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In your opinion, is gaming an expensive hobby or a cheap hobby?
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Vick
Gold Member
Definitely on the cheapest side including highest tier PC gaming.
Some hobbies are unfathomably expensive.
Some hobbies are unfathomably expensive.
Or even better, the million dollars affair which is serious audiophily. Or cars, movie props, watch collecting..
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Segaswirl
Member
As cheap or expensive as you want it to be. You can buy an older console with a bunch of games and get hours upon hours of entertainment or you can run out and buy a 4090.
For me personally with how I play games I would say it's pretty cheap. A game pass sub and the occasional new release.
For me personally with how I play games I would say it's pretty cheap. A game pass sub and the occasional new release.
atyourservice
Member
I don't think the minimum cost point is a good defence of the price. People tend to overlook all the extra cost attached to gaming, for example
Doesn't include the peripherals and display, at minimum.
On top of electricity and internet costs, that entry level games cost easily takes you over the cost for a used beginner bike, or a pair of shoes and water bottle for hiking, or the vast majority of board games ever. Basically more than all hobbies typically considered "cheap".
Imagine you moved to a new apartment after losing all your things in a house fire(and somehow losing access to all your digital accounts and past purchases). After working hard for months and saving some money, you decided to relax with a new hobby. Would gaming still be a cheap hobby to you?
Yes, you have a point that it's good time value in terms of enjoyment per cost, but I think people are underselling how much it really costs to get into games.
Even mobile gaming requires a decently specced mid tier phone unless you play match 3 games all the time.
Cheap games or lower specced consoles don't really tell the full story though right?
Doesn't include the peripherals and display, at minimum.
On top of electricity and internet costs, that entry level games cost easily takes you over the cost for a used beginner bike, or a pair of shoes and water bottle for hiking, or the vast majority of board games ever. Basically more than all hobbies typically considered "cheap".
Imagine you moved to a new apartment after losing all your things in a house fire(and somehow losing access to all your digital accounts and past purchases). After working hard for months and saving some money, you decided to relax with a new hobby. Would gaming still be a cheap hobby to you?
Yes, you have a point that it's good time value in terms of enjoyment per cost, but I think people are underselling how much it really costs to get into games.
Naked Lunch
Member
Gaming is expensive.
Reading novels, writing, and hand drawing/painting are my other hobbies. Much cheaper by comparison - not even close.
Reading novels, writing, and hand drawing/painting are my other hobbies. Much cheaper by comparison - not even close.
DeceptiveAlarm
Gold Member
It's the cheapest Hobbie I ever had. Even when I got into fly fishing my rod and reel cost more than a PS5 Pro and that was 15yrs ago. Even a gaming pc is cheaper than my motorcycle. Probably equal to my first bike. Then one $60 game lasts 15-100 hours.
I mean I guess bird watching or reading if you join a library is cheaper. Walking is a cheap Hobbie.
I mean I guess bird watching or reading if you join a library is cheaper. Walking is a cheap Hobbie.
BlackTron
Member
Gaming is as dirt cheap or expensive as you want it to be. You can still play over 90% of all games ever released with adequate performance on a 1060. At some point you can just keep pouring money in to play the same games on bigger screens at higher resolutions and framerates. To me gaming has gotten like cars -even if you get a Ferrari, there's still a "better" Lambo or Rolls Royce. If you're trapped in the mentality of always needing the latest/best, gaming will utterly destroy you.
Buy games day one for $70 or grind the backlog and wait for the sales. Get a FPGA system or run emulators on a modded Switch.
Or hell just play your SNES that still works.
Buy games day one for $70 or grind the backlog and wait for the sales. Get a FPGA system or run emulators on a modded Switch.
Or hell just play your SNES that still works.
StueyDuck
Member
I've spent as much on golf clubs as I have on gaming and 18 holes depending where you play can easily be the price of a new game.
Gaming is expensive, but if you compare that to say racing enthusiasts or photography/videography etc. It's relatively cheap.
That's why I say for the barrier of entry being non existent it's an expensive hobby, ol gam gam can pick up a remote and be a gamer same as buying a book to read or picking up sewing or crocheting, but the chance of her being a hobbyist paraglider is far more slim, but the cost of something like the latter dwarfs the cost of gaming.
It's all relative.
Tokio Blues
Gold Member
Console gamers with a TV that cost more than a PC…
Ye.. it's not like that bro.
An OLED monitor 34" is expensive, also if you want to play at full settings with 120fps and raytracing you need a good GPU, 4070ti at least. PC gaming is much more expensive, but its better in terms of FPS and Resolution.
Mownoc
Member
A used 1080p monitor can be had for less than £40 these days. But still if you don't think a £150 used series s is a low enough cost then you can grab a used xbox one for £50... or an emulation handheld for like £30 from aliexpress and play PS1/GBA/Snes titles. Video games can be a hobby for someone in basically any price bracket.
Whether you've got £35 or £3,500 to spend you can enjoy video games.
Gaming can only be considered an expensive hobby if you put a condition on it that you have to have modern powerful hardware or brand new games.
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Radioskugga
Member
It's cheap comparing to other hobbies like cars or if you're into horse riding.
But it's expensive comparing to knitting yarn.
Where is the line drawn between hobby and lifestyle?
But it's expensive comparing to knitting yarn.
Where is the line drawn between hobby and lifestyle?
I've been into record collecting/audiophila for many years. My current rig (speakers, digital front end, 2 turntables, amplifier etc) is around 60K worth. I don't even know the value of my record colleciton. That's like lower mid -mid tear in audiophile world. So. To me. Gaming is very cheap, great value for money hobby.
yet_another_alt
Member
It's comparatively cheap. It's expensive if you want all the new and fancy stuff but if all you want to do is play then there are still plenty of options.
Capitan Todd
Neo Member
I'd say it's relatively cheap for me. I'm not into PC gaming though, so I just buy a console every few years. It also helps that I mainly buy physical games and I sometimes resell them after finishing them, so I earn back half of the price or even more. All in all I spend around 100 euro per month on gaming perhaps.
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.1
Collectors have their hands in the dirt searching for golden hits, pc gamers have building abilities, certain rules they follow, and look at console gamers who click so well with mainstream, if you want a subscription you can.
ArtHands
Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
Console gamers with a TV that cost more than a PC…
Dont forget that dhoby atmos soundbar
Felessan
Member
300 euro phone can get you through for several years. Or you can put bluestacks on the study note that you already have.
I know some people who are avid gamers but due to circumstances have to do it at minimal cost. There are quite some sacrifices, but it's doable.
Radical_3d
Member
Totally worth it. I don’t want to have a spread of speakers in my living room and I don’t want to have more packaging work when moving. Great sound and crisp clear dialogues. No neighbour complained. Great success.
Wildebeest
Member
Some hobbies have a high entry point, but others have a limitless cap. Like if you are a billionaire you can spend a huge amount of money on an art collection, but what are you going to do with a collection of 5000 Jet Skis?
OverHeat
« generous god »
Having a great TV and displaying shit IQ image on it…Console gamers with a TV that cost more than a PC…
Akuji
Member
if it wasnt near the cheapest hobbies there are, there wouldnt be as many people doing it. its insanely cheap.
If you want you can go from nothing to a perfectly fine setup for 300€ on the 2nd hand market.
150€ for a ps4 with controller, 100€ for a tv/monitor. 50€ for games.
With those 300 you can already play easily for 300 hours. Every hour of content u wanna add, is even cheaper.
There is next to no other hobby that offers variety like gaming while being able to offer content for 1000 hours or more a year, with a pricepoint below 1€ / hour.
Sure price of electricity wasnt in my calculation. But you can get the PS4 a bit cheaper, you can get even new 1080p panels for under 100€, so used ... you get already pretty good stuff compared to what was around 2013 when the console launched.
so even if the electricity needs to be in the budget, no problem.
There are cheaper hobbies to enter, but if you wanna go ultra low end, buy a Nintendo DS used for like 50 bucks and a few games. Can already give you something to do for very little and then ... its very ... difficult for pretty much anything to keep up in price.
If you want to, you can do it more expensive, sure. You can kit out ur gaming rig and build a gaming room for 100.000€ but then, surely but slowly, you get to the limit of what actually is "gaming" which is still cheap for a hobby to bling out completly.
If you want you can go from nothing to a perfectly fine setup for 300€ on the 2nd hand market.
150€ for a ps4 with controller, 100€ for a tv/monitor. 50€ for games.
With those 300 you can already play easily for 300 hours. Every hour of content u wanna add, is even cheaper.
There is next to no other hobby that offers variety like gaming while being able to offer content for 1000 hours or more a year, with a pricepoint below 1€ / hour.
Sure price of electricity wasnt in my calculation. But you can get the PS4 a bit cheaper, you can get even new 1080p panels for under 100€, so used ... you get already pretty good stuff compared to what was around 2013 when the console launched.
so even if the electricity needs to be in the budget, no problem.
There are cheaper hobbies to enter, but if you wanna go ultra low end, buy a Nintendo DS used for like 50 bucks and a few games. Can already give you something to do for very little and then ... its very ... difficult for pretty much anything to keep up in price.
If you want to, you can do it more expensive, sure. You can kit out ur gaming rig and build a gaming room for 100.000€ but then, surely but slowly, you get to the limit of what actually is "gaming" which is still cheap for a hobby to bling out completly.
RagnarokIV
Battlebus imprisoning me \m/ >.< \m/
All relative really.
A $30 monthly gym sub is cheap. And that's a cheap hobby. Or you can get on the gear and extra curricular to 'enhance' your hobby and end up $$$
A PS5/Xbox and a TV is cheap. Or you can enhance that hobby too with OLED and a beast PC $$$
NeoGAF is a cheap hobby, unless you're John Marston or OverHeat enhancing/spunking $$$ on GOLD lol.
A $30 monthly gym sub is cheap. And that's a cheap hobby. Or you can get on the gear and extra curricular to 'enhance' your hobby and end up $$$
A PS5/Xbox and a TV is cheap. Or you can enhance that hobby too with OLED and a beast PC $$$
NeoGAF is a cheap hobby, unless you're John Marston or OverHeat enhancing/spunking $$$ on GOLD lol.
diffusionx
Gold Member
It’s become quite expensive
Radical_3d
Member
PC gaming. Displaying ultra HD gigapixels at 400fps in a TFT matte display with the colours of an old 60’s Polaroid and smearing their ghosting effect like a horny slug since 1.999!!
InterMusketeer
Member
It can be cheap depending on your choices, but it's also a hobby that you constantly have to invest money into. Over the coarse of time that's gonna add up to a lot of money spent.
If you buy a nice flute or trumpet for example, you can play it for the rest of your life. The upfront investment might be somewhat high, but there's (potentially) no recurring costs after. You're not even using electricity to power it. That's quite the difference.
If you buy a nice flute or trumpet for example, you can play it for the rest of your life. The upfront investment might be somewhat high, but there's (potentially) no recurring costs after. You're not even using electricity to power it. That's quite the difference.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
The cost of gaming can vary depending on several factors. Keeping up with the latest releases and keeping up with the newest gaming trends can be very expensive. However, there are ways to make gaming more affordable. By being patient and waiting for discounts, which occur more frequently now than ever before, you can save a significant amount of money on games. Additionally, playing on a PC offers a wider range of stores and third-party key sellers, which can further reduce the cost of gaming.
Hustler
Member
It's all relative and how smart you are about it. The hardware costs can be spread out over the years. If you are a console gamer, that cost can be spread out over 6-7 years. If you are a PC gamer who likes to get the latest graphics card every 1-2 years.... yikes. If you build a PC and only do a new build ever 7 years like me, then cost effective.
If you buy only new games on Day 1 all time, expensive af. If you buy games on sale all the time and Day 1 every now and then, then it's not expensive at all. Or if you only buy a few games a year and they are MP games like FIFA or COD and play that all year round... very cheap.
All depends on how you approach the hobby.
If you buy only new games on Day 1 all time, expensive af. If you buy games on sale all the time and Day 1 every now and then, then it's not expensive at all. Or if you only buy a few games a year and they are MP games like FIFA or COD and play that all year round... very cheap.
All depends on how you approach the hobby.
hemo memo
You can't die before your death
Quite the opposite, actually.
atyourservice
Member
True. The variable cost to entry is a unique selling point.
It's as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be. IF you want it to be cheap, it has literally NEVER been cheaper to play absolutely mountains of games (outside of the era of piracy/pirate bay etc anyhow). Buy a second hand series S, and Gamespass, or a ps4 with ps+, then just play what's on the services, its crazy good value. Or if you want use amazon or epic and just grab the free games every month. OR buy the latest kit, and buy the latest games at release if you don't really care about how much stuff costs.
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