Being a Budget Gamer

The one thing I hear quite often from people when it comes to gaming is "it's such an expensive hobby".  Well partly, they are right as gaming can be pretty pricy.  However, if you are on a budget or have no money, that doesn't mean you can't game or have to give up gaming in order to save the pennies as there are plenty of ways to get your digital entertainment for little to no money.  So here's a couple of points on how to manage as a gamer on a budget.

1.  Face the fact that you ain't playin' the latest shit

See that Xbox One and PS4 sitting on the shelf of your local video game retailer?  Yeah, fuck that shit, you ain't playin' that for a while.  One of the disadvantages is that there is no way in hell you're going to be able to play the latest stuff but there is a workaround to this situation.  If you are lucky enough to have friends who own PS4s, Xbones or WiiUs then head round to their house and go play their shit.  Don't be a mooching little asshole though, buy them a 6-pack or something for their trouble.

2. Go Retro

Gaming has been around for a pretty long time now and that means there is TONS of old shit for you to be playing.  If you're like me and you live in Japan, the retro shops can sell stuff for pretty cheap.  Splash out one time for a Famicom dual system thing and then there are tons of 100-500 yen carts for you to be enjoying.

But lets say you don't have ANY money to spend, there are tons of emulators and sites that provide ROMS that can give you plenty of shit to play for free.  Some would argue this is piracy, which is kind of true I guess but then again if you emulate something like the fucking ZX Spectrum I'm sure no one is really going to give a shit and those games are plenty fun.

I mean we're talking about a system so old that the games came on fucking TAPES.  To be brutally honest, if you're going to complain about piracy on a tape-based system from 1982 then you need a fucking slap.

3. Get Steam

I don't care what your stance is on DRM or whatever the fuck, Steam is great.  If you have no money to spend, then steam provides a load of shit free to play and while some of these games are a bit hit and miss, the point is that they all cost ZERO FUCKING MONEY.

If you take the two biggest free to play games which are Team Fortress 2 and DotA2, then there are actually ways that you can make steam credit by playing these games.  Sit there and grind out some cosmetic items then trade and sell your way up on the steam marketplace.  Once you have some steam credit, wait for a seasonal steam sale and BAM! now you're rolling in fucking games and you didn't spend a penny.

There are plenty of other ways to save money if you're poor or even just a cheap bastard but these are just 3 of the best in my opinion.  Enjoy your cheap video games