Would you trade comics for video games?

[ClintP]

I have been out of the video game scene for the past 3 years. I really didn't care about the new systems until I started playing KOTOR 2 again, and I can feel my addiction resurfacing.

I budget around $50 a month on comics. So, if I want to get a 360, and a game, I would have to drop my comics down to maybe 3 a month until I was past the time that it took to cover that amount.

My question is this, could you trade 15-17 comics a month for video games? I have several titles that I love and it would be hard to weed them down to 3

[xyzzy]

I'd probably sell stuff I already owned but didn't love instead of not getting new stuff.

[jason hissong]

i don't buy 15-17 comics a month but i get far more enjoyment from my comics than i do video games.

[dEnny!]

No. I play video games once a year or so with a friend who has a game system, but I don't need to spend my time or money on video games. One I prefer playing video games with other people so I wouldn't just play by myself, my wife isn't into them, I have a kid so my time is better spent elsewhere.

[Blane]

I'd trade my singles. I love my trades, but singles just take up room.

[Evan the Shaggy]

Honestly, you gotta think about it as what you're going to enjoy more and what you're going to get more time out of. To be honest, the answer is usually the video game. You can read 15-17 comics in a couple of hours, whereas a video game can last upwards of 100 hours in some cases.

I'd say switch over to be honest, should you only be able to afford one of the two.

[SteveZegers]

No, I like comics more.

[charlie]

Comics all the way.

Now, a choice between comics and music would be tough...

[ClintP]

Comics all the way.

Now, a choice between comics and music would be tough...

I gave up music long ago. My only new album in 5 years is the new Weird Al.

[ClintP]

I might go the sell some old comics route. I have 1700 to 2000 single issues. I am sure I could part with some of them... :(

[Taki Soma]

I would say stick with comics, but that's because I had an unhealthy addiction to video games and no good came out of it.

[ClintP]

Honestly, you gotta think about it as what you're going to enjoy more and what you're going to get more time out of. To be honest, the answer is usually the video game. You can read 15-17 comics in a couple of hours, whereas a video game can last upwards of 100 hours in some cases.

I'd say switch over to be honest, should you only be able to afford one of the two.

The time per $ spent is a valid point for sure. I hardly re-read them, if ever. The only comic I can honestly see myself re-reading is Y. I think I may sell some of my collection to get the 360 and a game or two. I don't really see myself wanting a whole lot of games, but there are just a few that really would like to play.

[ClintP]

I would say stick with comics, but that's because I had an unhealthy addiction to video games and no good came out of it.

I do think I could fall into that, but Lori watches sevel shows that I have zero desire to watch. Days of our lives, Survivor, Big Brother, Bachelor, and Greys Anatomy. I also try to limit my solo time to times grades papers, and then spend time together on things when she isn't.

Jasmine goes to bed at 6:30 every night, so it isn't like I would be neglecting her. It more or less comes to the money they she allows me to get "extras".

[dEnny!]

Honestly, you gotta think about it as what you're going to enjoy more and what you're going to get more time out of. To be honest, the answer is usually the video game. You can read 15-17 comics in a couple of hours, whereas a video game can last upwards of 100 hours in some cases.

I'd say switch over to be honest, should you only be able to afford one of the two.

Should a father really spend upwards of 100 hours on video games though?

For me, if I'm in high school or college yeah I can see it, but as a father, husband, student, and employee...who has the time.

[Taki Soma]

I do think I could fall into that, but Lori watches sevel shows that I have zero desire to watch. Days of our lives, Survivor, Big Brother, Bachelor, and Greys Anatomy. I also try to limit my solo time to times grades papers, and then spend time together on things when she isn't.

Jasmine goes to bed at 6:30 every night, so it isn't like I would be neglecting her. It more or less comes to the money they she allows me to get "extras".

as long as you don't get as bad as I did... I used to sometimes forget to shower or eat, play all night knowing I have to go to work the next day, neglected the boyfriend I had, used up vacation/sick days just to stay home and play games... it was stoooopid ridiculous. Of course, I'm older and wiser now and I think if I played games again, I would be more mature about it but I'm trying to not find out.

[Evan the Shaggy]

Should a father really spend upwards of 100 hours on video games though?

For me, if I'm in high school or college yeah I can see it, but as a father, husband, student, and employee...who has the time.

True, thats a good point as well. If you don't have the time for it, its a valid reason to stick with comics.

[Evan the Shaggy]

The time per $ spent is a valid point for sure. I hardly re-read them, if ever. The only comic I can honestly see myself re-reading is Y. I think I may sell some of my collection to get the 360 and a game or two. I don't really see myself wanting a whole lot of games, but there are just a few that really would like to play.

If you're also going to get Xbox live, I would recommend getting Gears of War, as it has a short story mode and you can always jump on and play online.

[ClintP]

Should a father really spend upwards of 100 hours on video games though?

For me, if I'm in high school or college yeah I can see it, but as a father, husband, student, and employee...who has the time.

Jasmine heads to bed pretty early and lori has school planning to do as well as her shows. Those are the times I do the solo stuff.

[Akira]

Gamefly is your friend. unlimited games for $25.00 a month

[ClintP]

as long as you don't get as bad as I did... I used to sometimes forget to shower or eat, play all night knowing I have to go to work the next day, neglected the boyfriend I had, used up vacation/sick days just to stay home and play games... it was stoooopid ridiculous. Of course, I'm older and wiser now and I think if I played games again, I would be more mature about it but I'm trying to not find out.

Damn! That is hard core! I was only slightly that hard core when I was in HS and I played Zelda on the N64 the entire week of Thanksgiving from sun up to sun down.

[Evan the Shaggy]

Damn! That is hard core! I was only slightly that hard core when I was in HS and I played Zelda on the N64 the entire week of Thanksgiving from sun up to sun down.

Over the summer of my freshman year of high school, I rented Suikoden 2 and beat it in 4 days. It took 50 hours to beat. I literally did nothing but play that game and sleep. I felt like I was losing my mind at the end of it though.

[Taki Soma]

Damn! That is hard core! I was only slightly that hard core when I was in HS and I played Zelda on the N64 the entire week of Thanksgiving from sun up to sun down.

sad part was that I was an adult when I hit the height of my video game addiction.

I recently played Lara Croft: Legend on my pc and beat it in about 3 days, took it off of my hard drive and never looked at it again... so I'm definitely better. It was my first game in like 3 or 4 years.

[ClintP]

sad part was that I was an adult when I hit the height of my video game addiction.

I recently played Lara Croft: Legend on my pc and beat it in about 3 days, took it off of my hard drive and never looked at it again... so I'm definitely better. It was my first game in like 3 or 4 years.

Yeah, what you described before was a true addiction. When I played KOTOR I, I was in college and that was my last hoo ra ra with video games. I was married and a student at the time. Lori goes to sleep in a matter of minutes, so I would get back up and play until midnight while she was asleep. It was a 40+ hour game and a did that every night until I beat it.

[divinus]

i very, very rarely buy trades, so in a way, i already have.

but that's mostly because very little appeals to me, these days.

[Cuckoo]

No. I get more entertainment from my comics. I used to keep up with what was coming out in the video game industry, but it just got to confusing and hectic, I kinda grew out of it also.

[Marcdachamp]

Very tough call. Both are my passions. I sold some singles a while back, and I'm sure I will again, but if I had to choose, I think I'd have to stick with comics. I want to write them some day, and I have way too many books I'd miss. I could probably get my monthlies down to around 10, but it would be very hard.

[Donal DeLay]

No.

[Blandy vs Terrorism]

Tough call. I enjoy them equally, and for once am in the position of being able to afford both with little hassle. I couldn't really see dropping any more books than I already have (which was a lot), so if it came down to it, I don't know which I'd focus on.

[Blandy vs Terrorism]

If anything, I could see switching to trades on some of them, that way at least there isn't so much need to buy them as they come out, and you could get caught up whenever you have the money to.

[Briomega]

If I absolutely had to, I'd give up some comics before I gave up videogames. Videogames have always been more of a passion for me. Luckily I don't have to make that choice at this point, but if it ever came down to it, I'd stick with games.

[The Stig]

The budgets for making a video game have gotten extremely high, and as a result the companies making them have gotten more and more conservative. There's not much originality at all in the industry right now, and that's likely to only get worse over time.

With comics, there are still plenty of new concepts and ideas to find (once you crawl beyond the superhero stuff, of course), and they haven't been bludgeoned to death by a team of marketers and engineers - it's the direct vision of the artists involved in the project.

Basically, video games might be longer and flashier, but they're never going to be as satisfying.

[The Stig]

On a sidenote, is anybody wondering what's going to happen to the game industry if Hillary Clinton gets voted in and goes with her "GAMES R BAD 4 OUR CHILDREN" platform? It's like the whole Comics Code Authority bullshit again, with Rockstar in the place of EC Comics.

[UltimateFactor]

Should a father really spend upwards of 100 hours on video games though?

For me, if I'm in high school or college yeah I can see it, but as a father, husband, student, and employee...who has the time.

I do! Hehe. I set aside a certain amount of time a week for my son and I to play video games together. It's a bit longer in Winter than it is in the summer. I only really play RPG's for myself [I usually see them generally as basically playing a book] and action titles only now and then, usually when I have friends over. When I'm at home I'm either writing, Reading, or spending time with my son and Fiancee. Both my fiancee and I are big comic/anime geeks so my son will probably be one too. In the summer that time is cut more due to sports [I play a bit of softball and he has little league] I'm guessing I can't REALLY answer this question because Gaming isn't really an addiction to me on a whole. I might find a game that I can't put down until I finish it, but that's about it. Also I watch very little TV so that might factor into it as well. Honestly though, if you want a bit of extra entertainment, go ahead and cut down on comics for a bit. It's not like you can't catch up on what your missing later by trade or just picking up the issues later.

Also you can cut down a bit more by going the used gaming route via gamestop. When you get done with a game, sell it back get another, or use the cash to go pick up some comics. Trade off. You don't have to go an absolute route. :)

[Briomega]

On a sidenote, is anybody wondering what's going to happen to the game industry if Hillary Clinton gets voted in and goes with her "GAMES R BAD 4 OUR CHILDREN" platform? It's like the whole Comics Code Authority bullshit again, with Rockstar in the place of EC Comics.

If she does manage to win, she'll have much bigger problems to worry about. There's no way people will allow her to go after games when there's much more important issues in abundance.

[Marcdachamp]

The budgets for making a video game have gotten extremely high, and as a result the companies making them have gotten more and more conservative. There's not much originality at all in the industry right now, and that's likely to only get worse over time.

With comics, there are still plenty of new concepts and ideas to find (once you crawl beyond the superhero stuff, of course), and they haven't been bludgeoned to death by a team of marketers and engineers - it's the direct vision of the artists involved in the project.

Basically, video games might be longer and flashier, but they're never going to be as satisfying.

Well, the Nintendo DS has definitely been the champion for originality in the industry. Games like Phoenix Wright, Cooking Mama, Brain Age and Trauma Center are all shining examples. That line of thinking is making its way to the Wii, too. Look at Wii Sports, for example.

[The Stig]

If she does manage to win, she'll have much bigger problems to worry about. There's no way people will allow her to go after games when there's much more important issues in abundance.

Do you really doubt the ability and willingness of politicians or the media to focus on trivial issues? We're talking about a country that tried to impeach a president over a blowjob.

[Briomega]

Do you really doubt the ability and willingness of politicians or the media to focus on trivial issues? We're talking about a country that tried to impeach a president over a blowjob.

Never, but being President is different then being Senator.

Besides, we all know the Clinton inability to govern without checking the polls. So, I doubt she'll do anything unless the polls allow it.

[The Stig]

Well, the Nintendo DS has definitely been the champion for originality in the industry. Games like Phoenix Wright, Cooking Mama, Brain Age and Trauma Center are all shining examples. That line of thinking is making its way to the Wii, too. Look at Wii Sports, for example.

Yeah, and really, Nintendo is the one saving grace of the industry right now. It'll be interesting to see how things play out with the Wii over the next few years, but I wonder if North American game developers will really take advantage of it. Most companies seem to think that taking a pre-existing game and slapping some wiimote controls ontop of it is enough.

[The Stig]

Never, but being President is different then being Senator.

Besides, we all know the Clinton inability to govern without checking the polls. So, I doubt she'll do anything unless the polls allow it.

Video game violence has been a hot topic in the media for several years now. Targeting games might be Hillary's way to try and appeal to conservatives without actually doing anything that would really piss off her liberal base (you know, except for the ones who play games).

And don't forget Senator Liberman. He's been the spokesman against video games for a while now. The Family Entertainment Protection Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Entertainment_Protection_Act) doesn't sound so bad, but I wonder if they'll be satisfied at stopping there?