Jennifer Prince at Bloomberg has figured out the real cost of being a videogamer. Through some powerful research she has come up with a final tally for what being a gamer would cost a family of four based in San Francisco: $17,077. Join me in doing that thing where you quickly wag your head back and forth and blink your eyes.
This crazy number is a tally of all the stuff Bloomberg says you’d need as a gamer. While the expected consoles, displays and accessories are in the mix, most of the rest of the list is packed full of crap that no gamer would ever buy. What the hell is a FragFX Shark 360? Do you use a UPS? How about a Kinect anti-slip mat? Or 2 different $250 gaming headsets? Of course, I know you have two BoomChair Sky Lounger Gaming Chairs with built-in speakers, subwoofers and extra-large seating. That sits right next to your Rock Band storage ottoman, right?
Also, they forgot the Mt. Dew and Cheetos!
Ill-informed? You bet. Try this bit on for size:
While Gordon uses his laptop to play Zynga games, many PC gamers are more hard-core. “PCs are the hot rodders of game play,” says Jamin Warren, founder of Kill Screen magazine, which focuses on the game industry. Warren says hard-core gamers often soup up systems by adding motherboards, boosting RAM and optimizing graphics.
Ow. Bloomberg should have tightened up the graphics on this article a little bit. Or, maybe they could have just asked a gamer. What’s great about gaming today is that it costs whatever you want to spend on it.
