Everyone should have a hobby, or so the saying goes. I had one as a teenager; but I grew out of it, and instead swapped over to spending my time fiddling with video games instead. Some people say that playing computer games is a stupid and childish hobby for a (very very) nearly thirty year old – and to them I say: “Go f*ck yourself”.
I’m just kidding, but seriously, this is Ready Up, who’s reading this that isn’t into games, after all?
There is, however, a different way of looking at why games simply aren’t just for children any more. Violence, sex and drug-taking are now central themes in many games (but enough about the Nintendo Wii). It’s not even that, though.
It comes down, quite simply, to the price. I still have a recollection of being a child doing a free paper round and finding fifty pence outside a pub. It made my day. Hell, my week. In fact, I remember it now about 20 years later. When I was a kid, £40 was a pile of cash so enormous that it’d take you a week to climb it. It was your key to a stash of penny sweets that’d get you so high on sugar that you wouldn’t sleep for a week. It was riches beyond your wildest dreams.
Now it’s the price of just about every new 360/PS3 release. No wonder you need to have a full time job just to afford them!
I’m not saying that gaming is a rip-off, though, so long as you buy and enjoy the right games. I just completed GTA IV on the 360, and it took me just short of 28 hours to do. (Scorewhores take note, that means I did get the ‘Liberty City Minute’ achievement)
The game cost me £40, so that’s a grand total of £1.42 per hour of top notch entertainment, not including the many hours of multiplayer I’ve already squeezed out of it. Compare that to (just short of) £8 for a 2 hour film at the cinema and it’s a bargain. Compared to the price per hour of pub drinking time, it’s the sale of the century…
That said, it does get worrying when you start to add up your total expenditure, though. Below is every game, game console and accessory I currently own (barring 4 PS3 games I loaned to a friend, and my Buzz Quiz controllers). This little lot cost me approximately £3,500.
Add on all the games and games consoles I used to have (original Xbox, Gamecube etc.) that I sold or traded in at a massive loss, and my hobby has easily cost me more than this, my car:
Comparing this to my car makes me think I should probably spend less on games, or perhaps buy a more expensive car.
That said, it’s a far far cheaper addiction than heroin and you’re much less likely to die horribly. Unless, of course, it turns out that it’s possible to die of RSI…
A scary thought indeed.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.