Is Playing Video Games a Hobby for You?

So, you want to play video games, huh? Maybe you played a game of Mario at a friend’s house. Maybe you saw someone on YouTube play video games and you found it interesting . Well, before you whip out your wallet and spend hundreds of dollars on a PC or on consoles, let’s talk about it first. Is pursuing video games as a hobby for you?

The fun and hard thing about this question is that video games fall under a large database of different genres. You can play competitively in e-sports. As the title suggests, its like sports but for video games. You can play video games casually, or play them online with friends. As much as it is very fun, there’s a lot of different options. But there’s a problem: its a pricey hobby, so you can’t just pick and choose different genres like it’s a buffet. It’ll cost you money so you need make smart investments. That’s why I’m here to help. Let’s talk about the different areas of gaming.

The Harcore Gamer

This is probably one of the most well-known type of genre out there. With the hardcore gamer, he keeps up to date with every triple A game that is made (or games made by a big studio). Once release, he buys them the day they come out. He typically owns all major consoles: Switch, Playstation, Xbox, and usually a PC.

Is this for you?

The nice thing about this one is that you can keep up with gaming culture. Memes, controversy, whatever it is, you’ll know it. Not too mention that there are plenty of people out there who fall under this category so you can find a community pretty easily. The problem?

Pricy. Each big name video game is $60 minimum, so even if two new games come out per month, you’re spending a minimum of $120 per month. Not to mention all the consoles you’ll need to buy. At least $399 minimum for three different consoles, and more for a gaming PC. Finally, this could be a good thing for you, but a lot of games are usually very long. Like, at least 40 hours minimum, some can go up to 80 hours. So, be prepared to sink in a lot of time on gaming.

But, one way to get around this is with new streaming services, like Xbox’s new service, Playstation’s PS Now, or even companies like Gamefly, where you can rent out two games for $20 per month. However, you’ll just have to find a way to buy the consoles.

A branch off to the relevant gamer is one where instead of owning every console and playing every new video game, people tend to stick to one brand. Maybe you enjoy Nintendo. Well, you’ll only have to buy brand new Nintendo games and you’ll only have to own Nintendo consoles. This is true for other brands as well, but there is a massive fanbase for Nintendo. Like, its bigger than anything I’ve ever seen before. This option is a much cheaper option, and can still give you a lot of playtime

The Competitive Gamer

This guy is a bit different than the relevant gamer. Instead of buying every new video game, they tend to stick to one game in particular, for one single goal: become the best player in that game.

You like sports? Well, this one is probably for you. The nice thing about this option is that there is a wide array of video games out there that have a competitive edge. Maybe you want to become the best as shooters. Well, you got Overwatch, Call of Duty, Pubg. Maybe you want to become better as sport games, like Madden, or NBA. That’s just the surface. You also have fighting games, like Super Smash Bros.

You tend to get to stick to one game in particular, and on one console. So, you pick up Overwatch, and that’s $60, spend $399 on a Playstation. and get an online membership. That’s it. Once you got those to things in, the next step is to GIT GUD. Or, in layman’s terms, practice, practice, practice until you’re the best player in the game. Or, at least until you’re above average.

The bad thing about this is that you are plugging in a lot of hours into a game. I know friends who put in 4,000 hours to become good at it. You can still keep up with gaming culture, but if your job is to hone your skills, well then, why put 60 hours into a fun game like Skyrim when you could have spent those hours developing your skills at Overwatch? That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy other games, but it makes more sense to focus on one game.

The Casual Gamer

Okay, I hear your cries for help. You don’t really care about competition, and maybe you’re like me: an overworked college student whose being crushed by loans and work. So, this one might be for you. Most people fall under this category, and for many different reasons.

The hard thing about the casual gamer is that there are a lot of definitions on what a casual gamer is, but here is my viewpoint on what I think it could be.

The casual gamer will usually have at least a PC alongside one console, at the most. He keeps up with gaming news, so he’s pretty much are familiar with every new video game that comes out, and familiar with the gaming culture, but he doesn’t play every new game.

So, does he play games? Certainly, but not every triple A game. He might buy a few AAA games per year. But, he’ll play a lot of other games that aren’t on the mainstream gaming news. Smaller games made by indie teams or even free games he found online.

The downside to this is a few things: you’ll get looked down upon by people in the community. Some might even say you’re not a real gamer, or that you’re not serious about games. Plus, its harder to relate to gaming culture because people will be talking about the newest game when you haven’t played it.

But, people’s opinions shouldn’t stop you from playing games. Most people fall under this category so don’t be ashamed. There certainly is nothing wrong with being a casual gamer, and maybe in your current situation, you can’t afford to buy every new game. That’s okay!

The Online Gamer

This guy is kinda like a lot of the others mixed together, but the big difference is that he usually plays video games with friends. It doesn’t really matter if its friends he met at college or people he met online. When his friends are playing, he’ll be playing to.

The nice thing about this is that most modern day games have an online feature so you don’t need a PC to play one. I mean, one of the biggest games today, Fortnite, is entirely online, either on PC or on Playstation. Not to mention that there are a vast variety of online games, and a lot of them are FREE.

One of my favorite online game was a video game call Garry’s Mod (or Gmod). If you haven’t checked it out, the whole game is called a Sandbox game, where anything you can imagine, you can create. Want to create a character of Shrek that chases you around the map with a slowly distorted version of All Stars in the background? Go ahead! (I’m not joking, this actually exists). My friends and I sunk a lot of hours into this game (around 80 hours at the most).

The downside to this is that because there are so many online games, you either need to find people that like the specific game that you like, or you have to play the most popular game that all your friends are playing. The thing that sucks the most is that there will be a day that your friends will stop playing a game that you really love. Ironically, that reason you love it is not because of the game, but the memories you made with your fiends.

Now, you don’t need friends to play online games, but playing with a group of people is a huge part of the experience. But, if you don’t have buddies to play with, start playing and try to meet people online! Maybe you’ll find a group of friends to play with!

The Retro Gamer

This guy is old school, like I’m talking about old school, old school. These people don’t usually play the hottest new games that come out, but they like to stick to the classics. Games from the 1990s and all the way back to the stone ages of 1970s. Games from the Atari, N64, NES, SNES, Odyssey, you name it. Not too mention the wide variety of games out there.

This is nice because a lot of the games you can pick up usually don’t cost a fortune… usually (there are some exceptions). A lot of people like to create a retro collection of games and consoles, so if you’re a collector, this will be especially fun. Plus, if you’re a history buff, then you’ll love this side of gaming. you’ll get a grasp of gaming history that a lot of people don’t have today.

The downside is that, again, keeping up with gaming news and culture will be hard. But, that’s not to say its impossible. There are people who do both. It makes it harder because you’re splitting your time up. Also, because its historical, sometimes you’ll run into a rare video game that’ll cost a lot of money to buy. There was one game, Super Mario Bros, that sold for $30,000.

This doesn’t scratch the surface of all the unique and different video games out there! You got indie games, mmos, rpgs, speedruns, no hit runs, I mean it is a vast variety of communities and games, but I hope this gives you a taste of the games that are out there. So, what are you waiting for? Start gaming!