Shopping

Overview

Shopping is the practice of going to a store, vendor, bazaar, or other marketplace to seek out and evaluate goods for purchase.

Many games feature some sort of money system, and that money can be used to purchase in-game objects that affect how the game plays, or even the appearance of the player's character. This concept can take many different forms, as the game store is usually built around the needs of the main game mechanic. Typically in action games, a game store will sell items that boost the player's attack power, extra lives, special weapons, and other powerups. Stores and shopping are especially important in role playing games. In that genre, players will often spend a lot of time shopping for new weapons, armor, ammunition, and other items that will be essential to buff their characters and continue in the game. In games, shopping usually takes place in safe areas away from and between action scenes, where the player can shop at their leisure before progressing with the story.

Shopping for Downloadable Game Content

Beginning with the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii, gamers have been able to shop for game content directly from their consoles. Each of those consoles features an online store that sells downloadable games and add-on content for games, and in some cases, feature length movies, game demos, web browsers, and other software. In June 2008 Apple launched the iPhone App Store, which sells add-on applications and games for the iPhone and iPod Touch.