Leveled Up 11.12.09: It's Okay to Wait

Posted by Joshua Richey on 11.12.2009

Gaming in the recession is totally FTW.

We're used to the saying 'it's okay to wait'. It's usually reserved for the topic of sex before marriage, but that's not what I'm here to waste your time with. No. In fact, do have sex before marriage. I'm serious. Hit that shit as much as you can, man. Get it while the gettings good. For that matter, don't get married. Yeah, it may shut her up at first, but just wait until you get older. The days of spending your free time playing video games cease, and instead your hawling her 50 lb heavier ass out to go yard saling on the weekend. Eff that! Our very own Gaming Editor, Ramon, is getting hitched. I highly advise everyone to email him and get him to change his mind so that he can get out now without giving up half of everything.

Oh, BTW, this is Leveled Up.



There seems to be some unwritten rule that if you're a "hardcore gamer" you have to get that newly released game on day one. If you're "hardcore", you're down at GameStop at midnight to pick up your copy. If you're "hardcore", you've got that sucker completed by the end of that first week.

Screw that. Today I'm going to tell you why it's better to wait these days.

The Cost



It's fucking expensive to be a gamer in 2009.

Console prices may have gone down recently, but still, when you're paying $60 for games, $10-$20 for DLC, that shit adds up. But what's the alternatives? Have you been to a Blockbuster Video lately? It's over $9 to rent a game these days. Hell, for that price it's worth it to just buy the damn thing. Instead of rushing out and laying down $60 on that game, just wait. If the game is decent at all, a Greatest Hits edition will come out for half the price. Stay away from reviews and GameFaqs message boards and you'll get the same experience as those suckers that stood outside until midnight.

If the game doesn't come out on Greatest Hits, well, it was probably a shitty game and you should probably avoid it at all costs. But if you're gluten for punishment, there's always the option of buying it used at GameStop.

Trust me, waiting doesn't take any of the fun out of the game. A few weeks ago I bought Dead Space for $20. I guarantee you that I'm having just as much fun with it now as Joe Gamer did back when it was $60. I love that game, and I love being able to look at it on my shelf and know that I scored one hell of a deal on it. Unlike say Ghostbusters, which is sitting right next to it. Ugh.

More Content

I remember my reaction the first time I seen the Platinum Hits edition of Mass Effect...



Yeah, I think that about covers it. Mass Effect, a game that I bought for $60 plus tax. I also bought the extra DLC that was released for it. I forget how much I paid for it then, but I'm thinking that it was over $10. Now go down to your local Best Buy and pick up a copy of Mass Effect. It's $20; not only that but it comes with the DLC that I paid for! Some lucky fool is going to walk in there having never played that game before and is going to be in for the same treat I was - and for more than half the price at that.

Or maybe you recently bought Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. Cool game, right? Did you download that DLC pack that lets you play as Cable, Carnage and Psylocke? How much did you pay for that? 10 bucks? Nice. How's that treating you? Well good. Oh, by the way, what if I told you that in 4-5 months Ultimate Alliance 2 will be $30 and will include the DLC that you just dropped a hard earned Hamilton on? It's true. Oh, you're crying? Please don't cry.

It's happening more and more often. Fable II, Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead, the cheaper versions have all included content that those early purchasers had to pay extra for.

Buyers Remorse

Whether you grabbed some Taco Bell while you were drunk, bought something off of Craigslist without seeing if it worked first, or paid money to see the latest M. Night Shyamalan movie, there is nothing worse than having a case of buyers remorse. Games are no different. I bought the Lost and Damned downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV the day it came out. Had I known that Lost and Damned would have come out with The Ballad of Gay Tony on disk, I never would have bought the damn thing. Call me old fashioned, but I still like having a hard copy of my game. That's a petty case of buyers remorse, but a case nonetheless.

You also get the benefit of waiting to see what the general public thinks about that game first. Take Halo 3: ODST for example. Do I want to play it? Of course. Do I want to pay $60 to do so? Hells no. Why? Well, because the general opinion of ODST was that it was "more of the same" and "not worth the full price". Sucks for the ones that bought it, awesome for you.

However, this can also have the opposite effect. Like those of us that haven't picked up a copy of Uncharted 2. Yeah, sucks iguana balls that we're not playing what's being called "GREATEST. GAME. EVAR." by those that already have it.

Though, more times than not, I think that you'll find that waiting does more good than bad. Except for when it comes to Modern Warfare 2. That sucker came out today, baby. Don't hesitate. Go grab that shit STAT!

QUICK! Random, pointless picture of Kelly Brook time!



That's about all the mindless rambling that I have time for this week. Want more? I'll be back next week to spew out more drivel, but until then you can stalk follow me at any of the following:

FOLLOW ME
My Twitter
My Blog
My Book of Faces
My E-Mail
411Mania Games Twitter