I like money. I do. Always have, always will. I like making money almost as much as spending money. Oh how I love spending money. Like a rapper at a whore convention. In fact even the most excruciating of task I will do with a smile if I could have money. Hell I'd be a prostitute if I didn't have the weak body and soul of a 12 year old. But alas I love money. I dig it.

I've been an off and on gamer all my life. Certain parts of my life I endulge in it and other times I kick it to the curb in favor of, well, a life. So right now I'm slipping back into that Getting Into It Phase and I have to say there's something that's changed immensly since I left this beloved hobby of mine a few years back:

THIS SHIT IS EXPENSIVE!



No seriously! This shit is expensive! You know how much it cost to do this stuff? In the last 6 months since I've gotten back on the saddle I've spent more than I spent last year on entertainment total (this year so far I've spent $250 and maybe $150 in DLC). And you know how many games I have to show for it? Four. Four games, an XBL Indie game (which to be fair was $1), and a ton of Rock Band DLC which I play every weekend. I dunno about you guys but that bothers me. I have four games right now and I still play one of them. Well I plan on popping The Beatles back in when Abbey Road comes out but until then the only game to stay constantly spinning in my 360 is Mass Effect. And that's only until I feel my Shepard is up to snuff for ME2 next year. This hobby is fucking pricey.

But to be fair, well, it's kind of always been that way. Back in the days of cartridges we were dropping massive bones too ($80 if memory serves). It's kind of just been industry accepted that we're willing to pay big bucks for the experience of an interactive (and thanks to DLC ever expanding) medium. And now with peripheral gaming on the scene it's only become pricier. I have a $200 preorder for DJ Hero and I have to say as much as I am looking forward to the game $200 is what I, as a kid who didn't pay for his gaming, expected a console to cost.



It's not all bad. I mean some of the purchases are well worth it. For example I think the Rock Band bundle(s) are very much so worth it because they kind of are like consoles. Every week there's a new influx of content, the core of the game is solid, and with each true sequel my hundreds of dollars worth of DLC and on-disc songs carry over. Bravo Harmonix and bravo MTV Games.

And being an American means I still get some of the cheapest gaming around. Aussies and Europeans are still paying out the ass for games I can get brand spankin' new for $5-$10 less than asking price if I shop around. Hell of all my preorders I'm only paying full price for DJ Hero. The only guys I'd rather be in a financial gaming bind might be Canadians. And that's only sometimes.

And then I have to wonder how much of it is my own doing. After all I didn't need that $200 Renegade Edition DJ Hero. I could've settled for the standard package. And after all the only reason they release this shit at these prices is because punks like me buy it. And it's Activision! How doth the stains of mine sins disgust the saints!



Anyway this shit is expensive. And it's not like I'm even buying the games that will make me cool. No I have no plans of buying MW2, Dragon Age, hell I'm still iffy on buying Borderlands with the the Amazon credit I got. In the following weeks I'll be milking Brutal Legend, DJ Hero, and Lego Rock Band for all their worth.

I mean who are you people with your mountains of gaming goodness? Are you geniuses? Sons and daughters of wealthy bachelors or bachelorettes? Can I have their numbers? Am I doing it wrong?

....don't answer that last one.

Also: Gamefly, how is it?