How or Do You Refrain From Buying Games?

[Damm64]

What idiot would spend hundreds of dollars on perfectly emulatable, 20 year old games?

Weeeeell... there's plenty of them.

[Sarge]

I've always been relatively tight with my money. Not crazy, mind you, but tight enough that I could be considered a gaming cheapskate.

Now, most of this was because I didn't have money. I grew up with very little, and a lot of those habits are still present today. In fact, I tend to have an opposite problem, spending $20-30 on a bunch of games that I might never play instead of buying a single one that I actually will, because we all know quantity is better, right?

I do have a good job now, though, and I buy a lot more games new than I used to. But even then, there are only a few that I have to have at launch, and I'll wait on the rest. I try to leverage deals. I always have an internal ticker in my head that says, "X is the amount I will pay for this game", and that number is almost never full price. I tend to make exceptions for Nintendo games in series I'm interested in (Zelda is always first priority), and I try to buy Dragon Quest games whenever possible, along with any other RPGs that I love.

Getting to know what you like and don't like certainly helps. I discovered a long, long time ago that while the idea of SRPGs appeals to me, I've only actually played through a few of them. So I mostly don't buy them anymore. I've never been an FPS or RTS fan, so I pretty much ignore those, too, unless I can get a fantastic deal on them, or have elements that I think I can appreciate. The uber-anime PS3 RPGs don't appeal to me, so I skip them too, at least for the current price. Point is, I'm pretty picky about what I buy unless it's ridiculously cheap.

In the end, though, that doesn't crystallize things at all as far as advice. What's in my head isn't a good transferable metric. So, I'll go with what Exhuminator said: make a gaming budget. It will force you to prioritize what you want and what you don't. You'll make sharper decisions that way.

[Exhuminator]

It will force you to prioritize what you want and what you don't. You'll make sharper decisions that way.

You sir are exactly right. And I will elaborate on this point because I'm waiting on my coffee to finish.

I have a large "games I want" list that exists as a .txt file. It's organized by platform, with the platforms I'm most interested in at the top. Then each game under the platform listings is organized once more by priority of desire. This works to make the games I'm most interested in be the ones I prioritize looking for deals on.

What this means is that sales almost never interest me, because the games I'm after are hardly ever on sale. Nor are they included in any bundles I ever see. But it does drive me to look for the best prices on the top dozen or so games I'm seeking at any given time. In which I buy the ones at the best price within the budget.

I've been doing this for about two years so far and it works great for me. I get a continued influx of the games I'm most interested in, all while keeping the gaming splurge at a measured level. So what does this have to do with refraining from buying games? Well it makes me refrain from buying too many games at once, and refrain from impulse sale buys.

[noiseredux]

I did something similar when I was still a collector. I made a Google Doc with my Top 10 Wanted games, ranked by priority. Next I'd place the price I was willing to pay. I didn't let myself buy any games not on the list. And I couldn't add a game until one of the 10 was striked off. It at least helps you focus on what you want most.

[Nintendork666]

@Nintendork666

I understand now what you're saying, I think. You're saying you understand more what you yourself seek from games by analyzing your collection and seeing which parts of it you enjoyed more. By not constantly seeking new experiences, and instead playing everything you already own, you're forced to find out what's good and what's not in your current library. In the future that leads you to buying less games you won't like, and more games you will like. Simply because you understand your own tastes better. If that's what you're saying, sure that makes perfect sense.

However I thought perhaps you were implying that analyzing the games you bought over the years could lead to new insights into your own psyche. Some sort of existential element.

The reflection is a smidgen of each. I am well aware that my constant desire to obtain new physical media (not just games) is partially rooted in a personal void I carry. Something about self-fulfillment, yadda-yadda-yadda... but this isn't really the thread for that. lol

[Exhuminator]

I am well aware that my constant desire to obtain new physical media (not just games) is partially rooted in a personal void I carry.

I put that sentiment in myself towards growing up in the USA, where we are ingrained since birth that newer is always better. And bigger is always better. So a bigger and bigger collection of newer and newer games is an inevitable side effect 'eh? That's my excuse because my personal void is already filled with misanthropy and disillusionment.

[Sarge]

I think it's that I'm always looking for that next great experience. A lot of times, even if I have games to play, they're not hitting that level. So you tell yourself that the next one is the one that's going to hit it, the one to knock it out of the park. It's a constant search for newness, for something compelling.

When I describe it like that, it almost sounds like a junkie looking for his next fix. Which... might not be a terrible description, but at least gaming is more controllable for most of us!

[Nintendork666]

I think it's that I'm always looking for that next great experience. A lot of times, even if I have games to play, they're not hitting that level. So you tell yourself that the next one is the one that's going to hit it, the one to knock it out of the park. It's a constant search for newness, for something compelling.

When I describe it like that, it almost sounds like a junkie looking for his next fix. Which... might not be a terrible description, but at least gaming is more controllable for most of us!

I know exactly what you mean. But boy, oh boy, does it feel good when you do find a new game worthy of your top ten. I feel like I'm forever trying to find my next Chrono Trigger. That game still has an unmatched magic to it that I've yet to find in any other. Xenoblade Chronicles came damn near close, I can tell you that much.

[KalessinDB]

Refrain from buying games? What is this hoodoo you speak of?

No but seriously... I'm almost exclusively a retro gamer, if I buy 3 current-gen titles a year that's a big year for me, and even those I try to at least get used to save a couple bucks on. However for the retro consoles, and the arcade hardware I'm slowly being suckered into loving just as much as the retro consoles, I'm pretty fast and loose. It's just a matter of working within my finances, which I'm pretty good at doing off the cuff.

Honestly, I've tried a strict budget - doesn't work. I've tried compiling the High Want list and sticking only to them - doesn't work. For me it's just "spend what you can afford, dummy" and I stick to that.

[Erik_Twice]

I mostly mantain an elitist attitude of most games not being good enough to spend money and time on

Being less facetious, that's what I really do. I get my list and think "All right, do I really want Game X when I don't even have Game Y which is so much better?". And when I've narrowed my list only to the best of the best, I think. "Okey, I won't buy this game until I beat it or make a significant effort to play it when I do buy it".

Also, I'm poor, which helps