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My Approach to Modern Game Collecting

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I recently wrote about how to make gaming more affordable , and I thought it would be interesting to follow up with a little something explaining how I collect these days and why. As you may have gathered from my “ Gaming Is Expensive: Here’s How to Make It More Affordable ” piece, I rarely buy games during their initial release window and generally wait until they get their first significant price cut. (October will be a little different, as I currently have two highly anticipated games that I can’t wait to tear into.) This gives me more options when it comes time to buy a game. One thing I look for is whether a game has a Sony PlayStation 4 release. For a while now, I’ve been using the PS4 as my modern-day base console. Generally, PS4 games look and play better than titles on the original Nintendo Switch (more on this later) and are, more often than not, completely available on disc and playable without an internet connection. The nice thing about more recent PS4 releases is that man...
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The Xbox Series S Could Still Be So Much More

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Since my last editorial, “ The Sega 32x Could Have Been So Much More , ” I’ve been pondering creating a follow-up opinion piece that uses a similar premise. As I was brainstorming ideas about how a system or service could have been saved, I kept coming back to Microsoft and its Xbox brand. So I decided that it just made sense for me to tackle this. Xbox has had its fair share of highs and lows, with the majority of them being on the bottom end of the success scale. The platform arguably peaked during the Xbox 360 era and then progressively lost steam from the Xbox One onwards. Paired with Xbox Game Pass, the Xbox Series X/S seemed poised to get them back on track, but a few missteps along the way (let’s just say it didn’t begin well with the failure to launch Halo Infinite with the Series X/S in Nov. 2020 ) ensured it wouldn’t be as successful as its closest rival, Sony and its PlayStation brand. So what could they do? At this point, the focus needs to absolutely change to affordabili...
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The Sega 32X Could Have Been So Much More

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The Sega 32X add-on always fascinated me. It originally came out in November 1994. It had a lot of hype leading up to the release, but that hype quickly fizzled out after Sega was unable to deliver on the initial demand. It also came out a month ahead of the Japanese launch of Sony’s PlayStation and Sega’s own Saturn. At the time, even though I was interested, I didn’t bother getting a 32X as I was still enjoying playing on the Sega Genesis, which still had solid and stellar releases. As cool as the launch lineup was, Star Wars Arcade, Virtua Fighter, Virtua Racing, etc., it wasn’t enough for me to justify using the limited disposable income I had. I ended up getting the add-on later in my adult life and have been a massive fan ever since. Looking back, the unit failed for so many reasons, with Sega clearly to blame for its failure. Sega didn’t have the proper development tools for third-party developers, making the 32X difficult to develop for and ultimately resulting in mediocre rele...
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If Xbox Isn't About Exclusives or Game Pass, What Is It About?

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Microsoft announced another round of layoffs and studio restructuring on September 22, 2026. As part of the changes, Activision will expand its responsibilities to include Rare and World's Edge, while a new team under Activision will take over development of the next Halo game. Microsoft also announced another 268 job cuts across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and the Xbox Games Studios management and central functions layer. To me, this is another clear sign that we may be heading toward further enshittification of Xbox, and especially Game Pass. I recently discussed the rumour that day-one releases could eventually stop being included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate , along with Microsoft's decision to move away from unlimited cloud streaming under the service and toward monthly time limits . This latest restructuring only adds more questions about what content will actually remain part of Game Pass in the future. Let's start with Halo. The fact that the next Halo...
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How Much of Your Work Week Will It Take to Buy GTA VI?

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Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) is shaping up to be one of the most lucrative media launches of all time, based on the hype and anticipation surrounding its November 19, 2026 release. The game will launch with two digital SKUs, with the Standard edition priced at $79.99 USD ($109.99 CAD) and the Ultimate edition at $99.99 USD ($139.99 CAD). Sadly, no physical disc is expected in 2026, nor has one been announced. GTA VI will launch on both PS5 and Xbox at the same cost, with no Switch 2 or PC releases announced for the time being. But how much of your work week will it actually take to buy GTA VI, and what does that price mean for the average consumer? Based on the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average hourly wage is approximately $37.75, while the average minimum wage across the states is approximately $11.49 per hour. At the average wage, it would take approximately 2 hours and 7 minutes of work to earn enough to purchase the $79.99 Standard edition of GTA VI before ta...
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After 20 Years Away, SteamOS Brought Me Back to PC Gaming

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Earlier this year, before it went out of stock on Steam and before the major price hike, I was able to secure a 1TB Steam Deck OLED. Even with the original hardware being nearly four years old at the time of purchase, it ended up being all that I expected and more. Having been out of the PC gaming ecosystem for nearly two decades, my biggest fear was returning to a world of PC gaming optimization, where a lot of time is spent on game configuration and settings. I’ve primarily been a console gamer all of my life, however, PC gaming has always been part of the journey. I was lucky enough to experience late '80s and early '90s Sierra Online games on an old Tandy 1000.  I also joined the FPS revolution with a first-generation Pentium processor back in the '90s. I had various PCs from that point on, with the final round being a custom-built PC in 2004 so I could enjoy Doom 3 and Half-Life 2. Then, in late 2005, after I got tired of Windows XP and the constant optimization, I got...
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Gaming Is Expensive. Here’s How to Make It More Affordable

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It has never been more expensive to be a gamer. Prices have gone up for everything from games to consoles. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that this trend will be slowing down anytime soon. However, there are a few things you can do to help lower the financial burden. One of the easiest ways to save money is to not buy games when they first come out. Generally, you can start seeing sales on new games within the first 60 to 90 days of release, sometimes sooner. Waiting can help you save substantially. The hardest part about this one is potentially missing out on the initial launch gossip, but your wallet (and budget) will be thanking you later. Another way to save is to buy a used copy. It doesn’t take very long for a game to appear on the used market. Right off the bat, you can easily save 10 to 25 percent by simply waiting for a used copy to show up at either a pawn shop or your favourite video game retailer. You can save money by trading in older games you no longer pl...
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