Times are tough all around the world, and usually when belts are tightened, the first thing to go is entertainment. That’s a sad situation, and it doesn’t help that the only news about gaming these days seem to be that it’s getting more and more expensive.

However, just because the price tags are going up, does that make gaming expensive entertainment? I’d argue that it’s still the cheapest way to kill time.

Gaming Hardware and Software Is Getting More Expensive

The bad news is that, in action dollar-cost terms, gaming is getting more expensive. We haven’t seen the sort of general drop in hardware costs that you’d expect over a console generation. In fact, Microsoft has increased the pricing of its Xbox consoles and Nintendo is pushing for higher game prices with the Switch 2, as the whole industry seems to be edging towards $100 games.

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If you’re a PC gamer, you’ve been through years and years of inflated hardware prices. It probably started with the 2019 pandemic, but successive crypto and AI runs on computer hardware have made good PC hardware unaffordable. The MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) is effectively an illusion. Even for entry-level GPUs and CPUs, which should be propping up mainstream gaming.

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So yeah, the idea of building a gaming PC that can play new titles can seem financially insurmountable, though it doesn’t have to be that way if you strategize your PC building and manage expectations.

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In Real Terms, Video Games Are Still Cheaper Than Ever

I know people don’t like it when you bring up inflation, but it should be obvious that a $60 game today is cheaper than a $60 game from 20 years ago. Not to mention, games were more expensive than during, for example, the SNES era. So, in all fairness, even with price hikes to $70 or $80 for new AAA games, this content is still cheaper in real terms than it was before.

I don’t want to suggest that there isn’t a problem with inflated game budgets, extreme monetization, and frankly naked greed in some cases when it comes to the games industry—I absolutely think those are a problem. However, it’s actually surprising that games aren’t more expensive given how much more they cost to make compared to a few decades ago.

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Then there are the subscription services like Game Pass, PlayStation Plus, and some publisher-specific options like Ubisoft+ and EA Play. Here you’re paying a fixed cost to get access to a big selection of games spanning multiple eras of gaming.

There are usually fairly new games, and sometimes day-one releases on these services. So games rotate and others are effectively permanent. Subscription services have really dropped the bottom out of the cost of games. Effectively, if you just stick to subscription services, and are happy to play just what these subscriptions offer, you reduce the cost of gaming to nearly just the price of the hardware. I don’t know how sustainable that is, but it’s an incredible deal for gamers.

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Compared to Music, Books, and Films, Gaming Is the Most Affordable Hobby

You only have so much time to spend on recreation, and when it comes to media you have other options other than video games. You can watch streaming content, go to the movies, listen to music, or read a book.

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Both games and other media can be bought as individual units, or you can subscribe to an all-you-can-eat-style streaming service. So subscribing to Netflix, Spotify, Kindle Unlimited, or Game Pass all have similar costs and so in that case your cost per hour of entertainment is pretty similar.

However, once you start individually buying a book, a movie, an album, or a game, then video games tend to have the lowest cost per hour of entertainment. Even short games tend to be several times longer than a film, and there are many video games that have 100s of hours in engaging content. So even a long book can’t really compare. Basically, if I had to choose one thing that had to keep me entertained for a month, it would have to be a video game. I don’t even think my TNG box set could fill all my free time for a whole month, but Baldur’s Gate 3 certainly could!

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One thing that makes video gaming such a cost-effective medium for me, is that many modern games combine pretty much all of the elements from other media. You often get stories and visual spectacles on par with what you can get from a book or movie. Video game soundtracks are some of my favorite music too. So with the best examples of the medium, you’re getting a little of everything.

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It’s why I often choose to spend my limited time playing a game rather than watching a movie, but of course no one should consume just one form of entertainment to the exclusion of all else!

That Doesn’t Mean We Have to Be Happy With Higher Prices

While I really do think that, in terms of the quality and cost of an hour of gaming entertainment, video games are still the most affordable way to spend your leisure time, that doesn’t mean we have to accept the more expensive upfront costs of gaming.

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Of course, there are many ways to game on a budget. I don’t buy games at launch, for one thing. I wait for sales, prefer older games that don’t need the latest hardware, and make use of physical games for resale and used bargains.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to gaming on a low budget. So if the costs at the cutting-edge of gaming are getting you down, there’s nothing wrong with getting your gaming kicks in a different segment of the market. The enjoyment is just as good.