Buying Games Just Because?

I do buy a lot of games and sometimes it is because they're cheap, I bought 3 games on Target clearance last week for $5 a pop.

I'm a bit of a cheesemint whore so I figure for $5 I'll be able to squeeze some points out of them. I have a set budget each week that I can spend on games (or anything else, my "throwing around" money) and I don't have any credit card debt or anything else so I don't feel guilty.

I think CAG helps your gaming dollar go a lot further, so we all have a lot more games.
 
[quote name='RelentlessRolento']I use to do this but saw how badly it was hurting my wallet. now I get cheap crap I actually want. no more random "barbie on a grimace" games.[/quote]

What is the rating of Barbie on a Grimace? That might lead into a wierd genre catergory too. :lol:
 
Quality, not quantity. It took me quite a while to learn this. You will enjoy your gaming time the most if you focus on actual gaming and not accumulating a bigger and bigger pile of cheap (or even not so cheap) games. "Hoarding" is an addiction, and one that can be applied to anything. Don't let yourself get so attached to meaningless plastic discs.
 
I manage to restrain myself, mostly because I'm cheap. My husband however.... I think he has spend $4k at his own store alone in the past year or so
 
Well, I definitely buy a lot of games. I also have quite a bit of a backlog (it's not games I havn't played ever, it's too many games that I need to put more time into).

I think it's really more psychological. Why do you do this? Why buy games that you really don't want because they are cheap? For me, after a bad day at work or a tough week, I like going to the game store and getting something. It makes the day a bit better. More of a comfort purchase.

Not only that, but I like coming home geting 6 games for $20, many I feel I want to play. Plus, I get to show them to my nephews (5 and 3), and they are a great audience for thinking anything is cool.

I thought about it, and the money I would have. But, the truth is, I like distracting myself with the purchases, and I'm not going to be better off if I stop. I'd likely blow the money on something else (I have a budget for gaming), and I feel good at the time. Really, if your dropping $3 on something, how much entertainment do you have to get to make the purchase worthwhile? Really, if I spend 3 hours going online, seeing the games, read some reviews, find a Gamestop that has it close to me, get in the car, go, see if it's complete (maybe drive to another if not, I have 4 within 5 miles of my house, all clumped together). Then, go home. Even without playing the game, I had a good time going to get it, and that's worth something.

I think people do this all the time. They'll go to the gas station, buy a coke and a twinkie for $2, and go on their day. The difference with games is that, 6 months later, it's still there (ready to be enjoyed some more if you want), where the food purchase was eaten, and then done.
 
I think this happens to everyone. The only way around it, for me, is to cut down on forum usage. It takes miniscule effort to browse around the forums of all major consoles and read through threads thinking 'This game looks kickass. I'll have time for it.' and rush out to purchase it when in reality you'll just spend more time on the boards.

For now I'm planning on buying my Wii with one game I am absolutely dying for (Mario Kart) and one game I will definitely get to (NMH) but that's it. I really can't afford to be tying up money in full priced games that I am never going to play.
 
I use to buy pretty much every game I had even a passing desire to try when I found a decent deal on it during the Xbox/PS2/GC days. Needless to say that was tremendous waste of money, even though I was often only paying $5-$10 per game if I didn't play the games they really weren't worth buying at any price.

I've been far more selective with the 360/PS3/Wii so far. I only buy games that I'm actually ready to play. No more buying games just to have them sit on a shelf for 6-9 months.
 
[quote name='lordxixor101']
I think it's really more psychological. Why do you do this? Why buy games that you really don't want because they are cheap? For me, after a bad day at work or a tough week, I like going to the game store and getting something. It makes the day a bit better. More of a comfort purchase.
[/QUOTE]

I can see that. The key for those who think they are buying too many games and/or hurting their enjoyment of gaming is to find something other than games to serve as "comfort purchases."

Treat yourself and/or your signficant other or a good friend to a meal at your favorite restaurant. By something cheaper and less time consuming like a CD or DVD.

I do stuff like that, or go buy one of my favorite beers (I'm a beer lover) and enjoy a beer (of course not getting shit faced as problem drinking is never good) while watching TV or playing a game I already own to relax etc.

[quote name='cochesecochese']I think this happens to everyone. The only way around it, for me, is to cut down on forum usage. It takes miniscule effort to browse around the forums of all major consoles and read through threads thinking 'This game looks kickass. I'll have time for it.' and rush out to purchase it when in reality you'll just spend more time on the boards.
[/QUOTE]

I think that's it for some. It seems like many here probably spend more time reading and discussioning games, as well as looking for deals, than they do playing games!

I never fell into that trap as I've never been one to buy something just because it's cheap. And as far as hype, all that does is help me prioritize which game I want to check out next. I never run out and buy a bunch of hyped games that I may never get around to.

But it does seem like those complaining about buying too many games do fall into the trap you mentioned.
 
dmaul,

I kind of disagree with your assessment though. Why should you need a different kind of comfort purchase? If someone is doing this, obviously they enjoy buying the game.

Really, I don't know if there is a better kind of comfort purchase than a cheap game (of movie, cd). Not only do you enjoy it now, but you can enjoy it later, if you want to. If you don't, no real loss.

To use your example. You go and buy your favorite beer. It runs you a couple bucks (depends on type, whether you are in a bar or store, etc). For about the same price, I go and decide to buy a cheap game (like Tiger Woods 2005, for $3 at Gamestop). We both enjoy our purchases that day.

The difference is, if I want to, I can play Tiger Woods again tomorrow. I can play it all next week. I can play it 6 months from now. I can lend it to a friend that wants to try it. These are all options you don't have with your beer, once you drank it, it's gone (we'll avoid the bottle collecting element here, since it may just muddy the waters).

I'm not saying your purchase is bad by any means. But, if someone enjoys buying cheap games for this reason, I see nothing wrong with it, and my argument is that they shouldn't see anything wrong with it either. There is no real loss (storage costs for games for most people is negliible, keeping 300 games at your place likely isn't costing you anything), since you would have bought something else anyway. So, don't worry about the backlog if this is the reason.

Now, obviously, if you are doing this with full price games, that's an issue. My argument squarely falls under cheap games for a nominal amount of money, an amount to you you'd drop on many other numerous items in day to day life without a second thought.
 
[quote name='lordxixor101']dmaul,

I kind of disagree with your assessment though. Why should you need a different kind of comfort purchase? If someone is doing this, obviously they enjoy buying the game.
[/quote]

Your missing my point. My post was limited to people like The Mana Knight (and you I thought-maybe I have you mixed up with someone else) who are always whining like little bitches about having huge backlogs that are killing their enjoyment in gaming, yet they can't stop buying games.

Obviously, if a person is using games as a comfort purchase and it's not reducing their enjoyment of gaming and they're not whining about it repeatedly on gaming forums, then by all means keep on doing it.

I was just talking about it being a bad idea to buy games as a comfort purchase when it's to the point of causing you stress and hurting your enjoyment of games.

If it's not, then it's serving it's purpose as a comfort purchase and there's no reason to stop,.
 
I always go by the rule, "a penny saved, is a penny earned". What's better than getting a game for cheap that I probably wont play is not getting a game for cheap that I probably wont play.

Buying all those games that I barely played really didn't help much, so I just stopped. So what if I saved a few dollars on this game, I could've not bought the game and spent the money on something more "useful." I'm not bashing those people who find great deals on games, actually I thank them. However, you just gotta pick your battles. Being a pack rat isn't very fun, and think of all the time and money wasted if you ever want to sell that stuff back.
 
dmaul,

Ok, I misunderstood you then. In fairness, I did make a whiney little bitch topic late last week regarding my love for for gaming waning a bit. Though, I don't know if it really has anything to do with the backlog or not. Unlike most people, I think I've come to grips that I have a backlog, and I may not play it all anytime soon.

Option iv, I also disagree with you. Being a packrat isn't really that bad (assuming you don't get to rediculous levels). I save all sorts of garbage. Nothing warms the heart more than not throwing something away, and then 6 months later, you or someone you know needs that exact item, and you go down and grab it for them. Sure, there is always the nutjobs of any sect of people who go overboard, but overall, being a packrat is not really a bad thing.
 
The packrat thing is really just personal. I can't do it because I'm a neat freak. And I tend to move pretty often (probably will be that way for another decade or so) from college to grad school where you're losing roomates, moving somewhere else every year or two etc. And after that it's into the nomadic academic world where most people don't stay at the school they start at etc.

Point being I don't like to have a lot of junk to move.

But for people who are more settled, and aren't neat freaks, then there's really nothing wrong withn being a packrat unless it's taken to ridiculous extremes where your whole house looks like a pig sty or something.
 
Mana Knight's problems run so much more deeply than buying games, it's really just asking for a train wreck to try and analyze it.

Stop buying games. Sell games you don't want to play more than once and relax, having an overwhelming amount of games is something everyone will face on CAG at some point.
 
I don't think I've ever had the problem of buying games just because they're cheap. I only buy games I honestly want, being cheap is just the bonus.

That being said, I have a backlog stretching all the way back to my NES. And no matter how many times I tell myself I'm going to go back and finish those Adventure of Lolo sequels, I don't think I ever am. But I might. There's no risk that the game will suck, and I might end up on a puzzle game kick for a few days. I might be straighting up my collection and think, "Hey, I need to plug in my PS2 and play Ico."


The thing is, I just don't have the time for them all, and clearly never did. And some of the RPGs require a hefty time investment. I dropped Blue Dragon halfway through because there was a que building up in fromt of my 360.

But I recognize my problem and am taking steps to correct it. Fewer 100 hour RPGs, more FPS, absolutely no more Pokemon. I've stopped buying PS2 games all together no matter how good the deal or how long I've wanted it.

But really, when you get something for 10 bucks, how much do you have to play to get your money's worth?
 
well i have decided to only buy games I am actually interested in playing and figure that even if I end up paying $40-50 for them I am saving money in the end by not snatching up 10 $5-$15 games in between the good ones
 
I've taken to relying on Goozex. Even though it takes a new release a month or two to get to me, I still have it sitting on my shelf for a few weeks as I still have a tremendous backlog. Then I beat that game and put it back on Goozex. In all, a brand new AAA title costs me one dollar for the trade and then $2 to mail it to the next guy. The credits for the new games I get were supplied by old games I had sitting on shelves collecting dust and the credits for the new game will pay for future games.

Its like paying $3 to rent a game for a month or two.

[quote name='Malik112099']well i have decided to only buy games I am actually interested in playing and figure that even if I end up paying $40-50 for them I am saving money in the end by not snatching up 10 $5-$15 games in between the good ones[/quote]
 
I buy games I want to at one point get to play. If it's cheap but I have no interest in it, it'd be a waste of money to buy it. Even if it's only a dollar or two. Why spend money on something worthless when I could save that dollar towards something I actually want?
 
If there's a 360 or PC game for $10 at EB, I'll most likely grab it. Even though I usually don't play them for more than an hour or two.
 
Somewhat guilty. I took great advantage of the sale when FYE was getting rid of games in most of their retail store and bought 6 games. Half of those games have never made it into my system because of there always being another "next big thing" that I have bought along the way to play instead. That is really the only time I have done that however.
 
I usually don't do that. Even if I buy a game "just because" it has to still be something I'll play. I am guilty of doing it once though when a year or so ago I found Budokai 2 for $2 at Best Buy and bought it even though I hate DBZ. To this day it's still sitting in the trunk of my car.
 
i did that for about a year trying to catch up with PS1/PS2 games, RPGs mostly. stopped after i realized i wouldn't have time to play them all and it was getting expensive

i've got 10 unplayed games left that will hopefully get played. then i can buy something new lol :)
 
I only buy games that I'm interested. Unfortunately, that happens to encompass quite a few games! I usually intentionally wait on games to drop into CC's or Target's clearance if I'm not dying to play it right away. I still buy way too much, though. Sometimes I'll buy games in a series just to complete it. I have all the Wild Arms games, but haven't played a single one! I've probably bought around 7 or 8 games in the past month, if not more. I've vowed to myself, though, that I will not buy another game until FFIV DS. After that, there really isn't anything new that I'll want for a long time. I'll just wait around for some older games to drop to a low price.
 
Yeah.....so I have 4 Xbox 360 games Cod4, Gears, Halo 3, and of course GTA4 and don't see any purchase over $30 in sight so spread the love guys.
 
I bought Lost and Condemned 2 this weekend simply because they were 20$ sealed on ebay. I'm also eyeballing Bulletwitch, EDF2017, and Darkness simply because their between 10 and 15.
 
I'm definitely guilty of this only difference is that none of my unplayed games are opened. They are still sitting in the shrink wrap. I tend not to buy games anymore when they launch. I wait 6 months or so until a price drop or some kind of deal sooner than that. It's expensive buying all the games I want on launch day so I just wait. I will get to all the games eventually since I seem to have more time to play games now that the girlfriend moved in and I'm not constantly running back and forth anymore! There are just so many games coming out anymore that there insn't possibly enough time to play them all though!
 
[quote name='benjamouth']I do buy a lot of games and sometimes it is because they're cheap, I bought 3 games on Target clearance last week for $5 a pop.

I'm a bit of a cheesemint whore so I figure for $5 I'll be able to squeeze some points out of them. I have a set budget each week that I can spend on games (or anything else, my "throwing around" money) and I don't have any credit card debt or anything else so I don't feel guilty.

I think CAG helps your gaming dollar go a lot further, so we all have a lot more games.[/quote]

I'd like to revise my earlier opinion as I've stopped buying games for a bit now so I can actually play through some of the ones I aleready have.

It's much more satisfying to play one or two games right through, instead of playing something for 5 mins then buying something else.
 
[quote name='benjamouth']
It's much more satisfying to play one or two games right through, instead of playing something for 5 mins then buying something else.[/QUOTE]

Yep, besides saving money and not building a backlog of games you'll never play, it's much easier to take your time and enjoy the cream of the crop when you're not just trying to rush on to the next game, or play a bunch of different games at the same time.
 
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