Poll of the Day > Whenever free games pop up on Steam / GOG / Epic / Humble / PSN / Live / eShop

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://i.imgur.com/nFYPg7H.png
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Extremely accurate.

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I feel personally attacked.

This topic also reminded me to grab today's free Epic game, making me feel even more personally attacked.

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Nothing wrong with this, I have come back to free games in the past and played them even some I thought I had less than 2% chance of playing. Shit I just love seeing my online game accounts grow, so that helps me want to get them all.

That is accurate, although I have been surprised by games I wouldn't have typically purchased.

I should get GoG and Epic for those free games =x

I wanted to post a clip from Episodes where the screenwriter is with Matt LeBlanc at that convention getting free shit, but the stupid generic name of the series makes it too damn hard to look up >_<

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I sort of have the opposite attitude. I want something that's worth paying for. If it's free it's probably not worth my time. I may even enjoy a game more the more I pay for it.

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I've gotten a ton of free games from Amazon Prime Gaming and I've never played even a single one.

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True. Whenever anything is free-to-own within a time limit, I get it, no matter what it is, and probably will never play it.

Twitch Prime, Epic Game Store, Humble Bundle, etc.

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Sahuagin posted...

I sort of have the opposite attitude. I want something that's worth paying for. If it's free it's probably not worth my time. I may even enjoy a game more the more I pay for it.

Eh, I wouldn't say this is altogether reasonable (at least, not any more so than the other extreme). There have been some truly excellent games given away for free or included in bundles that make them very cheap, and most of the time, the games that you can actually spend a lot on only offer that option because they've been carved up into so much different DLC that getting anything resembling a complete experience means spending triple the normal cost of a game. There's also been a lot of crap given away that's barely worth the effort of clicking the giveaway button, but games really are not a case where price can be reliably conflated with worth.

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adjl posted...

I wouldn't say this is altogether reasonable

I didn't say it was reasonable; in fact, it's quite unreasonable. that's my knee-jerk instinctual feeling. it's also why I don't pirate games or play emulators.

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Fair enough.

Once again, this topic has saved me from forgetting about Epic's free game >.>

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Sahuagin posted...

it's also why I don't pirate games or play emulators.

Most people do this because they can't afford the games in the first place. If we went with your logic then Skyrim, which was massively pirated, wouldn't be worth playing at all.

adjl posted...

Fair enough.

Once again, this topic has saved me from forgetting about Epic's free game >.>

Seems like it's an interesting game. Maybe I'll pick it up on Steam one day.
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that was me 5 years ago. now i dont even download them unless they are really good, like darkest dungeon from epic

Sahuagin posted...

I sort of have the opposite attitude. I want something that's worth paying for. If it's free it's probably not worth my time.

So.. nothing good should ever be given away for free?

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Revelation34 posted...

If we went with your logic then Skyrim, which was massively pirated, wouldn't be worth playing at all.

it's not really logic, it's a feeling. if I were to play a pirated copy of something I wouldn't enjoy it. note also: I'm not making a moral claim (at the moment).

keyblader1985 posted...

So.. nothing good should ever be given away for free?

think of it like, what would you enjoy more: a lamborghini that you legit paid $500,000 for, or one that a friend of a friend of a friend gave you for free?

there's two ways to look at it, and I think both are more or less subjective. you can feel the satisfaction of having earned something you worked hard for and appreciate the value of the item you obtained and that that value was rewarded with your purchase.

or, you can feel the satisfaction of having obtained a high-value item for a low or even zero cost, and feel great about the overall net gain that you received.

(ok, having written that, I think what I'm describing here is actually something else. I think it's the (false) feeling of receiving value by having paid a large price for something. it's not just the "satisfaction of having earned it"; there is a sort of maybe elitist/snobbish/decadent feeling you can get for buying something exorbitant. it's more like that, but on a smaller scale. so, paying more for something translates into more satisfaction rather than the other way around. I'm not suggesting that's how anyone _should_ be, just noticing this in myself, and noticed that it contrasted the attitude in the OP.)

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adjl posted...

Eh, I wouldn't say this is altogether reasonable (at least, not any more so than the other extreme). There have been some truly excellent games given away for free or included in bundles that make them very cheap, and most of the time, the games that you can actually spend a lot on only offer that option because they've been carved up into so much different DLC that getting anything resembling a complete experience means spending triple the normal cost of a game. There's also been a lot of crap given away that's barely worth the effort of clicking the giveaway button, but games really are not a case where price can be reliably conflated with worth.

tbh, I generally suspect Sahuagin is usually just punking us with his posts.

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Sahuagin posted...

it's not really logic, it's a feeling. if I were to play a pirated copy of something I wouldn't enjoy it. note also: I'm not making a moral claim (at the moment).

think of it like, what would you enjoy more: a lamborghini that you legit paid $500,000 for, or one that a friend of a friend of a friend gave you for free?

there's two ways to look at it, and I think both are more or less subjective. you can feel the satisfaction of having earned something you worked hard for and appreciate the value of the item you obtained and that that value was rewarded with your purchase.

or, you can feel the satisfaction of having obtained a high-value item for a low or even zero cost, and feel great about the overall net gain that you received.

(ok, having written that, I think what I'm describing here is actually something else. I think it's the (false) feeling of receiving value by having paid a large price for something. it's not just the "satisfaction of having earned it"; there is a sort of maybe elitist/snobbish/decadent feeling you can get for buying something exorbitant. it's more like that, but on a smaller scale. so, paying more for something translates into more satisfaction rather than the other way around. I'm not suggesting that's how anyone _should_ be, just noticing this in myself, and noticed that it contrasted the attitude in the OP.)

The free one obviously. That means I would still have 500k in the bank.
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Revelation34 posted...

The free one obviously. That means I would still have 500k in the bank.

I don't mean choose between the two as if that option had presented itself to you, I mean analyze the emotional difference between the two scenarios. (including that buying a $500k car implies that that is something you want to do, and that you can afford it, etc.) you're evaluating something rationally that I'm describing as being irrational.

an example is pride, where I know people that will tend to refuse any kind of generosity. you can't buy them anything, but they'll offer to buy you almost anything (obviously within reason). and if you do buy them something, they'll make sure to outdo you later buying you something just as or even more expensive. this is not rational behaviour, it's more emotion driven. the ability to buy something carries (can carry) a sort of status with it. if you just do a coldly logical +/- dollars and cents analysis, then this behaviour makes no sense.

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adjl posted...

Eh, I wouldn't say this is altogether reasonable (at least, not any more so than the other extreme). There have been some truly excellent games given away for free or included in bundles that make them very cheap, and most of the time, the games that you can actually spend a lot on only offer that option because they've been carved up into so much different DLC that getting anything resembling a complete experience means spending triple the normal cost of a game. There's also been a lot of crap given away that's barely worth the effort of clicking the giveaway button, but games really are not a case where price can be reliably conflated with worth.

Yep, Hollow Knight is one of the best games I have played of the past 10 years or so and it retails for a lowly $14.99. I have spent more than that on a long list of games I have liked a lot less, the thought process that Epic is giving away only shit games is joke.

Sure some of the games given away are not great but a good deal of them are at least pretty good.

I mean when I am getting free drinks at a Wedding or something I don't inherently devalue them because I am not shelling out $4-5 each or more I would at a typical bar.