Help! I Can't Stop Spending Money on Videogames

One can never have too many swords.

I take a peek at the Steam store, searching for deals. It doesn't matter that I have fifty unplayed titles in my library. I need something new. A change of pace. Something with graphics or original gameplay. An indie RPG calls to me and I click. There goes fifteen dollars. The game is unremarkable and derivative of a thousand older role playing games. I play it for fifteen minutes and then never touch it again. A dollar a minute is pretty good, right? It seems like a worthwhile purchase.

I look at my recently played list. Over 400 hours of my life have been spent playing Civilization 5. I don't know what to do with that figure. Should I be impressed? Sad? Depressed? Oh shit, Civilization: Beyond Earth is twenty-percent off. I click on it and the purchase is made. I play it for an hour and then decide that its a crappy mod of Civilization 5. At least it was on sale.

On my shelf is an Xbox 360, a Playstation 4, a Playstation 2, an original Xbox, a Nintendo 64, a Wii, and a Sega Genesis. I never touch any of them anymore, but that doesn't stop me from periodically reviewing my various libraries for each system. Such an investment in time and money. Someday, someone will pay big bucks for this collection. One can only hope.

I sit down on the couch and play Battlefield 4. Over the headset, children hurl racial slurs. I am killed over and over again. It occurs to me that this is the same game I have been playing since the original Battlefield. They keep selling the same game to us over and over again and we keep buying it. What is wrong with us? I derive no pleasure from being called a faggot. Is it possible that I am insane?

But I can't give up on gaming, right? Half-Life 3 might come out someday. The Oculus Rift is going to change everything. Indie gaming has really taken off. The medium is maturing. I guess.

Will I be a 40 year-old man prancing about my room with a set of virtual reality goggles strapped to my head? Will I still be listening to the children spout racial slurs while playing Battlefield 8? What about Doom 4? Or any of the other endless sequels? Will I be setting aside part of the family budget to pay for videogames?

Oh shit. Far Cry 4 is fifty percent off on Steam. I guess the answer is yes.