jawa asks... Is the cost of living impacting your gaming spend?

Majorly. But, as I'm public sector, my living standards have been falling for over a decade so I've been adapting to rising costs for a while. I look back on my spending over years gone by and wonder if I will ever have that sort of disposable money again. To you question, I've bought 3 games this year, all heavily discounted. In previous years, I could buy about 50 (although certainly not all full price), and I'd likely make a new hardware purchase or another in a year as well. My life is pretty much night and day different to what it was like 6 or 7 years ago.

I used to buy 1 game a month at least. I think I have bought 4-5 games this year so far (and a couple of indie titles).

I’ll admit I’ve cut back.

This is why I think the backlog is such a blessing in disguise. I can’t buy new games, play the old ones I never did. I’ve got a massive amount of titles I brought in online sales I never got around to playing.

I also find a subscription useful if I can’t afford anything new to play, for example £7 to fire up FFXIV for a month isn’t extortionate at all.

Jenuall wrote:Having subs makes it harder to easily track how much I'm actually spending...

I think with subscriptions it kinda feels like "hey, £11 a month is all okay!"... and then you realise that you've got about nine such subs.

Jenuall wrote:...there have been a few times over the last couple of months where I rejected an impulse purchase that I might have gone through with if it weren't for the current squeeze on funds

Ah! Impulse purchases... the bane of self control! It's so easy to be drawn in by a great deal without thinking about when you're actually gonna play the game.

Garth wrote:I have years of Game Pass stacked for cheap so the crisis hasn't impacted my gaming thankfully.

Rental/library services sure do look to be a key format in how many people will play games in the future. The ability to have access to lots of games definitely is an attraction.

Afrocat wrote:...I generally only buy a new single player game once I've finished and/or lost interest in the last game I bought. There's usually a couple months between each purchase...

Dang, Afrocat... that is the dream!

Afrocat wrote:...
Outer Wilds @ £19.76
Steam Deck 512GB @ £565.00
Return of the Obra Dinn @ £10.84
...

Haha, that tiny text - I initially skimmed over the purchase .

Afrocat wrote:...I'm just waiting for the Steam Deck Dock now instead.

I didn't realise a dock was on the way; it'd be pretty cool... and Switch-like!

Preezy wrote:...I really fancied buying Sniper Elite 5 but cost of living means I'm probably gonna have to put that on a bargain list as I just can't justify spending £40+ on a game at the moment...

I really want to get that game, too, but - like you - I'm waiting for a discount.

Preezy wrote:...There is a positive to that though, in that I'm now actually going to play some of the games in my backlog! Almost completed Spider-Man on PS5 and I've really enjoyed playing that. Death Stranding might also get to see the light of day

You're bang-on, Preezy! I sometimes whack myself about the head when I'm looking at a new game... and I still have No Man's Sky, Dynasty Warriors 8, Death Stranding and more to play.

ITSMILNER wrote:I only buy games in deep sales these days. Gone are the days of day one buys unless I really really want to play it

Milner, yes, I've really held back on launch day games, too, as the cost can really sting. When I see new games and the choices are £70 for the basic edition and £90 for "gold" or whatever... it"s just a complete no-go.

Bertie wrote:...Where Pc gaming really sucks is hardware. It will be interesting to see how the new graphics cards sell. I’m not convinced many gamers have £1000 for latest cards again, especially if they can’t shift their old ones.

Yeah, hardware costs are often looking to be steep right now, Bertie. Last time I was into the PC gaming scene was 2002 through 2005; it was a brief dalliance!

more heat than light wrote:

Garth wrote:I have years of Game Pass stacked for cheap so the crisis hasn't impacted my gaming thankfully.

This.

Bertie wrote:I do too. For me it’s not enough. I still like to buy other games and newer titles or old stuff on steam/epic.

Ah! More Game Pass aficionados! As I mentioned, I definitely can see the attractions of the service; instant access to so many games!

I have kinda got my head around film and TV services of this type and I like them... albeit I still miss not owning the disc to use whenever I want and if/when programmes leave the service. With gaming I haven't tried it because I play games intermittently and am pretty slow with progress - they'd probably leave the service before I got a few hours into them. I would really miss the boxes, too . With the price of "AAA" games now, though, perhaps I'll change my mind.

Drumstick wrote:...

• I buy only around 5-6 games a year
• As they come in plastic cases with no manual these days, I buy second hand at a reduced price
• I don't subscribe to any of the online services

Drum, you are clearly a guy who knows his own mind! You appear to be very focused in how you approach gaming purchases :-). With those purchases that you do make, do you tend to select "bigger" games to get the most bang for your buck?

RetroCora wrote:I'm spending a whole lot less on new games. My gaming spend tends to be limited almost entirely now to either the odd Switch game that I really fancy, or the odd retro effort for the N64.

Hehe! Cora, it sounded like you were keeping a close eye on your gaming spend... until the N64 was mentioned! I've been out of the retro-buying scene for a decade now but, when I do occasionally take a peek, N64 stuff looks to be pretty expensive .

Then again, I guess that a new PS5 game could be £70 or more, so maybe it's better to pick up an N64 game .

Jenuall wrote:Just to say, good purchasing - this is an excellent list of games*!

*and No Man's Sky

[AutoMod: User "Jenuall" warned for being mean about a game thst User "jawa_" likes. Future posts to be tracked for illegal opinions.]

Xeno wrote:While it hasn't really affected my game purchases I did cancel my Steam Deck pre-order. That cash might be more useful later on with how things are going.

That must have been a tough decision, Xeno; it's always disappointing when you've set your heart on some new gaming hardware but cost factors kick in. Hopefully in the future you may get a Deck.

Vermilion wrote:Only bought 1 game so far this year (Two Point Campus), though it does kinda help that there's not been many titles actually coming out (the only other one i would have liked was F1 22).

Ah! The "no gaems" factor does have some benefits, Vermilion! .

Rubix wrote:In short, yes it will change. I can’t afford to spend money like i used to

Dang, yeah, the current cost squeeze is pretty challenging, Rubix. Maybe a side effect could be they we'll be maybe a bit more excited when we are able to get a game?

KK wrote:What with the price of energy these days, I’m more interested in how much the PS5 is costing to run. I suppose in that regard retro gaming would be more economical.

Now there's a thought, KK. I think the new gen consoles (X and PS5) do suck up plenty of juice? That's why I never turn my PS5 on .

Buffalo wrote:I’m spending about the same because I’m thigh-deep in 3 subscription services which I’m assuming will be enough to tide me over...

Well, you sure do have access to plenty of games through those subs, Buff - the bigger challenge may be choosing what to play!

Buffalo wrote:...But a full price game on launch? Not a chance. Not entirely sure I’ll be able to justify it perhaps ever again.

Yeah, I do wonder if - although the gaming market is bigger than ever - just how much if the mass market are gonna be spending out the asking prices for the big new games. The winner publishers will rake in the cash but I think plenty of others could miss out.

Jordan UK wrote:...I look back on my spending over years gone by and wonder if I will ever have that sort of disposable money again...

Man, yeah... it feels like general living standards are gonna fall for plenty of people . Specifically for gaming, well, there has to be a knock-on effect.

Jordan UK wrote:...I've bought 3 games this year, all heavily discounted. In previous years, I could buy about 50 (although certainly not all full price), and I'd likely make a new hardware purchase or another in a year as well. My life is pretty much night and day different to what it was like 6 or 7 years ago.

Same here, Jordan. We gotta hope for an upturn but, in the meantime, it looks like we're gonna be way more choosy about the odd game that we may pick up.

Rubix wrote:I used to buy 1 game a month at least. I think I have bought 4-5 games this year so far (and a couple of indie titles).

This seems to be the general vibe, Rubix, with the majority of folk tightening their belts in terms of gaming. It's a pain how the downturn has coincided with the arrival of a new console gen as this normally means a more expensive era is in place.

Carlos wrote:I’ll admit I’ve cut back.

This is why I think the backlog is such a blessing in disguise. I can’t buy new games, play the old ones I never did. I’ve got a massive amount of titles I brought in online sales I never got around to playing...

Boom! I like this, Carlos... a positive aspect! It may well be time for some of us to - gasp! - actually play some of those titles that we picked up in the past! Now this really is a good thing.

Carlos wrote:...I also find a subscription useful if I can’t afford anything new to play, for example £7 to fire up FFXIV for a month isn’t extortionate at all.

I cancelled my FFXIV sub last week (having only just signed up for a month after a long time away) and.. dang it, I want to play it! Ho-hum, we'll see.

jawa_ wrote:

Drumstick wrote:...

• I buy only around 5-6 games a year
• As they come in plastic cases with no manual these days, I buy second hand at a reduced price
• I don't subscribe to any of the online services

Drum, you are clearly a guy who knows his own mind! You appear to be very focused in how you approach gaming purchases . With those purchases that you do make, do you tend to select "bigger" games to get the most bang for your buck?

I determine how much a game is worth to me and then just wait it out until there's a sale, or there's one on eBay. I don't buy games that require massive downloads and I don't buy DLC.

For example I didn't want to spend more than £30 on Kirby and the Forgotten Land. I managed to snag a copy on eBay recently for £28.

15 posts in a row, surely some kind of record!