Do you ever find yourself buying games you're not particularly interested in just b/c cheap?

[LilithSlave]

Ran out of subject line room.

I didn't used to do this, I used to be smarter than this. But mind ain't what it used to be. And I find myself sometimes buying games just for the sake of it. I didn't used to, but I also used to be a poor kid that couldn't afford more than 2 games a year.

For instance, everyone here knows I don't like first person shooters. But when I'm going on a Steam shopping spree, when they have sales and the like, I end up buying things I normally wouldn't, such as $5 copies of Bioshock alongside $35 copies of Last Remnant.

Because it's just so cheap and convenient. I think, "surely I can get $5 worth of enjoyment out of this game, and I don't even have to pay the gas money to buy it at a store, or the shipping to having it shipped to me. And I'll always have it available from any computer I've built, that I can sign into Steam from". And when I end up doing things like ordering an expensive Japanese 3DS online and $80 copy of Tales of the Abyss at Play-Asia just because I love it so much and it's worth it to me. I think "no, this isn't up my alley, but if I'm willing to spend $80 on a game I really love, I'd might as well spend $5 on a throwaway game".

I don't know if this is smart or not, but I've ended up buying almost every single game at this current Halloween Steam sale, because almost everything is less than $15. I feel like I shouldn't spend money on games I don't want, but a permanent, easy to use copy of a game that's practically free and guaranteed safe and working and supported, unlike a pirated copy somewhere. I just cannot help but just click purchase, over and over and over.

I think I need money management counseling.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I currently can't afford to do that but whenever I get the chance I will buy a cheap game for the hell of it. A collection is a collection after all and you can't complete a collection if you don't have Rugby 04 or, Fifa 06. Not to say I've grabbed those but I did grab a copy of Aquaman on the Xbox for 2 bucks because I just couldn't look the other way on that one! Before you ask, I haven't played it: Not until I can record the gameplay and post it as my very own Lets Play!!

 

[Chased]

Just picked up Dragon Age II for $14, retail copy that also included the Mac version. I only played the first one for about a half hour. Finding a Mac game that meets my specs for $14 is awesome, given the game is semi-decent.

I buy about a game every month or two, usually stuff on the cheaper side. I dislike buying things I know I'll barely use, I hate wasting things when other people have nothing.

 

[PotluckBrigand]

Absolutely. It's like a disease or an addiction. I see a deal and I can't resist it. On steam right now I own 274 games. How many of those did I buy on release day at full price because I really wanted them? Well, maybe between 30-50 I'd say. Maybe another 30-50 are games I bought at a reduced price (but not sale price necessarily) a few months after they came out because, again, I wanted them but didn't want to pay full price.

That leaves, at best, two thirds of my games that were likely cheap impulse buys or parts of bundles.

Sure, I've got a big collection (and maybe half as many console games sitting on the shelf), but how many of those games have I played all the way through?

Conservatively I'd say maybe forty of them. That is not a very good record.

I'm bored, I have disposable income, and I like video games. I frequently abandon the ones I'm working on if something that looks interesting goes on sale and most of the time I don't make time to go back and finish them because hey, I'm a busy guy. I've got more games to buy!

I'm not proud of my numbers, but what the hell? As long as my bills are getting paid, I suppose.

 

[tombman888]

I did once... It really wasn't worth it in the end because i felt like i just wasted a ton of money.

-Chime
-Dead Space (I wanted to play this one, but something kept fucking up and now its zoomed in so far the camera goes past the guys bloody head)
-Hoard (Was fun but got boring too quickly. WAY too quickly)
-Monday Night Combat (Tried to update once, broke, never played again)
-Power of Defense (The worst of them all.)
-Stalker: Pripyat and chernobyl (I just couldn't play them, too hard for me.)

Now, i don't spend much on games just because they're cheap anymore, as i don't have money and am trying to save.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Not really. I have some interest in playing almost every game I buy whether they're cheap or not. Sometimes I'll make the occasional blind purchase though and end up being pleasantly surprised.

 

[C2Ultima]

No, but I do seem to have that issue with blu-ray films.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

Nah, I'm pretty good. Sometimes I'll spend money I probably shouldn't if a game I've been interested in for a while is cheap, but not random games, no.

 

[the spud]

Yes, but only because I like to expand my horizons and I want to make sure I don't get tunnel vision. Most of the time this system works out favorably. For example, I once bought a game that you have probably heard of about a year ago off steam called "Deus Ex". I heard a lot of people saying it was quality, but for every one person like that, there were three who claimed that it had aged horribly. I thought "well, it's only $2.50, I might as well try it."

Spoiler: And then I played it

So yeah, it was pretty good.

 

[DustyDrB]

Yeah, and I don't feel guilty about it either. I'm a "work to live" kind of guy. If I'm not spending my spare money on things I enjoy, then what's the point of having it?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Yeah, steam rapes my wallet because of steam sales where I can get "X game" for $4.00, but because of that I get to play and enjoy games that I normally would never have tried if they were full price.

Some of my personal favorite games, like Metro 2033 or Assassin's Creed 2 I never would have given a chance had I not been able to get them on the cheap.

 

[Phlakes]

Yes, but only because I like to expand my horizons and I want to make sure I don't get tunnel vision. Most of the time this system works out favorably. For example, I once bought a game that you have probably heard of about a year ago off steam called "Deus Ex". I heard a lot of people saying it was quality, but for every one person like that, there were three who claimed that it had aged horribly. I thought "well, it's only $2.50, I might as well try it."

Spoiler: And then I played it

So yeah, it was pretty good.

Same thing happened to me, and I'm pretty sure it was the same sale. I actually got my ass handed to me in the first area and decided it was shit, but gave it one more chance a month or two later and loved it hard.

 

[rohansoldier]

I might occasionally do this with the odd preowned game, but very rarely as I often don't have the time or money to do so.

I am also the kind of person that will always shop around for the best price on games or anything else, even with pre owned ones in high street stores. For example, I recently bought a pre owned copy of darksiders on the 360 in hmv for £8 when the game store nearby had it for £11.99.

I was glad I shopped around rather than just picking it up in the first store I found that had it. That's a 33% saving!

 

[Mafoobula]

A looooooong time ago, 8-9 years or so, Menard's had a single little rack with video games on it. The games weren't even $10, which was just perfect for my teenaged wallet. I bought maybe 3 games total, 1 for the Gamecube and 2 for PC. The Gamecube game was alright; nothing stellar about it, apart from attacking with a giant mechanical yo-yo. The PC games, on the other hand, were bad. Not like "Man, this could've been so much fun" bad, they were just not fun. SO not fun, in fact, that I stopped playing 20 minutes into each one, uninstalled them, and decided not to think about them ever again.

Cut to a scant couple years ago, where I'm in Gamestop looking at a used copy of Baroque for the Wii. It looks alright, looks like a dungeon crawler, and I like dungeon crawlers. Only $20, eh? Sounds just about right. Ring it up, take it home, load it up, returned the same day.

 

[Sexy Devil]

This year I've bought the Witcher 2 and Resistance 3 just sort of because they were there while I was looking for another game and I'm so obsessive that I didn't want to leave the store empty handed.

Obviously I have pretty damn great taste in random game picking.

 

[kebab4you]

I do it all the time, and it brings me both misery and joy.

STEAM, WHY U SAPPIN' MY WALLET??

Heard they are going to nerf it in the next patch.

OT:Yes, In the back of my head there is a voice saying "Maybe you won't play it now, but in the FUTURE?" which have led me to buying many many games that I have yet to touch >_<

 

[krazykidd]

You lucky , i usually buy games on impulse that i have no interest in for 60$ like agrest war :zero. I really wish i didn't , also resonance of fate and fallout :NV fall into that category.

Now for cheap games . I did buy alpha protocol and alan wake cheap on impulse because like you i was bored and curious . And i'm glad i did, two very good games imo.

I try not to do thia anymore , i saw fable3 for 15$ in store and didn't buy it also so DNF for 20$ and didn't buy it so i'm getting better. I spent so much money this last year that i am litterally poor and xmas is coming, so i am trying to break the habit.