Topic: How often should my parents buy me games?

I'm a 90s kids and gaming was stupid expensive then (I'll take 60 dollar game over some games being 80-90 bucks all day every day). I had a pretty random collection size. My NES collection was around 12 games (my mom played as well) while my SNES collection was around 5-6 that my folks bought, and lucky for me my older cousin got out of gaming and offloaded what he didn't sale to me (had a few gems like super mario world and street fighter II and Eswat out of that hand off)... I lost my eye during the SNES era so medical bills restricted my folks' funds. Of course that was when I became an avid gamer because I'd rather deal with fantasy worlds as opposed to my daily bullying or invasive questions about what happened but by then it was more my mom (my dad hates video games) made sure I had the systems and we would go to blockbuster on occasion. So gaming became xmas gifts really, but I always got every system that I asked for (I dreamed of the NeoGeo but I understood how money worked and I wasn't going to put that guilt trip on my folks). Lucky for me by the time that happened I'd switched to ROMS (not advocating...that's just what I did at the time) as I recognized that gaming was a luxury that I really didn't want to harass my folks to maintain. Honestly I still read more than anything, so by the time I was 14 my mom made me get my first job. I was able to fill out my gaming collection for the N64 a bit more then, but I still spent most of my money on books. By then my folks were exiting buying me games, last system I got from my parents was a gamecube (I love that thing) but aside from 1-2 games I had to fill out the rest of my library. Working for gamestop in college and for several years afterwards helped me embrace the used market (I'd only ever had new games before...which is also why it was too expensive in hindsight) so I've since built up my library.

I say to anyone in a working class or lower family. Don't depend on your family for games; it is a prohibitively expensive hobby, although much better than my childhood, and it is a luxury and not a need. If you can get systems out of your family shoot for that, but otherwise earn money and buy your own games. Between the fact that you have the most free time you will ever have (and I say this considering I was always juggling jobs or extra curricular activities since the age of 11) and that games are often shorter and easier now, you will consume them at a higher rate that is reasonable for them to be replaced. Have a care for your family that feeds and clothes you, find your own way to buy additional games and be thankful for what you do get...it isn't owed to you at all. Also look at other cheaper hobbies, gaming isn't everything. Also look at asking for money/gift cards instead of games, you can save and get what you want later (you don't have to have it day 1, trust me).

To directly answer the topic question, your family should buy you games as much as THEY deem it to be reasonable, affordable, and your behavior deserving of it.

When I was a kid, most games I got were birthday presents, Christmas presents, or rewards for doing well in school. But I came from a comfortable middle class family, my Dad made good money working at a car factory, and my mom at an office job. Gaming is a very expensive hobby and you should really keep that in mind when asking for things from your parents. The best advice I can give is to:
A: Work really hard in school, get good grades to impress your parents - then mention how there is a game you want.
B: Ask for either chores to earn an allowance from your parents - or if you already do that, save that allowance and buy the games yourself.

For me, showing maturity and a willingness to work for what I wanted was the best way to get exactly that.

Well, to clarify, the 4 games I got last year were the only games I got that year except for one 15 dollar indie game on PC back in May.

1-2 per year. Started a paper round at thirteen to earn a bit of money to start saving towards what I really wanted. Rode my bike to school and pocketed the bus fare.

When i was younger, my parents never bought me games, I mainly got them from car-boot sales, but i was late to the console scene back in the early 90s. I had a Master System II when the SNES was out, so Master system games were only around £5 at the time. I did mowing for my Gran to earn the money, also got a paper round. So was never reliant on my parents for games.

Just had a thought, I might of got a game for my birthday once.

Well it doesn't need to be a car trunk in a shady street at midnight.

It could be a place and time where several people start selling things in their cars. Like a flea market.

I meant to go back to my post from before and edit in a message similar to this after reading the true point of the topic, but forgot. I stand by this, and believe me, I definitely had to work for much of my game library. While I generally avoid used games today, there's nothing wrong with second-hand games/systems if they fit more into your budget, but if possible TEST them first and carefully check return policies.

no worries. i dont take anything personal. you have to posses feelings in order to do that.

One game for Christmas and one for my birthday back in the 80's, and maybe I could afford another one or two in the year with my pocket money, in the NES era those games were expensive! I Remember one year opening all the presents from family and then another appeared from behind the tree "from Santa", it was Super Mario Bros 2 - Best Christmas ever!

Only during Christmas/Holidays. I can't recall a single time outside of that. Instead, I had an allowance. Back in Elementry school, it was only $2 a week. Middle school I think it went up to $5, but had to do more chores to make up for it. Halfway through Highschool I was able to get a part-time job.

I really liked mowing season... actually, I still do now. Since it's now the only chore I get paid for.

Never... ever...

Well unlike you guys my parents don’t let me have an allowance. If they think I’m gonna spend it on games they don’t allow it.

@CobraNorovia
I'm pretty sure your parents are trying to do what's best for you !
The few games you mention owning are already a whole lot of hours of gaming. I think looking out for cheaper options is also a move (and there's plenty of them on Switch).

PS : Idk if they're aware of that thread, but many parents would get mad if they knew their parenting was being discussed online.

@CobraNorovia I didn't really get an allowance when I was younger (we just didn't have the money), so you just need to learn how to get the most from what you can afford when you finally are able to save up some money.

I usually do some research before I buy a game - see how long it lasts, how good the gameplay is etc. Then try and see how cheap you can find it!
When I was younger Mario, Zelda and Pokémon are safe bets for a great game worth your money, but they can cost quite a lot...
Games with online multiplayer and decent season passes can be good options too.

You could also get a job or sell stuff, earn your own money and all of those fun things

I too grew up in the 90s with little money and no hand-outs from my parents. Holidays were the time for new games, and the rest of the year was relegated to borrowing from and playing with friends. I thought it sucked at the time, but it actually taught me to be frugal and manage money quite well. I'm so thankful as an adult that I was not spoiled as a child.

It also taught me a few tricks that I currently use to keep gaming as a very affordable hobby for me now in my mid-30s with a mortgage, kids, and all that jazz:

• Shop garage/yard sales for decent games and flip them on eBay. You will have to know what's worth buying (this will take some time and practice), but you can score some sweet deals. Last August, I bought a huge lot of 16-bit consoles/games from a moving sale for $25 and made $400 profit.
• Shop thrift stores, then trade in for credit. YMMV on this one, as it requires a pretty specific arrangement of stores in your area, but I've been able to work out a pretty sweet system where I live. We have a thrift store in our area that sells a massive bag of books for $2. I stop in there at least once a month and load up on all of the nice, clean books. I then take those books to a media resale store in my area where they do trade-in. Typically, they give me 10-20 times what I originally paid in store credit ($2 bag of books = $20-$40 in store credit). I then can use that store credit to purchase new games.

Hope this helps!

Another quick idea: If you are the entrepreneurial type, there might be something you can do online to earn some revenue. Are you artistic at all? There are many stock libraries like graphicriver and codecanyon that you can contribute to and earn passive income. Just spitballing a little.

In the late 80's/early 90's, getting games was something that only really happened when birthdays and Christmas rolled around. The more self-disciplined kids would save money by mowing lawns, or they'd get paper routes, but the majority of us would trade/borrow games amongst ourselves, rent from the video store, etc. There were no used game stores in my hometown; in fact, none of us had ever heard of such a thing.

There was one time, though, where my mom surprised me, in the nicest way imaginable. I really wanted Micro Machines on NES, but it was a long way until Christmas/my birthday. It was all that I would talk about! Anyway, one morning she woke me up for school with this huge smile on her face. "I have a surprise for you," she said. She handed me a wrapped gift, which turned out to be Micro Machines! My eyes welled up, and I asked her why she got it for me. "That's for being one of two of the best kids on earth," she answered. Those words have stayed with me, some twenty-seven years later. It's still one of my best memories!

I usually always have to buy my own games my parents buy the console cus they play video games regularly too.

@CobraNorovia Look your parents don't owe you anything my parents buy me game waaay more often but when they do I'm greatfulle and you sure don't sound like it, I don't have a job yet I'm not old anoff for one but if you do get a job and work for it if you want it that badly.

Growing up in the 80's like i did when the whole videogame thing was new and frankly rather scary for parents you were lucky to get one game for every birthday or christmas. That was pretty much it. Sometimes maybe if you did really good on your report card at school you'd get one. Adults back then didn't get this obsession the kids had with these video whatsit machines and they weren't about to spend 50 dollars on something they didn't understand.

One nice thing though. I started gaming before all this ESRB rating thing started and my parents didn't care how violent my games were. I was playing mortal kombat at 12 and my mom just shrugged and said whatever it ain't my thing. Play what you want. It's kinda nice when the parents don't have any interest.