Support NeoGAF

[BrendanSinclair]

I try to support games, people, and companies that I feel are making a positive contribution to the industry, and steer clear of those who I think are making the industry (or the world) a demonstrably worse place. I'm not perfect about it, and I don't research absolutely everything before I spend a dime. But I keep all this in mind when making purchasing decisions, and I try to be vocal about things that need to improve.

(Also, from time to time I write stories like the conflict mineral one you linked in the OP and hope they raise awareness. Thanks for helping!)

 

[Empty]

well i try to focus on things that are controllable. there's aspects that are broader political issues - i support politicians more likely to act on environmental issues and labour issues. i'm not american so i really have no idea what i'm supposed to do about how americans choose to run their country. i can't fight conflict minerals alone, especially not the worlds richest company, that requires international co-operation, a bit above me.

then there are personal choice issues - i'm very suspicious of plastic junk that's just going to end up as waste like amiibo or peripherals or special collectors edition stuff and consider my videogame consoles as part of my environmental footprint, i love older games and systems so i don't really throw stuff away and help recycle by buying old games so i'm okay with that.

some of these are cultural stuff - i'd happily embrace and support games from a broader range of cultures, i don't participate in the nastier aspects of gaming community and try to convince friends to be more conscious. i could probably do more.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

This was a lot heavier than I thought it'd be, but if you want to know, I just play videogames and don't think about it. There's fucked up things happening behind the scenes of everything (production, materials, work labor) and a lot of the things you point out are far from exclusive to games.

On some ones that aren't:
Gun company contracts: I like guns so I don't care.
Not recycling consoles: I don't throw them away, I'm pretty sure no one does unless they're completely demolished since the game industry has such a big second hand market compared to other industries.
Target audience: Games made in Asian countries primarily appeal to Asian culture cause that's who most of their market is, games made in Western countries primarily appeal to western culture cause that's who their market is, that's how almost everything that is produced works. Yes, even "heteronormative" things, because if you produce something on the planet Earth then an overwhelming majority of your market is hetero.

 

[cerulily]

I talk about the issues even though I still enjoy the games.

Being critical about practices in the gaming industry does not mean you cannot enjoy the product. Just be conscious and don't try to ignore that there are problems.

 

[TatteredHat]

Don't care about any of it, I buy and play the games that I find enjoyable and that's the end of it.

 

[SerTapTap]

1,2,3,4 and 5 are all issues that tech in general has. Intel and others are making strides but as a consumer there's not much I can really do and it's not where I choose to focus my energies. I approach games more from the art and journalism side than tech, partly because I think there's very little change I could ever effect in the tech side. Apple don't care.

As for 4 I strongly disapprove of disposing of old game consoles, there's a market for them and a lot of retro systems are somewhat difficult to find in good condition already.

TBH I don't have a moral problem with 7, though I'm just fine with games like Uncharted making up fake brand names and I'm kind of amazed so many games even bother. I don't care if MRI gets a check for every use of Desert Eagel in a game nor would I rush to buy a game just because OMG they have the Deagel!

I don't entirely agree with your assessment of 8; gaming certainly started out that way, but there is a wealth of free browser, downloadable and mobile games (free to play and also legitimately free) that are increasingly accessible. itch.io alone has enough free games to keep anyone with a PC busy for years and some play on mobile as well. It certainly was a problem and partially still is, but with the prevalence of smartphones and to a lesser extent cheap PCs it's IMO not really a huge issue anymore. Nor would I ever insist more games be F2P just to be accessible to wider audience, I feel that would cause a far greater harm.

9 is certainly a problem but with the explosion of indie developers it, much like 8, is partially solved as long as you're willing to look beyond retail AAA titles (which, many people aren't, and honestly I consider that more of a problem than about half of your list). But yeah, part of why I happily promote titles of unusual focus, be it focus on gender, race or just anything outside of the 13-24 white male demographic.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

If you spent your life constantly worrying about the unscrupulous dealings that go on behind the products and services you enjoy then your only salvation would be to live off the grid in some cabin in the wilderness. Break down most consumer products and in the end you'll likely find a worker exploited, a resource wasted, an environment polluted, etc.

 

[maxcriden]

Nintendo is making significant strides in terms of their use of conflict minerals, right?

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

This thread should be retitled,

How do you deal with the problematic aspects of living in first world countries

A lot of our materials are made from cheap labor in poor conditions or created from materials that do harm to local environments and people.

 

[Xion_Stellar]

1-4:Not my problem that's an issue future generations will deal with.

5-6:Not my concern what other people make of their life in regards of their Job/Career choice.Yeah it sucks to be exploited at work but there's nothing I alone can do or say to change your that.

7-9:How people use video games and people's view on how video games should be is irrevelant to my own enjoyment of video games so politics of any kind can kick the bucket because I don't care about that stuff.


I just play video games and anything else is ignored by choice because I can't be bothered to waste time or worry about such things when I'm trying to enjoy my hobby.

 

[Mihos]

Replying to this thread is the most I have done. I really don't care. I have a list of things I can directly influence and this isn't one of them.

I will just outsource that outrage to someone who is more passionate about it and has time to deal with the particulars.

 

[mr2t]

Constructed as an upper class luxury hobby

lol

 

[AaronB]

Stuff running out is a problem that will pretty well solve itself. As supplies run low, prices will rise and stimulate the search for alternatives. Labor is a similar issue - it's unfortunate, but insufficient pay or poor treatment will push developers to go indie or change jobs.

 

[DSix]

Those are very real issues. But gaming is far from being the main culprit in most of those areas. The entire modern industry is self-destructing that way.

As for the developer's treatment, while it is sad that no unionization happened, at least we can support indies who work on their own schedules as independent authors.

 

[Croatoan]

I ignore it. I simply don't have the time to care.

 

[SamusPrime]

This could be applied to basically everything you own and participate in, welcome to modern life.

At this age, I mainly play games to decompress and relieve anxiety and quite frankly don't care whatsoever where the machine comes from or goes after I toss it in the trash.

 

[Drinkel]

Great topic!
I've noticed It's hard to keep denial up when you work in the industry. I've started to change a lot of my buying habits when it comes to physical goods. Stopped buying physical games and collectors editions all together if there are alternatives. Stopped buying consoles unless I know I will actually use them, last generation I owned all three and still mostly used my PC. When buying digital I try to find the place where the most money will go directly to the developer.

When it comes to game development I've tried to take the least problematic road when I have the option. Minimizing addictive and exploitative mechanics especially in games meant for children. There is often pressure to implement exploitative free to play mechanics that does not serve the quality of the game from people above you. Also avoiding dishonest representations of complicated real life issues, e.g. making a game where you solve a countries energy problems and making nuclear power the clear solution to every problem since the mechanics could not model the drawbacks.

It's also important to be present and point out problematic aspects of various representations in our games. There are so many decisions that are just made by default that slips through the cracks because there are not enough time to think through or question a decision. Also been writing a text on how you can make more ethical game design that I hopefully will be able to use in the games I make in my spare time.

 

[CambriaRising]

I acknowledge them but I don't let it ruin my enjoyment.

 

[see5harp]

I acknowledge all of that stuff as truth but treat it secondary to the fucked up shit the industry is doing to me. Preorder bonuses with retailers, releasing broken shit, arranging for timed DLC...shit like that is way more important because I can vote with my wallet.

 

[Deft Beck]

I will acknowledge that problems exist, but there is little I can do to help it. I try to do what I can and not worry about all of it too much.

 

[Gastone]

Whether we like it or not, gaming as a hobby carries with it a host of negative societal impacts and associations that we unfortunately cannot dismiss or ignore.

Actually, i do just fine with dismissing and ignoring it. Videogames takes up the majority of my free time (family-man) and i just don't have the will or want to take any of those things into consideration.

 

[LordJim]

I buy the games I like and care little about anything else.

 

[PhineBuyM3]

I've been made aware of all the points in the OP in the past, but I don't really care.

 

[Blargonaut]

Whether we like it or not, gaming as a hobby carries with it a host of negative societal impacts and associations that we unfortunately cannot dismiss or ignore. Being a consumer underneath the different societal mechanisms and global power positions, I am curious what you think and what you do in terms of the problematic aspects of playing and consuming video games. It is rare that the gaming press picks up on these issues or that they get included in their reviews of the newest console, graphics card, CPU, or even video game, so I thought it would be interesting to hear people's (hopefully well-argued) opinion on this topic. If there are too many topics mentioned at once, you can just limit your post to address one particular thing if you want.

Some of these issues are stuff like:

1. Conflict minerals in the consoles, mobile and PC hardware:Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, Intel (less so), PC hardware manufacturers, and many other companies are contributing to the conflict mineral industry.
2. Exhaustion of resources & lack of sustainability: Gaming consoles and PC hardware all rely on different natural resources in their production that unfortunately are limited.
3. Environmental pollution from high energy consumption: Gaming hardware utilize a lot of electricity. Given how most of our energy production stems from fossil fuels, playing games contribute to greenhouse gases and global warming.
4. Lack of recycling: Like technology culture, so does gaming culture propagate a consumer-driven environment where marketing and companies constantly tell you to buy the newest product. Unfortunately this means that the old needs to be replaced and thrown out, so a lot of old and dated hardware and consoles get shipped to countries like Nigeria or China as "e-waste", where low-income or poor citizens try to harvest the minerals out of these dated materials.
5. Exploitation of cheap labor in the production of consoles: E.g. your PS4 is produced by FOXCONN, who exploit their workers to an outrageous extent. Yet this is ignored by most outlets when reviewing the console or when enthusiasts talk about the merits of the product. This goes for all consoles.
6. Exploitation of the people who develop your video games: Most of your AAA games are produced as a result of exploitation of the developers who produce them. There is numerous evidence for how people don’t get paid overtime, working under the dreadful “crunch”, evidence of poor and even abhorrent management practices. Even worse, in the end, the faceless publisher or developer get all the recognition and name brand, whereas the individuals, from QA to Junior Designer to HR Manager to Lead Programmer don’t get any lick of attention or recognition. We often talk about “Blizzard”, “Valve”, or “DICE”, but rarely are the people actually responsible for your favorite games mentioned, despite the crazy amount of blood, sweat, and tears they have invested in those games.
7. Association with weapon industry and US military: Video game companies that want to develop military-themed games or games involving guns have the support and consultation of both the military and the gun industry.
8. Constructed as an upper class luxury hobby for people with sufficient disposable income: Gaming as a culture is a luxury hobby that only people with disposable income can afford. If you want the newest games (or the ones available at your nearest retailer), you have to have a new console or hardware – if you want to talk, report, or review games, you also have to have the latest stuff if you want to be part of the conversation in gaming culture.
9. Video games are mostly produced by Western companies (i.e. European and North American ) that often only center themselves/their perceived target audience within the games: This entails that often other countries and cultures are either made invisible or stereotyped to an eye-rolling degree. E.g. simplistic binary world-views are often levelled at countries in the Middle East, where a multi-million dollar project like Battlefield 3 can't even do the effort of spelling "hotel" in Arabic properly. More often than not, it is usually implicitly racist, sexist, heteronormative power structures that are propagated throughout mainstream video games with little to no characterizations of non-white, non-male, or non-straight groups of people. Combine this with a very hostile and toxic segment of the enthusiast gaming audience and you have a harmful cocktail that is not easily fixed any time soon. This is not exclusive to video games, but it is still part of gaming culture.

So, you may or may not agree with the more arguable topics above, but some of these aspects are facts associated with the activity of participating in video game culture that we simply cannot dismiss. How do you deal with it? Do you simply ignore it? Do they inform your purchasing decisions and vote during a political election? And do you voice your concern about these issues when relevant?

And before anyone jumps in to dismiss every single thing listed, remember that these issues do not make you a bad person and that I am not trying to chastize or blame anyone. It is entirely fine to enjoy your video games while being aware of the problematic aspects in the culture and industry - these are very complex issues that only are a part of a larger system which are then reproduced in video games. So these are symptoms of wider structural problems that needs to be addressed and for that reason, we need to be able to have a conversation about them without shutting down the conversation or looking away.

OP, you're going to have a lot of, "I never gave it a thought/I don't care/consumers can't tackle this/not my problem," responses in here and that's unfortunately the way it is. As consumers, we're all in some way guilty of ignorance or apathy for the sake of personal convenience regarding the products we enjoy... but I think it's always best for the consumer to at least have knowledge of the existence of the issues behind the products, rather than not. So, thanks for posting this OP, and giving it all a bit of visibility, however fleeting. There's topics of background information here regarding the gaming industry that I've always wanted to learn more about but I never really knew where to start; I'll use your post as a stepping stone for a bit of extra reading.

 

[ShinMaruku]

Oh, ok, let me change my answer. I don't care about the ethics of a company that makes a product I like. If I cared about ethics I'd be in Africa running food aid.

Running food aid would not fix that issue with ethics, you would need to destroy this very comfortable system we have.

Spoiler

It's due to blow up anyhow and it's gonna very painful for a huge amount of people rightfully so

I ignore it. I simply don't have the time to care.

Some of these things if not handled better and to be honest some are running better you will have to find time to care, the biggest weakness in humanity is "It don't effect me" while ignoring something that will build to something you can't ignore then a big amount of suffering comes and everything must change.

I will acknowledge that problems exist, but there is little I can do to help it. I try to do what I can and not worry about all of it too much.

If you make a small change can get 2 people to change and they continue on your small change becomes something exponential. It's like how some people would scoff at a penny doubling every day for a month instead of taking 1 million dollars lump sum.

As to this topic, to be human is problematic and you can do somethings to address what you can, when enough people can do somethings that will change. As to the Foxconn thing, that's gonna get addressed quite shortly by the market in some of the most ironic ways. Believe it or not, it's more expensive for some high technology to be produced in China than the deep American south, some companies are bringing jobs back to the south because it's Cheaper in China, the German corps for example. Because the south in this country is so ass backwards and delusion that they made a third world countries wages pass them by. That is the most delicious irony.

 

[xinek]

What an interesting mix of both thoughtful and disappointing responses. For me, I acknowledge that it's impossible to avoid problematic industries, give myself permission to get enjoyment out of things that I know very well are problematic, and take action when I can to diminish the negative consequences of my actions.

So yes, I buy electronics that are depleting the Earth of rare minerals and exploit labor forces, but I also recycle everything and encourage others to do so, stay educated on issues and try to spread the knowledge around, support progressive political policies, and donate to charities that I feel make the world a better place overall.

 

[DirtyLarry]

What problematic aspects?
And that is how I deal with it myself.

In all seriousness, I take recycling seriously, do not water my lawn even though I am on the east coast, take public transportation if and when I can, etc. etc. etc.
I try to do whatever I can in a system that exists in spite of itself.

 

[Tohsaka]

Not caring, these things are not unique to the gaming industry.

 

[artsi]

I have fun playing games, I don't really stress myself thinking about this stuff. Life is too short for that.

 

[ShinMaruku]

Rare earth minerals are not that rare they are just spread out. China has the monopoly because they give no fucks about the environment and their workers because they have bodies to burn.

Now that is a huge ethics issue but as China keeps pushing forward they will hit some tragedies that will effect change. That is the ONLY way people truly change a system there must be great tragic events. It will take 1 bomb wiping out over 100k people and a airstrike that takes out 300K for airstrikes to become much more targeted and have much less collateral damage. For wars to from hundreds of thousands to just thousands.

Some of this shit will fix itself. But gonna be after great pain.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

If I deeply resisted against everything that was potentially problematic I'd literally be paralyzed as a functioning person in the 21st century.

No video games
No PC's
No Phones
No electronics
Fewer food options
Fewer clothing options
Fewer everything.

Basically, and this is highly hypocritical but I kinda keep doing the things I know are bad but I will be critical of them if they come up as a relevant thing.

If I remember right though nintendo is the greenest company of the three big ones, so that's something.

 

[ShinMaruku]

Nintendo is too cheap to be the greenest.

Spoiler

Them and Sony trade spots from time to time actually.

Also be mindful of some recycling, recycling in the US is overdone and it not done in the best way and causes more harm than it fixes. Now Norway, they do their shit so good they must import garbage from Sweden to stay efficient.

 

[Aggie CMD]

This thread should be retitled,

How do you deal with the problematic aspects of living in first world countries

A lot of our materials are made from cheap labor in poor conditions or created from materials that do harm to local environments and people.

Bingo. In the grand scheme of things, gaming is an insignificant contributor to these issues.

Your home. Your air conditioning. Your car. Your commute. Your substance (food & drink). Your PC. Your phone(s) & tablet(s). Think about it all and you'll go insane.

So...Stay calm and game on.

 

[Verger]

I have fun playing games, I don't really stress myself thinking about this stuff. Life is too short for that.

Yep. I mean, that's why I play games to begin with. For fun escapism sake and nothing more.

 

[kittens]

I do a few things.

• I don't buy games that are especially offensive / harmful. For the ones I do buy, I make sure to make my complaints known by tweeting or emailing the devs. I've had pretty good results from this, generally. A lot of people do harmful things out of pure ignorance, devs included.
• I buy games that present really rad ideas and have good, diverse representation.
• I openly critique games, developers, and media outlets that spout out offensive or bigoted views.
• I support the devs / media who are getting things right. I mention them on GAF, retweet them, support them on Kickstarter or Patreon, etc.
• I talk to my friends about intersectional feminism and gaming and how the two intermingle. I recommend rad games to them.
• I straight up refuse to play online with people who use slurs or otherwise shitty language. First off, I don't want to hear that shit. And secondly, I don't want them to go around thinking it's okay to be an asshole. I'm nice about it, and I try to make a joke out of it to lighten the mood whenever possible, but my first priority is just shutting that shit down.

 

[PeskyToaster]

They have 0 effect on my life or purchasing decisions. If the game is good and fun to me I'll buy it.

 

[ldcommando]

I don´t care

 

[ThePinkServbot]

These are great questions to ask, but most of them don't really have answers.

1-5 are problems that plague every industry. What we are communicating on right, be it phone or PC or laptop, all suffer from the exact same problems. There is no answer that doesn't include a total revolution of the global economy, including China turning into a completely different country.

6 and half of 9 I have dealt with by, honestly, not buying AAA games anymore. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do this as a form of protest or an acknowledgment of the issues, I did it because AAA games no longer serve me. "Uncharted Syndrome" has become terminal as games have become loaded with boring, unchanging, stiff, cinematic set pieces. Arena online multiplayer is mandatory. Challenge has dropped off. Who needs it? All I play these days are indie games in the vein of Hotline Miami, Super Meat Boy, La-Mulana, and a lot of Kickstarted stuff.

7 is something I have yet to see any ramifications for.

8 and the other half of 9 are the things I feel the strongest about. What you say in 8 is what I find to be massively responsible for the second half of what you talk about in 9. Who has that disposable income? Who has the parents with money who can feed that hobby during childhood? Who has the disposable time that would otherwise be spent working putting a roof over their head or putting themselves through college?

Whitey.

So who makes up the largest section of the video game consuming audience? Who gets catered to? Who do you see represented in video games? Who screams and cries whenever there's any deviation to that at all?

Whitey.

So, how have I dealt with that? After dealing with video game communities and video game people for years, almost two decades at this point, I have dealt with it by taking a massive step back and VERY much distancing myself from Gamer Culture. I've been seeing stuff like GamerGate coming down the pike for a very long time, and seeing it finally break is what really pushed me to go "you know, I really don't even like you people or your shit anyway, what am I even doing dealing with you?" You won't catch me on any other video game site outside of this one except for MAYBE GB, and I rarely post to either.

Granted, starting school (after two decades...) was also a pretty big motivator for a lot of these decisions, but I'm a whole hell of a lot happier playing Shadowrun Returns and getting As on exams than I ever, EVER was going through that tank section of Uncharted 2 for the third time.

edit: I know a lot of these answers with 1-5 come off as a bit of a cop out, and honestly, they sort of are. But what would change any, even an iota of that, is a revolution that absolutely no one (who would benefit from it) can afford. And I don't mean that in a "oh we'll be uncomfortable" kind of way, I mean we can't afford it in the "they'll fucking actually factually fucking kill us" kind of way. So, until you get someone whose willing to risk their lives to put bullets in all the right people's heads, FOXCONN is here to stay.

 

[ShinMaruku]

Bingo. In the grand scheme of things, gaming is an insignificant contributor to these issues.

Your home. Your air conditioning. Your car. Your commute. Your substance (food & drink). Your PC. Your phone(s) & tablet(s). Think about it all and you'll go insane.

So...Stay calm and game on.

This is a gaming forum os it's a huge part of the grand scheme of things, Even small things can multiply.

One could argue to be in the culture is to be insane. I mean we do some pretty stupid shit all the time. If people thought a bit more on some of these things to stupid shit could be cut down. Never say stay calm and do the same thing, the issues will creep and and it' will be more of a hassle to tackle than if you did it early.

 

[True Fire]

If you start analyzing the problematic aspects of any part of society you will never be happy.

Hundreds of thousands of people cried over one dead lion and will never blink an eye at the millions of dying Africans. That's pretty messed up, but will anything change? Of course not. It's easier to pretend there isn't a problem and continue living in happy ignorance.

 

[Neff]

I'm fine with it. So long as these companies aren't supporting organised crime or financing third world warlords, I don't have a problem. The majority of people I know are exploited professionally. Lots of people have shit jobs, it's just how the world is.

 

[cosmicblizzard]

It's unfortunate, but people make bubbles for themselves to not allow the shittier aspects of reality interfere with their lives. It's not just the entertainment industry, but nearly all aspects of life in the 21st century. Everyone posting on this forum right now has indirectly contributed to some of the atrocities that make this world tick, and it's a depressing thought, but everyone has problems (of differing scales obviously) that they have to deal with. Some truly admirable self-sacrificing people fighting for humanitarian causes can make the problems of the world their own problems, but it can't be expected of everyone.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Gaming as an upper class hobby? Lol.

Eh. Those issues are part of a larger, broader problem with how the technology industry operates as a whole, from sourcing down to consumption.

The only issue I find myself caring about is the issues of devs being screwed over by greedy and negligent publishers and the exploitative labor practices of the games industry.

Being a perpetual freelancer for those companies seems like nothing but a bad time.

 

[Garlador]

How do I deal with it?
... Head on.

I'll be honest, I'm actually a tad upset at so many "I don't care" responses. I mean, I'm aware of how much conflict is behind every last aspect of our lives, from styrofoam cups to gas prices to factory waste, etc.

But I do still care about those things as well.

I'm sure I'm a very, very, very, very small minority that plays games but also writes letters, emails, or otherwise contacts companies to let them know how I feel about these issues, both sociological and political. I wrote Nintendo about conflict minerals, I wrote EA back during "EA wives", I contacted Capcom about their DLC policies... whether it's something as innocuous as calling Nintendo to ask them to bring Xenoblade statewide or something more serious, like Gearbox's false advertising or issues regarding gender or race, or things like overworked factory workers, child labor, and conflict minerals, I actually do try and get my voice out there.

Sure, it'll be dwarfed by a million people who don't care, but at the very least I can say to myself that I spoke out rather than remain silent.

 

[charlequin]

Constructed as an upper class luxury hobby for people with sufficient disposable income

Golf (with its elaborate set of equipment, large time commitment, and high access costs to facilities) is an upper-class hobby. Mountain climbing (equipment again, plus travel commitments, training, and support) is an upper-class hobby. Eating at expensive restaurants and ordering good wine is an upper-class hobby.

Video gaming, a hobby that the average participant spends maybe $50 - $150 on in a year, is not an upper-class hobby.

 

[AtomskEater]

Ignore it. I've removed people who started spouting gg bullcrap on social media sites but that's just so I can better ignore it.

 

[ThePinkServbot]

Gaming as an upper class hobby? Lol.

The vast majority of game purchases are done in the first month of release when games are still $60, played on $300-$400 video game hardware, with a significant disposable time commitment if you're going to register in the finances anywhere. Yes, gaming is absolutely an upper class hobby. I was only able to be the kind of gamer I was growing up by making a shitload of sacrifices that I fundamentally regret now.

 

[ShinMaruku]

Golf (with its elaborate set of equipment, large time commitment, and high access costs to facilities) is an upper-class hobby. Mountain climbing (equipment again, plus travel commitments, training, and support) is an upper-class hobby. Eating at expensive restaurants and ordering good wine is an upper-class hobby.

Video gaming, a hobby that the average participant spends maybe $50 - $150 on in a year, is not an upper-class hobby.

Globally you could say it is upperclass. In the West it's not quite so but when most people are living pay check to pay check and making much less than what the west does you could easily call it that.

 

[Raggie]

I think I've considered my hobby to be fairly good from the environmental angle, relatively speaking. A great deal of hobbies are more stressing to the environment. Just the fact that it's something you do at home, rather than having to drive somewhere. A game console is in use for many years, and my gaming PCs get other uses as well. A lot of game purchases are done digitally. And even though games get often made from workers' backbones, they are usually western people who do have other options.

 

[DoktorEvil]

Golf (with its elaborate set of equipment, large time commitment, and high access costs to facilities) is an upper-class hobby. Mountain climbing (equipment again, plus travel commitments, training, and support) is an upper-class hobby. Eating at expensive restaurants and ordering good wine is an upper-class hobby.

Video gaming, a hobby that the average participant spends maybe $50 - $150 on in a year, is not an upper-class hobby.

In some areas of the US, golf has even come down in price. NYC has golf courses all over the 5 boroughs that offer $30 per person 18 hole days.

Granted, the top of the line equipment is expensive, but they are a one time purchase if well maintained.

The vast majority of game purchases are done in the first month of release when games are still $60, played on $300-$400 video game hardware, with a significant disposable time commitment if you're going to register in the finances anywhere. Yes, gaming is absolutely an upper class hobby. I was only able to be the kind of gamer I was growing up by making a shitload of sacrifices that I fundamentally regret now.

Not my problem, nor anyone else's. No one forces you to buy the current gen console or to buy Day 1 on all new releases.

There are people who strictly buy used for all hardware and games and those costs are very manageable. It is absolutely not an "upper class hobby".