1st World Problems
We desperately need a consolidated list of the games available via subscription services.
As mentioned on Monday, the Epic Store has a $10 coupon available on games that cost more than $14.99. Having already bought Outward, I browsed the entire Epic catalog (219 games) for games that would qualify that I was also interested in. Next game up was Vampyr. I had been enjoying Rohan’s posts on the game and thought I should get in on the action. But I had a vague sense of unease. Where had I seen that before…?
Well then
Yep, Vampyr is included in the Xbox PC Game Pass. Which means I was about to purchase the game for $7 when I could technically play it for “free.” Oh, and it’s also on Origin Premier… which would give you access to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, that new game that just game out. It was thus with a bit of trepidation that I ended up confirming that Outward was not in any game subscription list. But how could I be so sure for other games?
I thought I already purged my Steam wishlist, for example, but Astroneer is still on there (Game Pass). So was Pyre (Origin Premier). They Are Billions (Origin Premier). I even paused my Humble Monthly Choice bundle for December, because one of the headlining games – Shadow of the Tomb Raider – was technically a part of Game Pass already. Granted, it is console-only and not PC, but it’s really all about the principle at this point.
This is my future now. Checking IsThereAnyDeal used to put me at ease, but these days if I don’t already own the game from an Epic Store/Twitch Prime/Humble Bundle, then I could still play for next to nothing via subscription. It used to be that vague senses of “ownership” would drive me to care about purchasing over “renting,” but those sentiments have long since withered away.
Posted on December 25, 2019, in Commentary and tagged #firstworldproblems, IsThereAnyDeal, Origin Premier, Subscription, Xbox Game Pass. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
In An Age 
It’s so much easier to just buy/rent what you want, when you want it, for whatever it costs at the time you’re going to play it. Unless you’re the kind of person that buys a whole load of stuff you don’t actually want or need, that’s not only going to be easier and more satisfying, it’s most likely going to work out cheaper overall, too.
Much as I love a bargain, once you find yourself comparison shopping as a matter of course you’ve actually become a character in a 1950s sitcom and no-one wants that.
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In reality, it isn’t actually “easier” for me.
For example, I’m currently playing through Outer Worlds. I don’t know when I’m going to be done, and I don’t know what sort of mood I’ll be in afterwards. FPS? RPG? Some Survival game? Roguelite? What I do know is that if I’m in the mood for a particular flavor of game and don’t have it available, the substitutes are going to taste bad. If I know exactly what I want to play, but there as a sale I missed and will thus be throwing money in the trash for no reason, then even exactly what I want will be similarly bitter. And finally, to just round out the 1950s sitcom, if I already bought the thing that I want to play next, but realize that I’ve owned it for so long that there’s already been better sales regarding it, I feel stupid for having not waited.
So, yes, I could just buy the things. Or I can try to be smarter with my money when purchasing luxury goods so I can try to avoid working until I’m 67. Of those two options, I do legitimately feel better doing the latter, even if the sums are near-trivial.
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To echo Bhag, the amount of time you spend trying to save $5 or whatever is borderline comical, especially for someone who is far more time-limited. I get considering buying a $60 game or not, but if something is $15 or so and you want to play it, just start playing it.
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What I will say is that the vast majority of the deal-hunting time is spent during periods in which I could not actually play any games, e.g. while watching the baby, at work, etc.
So I at least have that going for me, which is nice.
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