What We Spend Money On: Video Games
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I was messing around Bundle for a post idea and I got distracted by checking out the charts on how other couples spend their money in Raleigh.
What a great cupcake!
It kind of inspired me for a post here on Couple Money. I was thinking I could share some of our discretionary expenses from time to time. It would be a way for you to see what we enjoy and maybe you can share some of your hobbies and entertainment.
I decided to start off with video games as they are something we both enjoy and have made some big purchases on.
Nintendo Wii
We got the Wii right before we got married. I know this because I met one of my best friends as she and her husband were camping outside of a store to get the system when it first came out. My husband introduced me to his friends and dropped off the money to buy the system.
I knew she'd be someone cool to hang out with. She wasn't just there to be with her husband; she was there because she really liked video games.
- Warioware
- Mario Brother Galaxy
- Guitar Hero III
- MarioKart Wii
- MetroPrime III: Corruption
- Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Wii Fit
- Rayman: Raving Rabbids
As you can see, many of the games are not new. We'll get some more games, but first my husband has to send in the Wii to get the video card taken care of. We wanted to wait until after we moved in and we were settled, so he'll be sending it out soon.
I enjoy the party games because they can entertain a whole group at our place.
X Box 360
I admit, our motivation to go ahead and get the XBox 360 was The Force Unleashed. I was excited about the game and I wanted to play it as soon as it came out. We got a good deal on the console and we started off with Burnout and Fable 2. From there, we picked up games every couple of months.
- Mass Effect
- Mass Effect 2
- BioShock
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- Burnout: Paradise
- Arkham Asylum
- Skate
- Fable 2
We rely on friends' personal reviews to get an idea if we should check out a game or not. I tend to gravitate towards RPGs and my husband has a wider net of games he enjoys.
Your Thoughts on Video Games
Do you enjoy playing video games? What are some of your favorite titles? How do you make sure you're not overdoing it?
Photo Credit: clevercupcakes
Waste of time and money. Get rid of the games. Spend more time reading, taking hikes, exercising… think of the better ways you could spend that time!
Lol, relax Dan, we don’t spend all our free time playing video games! 🙂 We both enjoy reading, being active, and relaxing with our friends.
NICE WORK ELLE! BEST POST EVER….HANDS DOWN.
I have Wii and PS3 I will never buy a game new, I just don’t care if I get it the first day or 4 weeks later when some guy already beat it. I can get the wife into Wii, but she won’t touch the PS3.
I have Wii Fit and its awesome – also have Biggest Loser for Wii (TOUGHER).
Force Unleashed is SICK..
End Evan being a dork
@Evan: You rock! I’m glad we’re not the only ones excited about video games. We keep our schedules varied, but sometimes we just want to stay and play.
My husband plays Xbox 360, PSP and, if given the option, will happily take on a PS3. He doesn’t get to buy as much as he’d like due to budget constraints. But we use trade-in programs and do the best we can. I think it’s okay if that’s what you like to budget for.
Personally, I suck at multi-button stuff (I’m a child of Super Nintendo, baby!) and so I can (eventually) pick up racing games, can mash buttons for fighting games, or can handle simple stuff like Knights of the Old Republic. I’m hoping Natal opens up the kinds of games I can play.
We have a PS 3. We use it as a movie player as well. Our favorite game is Rock Band — we love to play with our son and our friends. We also have the Lego games for our son, and Little Big Planet (encourages creativity). I like Tekken, and my husband loves Force Unleashed. But we usually only play a couple times a week, in the evening. And usually during the winter. Most of the time we’re active, or reading.
My husband loves his PS3, but he mainly plays sports games – Madden, NBA Live, Soccer, Tennis, etc. It’s also nice to have around since I can watch Blue-Rays 🙂
My husband loves games (he plays online mostly) and our college age son is a huge xbox 360 fan!
We also have a wii and it is so much fun!! This past week my inlaws were in town and they WOULD NOT stop playing it!
We have had so much fun with video games!
And yes, we READ, SOCIALIZE and LIVE a full active life!
Video games are a great way to get crazy AT HOME with your family and friends!
Dan, waste of time and money??? With a really good speaker system and nice TV, video games are da bomb (okay, I really don’t talk like that anymore but it relays my msg. ;)).
My husband who is old-school-anti-electronics… we now have him hooked on playing war games. And our family just bought Just Dance for the Wii and we had all our friends dancing to it during a party. We got plenty of exercise!
As for our family… it brings us to spending time together. So its all worth it.
And we hike when the weather is good, too. 🙂
Thanks everyone for sharing their favorite video game activities! With everything, you have to find some balance.
@MoneyFunk: Has your husband played Rise of Nations? I really enjoy the game and you can play as different countries.
I remember a time when I LOVED to play Warcraft and other games 15 years ago. I’m sure if I put in enough time, I’d get hooked again. The problem with me is, once I start, I have a relentless pursuit to beat the game. It’s hard for me to just be a mediocre player.
As a result, I don’t play any games any more.. except for real life tennis, basketball, and sometimes golf 🙂
Best, Sam
I have the Xbox360 but have not purchased a game in over a year…. partially from being in Egypt and them being hard to find….. Fable II was simply awesome and I am looking forward to the III’d installment (with rumour of Project Natal integration)….. I am very careful on Video Game purchases and buy used when I can.
If you enjoy RPG games, you should check out Oblivion. Such a fun game! It’s such a huge game that takes a long time to complete so you really get a lot for your dollar. Also, has great replay value. I have had it for years and still play it frequently. It never gets old. And I strongly disagree with Dan by the way. My family reads voraciously, goes camping and hiking all the time, spends tons of time with friends and family, and yes, we play video games. Life is all about balance.