Effective

Here at Underpaid Gamers Podcast we like to tout the virtues of gaming. We support E-Sports and revel in our gaming addiction. One of the least emphasized benefits of gaming is its potential for being a cost effective form of entertainment. The following are two major reasons why I believe gaming is one of the most cost-effective forms of entertainment today.

Gaming can give you an amazing bang for your buck. 

I recently purchased the Uncharted Collection for $35 used from Gamestop. For those of you who don’t know what that entails, I essentially bought three separate games from one of my favorite developers – Naughty Dog. Now if we divide this out I spent about $11.66 for each of those games. So far I’ve beaten the first and second games putting anywhere from 15 to 20 hours into each. So my cost per hour for each game (we’ll low ball it and use the 15 hours) is about $.77.

We can compare this to going to the movies or attending a sporting event. What we find is that the cost per hour is significantly lower to play video games. A movie ticket costs at least $10 and professional sporting events can cost anywhere from $10 to $60, assuming your not trying to sit court-side or close. We can see that the cost per hour of these two examples can range from about $4 an hour to $20 (assuming a movie is 2.5 hours long and a professional sporting event is 3 hours). It is clear, when we compare cost per hour, that video games are king.

The prevalence and ease of buying used games.

There are many ways to purchase video games. With the combination of the internet and used game stores there really is no excuse for buying a video game at full price. Now I know some of you will say, “Justin, I gotta have that game right now!”, well honestly you don’t. Many games don’t lose their play value over time. For instance, The Witcher 3 will still have the same experience for players a year from now. If you wait a year you could save 2o or 30 bucks! Not to mention if a game of the year edition comes out with all the dlc included! Overtime making a habit of buying used games can save you hundreds!

To be honest I am definitely a hypocrite when it comes to buying used games. I have payed full price for a new copy before. Especially for the games that focus on multiplayer. With many multiplayer games the most competitive atmosphere is only within the first few months.

That being said, if your goal is to save money, video gaming can be a great hobby! Do you have anything you’d like to add? If so, leave a comment!

Justin