7 ms·

I sunk over $2,000 in a game that shut down abruptly (Marvel Heroes). It sucked. I had no recourse. But at the end of the day, I had well more than 2000 hours

I sunk over $2,000 in a game that shut down abruptly (Marvel Heroes). It sucked. I had no recourse. But at the end of the day, I had well more than 2000 hours in the game. Which meant that my cost per hour of entertainment was less than $1. Which is really cheap as far as hobbies and entertainment goes. Does it suck that I can't go in any play an ARPG with any of the 50+ Marvel heroes I had and adore? Yes. But that's what you should expect when playing any game that operates as a service or has an always-online component.

bluedino 6y ago
One summer I played Gauntlet Legends in the local arcade, I basically maxed out all of my characters, I probably had $200 into it. One day the game crashed, and the repair guy stuck a new hard drive in the game, and I lost all my characters. :(
- thih9 6y ago
  I didn’t realise that there were arcade games with save game support. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_Legends https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_Legends > Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.
heimatau 6y ago
> I had well more than 2000 hours in the game. Which meant that my cost per hour of entertainment was less than $1. I remember when one could buy a game for $50 and play it for 250-400 hours (unlocking hidden things, playing with multiple friends with just my purchase). Roughly a dime for entertainment. In some cases, it was sub a penny USD. You have some expensive hobbies my friend.
- whoknew1122 6y ago
  Is it really expensive though? I don't go out to bars. Those nights out add up quickly. I'm not into cars, which is a large money sink. I don't go to the movies, which is typically $20+ per person for 2-ish hours of entertainment when it's all said and done. Adult hobbies are expensive. $2,000 spent across 4 years which gave me thousands of hours of enjoyment really isn't that expensive.
  - heimatau 6y ago
    > Is it really expensive though? Yes. > Adult hobbies are expensive. Depends on what you value. > $2,000 spent across 4 years which gave me thousands of hours of enjoyment really isn't that expensive. You spent the money, so you saw the value in it. I'd say it was a complete waste. For you, it's clearly not. Value is relative, that's my point.
  - blackrock 6y ago
    Not bad. It’s only $500 per year, when you break it down. Cable TV costs $80/month, or about $1000/year. So if you didn’t pay for Cable TV, then I would say that you saved money here.
- wrycoder 6y ago
  Heh. Offshore racing is described as standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills.
theshrike79 6y ago
1-2€/hour is my limit for "good value game" too. If I buy a $60 game, I expect at least 30 hours of fun, preferably 60. Similar with mobile games, when I notice I'm spending a hour a day in a mobile game for weeks in and out, It's OK to spend 10€ on the gem package to make the game more fun.
syspec 6y ago
Thanks for posting this, a lot of people forget this perspective that sometimes the heavier users are view dropping money into their hobby as just that. A way of supporting their hobby, especially when their dollar/hour of entertainment is so high. There's so much discussion from people who do NOT spend a dollar in any game, and how those that do need to be protected from themselves

bluedino 6y ago

One summer I played Gauntlet Legends in the local arcade, I basically maxed out all of my characters, I probably had $200 into it. One day the game crashed, and the repair guy stuck a new hard drive in the game, and I lost all my characters. :(

thih9 6y ago
I didn’t realise that there were arcade games with save game support. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_Legends https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauntlet_Legends > Its unusual features for an arcade game included passwords and characters that could be saved, enabling players to play over the course of a long period.

heimatau 6y ago

> I had well more than 2000 hours in the game. Which meant that my cost per hour of entertainment was less than $1. I remember when one could buy a game for $50 and play it for 250-400 hours (unlocking hidden things, playing with multiple friends with just my purchase). Roughly a dime for entertainment. In some cases, it was sub a penny USD. You have some expensive hobbies my friend.

whoknew1122 6y ago
Is it really expensive though? I don't go out to bars. Those nights out add up quickly. I'm not into cars, which is a large money sink. I don't go to the movies, which is typically $20+ per person for 2-ish hours of entertainment when it's all said and done. Adult hobbies are expensive. $2,000 spent across 4 years which gave me thousands of hours of enjoyment really isn't that expensive.
- heimatau 6y ago
  > Is it really expensive though? Yes. > Adult hobbies are expensive. Depends on what you value. > $2,000 spent across 4 years which gave me thousands of hours of enjoyment really isn't that expensive. You spent the money, so you saw the value in it. I'd say it was a complete waste. For you, it's clearly not. Value is relative, that's my point.
- blackrock 6y ago
  Not bad. It’s only $500 per year, when you break it down. Cable TV costs $80/month, or about $1000/year. So if you didn’t pay for Cable TV, then I would say that you saved money here.
wrycoder 6y ago
Heh. Offshore racing is described as standing in a cold shower tearing up $100 bills.

theshrike79 6y ago

1-2€/hour is my limit for "good value game" too. If I buy a $60 game, I expect at least 30 hours of fun, preferably 60. Similar with mobile games, when I notice I'm spending a hour a day in a mobile game for weeks in and out, It's OK to spend 10€ on the gem package to make the game more fun.

syspec 6y ago

Thanks for posting this, a lot of people forget this perspective that sometimes the heavier users are view dropping money into their hobby as just that. A way of supporting their hobby, especially when their dollar/hour of entertainment is so high. There's so much discussion from people who do NOT spend a dollar in any game, and how those that do need to be protected from themselves