Is gaming an expensive hobby, or a cost-effective one?

[StaceyPowers]

At first glance, gaming is an expensive hobby. You’ll spend hundreds on a console or gaming PC, and if you buy games new, you’ll be spending around $70 per game.

But I think even IF you spend full price on new games, it is arguably the most cost-effective/high value form of entertainment, considering the dozens or hundreds of hours of entertainment you get for that price—often on your first playthrough alone.

Most of the gamers I know are far from rich. Before I got into gaming, I wondered how they afforded it. Now I realize how affordable it can be, especially if you shop used.

What are your thoughts?

 

 

[Reality vs Adventure]

I think it is an expensive hobby being as a new gamer. But usually any hobby costs money. Some games can give you a bunch of hours of entertainment which you make a good point that sometimes it is cost effective. Not so much for a 20 hour linear new game. And if you get the disc, then you can always resell it. But you also have to weigh the therapeutic value of gaming which some games I've played outweigh its price and I can play for years. Electronics and discs devalue over time so that is something to factor in. Whatever it is that brings joy in your life is money well spent as long as it isn't something bad for your health. That's the key I think. There are so many people out there wasting money on other things, so it is a blessing to find something you love. 

"All work no play makes Jack a dull boy"

"All work no play makes Jack a dull boy"

"All work no play makes Jack a dull boy"

"All work no play makes Jack a dull boy"

"All work no play makes Jack a dull boy"

 

[The Blackangel]

It's more than worth the cost. I've been gaming for closing in on 40 years now, and I think it's the only thing that has really been a constant through my entire life. I play the same systems and games I played when I was a child, as well as the new stuff. There is something for literally everyone to enjoy in the video game world. Everyone can find something. Depending on your personal tastes, it can be expensive as hell, or pocket change. I can get on CL right now and buy 8 PS3 games for a grand total of $12. I'm not buying them because they're all sports games. Or I can get on there and buy a scalped PS5 for $500. But I'm going to wait a couple more years before I start thinking about a PS5. I've explained why in other posts.

So I personally believe the benefits far outweigh the costs.

[killamch89]

It depends on how you go about it. I don't typically spend that much on gaming per month so it's quite a cost-effective hobby for me. The key is to budget and don't go over 10% of what you earn per month. If you plan to buy a game that is going to be released in like 2-3 months, I'd recommend not touching that money and letting it accumulate. That way you can afford a title on launch day.

[Patrik]

It's "expensive" based on your own financial situation, for me, it is expensive for sure, as i'm still a student and i have no source to get money from, but for some other people, it's a whole other story

[m76]

I don't think gaming is a particularly expensive hobby. I have many other hobbies and I can safely say all of them are more expensive than gaming.

[killamch89]

17 hours ago, Patrik said:

It's "expensive" based on your own financial situation, for me, it is expensive for sure, as i'm still a student and i have no source to get money from, but for some other people, it's a whole other story

That's pretty relatable but if you have PayPal, there are a few ways where you can make some "beer money" so that you can fund your hobbies.

32 minutes ago, m76 said:

I don't think gaming is a particularly expensive hobby. I have many other hobbies and I can safely say all of them are more expensive than gaming.

With hobbies like gaming, unless you're planning to do some crazy PC build or buying a bunch of new stuff at once to overhaul your gaming setup, it isn't really that expensive. Cars costs way more especially when modding you car for the track and can easily run into thousands of dollars per year.

[Patrik]

4 hours ago, killamch89 said:

That's pretty relatable but if you have PayPal, there are a few ways where you can make some "beer money" so that you can fund your hobbies.

4 hours ago, m76 said:

yea, but that "beer money" really depends on your skills if you can freelance or not and your region as well, not all websites are available for all countries :(

[killamch89]

4 minutes ago, Patrik said:

yea, but that "beer money" really depends on your skills if you can freelance or not and your region as well, not all websites are available for all countries :(

I do know one that's pretty good but you'll have to be extremely patient at first. It's called Yandex Toloka - you can do your own research on it, you'll get training to do the tasks and for the most part, they're pretty easy. After about a month, you can make $50+ per month quite easily and you don't have to do it every day.

[Patrik]

17 hours ago, killamch89 said:

I do know one that's pretty good but you'll have to be extremely patient at first. It's called Yandex Toloka - you can do your own research on it, you'll get training to do the tasks and for the most part, they're pretty easy. After about a month, you can make $50+ per month quite easily and you don't have to do it every day.

well, thanks for the suggestion, but i tried to give it a try, and they denied my registration as my country wasn't supported xD

[killamch89]

1 hour ago, Patrik said:

well, thanks for the suggestion, but i tried to give it a try, and they denied my registration as my country wasn't supported xD

No problem man - another suggestion I have is to look up some freelancing jobs that require little to no initial investment and you watch some YouTube videos and try to learn it at your own pace and go on some Sub-Reddits and offer the service.

[The Burnout Kid]

I think it depends on you financial situation and how games make you feel. For me I'm not rich and I do spend more on games than I would like at times(Especially with Nintendo, why dont they ever lower their prices?) But the joy, escapism and fun that I have while playing them is more than worth it to me so I guess im in the middle if that makes any kind of sense. 

[skyfire]

I'd say it is expensive hobby but we get into the gaming because we like it not because we find it costly in everything. we make adjustment with what can give us some pleasure. 

[Empire]

It's always an expensive hobby, doesn't matter what games that you get into and what you do, end f the day you spent way to much then what you intended to spend. It's just not eh cost of games, it's the cost of everything else to play games that adds up. Computers, gaming rigs can cost as high as $4000 or $3000 to low as $900.

GTA 5 is a $60 game when it was released (not now) but people do buy shark cards worth $30 to $100 each time to get there online money. My flight sim hobby is near to $2000 if not more over the years, from the hardware, Sim, and 100s of paid addons. Most spent on scenery. When it comes to flight sim, you do need a high end gaming rig to run.

 

[Shagger]

Compare gaming to other mainstream hobbies like golf, restoring cars, fishing, collecting, model railways and so on, it isn't that bad. It a fact of all hobbies that it the expense only makes sense to the person engaging with said hobby. Hobbies aren't t something you think through with your head, you think it through with your heart because you love doing it, and who can explain love? It's inherently illogical, but that's never the point.