I am being priced out as a gamer.  In 5-10 years, I may very well not have the funds to justify console gaming anymore.  It saddens me that a scene that has grown out of peoples garages is now an experience reserved for the most elite, the most core of gaming patrons who are willing to funnel all of their entertainment dollars down this single channel. 

Gaming has turned into another monthly bill, with expenses reaching in excess of $1,000 a year for some individuals who may purchase an average of 1-2 games a month.  Each year that passes, games are becoming less relevant to me.  It is not because games are less interesting, only that they are being priced beyond my sense of reasonable value. 

The last generation was a real sweet spot for me.  With blockbuster games prices around $40 and fair quality games at around $25.  It just made financial sense to pay $40 for 10-15 hours of high impact experience.  Even the top selling games would eventually find their place on the classics/platinum list for an irresistible $20 price tag.

Now, it seems that every game from Grand Theft Auto to My Little Pony is resting solid on a $60 price tag that doesn't budge for 9 months.  I own maybe 2 gifted games that cost $60+ because I refuse to pay the price.  I hope that someday people will realize that their choice to pay extraordinary prices is giving publishers the thumbs-up to continue to raise prices each generation.  Only by boycotting overpriced games will you make a statement that is heard. 

I was amused by all of the raging consumers who screamed about the $60 price tag of brief games like Halo ODST and Modern Warfare 2, and yet those very same people were fighting to be first in line on the day of sale.  There is a reason why publishers don't take these outcries seriously; it's the millions of dollars that they cash in on each of your idle threats.

I recently returned my gifted Modern Warfare 2 and purchased Batman Arkham Asylum for $40; an excellent price and a great experience.  Batman did leave me wishing that it had a simple co-op mechanic; perhaps even a spectator mode that allowed me to talk my friends through parts I had beaten, but if it meant a $60 price tag then I am glad that co-op was dropped. 

I'm hopeful to see a trend of quality games released at the $40 sweet spot and not have to wait a year for price drops that may never come.  I know that my refusal to purchase overpriced $60 games is a drop in the ocean and it won't change an industry of zealot fans with fat pockets.  This only means that my future as a gamer becomes more uncertain with each passing year, each console generation, and each $10 increment to the base price of an ever-shortening gameplay experience.

 [Reprinted from a December 31st, 2009 Blog on my website.]