Wallet Full of Moths

Post date: Nov 30, 2010 6:36:34 AM

This evening I took my 9 month old daughter out for an exciting evening on the town. Well, exciting for me, at any rate. We went Christmas shopping for my wife! I have successfully finished my shopping for her and it feels good. We always set a limit for how much we can spend on one another, and in many ways having a limit makes shopping all the more enjoyable because it's like a game.

Speaking of games...

What sometimes bums me out is going out to stores and seeing all the video games and other cool stuff I can't afford. I always check the "special section" (what we call the clearance area) to check what games are on discount, which is more or less how I buy most of my games these days. Video games are freaking expensive, but they also have a tendency to go down in price pretty quickly. Being thrifty usually results in getting more games for less money in the long run.

I've pretty much come to accept that I can't afford games and other such items the way I could in the past, and quite frankly I couldn't really "afford" them back then, either. But the reason I can't afford things is a good one: I pride myself on being a responsible parent and homeowner, always putting the expenses that go with both first and foremost. Thus, I am very lucky for what I have in lieu of what I don't have. We'll put aside the fact that my wife and I are so upside-down on our mortgage that it isn't even funny. Thinking of all the extra money we've putting toward our home while still have no equity is depressing.

But that doesn't stop me from wanting things I don't have all the same. For example, this evening I longingly looked at National Console Support's site to check the price of G.G. Series Collection Plus for Nintendo DS. The G.G. Series is comprised of simple, fun little games that call to mind the glory days of 8- and 16-bit gaming. I love quirkly little games like those in the series, so they seem right up my alley.

The G.G. Series games have all been DSiWare releases for 200 ponits each (which equates to $2 a game). To the best of my knowledge, all of the G.G. Series games were developed by Suzak, who were the studio behind the (in my opinion) underrated--and quite weird!--Wario: Master of Disguise. Only a couple of the G.G. Series titles have made it stateside. G.G. Series Collection Plus has 30 games on it, many of which haven't even been released in Japan.

Back in the day, I would've just whipped out my credit card and made a charge without a second thought. That's not how I roll these days. Unless I actually have the money in my checking account, I don't purchase a "non-essential" item like a video game. Considering shipping, G.G. Series Collection Plus would run about $60. You figure for 30 games that would cost $2 each, the cost is actually about right. But $60 for one DS game? Oh man, I don't know... That is steep.

I suppose I could see if I can swing it next paycheck, but if I have an extra $60 to spare, realistically it should go toward paying for all the Christmas presents my wife and I will be buying for family and friends. Therefore, G.G. Series Collection Plus will likely remain unpurchased for now. That might not be a bad thing, though, because even if I did buy the game, there would no doubt be some other game right around the corner that I yet again become enamored with and decide I needed, thus restaring the cycle. Ah, the stupid lives us gamers lead!