I'll admit I added to those figures. I bought myself a Wii and a few games this holiday season and it was my first video game purchase since my parents got me a Super Nintendo. BUT! I think it's a great economical answer for cold, cheap weekends. Friends can get together and be entertained for hours basically for free. It pays for itself rather quickly. I'd also like to see the sales for $1 Redbox. I think they're probably not too bad off either.

I'd have to say no. Video games taught me a level of rage and frustration as a young kid that nothing else could match. As an adult, I can see the allure, but it's the same allure as drinking beer all day. I'd love it, but I'd ultimately hate myself.

Getting a good quality game for roughly 40-50 bucks once a month or so (depending on replayability and online play) will encourage me to stay home and play as opposed to going out and spending money on alcohol. However, there are folks who tear through games- for those folks, I'd recommend GameFly.

Instead of going to bars and watching movies in theaters, we're drinking PBR in the living room and playing Guitar Hero.

Video games are alot cheaper than going to the pool hall every night...

It adds up when you start drinking there!

None of the choices really apply to me. I just recently got a 360 because 1. Microsoft dropped the price and 2. It got to the point where all the next gen games were no longer released for my original Xbox. I think the surge in sales is mostly driven by the Wii appealing to non-gamers and the 360's price drop ensnaring all of the budget conscious games that were holding out. Then, of course, game sales will follow.

In terms of hours of entertainment per dollar nothing really beats a good video game for non-hardcore gamers.

@Ash78: I am in much the same boat. As an adult now I choose games very carefully to find ones that are not frustrating. I got tired of spending 2 hours playing only to find myself more irritated and un-relaxed than I was when I started!

No bar can compete with the awesomeness that is Mario Galaxy.

The "Duh" comment was right on... Man... movies are way too expensive for the family. Even at a matinee the cost is usually close to $40 for the four of us (2 big, 2 small). Now, compare all the family fun we have playing Guitar Hero and the equation is a no brainer.

Plus we're not sitting in the dark.

Thankfully we also live in the greatest free museum city in the world so that keeps us busy, too. Add to that an inexpensive partial season tix plan for baseball... and kids athletics... and family trips... etc... etc... We hardly have time to see movies! What we want to see we usually see later on DVD, HBO, etc.

Let's see: Movie = $40 -v- Wii game (like the incredible Williams Pinball) =$20-$40. Which one will provide more hours of entertainment?

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected:

Talk to me during the bee level and hear a strongly worded rebuttal! :-)

@Troy F.: I also learned the hard way about something called the "Final Fantasy Timewarp"

9am: "Hold on, I'll come have breakfast in a minute"
10am: "Why do I have a beard now? And why haven't I eaten in over 25 hours?"

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: YES!! Although the level where that giant baby flower suddenly wakes up screaming and starts chasing you made me literally jump out of my seat. I thought I would have nightmares.

@Ash78: If you check out more modern games, the frustration level is almost universally WAY lower than it was in the NES/SMS/SNES/Genesis days.

Most games now let you save between levels or even during levels, so you rarely have to play through something long and repetitive that you have mastered a hundred times because you can't beat a boss (Damn you, Jaquio). Some do force you to sit through long, boring cut-scenes, though. Also, modern games in general just tend to be easier in general than what you played as a child.

I think video games are the cheapest form of entertainment ever, except possibly getting books from the library (which is also up).

This is largely because I don't insist on having the Latest Thing (tm) being very content with my playstation II. I recently got NCAA Football '05 and Enter the Matrix for a grand total of $3. Hours of entertainment there.

The key to happiness in life is to not let your standards for luxuries drift too high.

None of the poll options really fit me, but it's a good value per hour and doesn't require leaving the house. It's -26 with windchill over here! I'll take any good excuse to stay inside.

@TinkishDelight: My bf and I bought a Wii last summer, and since then got some games. It's also really great to first go to places like Hollywood Videos or Blockbuster to rent the games and see if you like them before you spend $50 on them. Then, if you like them, go on ebay and buy them. That's how I got Elebits for the Wii, super cute game. For friends coming over, it'd be great if one of them owned a Wii and can bring 2 more controllers while you take out Mario Party 8 to play.

@Ash78: Yeah, I'm not much of a gamer since my patience level is small when it comes to doing something over and over again since I keep dying in the games...but there are some games that are worth it, it's just better to rent them first to see if you like them. That way you get to play a bunch of games, and the ones you really like, you can get for cheap on ebay.

@Blaaaah: I'd recommend ebay. Just got a game that would cost me normally $30 at the store (and the store was out of it anyways) for about $11 on ebay for my Wii. But yeah, renting before owning is a must for me, since I'm super picky.

@Ash78: You are the type of market that the Wii goes after. Their approach was to make video games fun for people who don't like video games.

This thinking also has spilled over a bit in the other systems as well. 'Little Big Planet' for the PS3 is a bit of an obstacle course/puzzle game. People who never liked video games (eg. my wife) find that they love it. Best yet, there's no special combos to remember and you can build your own levels and share them online.

I haven't really played video games since I was in middle school, but I got a 360 for Christmas and didn't spend any money for 48 hours because I was playing Fable 2. Now I am certain that when Street Fighter 4 comes out next month my house will be a popular destination (and it costs a 6 pack of decent beer to play).

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: how about that one where he has to run around on luigi to collect the coins and the star, and the squares disappear or start turning over. That was annoying...

However, if you have a 2nd person there with you, the game becomes much easier since that 2nd person can use the 2nd controller to stop some of the bad guys, make Mario jump higher, and collect starbits for you.

Lastly, those Hungry Lumas are the cutest things I've seen!!! I want a plush toy of one, too bad they don't make them.

@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: Ah, I do love that game. I've recently taken a break on it though because I keep dying...I find that leaving it alone for a while helps to keep me from falling into those damn black holes as often...

Nintendo is close to the end of its road unless they start learning. The recession will soon start killing their sales and they have already alienated the geeks who keep their money flowing in. There is no more christmas and parents don't care anymore.

There have been articles around about Wii shovelware and how it's going the way of Atari. Nintendo's biggest success could be its downfall. If they keep following the path Atari took, which they currently are, then they just might collapse completely. Mark my words, there will be an ET for Wii. If there hasn't been already.

I hate my Wii, I never play it. I hate Nintendo for jumping the bandwagon to casual games and just leaving gamers behind. If it weren't for people like me, the Gamecube would have been their downfall. Nintendo is on a rollercoaster to hell... they just haven't hit the freefall yet. Consumers are getting turned off one by one by all the horribly bad games. I'll stick with my 360, even after two RRoD... I still love it way more than my Wii or DS. I loved the Wii for a few months but crap release after release of mini-games and Petz and Imagine: Stupid Things... I don't like it anymore.

@summerbee: I'm right there with you. Only replace Guitar Hero with Castle Crashers, and PBR with... well that one pretty much stays the same.

Video Games are an excellent source of entertainment, but that damn Live Marketplace is addictive! Nothing draws me in more than to see classic titles I remember playing as a kid, back up in full (and sometimes better looking) than they were in the past.

My friends and I have a hard time getting together with competing schedules, wives and children, and at times (like this week) cold weather. Now that I have [finally] joined the Xbox 360 community I can partake in Live gaming with them. The only thing I don't like is that I'm many years removed from my more competitive gaming days. Kids half my age are running circles around me and trash talking to levels I never reached until the end of high school.

I'm glad, too, that I opted for the 360 over the Wii because of Netflix. As that application matures and more films are offered in HD.....wow. $8.99 a month is wonderful for that.

@Ash78: How dare you put down drinking beer. It is what built this country!

My fiancé and I game together on Sundays (admittedly, we each also play games individually throughout the week) and it's a really cost-efficient way to have fun. A used copy of God of War is $20 or less (and right now we're using a GameFly subscription, so much less) but we got a solid 12-14 hours out of it. Then compare that to $11.25 per person for a two hour movie...

@Ash78: True story: My brother broke his collarbone after falling off the back of the couch in a fit of rage over Donkey Kong Country 3.

@opsomath: Yes, by never buying cutting edge you can do it cheap plus have all the tips and tricks available.

As many have said above, video games are a cheaper alternative to going out and eating/drinking, movies, pool halls, mini golf (Wii Carnival Games MiniGolf), and etc.

@katiat325: I'd recommend usenet.

But um, you didn't hear that from me.

@narq: I think you're missing the point of them making money hand over fist the last 2 years. They're no longer too worried about those who only want to play Mario or Zelda games, they're looking wider and it's paying huge dividends for them.

Sorry, but if Nintendo wants to have children and non-gamers playing their system, it's not as if that market ever dries up. There's always going to be children. Look at Disney, they have the kids and they can keep them there with complete crap, and they know it.

Your argument is pointless, as the entire argument seems to be: "Nintendo stopped making games I like, they suck now".

I have had a Wii and a DS and didn't really think they worked for me. Sold the DS, still have the Wii for when friends and family come over. I don't hate Nintendo for not making Bioshock; I just realize that they're moving on. I know it's an ugly break up but it'll be better for all of us if we realize it's over.

@TinkishDelight: I love redbox!

I sure hope their sales numbers are good.

Sigh, why must it always come to the nintendo has forgotten us argument.

I just want to state my distaste for it.

Nintendo has not forgotten the people who started with them and then left to go to the playstation, they just realize that they need to appeal to a large group to grow.

Until Zelda/Mario become "MY FIRST PLATFORMER" I don't see anything wrong.

Also, if any trolls bring up that patent on video help, I must point out that it would be -optional- and not required to beat the game. It would be even nicer, since they can cut down on the braindead helper squads.

@narq: Admittedly, the availability of good games Wii has not lived up to my expectations, but I've definitely managed to keep myself reasonably entertained with the Virtual Console stuff. I enjoy the fact that, for five bucks, I can pick up an old Nintendo game that I haven't played since back in the day (these days, the stars have to be perfectly aligned for my original Nintendo to function). Also, old-school games are usually way more challenging and ultimately more satisfying to beat than their modern counterparts. Finally, the fact that they released a new "retro" Mega Man for the Wii is crazy awesome. So, I'll just amuse myself with relics from my past until Nintendo starts coughing up some better titles for the Wii.

@Troy F.: Come teach this skill to my husband. He'll be getting really frustrated at a game and all pissed at it, and I'm saying, "WHY ARE YOU STILL PLAYING? It's supposed to be fun and you're all worked up and pissed off!"

"Because I Must. Beat. This. Level ......"

What I want to know is when is Best buy getting wii s back in stock?!?!? I have $335 worth of gift cards to best buy and they have no wii s.
jerks.

i am the only person my age (i'm 26) i know who does not like video games. i don't really like any games, to be honest. board games, drinking games, even crossword puzzles...ugh.

i don't know if it's that i lack patience or what, but i get frustrated very easily with games and i don't enjoy them.

@gyroball: This was the assumption of atari, and look where that got them. It would be one thing if they made great kids games, but they aren't making hardly any games and 3rd parties are releasing hundreds of really bad games. I would agree with you, I won't play the same games an 8yr old would or a casual gamer would... but no one wants to play Barbie Horse Adventures.

I feel sorry for all those people who bought the DS this Christmas... Nintendo is going to release their new DS's this year, somewhere near the 2nd or 3rd quarter and I know you will regret buying the one you have right now.

@TinkishDelight: same here, although i purchased an XBox and PSP with 13+ games for each system.

@sockrockinbeats: Just curious: Is your need to compete naturally low as well? Seems like it would be a just correlation...

Bought a PS3 for the wife and the inlaws got us a Wii for Xmas 2008. We also got some games for both as gifts, and have bought accessories and still more games since.

I've spent more time on the Wii playing downloaded ports of NES/SNES games than I've spent playing the Wii games. Playing MegaMan all over again brought back memories of angrily throwing my NES controller at the TV screen. Ha.

Anyways, my point is that games of any kind are a crazy good value.

@opsomath:

Never mind that many libraries now have huge selections of dvd's - including recent titles in many cases. A couple years ago, I lived in a town of 20,000 people and not only could you take out books and movies, but they had computer software and games and had an in-house video game setup with PS2 and XBox (both top generation at the time).

Libraries rock.

I read an article a while back in kotaku (or some other gaming blog) about why the entertainment industry is almost completely recession-proof, something along the lines of people want to be entertained & happy, even more so during a recession.

...And I've never been happier that my husband is a video game designer. :D

Most video games really do provide good value for the money, though, when you consider how many hours of entertainment you can get out of a good one. For us at least, games last many hours longer than a book does, and we often wait to buy our games until they cost about as much as a hardcover does anyway.

@Swizzler121: also the tobacco and alcohol industry get a big boost

@komodork: Yes, but the new DS is utter garbage, with a few useless features tacked on and several awesome features removed. Camera? Seriously? Do we need another portable low-res camera? They removed GBA cartridge support as well.