The Budgeted Gamers Guide to Being a Budgeted Gamer

I am a thirty year old man…with an allowance. I had to say it to myself quite a few times before I could commit to actually writing it down for all to see. For her New Year’s resolution, my wife decided to take a different approach to our finances in the hopes of wrangling in some of our debt and giving our family some fiscal responsibility. And, being the supportive spouse that I am, I’m willing to give it a go. I would have freaked out five years ago when the kids roaming my halls were fewer and my disposable income was higher; I now realize that if I do it smartly, I can still get the most out of my gaming dollar. What follows are the rules I set for myself when it comes to picking up games; with some context to maybe help you become smarter about your purchases as well. 

Patience is a Virtual Virtue

 Even though I’m in my third decade of existence, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I still get giddy when that game comes out. The type of title that steals your heart when it’s first announced and makes you contemplate frostbite as a feasible punishment for standing in line just so you can get your grubby mitts on a copy day one. But I need to separate church and state for a moment when it comes to some of these titles, asking myself it’s necessary to go to those lengths. Am I dying to play something because it speaks to me, or because everyone on my friends list is playing it? 

As tempting as it is to grab the car keys and drive to the closest gaming emporium, it’s best to take into account what I want to play and what I need to play. When it comes to the needs, it’s best to plan ahead and just save up for the fateful release day. Example: I’ve got duckets in my pocket specifically meant for Final Fantasy XIII. It’s tucked away in the moth-ridden nether regions of my wallet for safekeeping until the time is right. Everything else, I wait on. 

Mind you, it’s never that long; gamers consume titles at such a rapid rate that it’d give ADD a good name. Usually within a few months, this week’s hottest game will be a fraction of the price; be it a natural price drop or a sale. Contrary to popular belief, games are not milk; they don’t have an expiration date. Shocking, I know, but they’re just as fun two months from now as they are in the heat of the moment. Hell, not even two weeks after it’s release, I got Dragon Age: Origins for $30 at a Black Friday event. While everyone else was pulling their belts up and puffing their chests out at the fact that they whupped that game in a few weeks, I was equally as proud that I got it for half-price; saving me enough to pick up something else, too. 

 Rentals Without the Funny Smell

 So I’ve established that there will always be those games that will find it’s way into my console on launch (with which I save for) and those that can wait until a sale/price drop. What about those games that I’d like to play but don’t necessarily feel the need to own or don’t feel like I’d play again. That’s right, we rent. At this point, I’d like to ask any representatives of GameFly who may be reading this to feel free to pay me for the following advertisement: GameFly is awesome. It’s a much better alternative to the “buy, sell back” grind that a lot of my friends fall into. It’s a much cheaper one, too. As an added bonus, if a game you rent tickles your fancy, you can buy it for a phenomenal price with what amounts to a new box and manual. Score! 

 The Internets is the FUTURE!

 It’s a travesty that a lot of gamers and journalists don’t consider downloadable titles “real games”. The majority of my library now exists on just a couple of hard drives. While it can seem like nickel and diming, it’s easier to swallow when you realize that, on average, you can own about six indie and/or classic games for the price of one full disc based game. I won’t deny the joys of a big budget title, but with my lifestyle of chasing rugrats, working for a living and being an aspiring writer – I just don’t have the time to invest. In what may give some of you a coronary, I only game, if I’m lucky, fifteen to twenty minutes a day during the week. But that’s a debate for another day; a game’s worth shouldn’t be measured in its length nor price; but sometimes I want a quick fix, and it’s easier to feed that need when it’s only a ten spot.

 On the other end of the spectrum, we also have the nebulous subject of DLC. It’s still a jungle out there as far as quality of content is concerned, but with some solid research you can usually pick the wheat from the chaff. When looking into DLC, I often ask myself what it was about a game that drew me in and does this expanded content keep that gravy train going? For instance, I really loved Mass Effect’s “Bring Down the Sky” because it opened up the plot a bit and introduced a new alien race, where as “Pinnacle Station” didn’t grab me because it was focused on the combat, which wasn’t my favorite part. If you can’t smell the money making schemes out there, then you deserve to be swindled.

Not So Instant Replay

 Sometimes the smartest purchase is the one you don’t make at all. I’ve kept telling myself that “I’ll get back to that one”…and never do; which is shameful, as I always feel like I haven’t seen all that developers have worked so diligently on when I just plow through the main campaign and avoid side quests and end game content. My gaming New Year’s resolution has been to go back through my catalog, if only for nostalgic purposes. As of late, that way of thinking has brought me to falling in love with Secret of Mana all over again. It’s interesting to go back, as I can see the flaws I glossed over back in the day and still manage to ignore them because the world is interesting and the weapon leveling is so grind-a-rific. I also intend on going back into Oblivion and managing to double my already ridiculous 100+ hour play time scouring the land for hidden areas and new quests. 

What I’m getting at is that you can find something new to play in the games that you mowed down on your way to the next big thing if you look hard enough. Total cost to me: nada. The possibility of finding gaming’s Citizen Kane: priceless. 

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I had little faith going into my wife’s plans for monetary domination, but the more I think on it, the more I realize I’ll probably be in a better spot to play more games than I have years before. I’m also oddly comfortable with not riding on the bandwagon anymore, content with strolling alongside it from time to time working just as well. 

With that being said, what kind of pro tips do you all have when it comes to picking up and playing games and keeping it within monetary reason?

I’m not a real games journalist; I just play one on the internet. Check out my personal blog at the Question Block or follow me on Twitter @MHMason