Welcome to another session of CHC Gaming 101! Today, we cover the topic of what to look for in games to add to your libraries. This includes where to look, what kinds of games there are, and what things to be aware of. Gaming is a huge area to cover, but we’ll do our break it down!
Where to Purchase Games and Consoles?
Listen, we’re all champs at buying things. Shopping, retail therapy, gift giving – everyone has done at least one of these things (pro at the first two here). But there definitely are some places better to buy games than others.
Take a look at Amazon, Best Buy and even Walmart. Usually, they are cheaper than other retailers when it comes to game prices. Target historically has good buy one, get one deals so you get an additional game for the cost of one. I would’ve recommended GameStop years ago, but prices have increased on used games, and the focus has shifted more to multiple forms of entertainment compared to a heavy video game focus as before.
Each publisher has their own store with their own deals for their consoles (Microsoft, PlayStation, Nintendo, etc. – we break down those platforms in another article). They typically have good sales on their games regularly. Steam, Epic, and Humble Bundle are my top recommendations for PC gaming. Steam has loads of sales throughout the year, where thousands of games go on sale to build up your library. Amazon is a good place to help build your console library as well, just be on the lookout for Prime Deals and Black Friday deals.
Physical or Digital?
Physical:
Let’s say you want all physical games – meaning you are wanting all discs, cartridges, etc. Physical games are great to have for multiple reasons. If you’re ever looking to build a collection, this is the first step – buy a physical copy, or a Collector’s Edition. These usually come at a higher price but come with either a downloadable content (DLC) bundle and a statue or physical good with the game. Another reason is if you have a friend who wants to borrow a game, easily done. They also come with data on the disc, so there’s significantly less game data to download when you start playing a game.
They have a couple trade-offs. Physically, they do take up space – in extreme cases, think of the show, “Hoarders” as a worst-case scenario. Also, if you’re like me, you might lose them or have them privy to theft. Rare physical copies can also run a higher price; nearly every original Pokemon game is now quite expensive, even more if the games are still untouched in the original boxes.
Digital:
Now, let’s talk digital games; these are games where you only have access to them through downloading, and there’s no physical copy of the game involved. It makes it easy to have if you want less cluttered living or gaming space. There are LOADS of places to purchase digital games.
So, why digital games? You can have your games downloaded on an external drive and switch between internal and external drives (at times, an internal hard drive or SSD will load and play games a touch faster than an external drive). I personally enjoy having a digital colleciton more; but there are caveats.
A digital collection comes at the price of using more data to download your games, so be wary of your internet provider data caps if there are any. There’s also the potential that a publisher or platform shuts down – see Nintendo’s decision to shut down the Wii U and 3DS store. While you can download your previous purchases from them (for now), you cannot make any more purchases.
What Are Age Ratings?
Next topic is age ratings – if you’re a parent and clueless on video games, pay attention to this area. A long time ago, a friend of mine was able to convince one of their parents to buy them Grand Theft Auto IV – my friend was nine at the time. Their parents had no clue about video games at all other than they occupied his time.
Just like movies, video games have their own ratings too!
There’s at least two primary governing bodies which oversee and administer age ratings to games: the ESRB and PEGI. The main difference – ESRB is for North American countries while PEGI gives guidelines for countries in the EU and a few others.
Each have a list of their own game ratings that align with suitability for that age group:
ESRB
| E (Everyone) | These games are typically suitable for anyone. They may contain minor instances of mild language or cartoon/mild violence |
| E10+ (Everyone 10+) | These games may include mild violence and language as well as suggestive themes (think tobacco references, people dressing certain ways, etc.) |
| T (Teen, 13+) | Games rated T may contain violence, instances of strong language, crude humor, suggestive themes and simulated gambling |
| M (Mature, 17+) | Rated Mature games will typically contain strong violence, blood and/or gore, sexual content and/or strong language |
| AO (Adults Only, 18+) | Adult only games are rare, but can contain very graphic violence, sexual content and/or gambling with real life currency. |
| RP (Rating Pending) | Rating Pending is seen more for video game trailers; this means that a game has not been rated yet. There’s also a ‘Likely Mature 17+’ version of the RP rating too. |
PEGI
| 3 | These games are usually fit for anyone. Very mild or cartoon violence may be present, but no language or scary themes or images. |
| 7 | Games in this category would include mild violence or images which would scare children. |
| 12 | In this category, games may have more realistic instances of violence |
| 16 | This category features themes such as realistic violence, foul language, or the usage of tobacco or other drugs. |
| 18 | This rating would include intense and realistic violence/death/motiveless killing, sexual content, and the drug use. |
Game ratings will give a descriptor about what is contained in the game, and why it is warranting certain age rating. They’ll look like this:
Ratings are important to keep in mind when buying a game for another individual, particularly for someone under 18. While most parents/kids may not care, there are some who are vigilant on what media their child is exposed to. If you’re a parent and are cautious of about what your kids watch, and you’re being told by your child that GTA VI is okay for kids – don’t believe them immediately. Google. Bing. Ask Siri. Just double check things if anything.
FYI, if you’re a parent who doesn’t pay attention to those or don’t mind what your kids are watching or playing, there’s absolutely no judgement here! We’re just here to educate in Gaming 101.
What Kinds of Games Are There?
Genres:
There will be a separate post on this particular topic because I could talk much more than we will here. Because there’s a LOT of different types of genres. And then you can combine them into weird experimental games too. It’s such a great hobby because you won’t get bored – nearly a fact. Broke maybe, but not bored.
So, basic run down of some of the most popular genres of games. Here’s a quick list, and some examples:
- Action (God of War, Devil May Cry, Batman: Arkham City)
- Adventure (Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Red Dead Redemption II)
- Role-playing (Final Fantasy, Fallout 4, Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Simulation (Forza, Power Washing Simulator, Microsoft Flight Simulator)
- Puzzle (Portal 2, The Witness, Return of the Obra Dinn)
- Strategy (Fire Emblem, Civilization VI, Total War)
- Fighting (Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, Tekken 8)
- Racing (Gran Turismo, F-Zero, Mario Kart)
- Survival (Minecraft, Rust, Subnautica)
And the list goes on, and on, and on…and there are some games that incorporate many of these all together – some of these actually do so as well.
And THEN, you have games that have games within them!!! Either in the form of mini-games (like the Yakuza series) or acting as a meta-verse of different games (see Fortnite). Yakuza, now known as Like a Dragon, was an action, beat-em-up kind of game with RPG elements. Now, it’s more tactical, turn-based RPG with the same drama, flair, and silliness of the previous games.
It would probably win some sort of “Most Mini-Games in a Series” award if Mario Party wasn’t a thing too.
Determining Your Fave Genre:
Keep in mind your own personal preferences. Ask yourself if you like doing puzzles, if you like thinking outside the box to find solutions, timing actions, etc. If you’re competitive, maybe look at Call of Duty, Tekken 8, or Apex Legends. Find something with a leaderboard and get the highest score. If you like just relaxing, Stardew Valley or Minecraft would be right up your alley. There’s even the good ol’ tabletop games in video game format like Chess, Chinese Checkers and Monopoly.
It wasn’t a joke when I said there’s lots of options. That’s not even getting into more independent developers (indie devs) – which, BTW, free Gaming 101 advice, take a look at them. They’re smaller developers who are also passionate about gaming, but they just aren’t as big as larger developers like Electronic Arts (EA) or Microsoft.
What are F2P or Freemium Games?
Last up is free-to-play (F2P) games – what are these? These are games that are exactly what it says – they are free to play! However, they more than likely contain in-game purchases. That’s what sustains the business model for the game, generates revenue for the company, and keep the game alive and with fresh content.
There’s been an uptick in F2P games over the past decade, notably games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact and Path of Exile. Honestly, these are solid games to start with if you’re gaming on a budget, and they are highly populated with other players and lots of content.
These games span all sorts of genres and have triggered a few things you see in many games today like seasons, battle passes and cosmetics.
-HOWEVER-
Let’s talk microtransactions (MTX) and lootboxes – these items are in plenty of games, but they’re very heavy handed in these types of games; of course, this is because this is this is how they generate revenue. Without revenue, a game might get the ax.
There are multiple types of MTX too:
- Cosmetic purchases (change the look of a character, weapon, accessory, profile, etc.)
- Season passes (range from 30-90+ days, milestones throughout the pass give different perks/awards, progress made through score, kills, wins, etc.)
- Premium currency (pay certain amount of real currency for certain amount of premium game currency to buy special items, costumes, etc.)
- Loot boxes (sorta like gambling in a roundabout way. Rewards are randomized between profile banners, cosmetics, etc.)
This is where the gaming industry can rear its head in an ugly direction with giving way towards gambling-like tendencies. In-App Purchases in some mobile games can be up to $100.00 USD for a singular purchase of premium currency.
In the past, there’s been plenty of public backlash to lootboxes. EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 2 debacle, explained very well by GameSpot, eventually brought the loot box issue to the United States government’s notice. Some countries have deemed lootboxes as not gambling, others have linked their rating system to automatically be Mature-level if lootboxes are present.
All of this to say, be informed on what kind of additional purchases are available in a game. Especially as game prices are slowly increasing as well. Keep an eye on automatic subscription renewals, or if you have a card link to your child’s gaming profile, be aware of purchase on your card. Additionally, take a moment to learn about parental controls available with each console or mobile device too.
So What Now?
Well, go out and buy some games!! You’re at least 15% more educated than before on this area (hopefully).
Whether you just started gaming as a hobby or need to buy your kid a birthday present, hopefully you feel a bit more confident in where to start on your gaming journey. As always, if you have any questions or have any other tips to share, feel free to reach out in the comments below! Happy Gaming!
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