I just kind of realized this, and its kind of sad. However, I still enjoy keeping up with latest gaming/industry news. Is anybody else in the position as I am?
I've cut back on buying new games at full price. Actually I've only purchased three new games this year.
The last game I payed full price for was Resident Evil 5 back when it first came out. I still poke around Steam and find deals on games whenever they have them, you can save a lot of money that way.
I have a friend who knows stuff about videogames, but can't afford them. I have discussions with him and it's cool. I would probably continue enjoying videogame news even if I couldn't buy one single game.
" Its kinda weird but I almost enjoy the culture around games more than the games itself. That being said I am hopelessly addicted to Dragon Age right now but before that I had just putting around with Borderlands and a bit with Killzone 2. "
I'm currently on a four year university course which is going to get VERY busy. Currently I don't actually have the cash to buy any new games as much as I'd really like to and in the future I may have very little time to play them as well. But dammit, I'm a gamer and I'm going to do everything I can to make the most of every opportunity I get to play.
Alas, I can't afford a lot of games. Well I could, but I don't like spending all my money on games so I rarely buy any. And if I buy them it's usually a couple of months or a year after the release so the price is lower.
I've bought maybe.. 2-3 games this year. Picking up MW2 tomorrow probably.
I know how you feel. I am in the process of finding a job and I literally have no money. I don't want to trade anything in either because everything I have I want to keep playing. MW2 comes out tomorrow and sadly I will have to wait.
Yeah, I am with you especially the money for games front. Time, I do have a good chunk of that.
As others have stated, I actually have only bought 3 games at full price this year. Granted, they've all been within the last 3 weeks (FIFA 10, Borderlands, Dragon Age) but that will about do it for me for the whole year so I figure its ok. There's much more I would have liked to buy throughout the year but that just didn't happen. May get MW2, probably... but we'll see.
I don't buy as much new as I used to. I have discovered patience and find that I can often pick up 3 or 4 titles for the same price of one if I am willing to wait a year or so. Most of the games I play are single player, so being in the midst of a multiplayer community is not often a factor. For games where that might be an issue, I usually break down and pick up the game (MW2). Then there are those games I doubt I'll spend more than 10 hours with. For them there is Gamefly. I rent a few titles each month to get a taste for many of todays offerings even if I don't always bother to finish the title.
Time is something that I can't manage though. As an adult, I have a myriad of responsibilities that must be met before I can spend my time freely. And, even then, I am not always in the mood to actively play a game in the evening. Sometimes, I just want to turn off my brain and watch TV until I fall asleep. But, I find that reading and writing about games will often excite me for play when the time becomes available. Here again, I've learned patience.
Working 40 hours a week while trying to maintain a social life and paying about 2/3 of your monthly income in bills really takes a lot of your ability to buy and play games, but I sure try! My main problem is that my inability to dump serious time into games causes me to stop playing a game in the middle when the next greatest thing comes out. I have a really hard time creating a forward catalogue of new games, but I don't mind going back to half finished ones (even though I forget some of the story). I wish I had the patience to do it the other way around..
I keep myself up to date but I don't play many games anymore. Not because of time or money but relative disinterest in the product. I think Infinity Ward, Kojima Productions, Epic and Rockstar are the only companies whose games I even consider buying unless I know for a fact it's something good, like with Arkham Asylum. Even then, it's a handful of games a year.
While I'm playing quite a few games now, I went through a phase where I didn't play a lot of new releases. I was able to find fun downloadable games that gave a lot of bang per buck off Steam and other places.
For me it's not so much the time that's the problem, I just haven't had enough motivation to play a game and stick to it. Schools finishing soon though so I'll have a lot of time just to play games so hopefully and I can get back into it.
I've been reduced to buying second hand games so yes. In fact, it's been like this since I've gotten my PS3 two months ago. Although I won't be able to play new games as I wish I could, I still play all my old games (some of which I find better then these new games) and when I'm not gaming, I talk about them. Non-stop on the internet since most of my friends aren't that "hardcore" as I am. I think I'm the only one who has actually played games from X-Com to Thief to Arcanum.
@Hangid: Yeah eversince I graduated college and I was never able to find jobs that actually gave me enough time for a break especially here in Japan where many of these guys dunno how to give a break. I mean jeez I only bought 2 games up to now for my PS3 eversince i bought it in 2007.:o *sniff*
I usually am. Every once in a while, a game (Half-Life 2, Super Mario Galaxy, Grand Theft Auto IV) will reignite my interests for a while, but I will always retreat in the end. I prefer films, books, and music anyway.
It's not that I don't have the money, it's that I don't have the time. It's really not a priority anymore. The only game I've played since I received my Demon's Souls preorder, is Demon's Souls, and I have yet to finish it (not because I'm bad at it, but because I only play in spurts).
Never had enough money for video games as I am 15, but I have plenty of time for video gaming as I am 15. Gaming's my life and it trumps all else in priority (except for school) so I doubt I'll ever put myself in a situation where I can't play to my leisure.
" I just kind of realized this, and its kind of sad. However, I still enjoy keeping up with latest gaming/industry news. Is anybody else in the position as I am? "
How did you realize this. Did you make a budget or something? By the way I agree about buying or renting games much later. I just got Mass Effect for $10 on Steam. That's awesome. I want to support the industry and everything but if I buy 10 games a year that's over $600 bucks. Who does that any more, especially in this economy.
@nixium: I feel the same way. I have a lot of downtime at work so I have plenty of time to listen to gaming podcasts or read about games. However, I don't have a ton of time to play them on my own. However, money left over after the bills are paid still seems to all go towards games.
that sucks but from my mom telling me how many games i have it made me realize i should cut back on some games. i counted how many games i paid full price for and i have around $500+ on xbox 360 games. the sad thing is that a lot of them i haven't beaten either. i've also been working on beating the games.
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