Computer games and Money

Yesterday morning I made a disgruntled post. about the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct.

When I was younger, I enjoyed playing games on my Nintendo 3DS. At the time, games cost around £30-£40. Even then, such a thing was an investment. A purchase that had to be made with careful consideration.

However, not all games were expensive. My dad bought me Minecraft for the Computer in 2011 for what I guess was around £20 at that time. And in 2015, my Mum split the price with me for a New Nintendo 3DS, costing me around £70 (A big spend for me at that time!)

Now, with the upcoming “generation” of consoles, you’ll be lucky to get a new game for £70.

Sure, inflation is a factor, but the increase in prices has gotten steeper. Although with graphical improvements, games now need more artists and developers to create the more expansive worlds. But that doesn’t change the fact that the prices are getting higher.

in 2017 I purchased a Nintendo Switch for £300. I distinctly remember that after buying a few games, I had spent all of my savings that I had at the time. And at this period, the Online Play functionality was free.

So, what became of the 3DS, Switch, and my old Minecraft account?

The 3DS still works like the day I bought it. The battery life hasn’t noticeably changed, the games I had from back then are still fun, and now with expanded modding capabilities, I can do things like download more content for Mario Kart 7. Some games that I used to want are now cheaper to buy pre-owned, and the only downside is that I have lost several styluses and the rubber cap for the circle pad has worn down and fallen off (although it still works perfectly fine without).

As with Minecraft, I still have the licence. I had to migrate it to a Mojang account and then to a Microsoft account over the years, but the licence to play the game remains. Minecraft is probably the game I have ever sunk the most time into and consistently played.

However, the Switch is another story.

Eventually my “Joy-Con” controller’s stick wore down and I suffered a problem where it would start sending a phantom input whenever I wasn’t touching it. If I want to play a game online, I need to fork out around £15 per year (The 3DS had free online play which ended around a year ago, but is since being replaced by fans)

Eventually I gave up entirely and didn’t want to fork out replacement money for the controllers when they’d inevitably break again (Although over the course of writing this, I realised that there’s a free repair service available – Maybe my old Nintendo can yet get a new lease of life?)

So when I saw a new console release from Nintendo, I thought I could consider reviving my old hobby… Until I noticed the price of a new Mario Kart game being the same price I paid for my 3DS back in 2017 – a whole new console. I realised that with my budget, if I could squeeze in the console, there’ll be no way that I’d be able to afford any of the newer games for it at all. All of a sudden, playing the latest games appear to be a very expensive hobby.

And then reality is there- while these new games are flashy, the games I already own from years ago are fun enough. Minecraft is still something I’d actively play when I want to relax, and if I want to play games on the go, my 3DS is perfect for that.

I never consider myself to be a heavy gamer anyway. When I was younger, I’d play games, but now I find that I always stick to my favourites – which are sandbox games that allow you to forge your own story. Minecraft being the perfect example. And that game my Dad paid £20 for years ago is still receiving new features quite frequently. Kerbal Space Program and Cities Skylines are other sandbox games I enjoy, albeit, I haven’t played them in a while. Cities Skylines had a slew of Downloadable Content that I was able to buy on the cheap to expand the experience. Kerbal Space Program had a sequel being developed that… well… let’s not talk about that one.
But the original game still has a community, modification support and plenty to do.

Gaming doesn’t have to be expensive. I am not an analyst on how the market is going, but I feel like eventually, these big companies are going to need to wake up to the economic reality that most people face. And those people facing those hardship who rely on games at times for escape, may just be their target audience.