Spending on games and game hardware: Are you a conservative or liberal spender?

What are your spending tendencies for gaming?

  • Slightly liberal spender

    Votes: 29 18.5%

  • Slightly conservative spender

    Votes: 46 29.3%

  • Very liberal spender

    Votes: 27 17.2%

  • Very conservative spender

    Votes: 49 31.2%

  • I never spend money on games, I just come here to shitpost and discuss

    Votes: 6 3.8%
  • Total voters
    157
I regularly check different deal sites and gamefly for cheap games, and isthereanydeal.com for steam games. I wont spend $60 on a single player game with a 8-12hr campaign, but i'll spend more than $60 on multiple cheap games that i probably wont play. Gamepass helps though.
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I actually fuck a chick who sends me PlayStation copy of games and she buys a lot of PlayStation games so I have temporary halted buying games. I buy games that i think have deserved my money and are a bit underrated. Also got PS+ and gamepass so it's just I have been buying a lot less lately but ofc steam sale is a hell of a drug.
 
TrueLegend said:
I actually fuck a chick who sends me PlayStation copy of games and she buys a lot of PlayStation games so I have temporary halted buying games. I buy games that i think have deserved my money and are a bit underrated. Also got PS+ and gamepass so it's just I have been buying a lot less lately but ofc steam sale is a hell of a drug.
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I'm very conservative with my spending, because I don't feel a single videogame is worth $50-$70. Especially when AAA is a sea of unfinished train wrecks in need of patching.

So spending as little of my own money is what I prefer to do.

This year I've been keeping track for fun of my out of pocket spending to see just how well I do.

Story wise back in my game flipping days when you could shift inventory between GameStop and Blockbuster during perfect storm moments, I turned a $5 out of pocket purchase into a Rockband 2 set and Fallout 3.
 
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I only buy what I really want in terms of games. So that's not a lot anymore, lately. I also don't find a videogame worth €70, which is now a standard for some reason. Funny how things grow more expensive and also more shit at the same time. Playing a game as intended at launch isn't even a given.
 
Last game I bought at release date was Battlefield 3... which was what, 2011? I didn't buy a ps4 until it was $199. I dont buy games unless they are 75 - 90% discount, mostly indie games. My backlog is huge so I'm never in a hurry to buy things. I haven't been HYPED for a new game coming out in forever, all my favorite franchises have been tarnished. Basically gaming is only a hobby out of tradition and/or habit, however I still enjoy it.
 
I used to spend quite a bit. Buy all consoles, buy a lot of games.

But every Nintendo system I buy I quickly sell so I'm done there. Hopefully. Xbox One was the end of Xbox for me, so that's money saved. PlayStation only now.

And then there's the backlog, I ended up buying so many games on sale that I have like a 20+ game "backlog", + the games from ps+ and so now I'm very conservative.
 
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My household is on a fixed income due to my wife being disabled and my needing to be her full time caregiver. I can't afford to buy everything new. I wait for aggressive sales and do a lot of physical game trades to defray the cost of titles I want to get close to release.

I guess that makes me a "very conservative spender". If finances weren't so tight, I'd probably be a more liberal spender.

I was fortunate to have enough money to buy either a PS5 or XSX at launch and managed to get the Xbox. It took 18 months of saving and waiting before I could manage getting a PS5. I'm still using my original first gen Switch. As much as I'd like a new one with OLED and a better battery, I just can't justify it.
 
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I don't like most newer games and I mostly game on PC, where older games are cheap and plentiful and free shit gets thrown at you from every direction, so I barely ever need to spend any money.
 
Oh honey, when it comes to spending money on video games, honey, I'm an anarcho-communist gay transgender woman.
 
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Mutantchipmunk said:
I regularly check different deal sites and gamefly for cheap games, and isthereanydeal.com for steam games. I wont spend $60 on a single player game with a 8-12hr campaign, but i'll spend more than $60 on multiple cheap games that i probably wont play. Gamepass helps though.
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Woah big spender here. I can't remember the last time I went over $10. (Being serious)

Though I do splurge on hardware when I build my pc's. I try to build so I won't have to replace anything for at least 5-8 years.
 
Depends on the game and upgrade cycle.

Sony first party? Likely day 1.

Everything else? Depends on my backlog and if I have something waiting that I really want to get into. Games coming up like FF7 Rebirth, FF XVI and a few others are all marked as Day 1 buys on PS5.

Hardware wise- big spending. Bought a LG C1, then built a 5600/7900xt PC. Probably about $4.5k CAD in hardware right there.
 
You could say that In the past 12 months or so I went a bit on a spending spree. Bought around 200 PS5, PS4 and some Switch and Xbox games for my physical collection. Have no regrets. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
Liberal as a motherfucker on Hardware but pretty conservative on Software.

I will say I do rarely buy new hardware which is why I always go all out.
 
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Definitely a conservative spender. I upgrade my PC every 5 years or so (well, GPU I might upgrade every 3 years). As for games, I've only been buying 4-6 new games a year. Either preordered or bought on day 1.

This is mainly because I just don't game as much as I used to. There's plenty of games I still want to play and I can afford them, but I don't see how I can fit them all in.
 
I'm trying to be more conservative. I used to buy all the games I was interested in day one but I've barely even been playing any of them and then I'd buy games when their are sales and I don't even play them as well. I'm trying to go for beat several games before I start purchasing one ( I failed this recently since I bought 4 games on the current psn sale though). This way I actually play the games I purchased and I have the possibility of paying less for a game since I will be buying the game much later from its release date.
 
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I usually only buy a game at Launch if it's something I'm really hyped for. So far this years that has only been Metroid Prime Remastered and RE4 Remake. I may Get Armored Core and Starfield at Launch, but considering they release pretty close to each other, I'll probably end up choosing just one and waiting on the other.

I usually wait for sales for stuff, especially DLC. I actually just bought the RE8 expansion because it went on sale.
 
I'd say conservative just because most of my games I purchased were on deep discount. Then I look at my games and see that I have 108 games installed on my PS5 all purchased in the last 18 months. So I guess not too conservative.
 
I buy all the games I'm interested day one, I rarely wait for sales. My issue less to do with money but rather time.
 
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Hardware:
I plan ahead and invest in stocks ahead of planned hardware purchases. I have a 4090 but already have the next graphics card upgrade cooking in Nvidia stocks, just have a couple stocks but the stock is up 85% so far this year so it adds up. The plan is to let the money sit and upgrade when I can do it without touching my monthly income.

Games:
I prepayed XBLG and EAPlay to get Gamepass Ultimate for $5/month. And so far I've not bought a game on Xbox this generation but I've likely played 100s of games.
I did the same thing with PS+ at the same $5/month by prepaying for PSNow and convert to PS+ Premium. Played lots of big releases for pocket money.
Unfortunately Sony delay their 1st party games on PS+ so I still buy some bigger games there. But again, I use stock earnings to not have to use my salary - buy low, sell high - use the earnings for games - reinvest at a dip and wait for a peak and sell again - do another game purchase. Etc.

Don't know what that makes me. Cheap ass sneaky liberal spender?
 
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These days I probably buy 1-3 a year.

This year it's Hogwarts, Zelda and Starfield.
Can't think of anything I really want.

Game Pass provides everything else.
 
I almost never spend top price on a game nor DVD's for that matter. Basically, entertainment stuff can be found cheaper if you wait a while.
 
I stopped getting new games day one before 3 years, mainly because I have huge backlog of game & little time to play them( RL obligations) & secondly because all new games need at least 6 months of patches to clear out bugs & performance.
 
I used to easily spend north of $1200 (based on currency conversion) in a year on games alone, up until last year where I pumped the brakes hard.

I'm trying to hang back and buy on sale where it's not something I "have to play" immediately. Year to date, I've only spent about $170.
 
I try to be thrifty on content because I am a stupid asshole when it comes to hardware. I have a Decent PC with 4090, Suitable second PC with 3090, PS5 and Switch. I prefer games on PC and prefer platforms that allow easy sharing so my son can play on the other PC. Steam's sharing sucks but is serviceably. Gamepass sharing is great and the content has been pretty good this year.

I buy PC games on CDKeys to save a few bucks where possible like with Hogwarts. I will sub for 1 month to play a game to services like EA Play pro and Ubisoft then drop when done. I will buy used PS5 games if feasible, but day 1 for major exclusives. I used to sell PS5 games after beating, but now I think my kid might want to play so I keep them.

Playstation is probably the biggest waste in gaming for me because I only play exclusives. If I was smart and patient, I would either skip a console generation for Sony systems, buy a system used at the end of a cycle and get all the good games on ebay or even new for the last 2 gens or since they started porting to PC, just wait for that.
 
If game is good and i want it- i buy it, hell even preorder it, at 40yo time is ur bottleneck, not cash.
Edit- not a fan of special editions/microtransactions and such shit, so i chose slighty liberal option ;P
 
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I'm absolutely stupid with it. I don't really buy limited editions, but I'll buy games I really want day1 or wait for a performance review. Whatever system runs it best.

I have a wishlist of games I'm looking to get for my retro collection or to dump so I can emulate. I chip away at this frequently.

I usually buy indie games or great ports on my nintendo switch. It's the one system I still have sealed games. I rarely play my switch, but I love buying games for the system. Physical switch indie games are a beautiful thing.

I love adding to my Steam account. I'm always on the hunt for games that are getting de-listed on all platforms and I'm quick to sweep up anything I need.

I need to calm down a bit to be fair. I'm just glad I don't collect the same game across multiple consoles.

Money doesn't even come into question. I'm loose with money because I enjoy the hobbie. Of course I try and spend as little as possible, but I don't really wait to maximise my savings. Sometimes it just happens organically.
 
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When I love a game I really love a game and I'll spend hundreds of hours on it. So I'm happy to spend a tonne to find the diamond in the rough. I'm a liberal spender.
 
I buy more games day 1 than anyone else I know in addition to frequently buying stuff with the never-ending PSN sales. The industry is dependent on our support to thrive, if you're a cheapskate who *only* buys stuff on sale or only plays stuff on a certain service *cough cough* then you're not doing much for the hobby you claim to love.
 
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Games / home theater / AV stuff is my primary hobby so I spend a good chunk of change towards it.

With that said, I'm an endless bargain hunter. Between the Game Pass Ultimate conversion trick, Microsoft Rewards, and buying gift cards sparingly at a minimum of 20% off, I get all of my games practically for free. I'm spending $20 out of pocket at most for new $70 games.

Most of my money towards the hobby is spent on the hardware. I have:

  • Xbox Series X
    • 1TB Samsung T7 SSD drive
    • 2TB Samsung T7 SSD drive
    • SCUF Instinct premium controller
    • 3 Xbox Series S|X controllers
    • Controller charging dock
    • Xbox Wireless Headset
  • Xbox Series S
  • Logitech G Cloud handheld
  • Playstation 5
    • Extra Dualsense controller
    • Dbrand Dark Plates 2.0 & matte black skin for center portion
  • Nintendo Switch
    • 200gb MicroSD card
    • mClassic HDMI upscaler
    • 2x Pro Controllers
  • LG C2 77" OLED TV
  • Sonos Arc Soundbar
  • Sonos One SL surrounds
  • Sonos Sub Mini
  • 3rd gen Apple TV 4k 128gb
  • Asus AX86U Wifi 6 router

Definitely adds up. But gaming/home theater is really a pretty reasonable investment compared to many other hobbies.
 
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I buy what I want, when I want it. As a result, one month I might only spend €50 on physical media, and the next month it's €600.

I'm not much into the hardware side of things, but I like collecting controllers so that adds a bit to the total as well. And whenever there's a Collectors Edition of something I like, I wanna have that. Even if it's just for the premium packaging.
 
I'm a spender when the games are good. Overall, I'm spending less now. Still buying the most expensive versions when it comes to Sony's 1st party.
 
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£70 on a new game!? Fuck off... I'll wait till hits the sales, most I'll pay is £40, it's a right ballache some times as I'd love to jump on some of the latest games for example I want to do a run through of the TLOU games, I have the 2nd one which I again bought on sale after a year of avoiding spoilers (Christ that was a hard wait), I have the PS4 version of the first one but I'm waiting till the remaster hits £40 before jumping.. fucker is still £70..
 
I was stupidly liberal up to a few years ago, especially in the 3DS/WiiU era with all the limited editions and amiibo and whatnot. I bought 6 different 3DS's and still have two. Before that, I would buy strategy guides snd accessories and stuff I barely ever used.

I have completely reversed that now. I rarely buy anything day one except the occasional big Nintendo game, the rest is sales and GamePass. I'm barely interested in AAA, and I don't have a problem with digital games unless it's something like Zelda where I really want the physical copy.
 
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