Since when did games become such ‘cheap’ commodities?

This has been bugging me for quite a bit, but across various forums and websites I’ve seen gamers talk about their PS3 games collections that are absolutely huge- we’re talking 50 games plus.  Sure, you can pick up some games for a reasonable £30, but most of the latest releases are around £40.  I’ve seen some stores try and get away with selling PS3 games for £50.  Shame on them.

I just find it astounding that many gamers in general these days will actually grab three or four games even if they are all released in the same week.  Maybe because money is a bit tight in my case, if I have any spare funds I’ll try and pick one of them.  Even if I was flush with money, I would still probably stick with getting one game as I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to play everything.

Take the past month or so with the releases of LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Call of Duty: World at War, FarCry 2 etc…  It was a big stretch for me even to get LittleBigPlanet in the end.  As for the other games?  I may get some of them as and when I can afford to do so, but by then, another must-have game will probably be out by then (hello, Killzone 2?).

As a result of not being able to go out and buy each and every game that is out there, I feel I respect my games more: I play longer on them, I cherish them.  Which is why I probably only have about ten or so games for my PS3.  I’m not counting PSN games or any games that people rent, their disposability is understandable.  But full retail games abandoned after a few plays, like some cheap soda can?

I just don’t get it- for me it is wasteful, and just shows decadence by those who have more money than sense.  Sure, over the period of about 5 years or so with a PS2, I notched up quite a games collection, but perhaps no more than 30 games.  Games seemed to be a lot cheaper those days as well, because they probably were.  These are just some thoughts of mine, however there are always two sides to a story.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has a ton of games and has something to say about it.  I’ll discount those people with an Xbox 360, as it has been out for a few years now.  Muchos gracias.

4 thoughts on “Since when did games become such ‘cheap’ commodities?”

  1. I feel the same way! I’ve seen people pick up 4 of the latest releases, often coming out on the same day, or maybe with a week between the next release. I guess it depends on how you like to play your games and how much cash you have to burn. For me, I like to get everything I can out of a game, and sometimes that means playing it through twice! I spend at least several weeks playing through one game, and I definitely like to give it 100% of my attention – not flit from one game I’ve just bought to another only a chapter or so in. Having said that, my 360 collection is fairly large – but that’s almost 3 years worth of buying.

  2. Yea, I know what you mean. Whilst I usually like to devote my time fully to a game (such as Orange Box, Uncharted), there are other games which I’ll dip in and out of, like Race Driver: GRID, and LittleBigPlanet. There’s also Metal Gear Solid 4 which I’ve left hanging mid-game as I’ve got stuck on it, and run out of time to play it amongst other things (the shame!).

    There are also games which regrettably, I haven’t even touched yet- such as GTA IV. Good job I let my bro buy that one! Plus I can start it from the beginning with Trophies! Yay

  3. I’ve been one of those people in the past month or so, I got Tiger Woods for free with my new Elite, FIFA 09 a few Days Later, then Fable 2, Fallout 3 and I got given Gears 2 by the wife as an early Crimbo Present! I’m up to about 25 games in my current collection.

    That’s really bad isn’t? I can dip in out of the sports games, I stuck with Fable (just needs to go back and pick up some of the achievements) and I am now going through Gears, I’ve played a bit of fallout but won’t get into it fully until I’ve finished with the others.

    During all of that I still made a point of finishing Assassins Creed!

  4. Whew! That’s a fair number of games to be juggling all at once! I think I stop dedicating all of my time to one game if I get bored or stuck with it, I’ll play something else, and then get back to it. Other than that, I’ll tend to focus on one thing at once.

    Good luck with Assassin’s Creed! Sure, it’s not the best game ever, but some of the visuals are impressive, and it satisfies the gaming itch for a while. Thanks for the comment!

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