As gaming has only gotten more and more popular over the years, it’s also become increasingly expensive and inaccessible to some at the same time. This isn’t universally true, of course, there are still indie games which often sell for a much lower price and even free-to-play games, which bundle in online accessibility with that free status.
Still, if you’re someone who considers gaming to be a hobby, you might struggle to maintain a consistent interest due to the various things that you have to spend on. Why is this the case? More importantly, how can you prevent this from diminishing your own interest?
Reviews, Discussion and Finding the Money
The approach that many people take to this is to embrace the connected world of the internet. Taking a risk on a game is even more of a risk when the game costs so much. Naturally, then, people turn to reviews and online discussions to see if a game is worth getting in the first place. In the lead up to the release of a game, there’s often a lot of talk surrounding the review embargo; that is, how close to the release reviews are allowed to be published. This can give you an insight into what you should expect, and perhaps how long you should wait to get the game.
Even if the game is everything that you hoped for and more (by the sound of things, at least), then you might have the hurdle of the cost. The belongings you already have could be one option to overcome this. If you can identify items that you no longer use, this might be a prime opportunity to use services like Shiply to sell them, making space in your home and money at the same time. If there are no large items that you need to sell, turning your attention to old games you don’t play anymore could be your next best option.
Waiting for Sales
There’s also a motivation to get into the discourse and strike while the iron is hot. A new game comes out, especially one that everyone has been seemingly anticipating, and you’ll want to get in on that immediately. After all, haven’t you waited long enough? The problem is, with modern blockbuster games, this likely means spending a lot of money. You might find that there’s less of a negative detriment to you from waiting than you expect, especially because the game will reduce in price over time.
That question of time is one that people will wonder about, however. If there were a consistent scale, people might be much happier to wait, but the level of success the game finds in its initial release could impact the price that it stays at for the foreseeable future. Games that do well are more likely to stay expensive for longer, and games that don’t do well and become cheaper faster might not appeal to you if the lack of success was linked to poor reviews.
Exclusivity
On top of all this, you have the matter of consoles to think about. Many people might happily opt for PC gaming as it arguably gives you access to the widest catalogue of games, but even this platform doesn’t quite cover every single base. Nintendo games, for example, only ever tend to be released on the console that’s being supported at the time, the Nintendo Switch being the example of this in recent times.
What this means for people who are keen to experience every game that they’re interested in is that the idea of spending more money on a console becomes a genuine possibility and this can add an enormous cost to your hobby. This might just mean that you take a more discerning approach to identifying the console that you invest in, but it might also be about recognizing when certain games are likely to come on other platforms.
The State of the Industry
The question of why everything feels so much more expensive than in previous times is quite a difficult one to answer. There’s certainly an element of companies recognizing that they can ask for more money and have those demands met, but assuming that it’s all only down to that might not be painting the complete picture. Looking at the wider economic landscape can showcase this effectively, as it’s not just the gaming industry that finds itself struggling, it’s everyone, across all industries and countries.
Another issue that the gaming industry is facing today is the laying off of so many employees across companies, making it a tumultuous industry to work in. This, as you can expect, has a direct impact on the ability of developers to make games at all, especially within the kind of shorter time frames that might have once been expected. This in itself comes back to the issue of crunch. It has long been a problem in the gaming industry that staff are expected to work long and difficult hours in order to meet deadlines, something that can have a negative impact on their quality of life.
Turning Back Time
A natural reaction to all these changes could be wishing things were like they used to be. However, this might be a simplistic way to look at it; it’s true that gaming prices have increased and the wait times between games are longer than ever before, but that’s a natural part of scale ramping up. Audiences expect more now; better graphics, longer game times, improved gameplay itself, and all these things take time.
On that question of turning back time, though, there might be another option left open to you. Playing classic games is more than possible thanks to remasters and ports often available through various gaming storefronts, and this can give you a chance to experience the classics that helped to elevate gaming into what it is now.
It’s easy to hear about these older games and assume that the window has passed to play them, as if there’s not much on offer that hasn’t been built on in more modern releases. This isn’t always true, however, and these cheaper, older games could provide a solid foundation for your new gaming direction.