Gaming:the pasttime of choice for many Canadians across the country. Each year, the video game industry

rakes in millions of dollars through console and game sales, and their profit is currently on the rise. 

CBC reports the video game industry has already made "$783 million in sales in Canada during the first 

six months of 2008... a 56 per cent increase from the same time frame the previous year ("Canadians Spend" 1), 

and similar increases can be seen south of the border as well.  Yet, while the game industry's profits are 

rising, so too is the cost for gamers. When the first Nintendo system debuted in Canada in 1986, it sold-

including controllers and a selected game-- for just under $200("NES History" 1). Today, the cost of console 

game systems varies between $300 and $800.

It isn't just the initial purchase of the console that is costing gamers these days. Many games-- and systems-- 

are now being designed with an alluring online component as well, from multiplayer options which link players 

from all over the world, to video downloads and exclusive game content (such as song downloads for Guitar Hero, 

or  new armor for Halo players). Online content then requires, of course, a high-speed internet connection costing 

around $60 a month, plus additional monthly charges depending on the console. With Xbox,  access to online gaming 

needs to be purchased, with yearly costs ranging from 0-$96, depending on whether you pay by the month, purchase 

bundles, or pay an annual fee instead ("Xbox Live" 1). While Wii and PS3 systems do not charge for using online 

multiplayer options, they offer strong incentives (including sheer convenience) for gamers to purchase games and 

game-related content through their online interfaces. 

Everyone  wants in on the new gamer's market, and players are spending more than ever on this form of entertainment- 

in time as well as money. According to NPD's  "Games Segmentation 2008," report,  Console Gamers spend "an average 

of 8.2 hours per week" playing video games:working out to 32.8 hours a month (Riley 1). Considering that the average 

video game takes about 20-30 hours to complete, if a gamer doesn't feel like replaying the same game over and over, 

they need to buy a new game at least every two months. And with games ranging from $30-$200, with the most popular 

games coming in at around $60,  the desire to replay those games already sitting on your shelf increases. 

Of course, there are ways of off-setting the costs of having new games to play. Some people are able to sell or trade 

their old games in, in order to buy new ones. However, depreciation means they won't get nearly what they paid for it, 

as the value of the game not only drops the moment it is taken out of its packaging, but games in general tend to drop 

in price by the day.  According to a study done by VideoGamePriceCharts.com, 

"Based upon the data, a game with a review score of 90 points would be predicted to drop in price 0.19% per day, while 

a game with a 50 review score would drop 0.24% per day [. This     might not seem like a huge difference but after a year

the great game would sell for $16.70 and the bad game would sell for $7.38. " (Hendricks 1)

For a game worth $60 at purchase time, and sold a month or so later, this might only mean a loss of 4-10 dollars, 

but stores that actually buy games for resale are also looking to make a profit, which means their buyback price is 

considerably less.

An alternative to the pricey option of buying new video games every month, is simply to rent them from a store. 

This saves the trouble of having to continually sell your games, as well as allowing gamers the opportunity of 

test-driving games before deciding they are worth owning (aka have a good replay attraction). Many smaller video 

stores offer video game rentals in addition to movies, and larger video stores such as  Blockbuster have a wide 

selection of games to choose from. However, unless you are a  "hardcore gamer", games often take weeks to complete,  

and rentals can be pricey as well. Week-long rentals at Blockbuster have risen to $7, meaning that a game which takes 

three or four weeks to finish will ultimately cost you almost thirty dollars-- when you could own the game, 

forever-- maybe even sell it and recoup some of the cost-- for another twenty.  Probably the cheapest way to avoid the 

pricey-ness of games, is simply to wait them out-- eventually everything loses value right? But how many gamers really 

want to wait a whole year or two for the games whose release they have been excitedly anticipating?

A more recent alternative to video store rentals which may prove ideal for the gamer on a budget, is online rentals. 

Over the last few years, online rentals of movies and games have grown more and more popular, because of a general 

lack of late fees (meaning most companies allow you to rent titles for as long as you want), free shipping and handling,  

the convenience of having games shipped directly to your door, and lower rental fees.  Subscribers usually choose their 

membership plans (and monthly fees) based on how many games they want to have out at a time, and how often they plan on 

exchanging them - and as always, the customer who compares prices, usually finds the better deals. Online rentals can 

lower the cost of playing a game to finish by $50 or more, depending on the game and the company. 

According to a survey conducted by GameStrata, "from ages 18-48 the average gamer spends over $30,500 on videogames and 

hardware. This amounts to about $765 per year for each individual gamer" (Watts 1), and trends show that price isn't 

finished rising yet. Gaming is fun, and addictive; let's just hope our pocketbooks can continue to take the heat.

Works Cited

"Canadians Spend Over $780M On Video Games So Far In 2008." cbc.ca. 18 July 2008. CBC. 24

August 2008.<http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/18/video-game-sales.html?ref=rss>.

Hendricks, J.J. "Watch Out! Your Video Games Are Dropping In Price". Video Game PriceCharts.com

10 June 2008. Video Game PriceCharts. 24 August 2008. < http://blog.videogameprice/charts.com/2008/06/watch-out-your-video-games-are-dropping.html>.

"Nintendo Entertainment System: System History." Classic Gaming. 2008. IGN Entertainment. 24

August 2008. <http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=26>.

Riley, David."Extreme Gamers Spend An Average of 45 Hours Per Week Playing Video Games." NPD.

11 August 2008. NPD. 24 August 2008. <http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_080811.html>.

Watts, Steve. "Survey: Gamers Spend Over $30, 000 On Games (Each)".1Up.com 24 June 2008.

Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc.. 24 August 2008.<http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168390>.

"Xbox 360: Xbox Live Subscription Plans." Xbox. 2008. Microsoft Corporation. 24 August 2008.

<http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/memberships/xbox360subscriptionplan.htm>.