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[Nydius]

This year I've bought only four new games (by "new" I mean within the initial release window at full price), and three of those launched at a sub-$60 price point (Expedition 33, Helldivers 2 Xbox Release, and Metal Eden). I let FOMO get the better of me on buying Borderlands 4 at launch for full price.

Between the economy being in the crapper for most of us, the cost of everything going up (my electric and natural gas bills have gone up 50% over two months despite lower usage, for example), and being burned by unfinished, unoptimized, greedy AAA gaming, I wait for sales now more than ever.

I'm sure Ghost of Yotei is a banger but I don't feel like I'm robbing myself of anything by waiting for it to come down in price.

 

[Mayar]

Where the hell do you find the time? I'm gonna assume no kids or relationships?

I'm 42, have a wife, a kid, and a job. The only thing I've probably stopped doing is playing free-to-play, MMOs, and gacha games.

 

[ReBurn]

We must be absolute aliens on this forum compared to the rest of the gaming market. Sometimes I don't even know how many I bought the current month because I've lost count / don't bother, lol

I also hate having money

 

[Gripsx]

Yea that makes sense.

Whenever I talk games with RL friends or acquaintance, I realize how most people just play F2P games or indies.

 

[calico]

Apart from heavily discounted games or low price indies, I probably only buy a few new games a year.

 

[Sooner]

Priced out in 2025. $70 games and $600 consoles are not feasible in this economic climate.

That's why they're moving to $80 games and $800 consoles.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

no one on GAF has phones or plays phone games

i play mario kart tour on the toilet and when taking a bubble bath

 

[Kilau]

Makes sense when you consider this

Thread 'Nearly 40% of Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck — Goldman Sachs Warns'

Oct 8, 2025

Number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck soars

Rising expenses and competing financial priorities have left millions of Americans struggling to save up for a secure retirement.

www.newsweek.com

Other surveys say it's even higher.
Wild shit.

• 12Goblins
• Replies: 63
• Forum: Off-Topic Discussion

• 

It's been like that for along time, sometimes a lot higher sometimes a little lower.

 

[Sethbacca]

I'm 42, have a wife, a kid, and a job. The only thing I've probably stopped doing is playing free-to-play, MMOs, and gacha games.

Damn dude. Thats a full plate with gaming on top.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

As usual, they don't seem to be defining "video game players". I can come up with all kinds of startling statistics, too, if I don't provide you an adequate premise.

 

[Havoc2049]

I'm a hardcore gamer, but for the past 25 or so years, I've usually have had a MMO or online multiplayer game in the mix that takes up a large chunk of my gaming time. As a result, I only buy like 5-7 games a year and two or three of those are usually RPG's that take like 50 - 150 hours to complete.

 

[Dorfdad]

Those are not "gamers", and you keep catering to them in hopes they will become gamers.

 

[DragonNCM]

I'm not gona lie....I'm in that 18% or something on deep discount.

 

[ReBurn]

I'm not gona lie....I'm in that 18% or something on deep discount.

Me, too. With very few exceptions I don't buy until there's a decent deal.

 

[Arsic]

Once again painting that us , era, Reddit etc do not matter. We are a loud minority, but do not matter.

Marketing and casuals let's you sell without issues busted shitty games like borderlands 4, and throw some bucks to journalists to spruce up the review scores.

We are the 4%.

 

[Bernardougf]

As usual, they don't seem to be defining "video game players". I can come up with all kinds of startling statistics, too, if I don't provide you an adequate premise.

The same "women are 50% of gamers" bullshit

 

[Yoda]

To be frank, the quality of recent AAA has been ass. There are exceptions, but not long ago I used to buy most 1st party Sony exclusives (ps2 - early ps4 were really quite good). Most of the franchises have suffered in the more recent iterations and I'm not buying them anymore. Cost isn't really an issue for me, mix of less freetime and really wanting to get the most of the limited time I have... Not going to play a Western AAA slop.

 

[yogaflame]

I dont need to buy all the games even if journalist and vloggers insist to buy that specific game. I only buy games that I like and I prefer the exclusives. And I base my purchase on my instinct and conscience so I avoid other games especially those infested with push and force twisted woke agenda like twisted gender ideology crap.

 

[BlackTron]

i play mario kart tour on the toilet and when taking a bubble bath

The cool thing about Mario Kart 8 for Switch 1 is that there's no camera

Or is it

 

[GloveSlap]

The gaming industry definitely has a lot of challenges right now, but that's why developers need to be hyper focused on what the players actually want. Unfortunately, most AAA has been doing the opposite of that at the absolute worst time to do so.

 

[mckmas8808]

And that right there is why Gamepass was never going to work. Microsoft was trying to change the behaviour of casual gamer into subbing into a service in such numbers that they would subsidised the loss of spending from hardcore gamers. Unfortunately for them F2P exists, gamer do it need to pay to enjoy AAA experiences.

EXACTLY!!!! People legit don't have a need to play 75 games a year. Most of us don't need to play more than 10 AAA games a year.

 

[tr1p1ex]

That's before you factor in how many games people buy that they don't play.

And this isn't exactly news. Attach rates have been long known. I don't think (they) ever amounted to more than 1-2 games per year of a console's lifecycle for any console. Although I suppose used games aren't factored in this survey or in attach rates either.

 

[Podge]

If this isn't evidence of an industry crash, I don't know what is.

 

[Evil Calvin]

I'm probably in the top 1% because I buy a dozen or so new games a month (a dozen alone new games from Sept 1st to now). Some AAA. some AA and also indies. Some physical, some digital. Then I buy a bunch more on sale each month.

New:

Hollow Knight Silksong
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
Borderlands 4
Puzzle Quest Immortal Edition
Baby Steps
Hades 2
Sonic Racing
Touryst Deluxe
FF Tactics Ivalice Chronicles
Super Mario Galaxy 1&2
Ghost of Yotei
Absolum
Earthion

And a bunch of stuff on sale like Wild Bastards, Vaporum, Heretic / Hexen, Sagres, House of the Dead, Dicefolk, Songs of Conquest

I have a problem.

 

[DragonNCM]

I'm probably in the top 1% because I buy a dozen or so new games a month (a dozen alone new games from Sept 1st to now). Some AAA. some AA and also indies. Some physical, some digital. Then I buy a bunch more on sale each month.

New:

Hollow Knight Silksong
Everybody's Golf Hot Shots
Borderlands 4
Puzzle Quest Immortal Edition
Baby Steps
Hades 2
Sonic Racing
Touryst Deluxe
FF Tactics Ivalice Chronicles
Super Mario Galaxy 1&2
Ghost of Yotei
Absolum
Earthion

And a bunch of stuff on sale like Wild Bastards, Vaporum, Heretic / Hexen, Sagres, House of the Dead, Dicefolk, Songs of Conquest

I have a problem.

I don't know why you buy all this games when you don't have time to play them all(finish)

 

[ShadowkillXNA]

Not shocking at all, with gamepass offering the best value in the gaming universe, and with literally everything, even my fitbit being an xbox, why the hell would you ever buy a game again?

 

[Evil Calvin]

I don't know why you buy all this games when you don't have time to play them all(finish)

I have ADD and never finish games. I jump around based on my mood. I don't recall the last game I beat.......maybe The Witcher 3....years ago