy a used game online at Ebay. Have a look at ebay in the games category and you will find that there are a lot of sellers selling new games which they have bought wholesale together with people just selling off unwanted games. Make sure you carefully check the sellers feedback before placing a bid as, unfortunately, there are a lot of fake games distributors on the internet.The other option to cut your gaming costs is just to play the free games that are online. You will find that there are a number of sites that are mini arcades for all your gaming enjoyment. You can relive your childhood playing the old faves and play new games as well. This is by far the cheapest alternative available as all it will cost you is the price of your internet connection. If you haven't walked down the memory lane of your childhood recently go and play pacman. You can relive the carefree days spent at arcades with no job, mortgage or worries beyond if you can beat the high score.