Bringing Balance to my Gaming Life

Predominantly speaking, I am a digital video gamer.  While most readers will understand what I mean by this, what a seemingly oxymoronic statement that is!  Aren’t all video gamers digital video gamers?  Of course, the implication here is that I purchase and consume video games in an all-digital manner and without extraneous physical interaction.

Digital is Wonderful

And I really enjoy all the benefits this brings.  I think these days most people can say the same.  We, more than ever before, are able to indulge in our passion whenever and wherever we choose all at a moment’s notice.  Gone are the days of hunting around town for the newest release, or worse, running into stockouts.  With game streaming, even the time it takes to download a game may be eliminated.

Of course, my transition started off small.  First with titles that were simply not available on physical media.  Later, when I saw a title included in a ‘it’s too good to be passed up’ Steam or Xbox storefront sale.  Finally, I found myself becoming just the tiniest bit aggravated when I had to *gasp* get up to swap a disc out to switch games.  Yes, I really felt that way.  And I suppose I still do. 

I have also been, traditionally, a bit of a collector.  Depending on the year, that may be an understatement.  I think as with anything healthy, there have been its ebbs and flows throughout the years.  Yet the consistent thread was a dedication to filling up the shelf.  Nonetheless, when I first began immersing myself more and more into digital gaming, I was at probably a high point with video game collecting.  That is why I would initially only purchase game downloads when there wasn’t a physical release.  I rationalized that I wouldn’t be able to get this-or-that game anyway, so it was ‘alright’.

All-in

If I were to self-analyze, I’d say these thoughts reflect my tendency to be an all-or-nothing sort of person.  If there are Pros and Cons to something, I’m going to assess and make the decision that’s best for me and my situation.  From then on, that’s ‘the way’.  Unable to reconcile these two means for indulging my video game passion, I abandoned physical video games with the same completeness that I had previously chased it.  I’d eagerly fill out my digital library with zeal and watch my virtual shelves fill up with the same excitement that I had previously seen those on my walls do the same thing.

This may sound a bit silly.  It does to me as I see these thoughts expressed in the written word.  When starting out with game downloads, why did I have to rationalize it as being ‘alright’ to purchase a download?  Why did being a collector have to preclude the convenience of purchasing games in digital-only formats?  Conversely, why did moving into the post-modern world of video gaming necessitate giving up the joy I felt when hunting around game stores for that next game I knew I wanted but wasn’t sure what it was?  Of stumbling into a conversation with some people down at said game shop where new friends would provide direction on where the next stop on my gaming journey should be? Or altogether losing just a little bit of the connection with a favorite hobby that is perhaps afforded only through the physicality of video games?

Altering Course

Of course, it doesn’t.  Few things in life need to be either mutually exclusive or so fully at odds.  Certainly, a passion such as ours has few, none of which I can currently think of. 

If all of this sounds a bit foreign to you, then bask in the knowledge that you probably have a more balanced mind than I!  But know that there are those of us out there that see the world in more black and white perspective, and it’s something I am working on.

At the same time, this isn’t to cast aspersions on those that choose such a wholistic path.  I can see why one might, as I certainly had.  There are game preservation and ownership concerns with digital gaming, just as there are those of cost and convenience with physical video games.  If your values skew heavily one way or the other, because of these or a myriad of other factors, then that too is great!  Whatever supports this great passion of ours should be fostered and nurtured.

But for me, I have concluded that taking a more balanced approach just feels right.  I am going to begin viewing the question of physical vs digital video games less as an absolute. Rather, opening myself up more to re-embracing the physical aspects of this space, while at the same time enjoying all of the benefits that digital gaming has to offer. In this way I hope to more fully experience everything this great passion of ours has to offer.