Second Guessing Sensible Purchases

[Sectan]

A bit random so bear with me.

I just picked up Left 4 Dead 2. I know I'll love it since I loved L4D. Plus most of my friends own L4D2. That being said I'm still second guessing my purchase slightly and I'm constantly having to justify it to myself. 5 USD is not a lot of money. I spend more than that on a sammich at Wal Mart and the thought of dropping a fiver on that doesn't even cross my mind. But there's something about games that always make me hesitant and almost feel guilty about buying them. I don't splurge too often on my games and I don't buy without doing my homework so I can safely say I've never been burned. I just can't get excited about a game I've bought until I go home and play it for a bit.

Anybody else get like this? Buying something well within your budget. Something you know you'll need/enjoy, but feeling like it was a bad idea for no reason?

Captcha: Broken Record. SHUT UP CAPTCHA, NOBODY ASKED YOU!

 

[OneCatch]

A bit random so bear with me.

I just picked up Left 4 Dead 2. I know I'll love it since I loved L4D. Plus most of my friends own L4D2. That being said I'm still second guessing my purchase slightly and I'm constantly having to justify it to myself. 5 USD is not a lot of money. I spend more than that on a sammich at Wal Mart and the thought of dropping a fiver on that doesn't even cross my mind. But there's something about games that always make me hesitant and almost feel guilty about buying them. I don't splurge too often on my games and I don't buy without doing my homework so I can safely say I've never been burned. I just can't get excited about a game I've bought until I go home and play it for a bit.

Anybody else get like this? Buying something well within your budget. Something you know you'll need/enjoy, but feeling like it was a bad idea for no reason?

Captcha: Broken Record. SHUT UP CAPTCHA, NOBODY ASKED YOU!

I'm really bad at spending money in general (I'm properly miserly). You've got to think though, games are probably about the most cost effective form of entertainment, especially if you never buy full-price - which I don't.

For example, if I pay £18 (~$27) for a relatively recent game, that's the same price of 2 cinema tickets, or a meal out for one. With two cinema visits you'll get 4-5 hours entertainment, with a meal out you'll get an hour (albeit with awesome food), whereas you'll probably play the game for at least 25-30 hours, more if it's your kind of thing.

Hardware aside it's probably one of the cheaper hobbies you could have.

 

[shrekfan246]

Yeah, I picked up the 'expansion' DLC for Endless Space and feel a little uneasy with myself for... no reason, really. And I want to pick up Jet Set Radio ($5) and Alpha Protocol ($7.49) but can't justify it well to myself, because what if they go 75% off and I can save something like $4? Penny-pinching! Admittedly part of it is because I also want to pick up Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes if it goes more than 25% off and I'm trying to not spend more than what I've already got in my Steam wallet, but still...

Steam sales are stressful.

 

[Mullac]

I know exactly what you mean.

I almost feel like I have to get the best deal...ON EVERYTHING! This often doesn't go well for me, not that I end up buying a more expensive copy because I didn't buy a cheap one, but because I waste so much time looking around for the best deal.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Yeah, I picked up the 'expansion' DLC for Endless Space and feel a little uneasy with myself for... no reason, really. And I want to pick up Jet Set Radio ($5) and Alpha Protocol ($7.49) but can't justify it well to myself, because what if they go 75% off and I can save something like $4? Penny-pinching! Admittedly part of it is because I also want to pick up Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes if it goes more than 25% off and I'm trying to not spend more than what I've already got in my Steam wallet, but still...

Steam sales are stressful.

I'll justify the hell out of buying Alpha Protocol right now.

 

[farscythe]

snootch to the motherf*cking nootch

i feel guilty whenever i buy a cheapy game on impulse too (along the lines of thats a tenner i coulda spent on something better etc)
thing is.. it only ever seems to make feel bad when its something like a game or a movie.. i can spend money all day on sandwiches and drinks and feel like it was good buy.
but when it comes to a game id like to play i cant help but feel like i just wasted money (i blame society...and their havent you got more important things to spend your money on attitude)(wich only aplies to useless shit like game btw because its perfectly ok to spend 100$ on a night out)

 

[chukrum47]

I know exactly what you guys are talking about. So I always do the following:

I don't buy a game unless it's sale is going to end within 6-12 hours; for instance, Alpha Protocol doesn't expire until July 22, so wait until the 21st just in case a bigger sale (eg. Flash or Daily) starts by then.

Also, here's a nice link to a spreadsheet that lists all the games currently on Daily or Flash sales, and tells you whether it's the cheapest it's ever been, and if not where it is cheaper: <a href=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AqNNoRAJ26sDdFBGTVdjZUhVbUFQdGZyaVN5RmVVNHc&gid=2> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AqNNoRAJ26sDdFBGTVdjZUhVbUFQdGZyaVN5RmVVNHc&gid=2 .

Not during the Summer Sale, <a href=http://www.dealzon.com/gaming/pc> http://www.dealzon.com/gaming/pc is what I normally use to keep track of what games are cheapest and where.

Hope this helps!

 

[Voulan]

I'm always doubting my gaming purchases, even when I've been waiting for ages for certain ones and following development and getting hyped for them.

Just yesterday at the Steam sale I went to go buy Dragon Age Origins, a game I've been eyeing for some time and just waiting for it to go down in price. But when it did, I was trying to justify buying it and just couldn't. I ended up not getting it, and I'm not sure if I regret it or not.

It's just so hard to spend money!