Video games have more and more become engrained into our society over the years. What started out as a “fad” or something that was only being used by kids or technology nerds, have now found their way into most homes across the country, and are being used by people of all age groups and demographics. Pretty impressive considering the cost to buy a new video game system is a couple hundred dollars and most games run above the $50 mark; definitely not cheap for the college kids and still a pricey investment even for those with a little extra money to spend.
Yet, even with this large price hurdle, certain games seem to be very prevalent amongst a lot of my peers. Just recently, a new Halo game came out called Halo: Reach supporting the full $59.99 price tag. Just to reiterate, not cheap for a broke college kid like me. Yet, for some reason I knew that I would buy it, play it for a couple of months then pretty much forget about it. Essentially the investment is never worth the return, yet I continue to do it anyway.
After the purchase, I really started to think about why I do this. With this particular game, it could be because it reaches back to my childhood. Halo has been around for a while, and I can remember it being one of the first games I was enthralled in with my childhood friends. Is it these fond memories of playing the past games that make me want to buy them now? In fact, I have had good memories playing all the games in the past. But why does this still make me want to buy it now? I had fun doing numerous things when I was younger that currently have no effect on my purchasing decisions. Why is this any different? I still wasn’t quite sure.
The day it came out though I finally remembered. Numerous friends were talking about the game, playing it etc. Then it finally clicked. For some reason, the release of games like this that have transcended multiple console generations (that feels odd saying) are more of an “event”. Within the first couple of days there were over 10 of my friends who had already purchased the game. I wanted to be a part of that. If everyone else was jumping in on it and having a good time (which I knew that I would) why shouldn’t I? It was a different form of social outlet. And I have to say I’m glad with my purchase at the moment. I’m having fun. Post by Adam Hanson. Senior BEM major at Wake Forest University
I wouldn’t classify myself as much of a “gamer”, but I did play my fair share of video games like any other male teenager when I was younger. This article brought back some good memories, but also reminded me about the conflict I always used to face and currently face regarding video games. I would formally classify this as an approach-avoidance conflict, when I desired something, a goal, but wished to avoid it at the same time. Like Adam mentions, I would want a particular game but the price tag would always dissuade me. I wanted to play the game because it was fun, but didn’t want to feel guilty for shelling out money that could have been saved or spent elsewhere. I felt post-purchase dissonance with most of the games I bought, enjoying the game but always thinking about whether it was worth the expense or regret. Similar to this price conflict was the conflict of how I was spending my time. I enjoyed playing a game in the moment, but realized afterwards, and sometimes during, that it was just a game and wasn’t getting me anywhere. I enjoyed playing but often felt I was or would be wasting my time. I have decided that avoiding the game is better than the desire to play or buy it. Despite giving up the fun, I have also avoided the negatives that I weigh more heavily.
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