If I Had $500 For Xmas

We're putting the question to the NZGamer.com staff.

In what will be a regular feature leading up to the big day itself, we're posing the $500 question to the NZGamer.com staff. Up next, Dene Benham

Five hundred for Xmas sounds pretty good and like everyone I have that same internal conflict between what I should spend it on, what I’d like to spend it on, and what I wish I had the guts to do with it.

The ‘I wish I had the guts’ one would be red seven at the Auckland casino, or black fourteen, I haven’t worked out the finer details yet – but the plan’s coming together. The ‘what I’d like’ category would include the Pixies concert in March; it should just about cover travel, somewhere to stay and refreshments. Or tickets to the world cup in South Africa, but it probably won’t come anywhere close to covering travel, somewhere to stay and refreshments for that little dream.

While these things might not fit into this article’s brief, in terms of time frame, price and gaming, to hell with it, you give me the money - I’ll do what I want.

However, as a responsible gamer there are certain things you have to spend your money on. No frivolous spending on student loans or credit card repayments, no wasting it on sport or music, and even solid financial investments, like black twenty-one, have to wait. There are certain responsibilities that we, as gamers, simply have to meet.

So here is a quick list of what I should, and will be spending my five hundred on this Xmas.

A new PS3 controller

I have no choice in this matter. Although my release day PS3 has been chugging away nicely one controller got kicked across the room within the year and was quickly relegated to ‘visitors controller’ - the one you get to use when you play me at football. The good one started playing up in the middle of a revisit to the Mirror’s Edge time trials. So, after a frantic night of losing screws, breaking the reset switch, and balancing bits of plastic upside down in the hope that the front triggers would magically fall into place, I managed to get them working again. But for how long? Already, they’re starting to rattle.

Fallout 3 DLC

Fallout 3 was my game of the year. Loved it so much I bought the collector’s edition of the game with the lunchbox and bobblehead. The first, and only collector’s edition game I've ever bought. So why haven’t I already got the DLC? No excuses, I’ve let the side down badly. At twenty dollars each, that’s another hundred that I’m obligated to spend this Xmas.

Dragon Age: Origins

For me this is what video games are meant to be. From Eye of the Beholder to Baldur’s Gate to Oblivion, give me a broadsword enchanted with acid attacks and +10 crush criticals, an elven bow and a decent fireball scroll and I’m good to go. When I get this game at Xmas, don’t bother me til Waitangi day.

Final Fantasy VIII, X, X-2

Final Fantasy XIII is getting closer and we must prepare.

Broadband

I know my last few dollars won’t go very far in terms of broadband. But like I said, as gamers we have responsibilities. You could not stop paying for your broadband any more than you could stop paying for power, or rent, or your mum’s medical bills. While fast unlimited broadband is still only a dream, it’s a dream that we all can share – and maybe by the good grace of John Key (with the solid support of the Maori Party), one day it’ll come true. But for now I’ll be paying the same monthly offering on the same old cap that just about stretches to one game update, one firmware update and a weekend of Facebook.

Keep playing, keep dreaming and have a fantastic Christmas everyone.

... and what do you mean I’m not actually getting $500?