There's a great utility that I've used to get games as well. Nopaystation is the place that lets you download the games from the store, not the iso files.

Remember when the tube started to go and you had to leave it on all the time or whack the side of it when you first turned it on for the day, until it warmed up?

I agree whole heartedly with the savings for retirement and taking advantage of matching. But I do disagree that you need to find something that you enjoy doing for your career.

I went down that path and found that the enjoyment really fades when you have to do it every day for someone else.

Personal, anecdotal history aside, Ive told a half dozen employers 'I dont work to support you, I work to support my family. So long as the pay keeps rolling in, ill keep showing up.' I went to school for tech and got a production job in forestry. Opened a side business repairing computers for everyone in town. Eventually, it got to the point when I was dreading the phone calls and walk ins. I love tinkering and playing with tech, upgrading, tweaking, getting my home server set up.

Doing it every day for people who dont listen? No thanks.

Find an income, and then do what you enjoy with the money you earn.

Regardless, every path is different, and you have to own yours. Whatever choices you make, take responsibility and move forward.

100% the Tech sector is saturated and people were discouarged from doing hands on jobs for a long time. Ive never seen an unemployed pipe fitter (Plumber) unless they drink too much. Same with electricians, mechanics and millwrights. Most of the trades you just have to decide how far you are willing to go for work. Do you want to travel, fly in/out, camp, or stay in one community. After you get that sorted out it is gravy.

Classic Mitch Hedberg. Its this or 'Ocupado' in a tiny high pitched voice every time.

I laugh every time.

Ive got movies, games, books, tv series. Its not a list that I have to get through at any time, but when I have the itch for something specific I look on the list and pick something that Ive got waiting. I have a few subscription services but most of my media is on my home server, so i dont have to worry about losing access. My big thing is just falling too far behind. But thats not so bad either. Lets you binge a series and not be kept waiting. As for games, I changed from Console to PC when the PS5 was sold out 5 years ago. Before that I would mod and pirate every system. Ps2 and 3, Xbox and 360, DS, 3ds, psp, vita... Emulation for the switch. Nothing holding me back. Now, I shop the steam sales.

That makes perfect sense. And I look at the cost too. I will spend full price for a game that I am going to enjoy for 80 hours. But if reviews have said that time is padded with nonsense, hand holding, generic collecting etc? Maybe not. I really appreciate the How Long To Beat database. Since it shows the difference between HLTB and completion. There are lots of games that you can beat in 8 hours but to complete will be way up there. Sometimes their mechanics are so satisfying you go back to them.

I totally get that. And it really depends on what you are interested in. Some times I want a game that rewards skill, others I want a game with strategy. Then there are some that really only reward time spent in the game. And the ones I dont play at all, the games that punish time away from the game. Always plugged in, if you dont max out on gameplay this week you will miss a timed unlock etc. That is work.

Im fine with longer games so long as the story is gripping. The God of War titles were amazing, Great story, gameplay loop, rewarded variety etc. But again, like someone else mentioned. Another Ubisoft collectathon? No thank you.

I even struggled to get into breath of the wild, and horizon zero dawn when they came out. Because they reminded me of those generic open world games. But the story pulled me in both times.

Its so easy to start a game, but then lose interest. But when you do find one that grabs you, you'll finish it. I found that I will still pay for games and get enjoyment out of them. But so often the gameplay loop doesnt fit the same way it did in the past. Ill replay old games too. Games that I would play for hours and they just dont do it anymore.

But thats because we've changed what we do with games. There was a time where like you said, youd get a few games a year and you would get every penny out of them. But now we consume them. We enjoy the gameplay or the story. Do I need to 100% this game? Do I get some enjoyment out of grinding every single corner of the map, and collecting every item? No. Im not going to. My time has value too.

And the soft closing seats are a lifesaver! Every seat I install needs to be a soft closing seat now.

Brand new day and doom (2016) Spider-man and doom guy just destroying demons.

I'd pay to play or watch that.

My goal is to support developers. Not to own a game. If I just wanted to play i would pirate. Download it and store the game files on my backups. I had a collection of CDs to install games from and I don't even own a CD ROM anymore. Steam is a delivery system that allows me to sync my saves and support developers. That's about it.