Gaming has been around for over 40 years now. It is a forever evolving element. It is an escape, boredom killer, and an adventure. Gaming is whatever you want it to be. For me, however, gaming is all of the above and more. Recently though my point of view has changed due to a lack of income.

These days many gamers ask "Are games too expensive?" The answer to that depends on what game you are buying via PC, or console, or even mobile now. The average game costs about 50 to 60 dollars. About 15 years ago, games were about the same price. Seeing that minimum wage has increased over the years and games are the same price, they are technically cheaper. I am a bit of a gaming addict. I scrounge up some money, buy a few League of Legends skins here and there, pay my monthly fees in Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. No harm done, right?

For those of us who can't really afford games, companies have created free to play games. They are free to download and play, but with the catch of microtransactions. It seems fair to get a game for free then pay for just what you want and nothing else. League of Legends is a great example of a free to play game. It's completely free, unless you want skins. I’ve spent 1,040 dollars on this supposedly “free game.” Most high end games are 60 dollars and that's it. You play once, have fun, it's a done deal. Is spending that much worth it on a single game?

No matter how much art, dedication and heart goes into a video game, I feel like they just want our money. Games like Battlefield 4 are half assed just so they can make you buy the downloadable content to get the full experience. BF4 released with only nine multiplayer maps and a slow leveling system. The advertisements for the game stated that you could buy the season pass (which is 50 dollars) in order to level up faster, get additional maps, guns and loot. Why do games that you buy have microtransactions? It’s understandable when the game is free, but when you pay sixty dollars for a game I expect the full experience right out of the box. “Some” companies such as CD Projekt Red are developing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which is releasing 16 free DLC packs. This company is doing it the right way.

I don’t see why companies make “DLC” for games, when it really isn’t. They already have the content ready to go but it’s locked in the disk, and the only way to unlock it is by paying an additional fifteen dollars. Even Battlefield 4’s China Rising DLC was already on the disk. Destiny only released with one raid, any additional raids is a twenty dollar purchase, also locked on disk. Turtle Rock Studios has added a so called “bonus” to Evolve. If you preorder the game, you get the Monster Pack. A refusal to preorder would mean you’d have to spend fifteen more dollars on content that’s probably already on the disk. The game has only shown off two monsters the whole time. I am obligated to spend sixty dollars on a game where I’d only get to play as two monsters.

We as gamers need to realize the game developers are first and foremost businesses, and businesses need to make a profit. The money you give to games is their life source. Cutting off this life source would change their minds. Our mindless acts of “shut up and take my money” is putting them in control rather than us.

You just have to know what you are spending your money on. Does the game you are buying have replay value? Is this a quality game? You have to ask yourself these questions and do your research. Games that might look pretty may not be worth your time. Think outside the box when you’re buying video games, because that sixty dollar game could be a one hundred plus dollar game in disguise. The game is already presented to you through trailers, now you just need to see if it’s long term and where the company is taking it.