I have my doubts that it’s one of the cheaper hobbies. In my eyes it’s one of the most expensive ones you can have. It has a high entry level cost(if you are a PC gamer likely 1k+), plus a moderate to high upkeep cost(new games @ ~30-70$ depending on quality) to keep in the hobby. It’s also one of the few hobbies where you are expected to upgrade at least every few years in order to stay relevant. Not to mention the cost of any subscriptions you have as part of the hobby such as gamepass, your ISP, humble choice, etc
Most hobbies are a cost to enter, then a relatively small upkeep style cost. For example engineering, fishing, scrapbooking, puzzles, hunting, even crocheting or knitting are all you buy the tool for it, and then maybe spend a yearly cost for new supplies or a license to do the hobby.
Gaming the cost never goes down. You are either buying a new game cause the old one was completed, or upgrading your parts.
You are just making an argument that it’s possible to spend a lot of money on gaming, which is true. It’s possible to spend a lot of money on most hobbies. The question is how much are you required to spend to take part. In the current AI bubble it is more expensive than it should be, but I bought a Steam Deck for $399 when it launched, and there are so many free games you never have to spend a dollar.
Yeah, keeping up with new hardware and latest games will cost you, but you don’t need to do that. Since you bring up fishing, a fishing license you have to renew every year, fishing rod and all required gear, will already cost you many times that amount.
I have my doubts that it’s one of the cheaper hobbies. In my eyes it’s one of the most expensive ones you can have. It has a high entry level cost(if you are a PC gamer likely 1k+), plus a moderate to high upkeep cost(new games @ ~30-70$ depending on quality) to keep in the hobby. It’s also one of the few hobbies where you are expected to upgrade at least every few years in order to stay relevant. Not to mention the cost of any subscriptions you have as part of the hobby such as gamepass, your ISP, humble choice, etc
Most hobbies are a cost to enter, then a relatively small upkeep style cost. For example engineering, fishing, scrapbooking, puzzles, hunting, even crocheting or knitting are all you buy the tool for it, and then maybe spend a yearly cost for new supplies or a license to do the hobby.
Gaming the cost never goes down. You are either buying a new game cause the old one was completed, or upgrading your parts.
You are just making an argument that it’s possible to spend a lot of money on gaming, which is true. It’s possible to spend a lot of money on most hobbies. The question is how much are you required to spend to take part. In the current AI bubble it is more expensive than it should be, but I bought a Steam Deck for $399 when it launched, and there are so many free games you never have to spend a dollar.
Yeah, keeping up with new hardware and latest games will cost you, but you don’t need to do that. Since you bring up fishing, a fishing license you have to renew every year, fishing rod and all required gear, will already cost you many times that amount.