Opinion How affordable is gaming for you?

[Xagarath]

I don't have a lot of money for gaming, so I mostly buy sale or bundle games nowadays, or indies where I particularly want to support the developer.
PC thankfully makes that a lot more affordable than console.

 

[Windrunner]

While games have gotten cheaper, hardware has gotten more expensive in the UK since the 2008 recession and now Brexit. My computer is 6 years old now but I am waiting for things to settle down before making any big purchases because there's too much uncertainty right now. Luckily the price of SSDs seems to be coming down after years of stagnation.

 

[Ex-User (119)]

Yea uk is a risky market at moment. Im lucky to be atleast some what fortunate and far to kind and help fund others gaming

 

[Wibblewozzer]

In the US. I live alone with my dog and don't socialize nor have any other hobbies that take up much of my money. I rent a fairly cheap apartment (relative, as Portland, Oregon has a high cost of living) and make fairly decent money now as I've moved up in positions at my company. Just checked a calculator and I'm considered middle income (though I'm on the lower side of the full range).

With that said I can buy pretty much any game whenever I want and be completely fine. I do try to wait for sales but often enough I'll buy new AAA or indie games near release if I want to. I'm going to guess I spend somewhere around 8-10% of my take home income on gaming. Another 2% is spent each year on books and movies as those are my only other main entertainment.

I am looking at buying a home in a year or two so I'll likely have to change how I live a bit then. Also, when I'm in a relationship, which isn't super common, I do spend less on games and focus on spending it elsewhere more. But I'm recently single so I've been spending more frivolously.

 

[Slice Sabre]

Gaming is pricey that much is true but I've made more a point nowadays on waiting for the price to come down.

I don't need to get a game when it first comes out like I used to. My backlog is large enough that by the time I finish one game another I wanted is on sale or had a permanent price cut.

 

[TomShoe]

It's pretty affordable for me. The overhead gets high (console, PC upgrades) but aside from that, I can't remember the last time I spent more than $40 purchasing a single game, unless it's something I'm giga-hyped for.

Most of my money goes towards my primary game, League of Legends (~$450 over 5 years).

I'm pretty blessed since I live in the States, have family support, and will likely be working for the government when I get out of college (next year). That way, I can buy games w/out a second thought. Still, I just find that most games don't give me that visceral excitement like they used to when I was a teenager. Perhaps it's reading all those gaming industry horror stories and seeing all that micro-transaction BS that's made me jaded. Therefore, I don't really buy most stuff until it's $20 or less, which happens relatively quickly.

Hopefully when I start working full-time, that love of gaming will re-kindle.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

Relatively expensive, but not nearly as much as console gaming. Hardware upgrades cost a small fortune, so you always try to buy something that'll last you for 3-5 years. Games are pretty affordable, even though AAA stuff is more expensive than ever due to the weak ruble.