To not understand how people afford to play video games

[Birra]

Xbox, PS4, Wii etc. never been interested before but ds has been asking about skylanders so I thought I'd look into it.
I cannot justify that money, how do people do it?
And iPads, iPods?

How/where would I buy a second hand one?

Every branch of Game sells second hand consoles.

We have loads of consoles, both have iPhones and computers, but then we don't drink or eat out all that often. We go to work, earn money then chose how to spend it. That's how it works.
I've no idea how people afford children. Seems a far more expensive hobby if you ask me.

We have an Xbox one, 360, PS3, 2 iPads and a high spec gaming laptop.
DH got his xbox one from his mum for Xmas, he had his PS3 and 360 from his pre kids/lots of disposable income days. He bought my laptop as a gift and the iPads were presents from his parents when they upgraded theirs and lived abroad and wanted to FaceTime us. He always trades in games, uses store credit and buys second hand. My £8 Warcraft subscription per month is not much in my eyes.
We have 2 young kids, we never spend money on going out. I bargain hunt for our clothes. No holidays yet as we aren't brave enough with the 2 kids!
If you are into gaming then you just save up.

We get second hand figures from CEX for £2-3. The big outlay is picking and getting a console, but after that it's not pricey if you aren't the sort to queue at the door. My Xbox is 3 years old and was £200 new. Not an extravagance price per use.

I would baulk at the cost because to me that is the cost of a holiday

You see, it's just a question of priorities. We don't go on holiday. We do have games consoles. For me, having something on which all the family can waste epic amounts of time just having fun beats going for short-term fun away. We don't tend to go out in the evenings for meals or to the cinema (we'll go to the cinema maybe once a year if there's something we really want to see on), so the games console actually responsible for a vast amount of our leisure time.

It's totally dependent on how you spend your time, I'd say.

If it's your son's first console, I'd also suggest pre-owned might be the way forward.

The other thing I'd say is that games consoles aren't actually aimed at children any more - they're not toys. The vast majority of games are for adults - that's where their audience is. I recognise that looks odd from the outside, but it's target audience, that's all.

I don't think it's a silly question, by the way. It's just, you need to imagine yourself looking at a hobby or past-time for the first time. It will be a shock to you. Sort of the way I baulked when I idly thought it would be nice for my daughter to have piano lessons, when I did the 'how much!!! thing. On the other hand, I was quite surprised to find that a single pony ride around a riding stable didn't break the bank the way I thought it would. I didn't have much understanding of either thing until I started looking into them.

I'm not getting this at all?!
Why would you need multiple consoles?
I don't think I'm explaining myself very well

How do you justify spending money on a holiday?

Well, if you don't want to buy one, then don't, but other people can spend their money on whatever they like

DP got his PS3 second hand for £60. The xbox 360 was second hand for £90 and the wii was a present from my parents years ago. Games are often 3 for 2 and so long as you don't buy them new, you can get them for as little as £3. The xBox live membership also means you get two free games a month, and that's only £39 a year.

I've recently done a big clear out and among the stuff that got boxed up were all the pc, x-box, Wii & ps2 games that dh and I had collected during our teenage years. A lot of the games were preowned and lots still had the price stickers on.

At the time I suppose we both thought they were worth it and we were never into going out and clubbing so at least we didn't drink our money away, but both dh and I were aghast at what we'd spent on these games.

I wonder when ds is old enough to play them will he be happy to receive loads of (by then) 20 years plus old games instead of whatever the latest game is going to be in 10 years time? they'll practically be vintage by then and vintage is always cool right?

*queue at the door for new releases sorry.

Different consoles offer different gaming experiences. Some people like to buy more than one console to have these experiences.

You assign a proportion of your disposable income (if you have any) to a thing that you enjoy and value. For some people that's eating out, or clothes, or a season ticket to the football. For other people that's video games.

I don't buy clothes beyond what I actually need so as to not be naked and then what I buy is more Tesco than designer, I live in the arse end of nowhere so I don't go out, the nearest cinema is an hour away so I don't go and see films, and my idea of a good friday night involves a bottle of diet coke and a pizza from the supermarket, eaten at the computer while talking to my gaming buddies. If you look at that, my £10 a month MMO subscription (even taking into account that I have two of them) suddenly looks like a pretty cheap hobby.

People spend on all kinds of things. Some spend on wine each week or cigarettes which adds up to hundreds over the year yet would baulk at spending more than £20 on a handbag.

A console can bring many hours of fun so worth the money to many. Besides unless you mean a night away as a holiday it's unlikely one is cheaper than a console.

"I could buy an Xbox, or a designer handbag, or fancy shoes"

Then I'm not sure why you think people can't afford video games. The costs are pretty comparable.

Of course, you may choose not to spend money on that sort of thing. I think designer handbags are a joke, fancy shoes similarly. I can't justify a few hundred pounds on gaming equipment. But I have just spent a similar amount on sporting equipment for DD. I think one's worth it and the others isn't. Other people will feel differently. But it's really odd to think that nobody could possibly be able to afford video games. Most people (not everyone, of course) can afford a few hundred pounds for their main hobby very occasionally and a few tens of pounds a bit more often.

There are different games available for different consoles, plus it depends on how you like to play.

For example, in our gaming days dh was in love with his ps2 but was happy enough with an x-box. I can't get the hang of the controllers and much prefer the point and click style game play of pc games.

But you will have things you will spend your money on which others won't.

I have a friend who spends over £200 on takeaways a month, others drink more than me, pay for gym, etc etc - not things I consider necessary/vital but I do love a certain brand of handbags which I have too many of but its my 'vice'

My DH like playing on games I am not fussed except Wii Fit and Dance games as my exercise - he enjoys them so thats what he wants to spend his money on.

We bought ps3 and telly in 2007 for £600. Have just replaced with a ps4, but the ps3 is still getting used as a DVD player and for older games like rockband. Sold the telly for £100.

I'd say we got our money's worth. Ps4 was an add on to a phone contract so technically free.

Preloved/Second hand here too, unless we can find an exceptionally good deal - eg we bought the Wii on a really cheap Amazon Black Friday deal (cheaper than getting second hand off Ebay), but my boys had had to wait years for it, the Wii U was already out by then and it was a Christmas gift for the whole family, rather than for any one person.

We pick up games for pence off Ebay or find them cheap on Amazon market place, as well as charity shops and car boots etc. Both boys also trade in old games for points at Game Exchange, and save their pocket money for any new ones they're desperate to have.

They also like to collect older consoles, so we have a PS1 that was given to us by someone that was just going to throw it out, with a massive variety of games that cost .99p each or similar and both boys have 'vintage' Gameboy Advances that they love sourcing games for - again for very little outlay.

They do both have a 3DS, but those were bought for birthdays and were a joint gift from the grandparents on both sides and ourselves, so no one person/couple had a massive outlay and the boys accepted that the console and one game was all they'd be getting.

There's no way we could ever have afforded brand new consoles and like you we wouldn't have been able to justify the cost to ourselves if we did. Fortunately my boys are very tech savy and both agree that new consoles are a rip off and it's better to wait until you can get one second hand.

My sons most recent X-box 360 was £129 from Game. Pray tell Birra where can I get a family holiday for £129?? I'd love to go on one.

Why would you need multiple consoles?

Not all games come out on all consoles, and each new generation console will be slightly different to it's other latest generation peers. I don't think anyone would suggest that you need all of them - especially if you're a beginner. If you're a collector, then you're a collector. I think DH would say you need two in the way you need two coats - one is probably all that is necessary, but it's nice to have two, one for better weather and one for bad weather. Or perhaps a better analogy would be, why would a guitar player need both an acoustic and an electric guitar?

We knew we would get one of the most recent generation when they came out, so we didn't get the xbox one; we waited for the PS4. Time was, pre children and mortgage, it wouldn't occur to us to only get one. It was actually quite fun researching and comparing and deciding. We also know that the PS4 was a massive luxury, and would only be justifiable if it benefited the whole family. DD isn't that bothered, but DS loves it, and we've done a rejig of the other consoles so there's now one upstairs where DD can escape to watch films on it. (Oh, you don't need a DVD player if you have consoles. The PS3 and 4 both have bluray players too - I can't remember whether the xbox one does.)

I have a massive Skylanders fan too and, yes, they're very expensive. But, we got the console several Christmases ago (and I have a gaming DH & 4 boys so a shared gift), skylanders game last Christmas and he saves for & buys new figures himself. He wants the new one for Christmas this year and I'll get him it.

I realise that they're a big luxury item, but different people spend their spare cash on different stuff. I would never buy my DCs an iPad but don't think everyone else shouldn't.

OP you sound a bit bonkers. Gaming is a hobby. Much like, say, swimming.

There are many different strokes for swimming. Yes at the end of the say they all get you from.one end of the pool to the next but you wouldnt say to someone "well, you know Front Crawl so why are you bothering to learn Back stroke?"

Different game consoles offer different pleasures.

You may not want to spend £300 on a Marc Jacobs bag. Fine. You dont need to justify that. Someone else may want to - they dont have to justofy that. Someone else may be happy with a £40 fake or a £100 ebay genuine buy. They dont have to justofy that.

Do you have just the one pair of shoes? After all, why would you need more than one pair?

I have a laptop for sims 3, a ds for random fun games, a samsung galaxy tab for numerous things, dp had a ps3. I even have my old Nintendo 64 with a few games

shrugs meh, just depends on what you're into as pp have said. I'm not into clothes, hairdressers appointments, shoes, bags, make up. I'm into gaming, so that's what I spend my money on instead if that other stuff.

On and I justify it by paying for the items with money I have worked to earn :)

As for themultiple consoles thing, the Wii is downstairs and shared andDH has a PS3 which is his (although the boys do get a turn when he's feeling generous ). They're different. I'm not a gamer myself and don't 'get' it but they're treats. Games are bought cheap second hand every so often or as Christmas/birthday gifts.

I 'treat' myself to expensive make up products or a posh meal out with friends on occasion.

None of the above costs the price of a family holiday.

You asked HOW people could afford to play video games. They told you. You then asked how they justified it. What on earth has it got to do with you what people spend their disposable income on? You wouldn't buy expensive bags either. Er so what? You're not obliged to. You spend your disposable income how you want and let others do the same.