The game-buying commitment thread

[Tsunade]

This thread has made my week

[Green Gecko]

I think compulsive purchases, even if they cost just 90p or whatever, is something pretty much everyone is a victim of owing to FOMO and modern sales/pushy tactics. However subconscious they are, and however conscious we are or indeed try to be of our subconscious, we will be defeated at some stage. That isn't about disowning responsibility for overspending, it's simply stating it for what it is - by and large almost everything people purchase in our part of the world could be achieved more frugally, or not purchased at all.

Perhaps 20% VAT back to society is a tiny pat on the back regardless of whether you use the damn thing or not. Generally the more unhappy someone is in a consumerist society they more they will catch themselves making supposedly "unnecessary" purchases, until the extent of guilt accrued amounts to being punished for simply wanting things at all. Yet when that is the culture we are brought up in, is anybody really to blame for feeling that way?

It's irrelevant whether you spend £10 on 10 games or £100 on 1 game, there's far too much longevity and time invested in this kind of hobby to realistically "rinse" all of them, and I think it's a "problem" unique to the medium and the way they are sold and distributed. And also the way they depreciate so fast an initial purchase is probably always going to feel like an unnecessary spend, no matter what value we get out of it, while at the other end of the spectrum, the cheaper a game gets the more tempting that experience is to covet for very little money to potentially never enjoy at all - or perhaps if 1/10 of the purchases of 10 games for £1 is some kind of life changing gaming experience, it is perhaps worth the risk shovelling through the trove?

It's a unique problem of choice at the apex of any kind of emergent media or artform, and it has more generally been understood psychologically that, the more choice somebody has, the more deeply torn they are about which way to go, for they are literally "spoilt for choice" - often a bad thing.

It's also a reasonable rationale for why nostalgia exists. Those experiences weren't necessary better, or more authentic, they were simply better valued for what they are.

fwiw I feel this way about most purchases regardless of how many hours I spent deliberating on a purchase, so it doesn't necessarily have to be compulsive spending either. Compulsive implies a lack of control, whereas impulsive simply means with speed and with little rational thought. This is arguably neither of those things - perhaps when more time is invested in choosing a game that we then never get around to, the guilt has more to do with time than the money expended? But then the entire purpose of video games for many people is to while away their time escaping from the toil or trouble of day to day life, so, does it even matter? Perhaps simply shopping for or collecting games has equal value to playing them; regardless, it's a personal choice.

[Robbo-92]

jawa it's too late now, we all know you're a rich melon... a melonnaire, if you will.

Just imaging Jawa on that ‘Secret Millionaire’ program, or Secret Melonaire

[Mafro]

I envy people who have so much money that they complain about their own idiotic lack of self control when it comes to spending money on things they might get round to using one day.

When anyone ever talks about their 'backlog' consisting of games they've purchased but haven't got around to and that list is more than one game I automatically categorize that person as a complete strawberry floating melon.

gotten to

[Tomous]

Does this mean if you buy any kind of collection you instantly become a melon?

[ITSMILNER]

It’s good having a library to choose from, be boring if you never had a choice to pick from

[Dangerblade]

I envy people who have so much money that they complain about their own idiotic lack of self control when it comes to spending money on things they might get round to using one day.

When anyone ever talks about their 'backlog' consisting of games they've purchased but haven't got around to and that list is more than one game I automatically categorize that person as a complete strawberry floating melon.

[Dual]

[Vermilion]

12 games in 12 months? I've only bought 1 this year in total.

[Ste]

I've definitely got a bit of a backlog but I think Herbi's point is pretty fair.

[Balladeer]

Just to clarify - and, tbh, I think it was pretty clear enough anyway but here we are - this was not an "I'm rich!" post. It was highlighting that, recently, I've been buying games that I shouldn't because I can't afford to do so... and so I'm going to try and do something to change that pattern of behaviour. No more than that.

Nobody thinks this was an 'I'm rich' post Jawa (well nobody bar one apparently). We're all just ready to provide support and help you change the things you want to change!

By force if necessary.

[site23]

I envy people who have so much money that they complain about their own idiotic lack of self control when it comes to spending money on things they might get round to using one day.

When anyone ever talks about their 'backlog' consisting of games they've purchased but haven't got around to and that list is more than one game I automatically categorize that person as a complete strawberry floating melon.

How's this post working out for you?

[Captain Kinopio]

lol wut

[OrangeRKN]

Calling people idiots for having a backlog assumes a) spending money on games you don't play is financially detrimental, which isn't necessarily true, and b) buying games and adding them to a backlog is more expensive than buying one new game at a time to play. That second point has some very obvious counterexamples in bundles like humble bundle, where you might be getting a dozen new games together at a probably much reduced cost, and even when buying games individually - provided you do eventually get round to playing them - there is a good chance you can save money by buying a game in advance when it is on sale than waiting till the point you are ready to play it and finding it isn't on sale at that exact moment.

Then there are games that (especially in the retro market) are appreciating rather than depreciating in value, so buying them now makes more sense than waiting till you want to play them, or price aside may simply be much easier to buy right now because of a limited print run, or might be uncommon to find preowned so it makes sense to buy the game when you do happen across it because you can't be sure if or when you'll see it for sale again.

My backlog of unplayed games is probably skewed by several humble bundles where I've only played a couple of the games from the bundle. Ignoring those I have a good number of older games I have bought preowned. I think I only have the one game I bought new and full price which was a bit frivolent but it hasn't negatively impacted my life.

...but anyway, what I really want to know is if this rule applies to the Fallout 76 atomic shop jawa??

[Skarjo]

I envy people who have so much money that they complain about their own idiotic lack of self control when it comes to spending money on things they might get round to using one day.

When anyone ever talks about their 'backlog' consisting of games they've purchased but haven't got around to and that list is more than one game I automatically categorize that person as a complete strawberry floating melon.

I'm gonna buy even more games and not play them now.

Might even get Skyrim again and not even install it.

[site23]

[RichardUK]

A few years ago I would buy games on a weekly basis and not really play but I thought I needed to buy them and it was the same years ago when dvds were still quite a new thing I would just buy them and not even watch them but I wanted them on display

Now I am completely different and try to only buy games that I really want (although I feel I “have” to buy FIFA every year just because I have done since the start but never play it any more)

The PS5 is currently my main gaming platform although since getting a new MacBook Pro (which I am in love with) I have not been in my PS5 and have been using Xbox Cloud which is a fantastic service and with such a large selection of games you can play instantly it will make it hard to want to buy a traditional disc game

[jawa_]

How it started:



How it's going:


...

...but anyway, what I really want to know is if this rule applies to the Fallout 76 atomic shop jawa??

I specifically didn't touch upon DLC ... I gotta be real and accept that my attention might be drawn to F76 furniture and Avengers outfits .

[OrangeRKN]

Probably a good and self-aware decision

[Drumstick]

Black Friday also presents possible opportunity to hoover up plenty of games for the next year or so!