Look, my gaming spending is out of control. In 2013, not counting gifts for my friends or KickStarter pledges, I spent MORE than the cost of a PS4 and Xbox One combined. That's too damn much. So in addition to my 14 in '14 gaming pledge, I'm going to make a spending pledge: nothing.
I will not spend money on games from January 1st to December 31st, 2014. That's it. I already have games. I have too many games. I won't spend my own money on Steam, at GameStop, or any video game vendor whatsoever. HOWEVER, I do have a few specific exceptions that I'm making to this rule. Here they are as follows:
-I'm still getting Final Fantasy X HD in March
I'm not spending money on it because I already did. In autumn of 2013, back when I thought the game was coming out last December. My copy of FFX is already paid for, so I'll be spending a few dollars of sales tax when I pick it up. That's it.
-KickStarter Deliveries
Several of my 2013 KickStarter donations should result in games arriving in 2014, including Cosmic Star Heroine, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Pillars of Eternity, and Shovel Knight. Like FFX HD, I paid for all those last year, so I'm not counting them among this year's purchases.
-KickStarter Projects
OK, if there's a KickStarter project for a board game, game+soundtrack, or major in-game content, I might bite. I have been a big supporter of the crowdfunding concept, and thus far all of the projects that I've given money towards are on schedule to deliver. If Zeboyd, WayForward, SuperGiant, or another developer I trust a great deal does a KickStarter, then I may back it. But I will curb my spending and try to back fewer projects than I did last year. Fuck, I've already shelled out for Unsung Story.
-Steam Gifts
I will NOT spend my own money on MYSELF this year on Steam, but I will probably buy a few games for friends' birthdays and Christmas and such. Hey, if one of my buddies doesn't own Torchlight II yet, then I need to rectify that.
-Steam Wallet
Hey, if I sell trading cards on Steam, that's not money in the bank, that's money in my Steam account. It is extremely likely that i engage in some card farming, raise my total up to five bucks or so, and then pick up something on the summer sale. I've already done this to buy some deck packs in Magic 2014 and it was fake money well spent.
-A PlayStation Vita OR a Nintendo 3DS in late 2014
Wait, what? That's right. I want to enter the new generation of handheld gaming later this year, saving money by not buying games, and then spending it all on one of the new systems. Either in Black Friday weekend or shortly thereafter, there should be some enticing deals on these new systems and I'll jump in on one of them. Plus I'll buy a few new games with the device; that's a given. But which one am I getting? No idea yet, but I have ten months to deliberate.
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So that's my big plan. Don't buy any games for a year, then splurge on a Vita or 3DS. Even if I spend, say, $200 on one of those systems and then an additional $100 on some new games, that's about a third of what I spent on myself in 2013. I can dig it. On the current gaming front, I've just finished Rayman Origins so that review is in the oven. The current plan is to finish Metroid Prime in the next week or so and then start thinking about trying that 4 in February business again. Sollosi out.
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