A gameless dinner?

There I am staring at the $125 super exclusive special edition of Halo that includes a miniature statue of Master Chief. It basks behind the counter in all of its glory. Taunting me. Flaunting its vibrant colors, cutting edge detail and articulation. Oh wait, no...I think I want the $90 special edition that contains the semi-useless walk through and a pretty decent poster that'll hang up beautifully next to Megan Fox in my room. Maybe I should just cheap out and buy the regular edition for $60 just in case this game tanks. As I stand in the Gamestop line my mind starts racing, heart begins to pound a little harder, palms start to sweat and for some reason my pants become soiled. I begin to think wait, did I put gas in my car? Have I paid the bills? Hell...did I eat today!?

I don't know if any of you have ever come across this situation while purchasing or pre-ordering the latest game to hit the shelves. It's happened to me a couple times.
I'll (yes me, the blogger) actually sacrifice getting gas and or food just so I can buy a game for $60. A special edition here and there. I know what you're thinking..."not another rant about the prices of video games." I SAY YES TO YOU ALL! Lets see, the core market for gamers is 18-25 year olds. As I begin to think this is generally the age where most of us are beginning college and or starting our careers in life. Every job I've had since being out of high school I don't think I've made earnings even out of the 10k bracket. You break that down over a span of one year with bills, groceries and basic necessities you need just to live a normal life and by the end of it you're lucky just to have a little bit left over for yourself. Believe it or not the last time I checked none of my friends were retired living off a multi-million dollar inheritance from sweet Aunt Elda God rest her soul.

So what happens when you get out of college? You're struggling to pay the loans and car payments!? Well, unless your Dad invented Sham-Wow and you're Mom co-wrote the Twilight series then you're probably not worried about it. I really fail to see the logic in charging $60+ for games. You're telling me I have to choose whether to starve or play the latest game!!! Just so the creators of the game can drive around their lambo, ordering the expensive combos at McDonalds while I eat off the F@&$^% dollar menu! No wonder people are modding their consoles.

My other favorite scenario is when SO much hype is put around a game and the game flops, two weeks to a month later the game is on clearance and or in the $14.99 and under bin! Then you go to trade it in or sell it and you get a fraction of what you paid for it back! Talk a about a kick in the B@11s!!

It just disgust me to see the gaming industry taking advantage of the broke. Even if the core market for gamers is college students lets not forget about the poor moms and dads who have to work their arses off to support their children's gaming habits. Dad just got laid off so Mom has to go down to the corner to sell...oranges. My mother and father stopped buying me games after I lost to M.Bison on the final stage of Street fighter and I punched a hole through a $500 wicker chair, which is another story and the reason behind them not having to worry about buying me games anymore. So I learned to support myself when buying my games.

In conclusion to this rant, there are those who will argue against me that slashing prices could possibly reduce the overall quality of the game. Probably but more than likely, no. If a game sells at $30 and goes on to sell 50 million copies I think the gaming industry can survive on the resulting income. Who knows what the future will hold though the next-gen we could see $80 games depending on what kind of hardware/graphics is utilized. If that is the case it looks like I will have to start taking out loans just to buy games. For now game on and stick to the $14.99 and under bin!!!