Video games are too cheap

The gaming industry has a pricing issue. Console prices rise as they become more advanced, gaming PC values skyrocket with each NVIDIA graphics card release and — with the announcement of the Switch 2 — individual games being $80 to $90 may be the new standard. 

With every price hike, more gamers are voicing their frustrations. Angry nerds are flocking to Reddit and X in droves to whinge about needing to sell a kidney to afford their hobby. I am sick and tired of hearing about it.

It’s one thing to be loud about your opinion, but it's another to be loud and wrong. Gamers are lucky that things have been this cheap for this long. Video games are too cheap, and it’s high time that capitalism makes its fortune off of the escapism that gamers benefit from.

First of all, gamers love to pretend that there are no victims from keeping video games cheap. They love to claim that “more people can afford games that way” and that “more expensive games would force them to choose between groceries and 'GTA VI'.”

But keeping games cheap isn’t victimless — cheaper games are hurting the studios that develop them and the companies that sell them.

For every game that Nintendo sells for a measly $60 instead of a more reasonable $120, they lose vital funding that could be used to sue someone into the ground for pirating “Mother 3.”

Companies like Valve, Epic and Riot Games are kneecapped by having to keep “Counter-Strike 2,” “Fortnite” and “Valorant” free.

It’s this very stranglehold that gamers have long had on companies that has led to the worsening quality of modern titles. Companies have had to be so focused on appeasing their feral fans that they can’t generate enough revenue to fund projects their fans clamor for. 

“Half-Life” fans keep begging for “Half-Life 3,” but the only way Valve can afford to make that game a reality would be to stop selling its games for cheap. The second Valve raises prices, fans will pitch a fit, Valve will capitulate to the mob, and “Half-Life 3” will yet again be put on the back burner.

Another problem I have with gamers grousing about costs is that no one forced them to make gaming their hobby. If you order a sandwich at Subway that tastes horrible, you have no one to blame but yourself. You picked the ingredients for the sandwich, after all.

If you build your own PC with a RTX 5090 and custom liquid cooling, then complain about it being too expensive, you need to go buy some clown makeup. You chose what components you were going to put into your PC, you have no one to blame but yourself for the price.

Finally, gamers like to say that “all they have are video games” and without them “they won’t have anything else to enjoy in their lives.”

I’ve got news for any gamer who gets this far in the article without putting a hole through their device — people enjoyed life before video games existed.

Outside of the dark, dingy rooms of gamers, there is a realm known as “The Great Outdoors.” In this realm, there are seven continents all with different adventures and side quests to get involved in.

If you’re a purist, you can choose to stay continent exclusive with your adventures. Or, if you’re a freak with no regard for picking a continent and sticking with it no matter how bad its adventures are, you can mix and match across continents. 

Maybe going outside isn’t your style. If that’s the case, buy a cheap bucket of paint from your favorite home improvement store and have it delivered to your house. Then paint any wall of your choice and watch it dry. Not only is this activity fun for the whole family, but it’s self-contained within your living space.

If neither of these options work for you, just try meditating. It’s free, and it doesn’t require you to shower and go outside. The only downside is that you’re trapped in your head, and there’s nowhere to hide from your degenerate gamer thoughts. 

While I shudder to think about the fallout of gaming prices being raised again, it’s going to keep happening whether gamers like it or not. Either you need to accept that games are out of your price range  and find a new hobby, or you need to get on board and keep buying games no matter how much their prices increase.