We all have that one purchase in the world of video games that we regret the most. Whether it is a system we bought at launch that didn’t deliver games we actually wanted, a peripheral that you used once and never revisited, or a game you saved up your money for months only for it to disappoint, it’s all happened to us.
So, we decided to ask: What’s Your Most Regrettable Gaming Purchase?
Alex Osborn – News Editor (@a_charlez)
While I’m sure it won’t be a popular choice among the PlayStation faithful, my most regrettable purchase has got to be the PSP. I bought it back when Crisis Core was released and while it was a great game and the handheld was an impressive piece of hardware at the time, I never touched the device after that.
God of War has never been my cup of tea, so I sold the device long before Peace Walker launched. In the end, all it provided was a handful of hours of fun, and when you’re talking about a piece of hardware, that’s awfully underwhelming. I don’t intend to make the same mistake with the Vita.
Anthony Severino – King of All Cosmos (@Sev_Anthony)
My most regrettable gaming purchase had to be the PSP and its many iterations. I was incredibly excited for the PSP when it first launched in the US. It quickly became a paperweight unless I wanted to get into homebrew – which I did eventually, and found that to be boring, too. I’d sell it or trade it in, but then a game I’d be excited about would release, and I’d I pick up another one. Usually around that time, a new hardware revision would have released, and I’d talk myself into it.
Then there was the PSP Go. I really loved the form-factor, the portability of it being all-digital, but unfortunately, Sony wasn’t really ready to support it with digital content, so again, it sat there collecting dust.
I’m a huge fan of the PlayStation Vita hardware – I think it’s one of the best handhelds ever to release to the market – but fear that the dry spell we’re currently experiencing with the Vita too closely mimics that of the PSP, and may suffer the same fate with me.
Cameron Teague – PR Manager/Reviews Coordinator (@Cameron_PSLS)
Mine is really a close tie between the PSP and the Nintendo Wii. Both had their own extreme faults, but in the end, I believe the Wii edges out the PSP in terms of suckage. At least with my PSP, I had access to a few very good strategy RPGs to pass the time. On the Wii however, I was flooded with enough crapware to fill up the white house. In fact, the best thing that I could say about the Wii I owned was that it was one amazing dust collector.
Yes there were a few titles that got a tiny ounce of action in my household, but in the end it was not enough. To make matters worse; after ridding my house of the first Wii, my wife found some strange desire to buy another one months later. Like its brother before it, this second one didn’t last very long either.
Chandler Wood – News Writer (@FinchStrife)
I sincerely regret the entire plastic instrument music gaming craze. From Guitar Hero (multiple iterations), to Rock Band 1, 2, Beatles and Green Day, to DJ Hero, I had to have them all. I still have 3 plastic guitars, 2 plastic drumsets, 2 USB microphones, and a plastic DJ controller that collect dust in a closet under the stairs. That’s not even taking into account the hundreds of dollars spent on DLC songs, some/most of which I likely have never played or only played once or twice.
I have probably spent close to, if not more than $1000 total on music games alone. Not to mention the time wasted become a ‘master’ at the expert difficulty levels. I stopped before Rock Band 3 and DJ Hero 2, but the damage was done.
Dan Oravasaari – That Other Guy in Bad Gamers and Daily Reaction (@FoolsJoker)
Well I feel it is hard to really regret any of my purchases in gaming, besides the fact that I purchase way more than I could ever possibly use, mainly because I do like to support developers who do make products I would like to experience if time permitted. The one thing that seems to be a reoccurring waste of money has been accessories, as anything from my PS Move, my four extremely dusty Wii controllers, an almost-new-in-box GT5 Steering wheel, and the stack of plastic instruments are waiting to get thrown away. This generation has provided so much more needless plastic, that my only real regret as of late has been helping perpetuate this marketing craze.
Jason Dunning – Lead News Writer (@Jasonad21)
I’ll have to go with my first Xbox 360 purchase. I was on a bit of an eBay kick back in the day, and when I came across a really good Xbox 360 bundle shortly after launch, I had to have it. After a bit of bartering on the Buy it Now price, I bought the Xbox 360 and about 10 games, then I waited patiently for it to show up. And then I continued waiting.
After about a week of nothing showing up, I tried contacting the seller, no response. Long story short, the Xbox 360 never showed up, I never heard back from the seller, and I only managed to get back about $220 out of the $500 or so I spent. Easily my biggest gaming purchase regret, and it was also the last time I spent more than a couple bucks on something from eBay.
Jesse Meikle – News Writer (@Jesse_WM)
My biggest gaming regret was buying the PlayStation Vita when I did. I held out on buying a Vita for a while due to the price, and a lack of a 3G version in Canada. So I waited, then Sony’s gamescom conference was the breaking point and I picked up a PlayStation Vita with Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
I ended up downloading a ton of games (nearly none of which I’ve been able to finish) in a short period of time, then shortly after, the 3G PS Vita comes to Canada in a bundle with Gravity Rush (purchased), and Unit 13, a title I intend to purchase. Then a month or two later, and PlayStation Plus is giving away most of the games I recently bought (and still haven’t finished).
Ultimately, I regret buying the Vita at the absolutely worst point. I waited so I have far too many games to catch up on, and I didn’t wait long enough, so I ended up paying far more than I would have had to, and subsequently, ended up with less.
Louis Edwards – Contributing Editor (@ftwrthtx)
My most regrettable purchase was the PSP Go. I already owned a decent library of UMD games, and the smaller PSP looked promising as it took up less pocket space. The inability to transfer games from UMD to the disc storage built into the PSP Go meant having to repurchase any games I wanted to play on the smaller device. That was inexcusable to me.
Sebastian Moss – Nintendo Fanboy (@SebMoss)
The Wii, because it sucked.
Ryan Ordway – Writer, Site Technician (@decimalator)
Hands down, my worst gaming purchase was the Wii. Luckily I bought mine used, but it was at the height of the Wii craze when they were hard to find, so I only saved a little money off the retail price. I pulled it out of hibernation once to try Monster Hunter Tri, since I am a HUGE Monster Hunter fan, but it was just not enough of a reason to keep the Wii. After years of storing it, I gave it to my nieces, who of course love it. Nintendo has the little girl demographic nailed.
Vivas Kaul – Writer (@VivasKaul)
My most regrettable gaming purchase? Prototype 1. I beat that game on Normal and even went back and beat it on the hardest difficulty just prior to diving into Prototype 2. While the nature and design of the open world in that game allowed for a lot of player freedom, never have I felt more impotent. You have a vast array of powers that, allegedly, get more badass as the game progresses. Allegedly! In truth, the enemies keep you juggled and stun-locked for most of the bigger fights. So much so that I often found myself running away from bad guys as opposed to dealing with them head-on. Say what you will about the cheesiness of Prototype 2, but it’s a far, FAR better game than Prototype 1. Luckily inFamous was out around the same time and won the battle of superhuman, open world games as far as I’m concerned.
What is your most regrettable gaming purchase? Let us know in the comments below. And if you have a question you want answered by us in a future iteration of Ask PSLS, feel free to throw that in as well.
