# How to torture a gamer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 2, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684 "2004-12-02T12:45:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/1 "2004-12-02T12:45:46Z")
**Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords** has officially gone [gold](http://xbox.ign.com/articles/568/568474p1.html), and will be released on Dec. 6th. My dear husband has decided that this is the perfect Christmas gift for me and will be holding the game hostage until then. I’m the person who took the day off on Nov. 9th so I could pick up my pre-ordered copy of Halo 2 first thing in the morning and play it all day. He wanted to buy me Half-Life 2 for Christmas and tried to wrestle it out of my hands in Best Buy. I won that one. I’m fanatical to the point that one of the reasons I don’t have kids is so that I don’t have to share my games. Seriously. I’m that shallow. 😃 😉 The original KOTOR is one of my most favorite games, so I’ve been excited about the sequel since it was announced. And, yep, I was going to take the day off to play it. Now I have to wait, and since I got volunteered to cook dinner for everyone, I’m not even going to get to play that day. “Hey, nice to see you all. Now get out.” Pure torture, I tell ya. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/2 "2004-12-02T12:57:00Z")
I know what you mean. I’m very selective about which games I put on my Christmas list, because some I intend to get immediately. (Movies, too, for that matter; I told my husband to take Spider-Man 2 and The Bourne Supremacy off _his_ list, because I’d have them before Christmas day.) In my case, I did put KOTOR 2 on the list (along with Rollercoaster Tycoon 3), because I won’t get around to buying it before the holidays (HL2, World of Warcraft, and games to review mean my December is full). ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/3 "2004-12-02T13:08:29Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > …and games to review mean my December is full). I want your job. Seriously, who do I have to kill? 😉 Thing is, I didn’t put KOTOR II on my list. There are plenty of other things that he could buy me. He just likes to make me suffer. To be honest, he says that I don’t seem to get very excited about Christmas anymore and wants to give me something that he knows I’ll get hyped up about. All together - AWWWWW… Turn about is fair play though. He’s told me that he wants WoW. Guess he’s just going to have to wait until Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/4 "2004-12-02T13:22:55Z")
It’s not a full-time thing; just something I do on the side. Making him wait on WoW? Now that’s cruel. In fact, that goes beyond cruel into something that I’m pretty sure violates the Geneva Convention. My husband and I both bought our copies on release date and have been playing them pretty much every available minute. ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/5 "2004-12-02T13:28:42Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Making him wait on WoW? Now that’s cruel. In fact, that goes beyond cruel into something that I’m pretty sure violates the Geneva Convention. It’s only because we are a little hesitant about online games since EQ. We played it for quite awhile until we realized what a time hog it was. Since he discovered that WoW doesn’t seem to have that problem, he’s been hinting that he wants it. I guess I’ll have to start hinting that we need another PC so we can play together. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/6 "2004-12-02T14:41:33Z")
Wow… you… you… wait? for games? I’m slackjawed in awe of your willpower. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/7 "2004-12-02T15:22:25Z")
I am a vicious, slavering gamer as well – once I get the game into my hands. But I am finicky about which games I’ll buy, and I have a nearly masochistic patience when I suspect that the publisher intends to milk my wallet. I waited until the inevitable expansion pack was out before I purchased SimCity 4, so that I could purchse the (also inevitable) two-fer pack. The Age of Kings expansion looked cool… but I don’t think I bought it until it hit the discount bins. I bought Half-Life 2 online because I never actually bought the original Half-Life, and this way I got both games at once. Other than a franchise game that I know I’ll enjoy (Diablo III, Age of Whatever, Half-Life III), I don’t see myself plopping down $50 for a game and then another $40 for its expansion pack anytime in the near future. I won’t stoop to warez, but I will go after that game for the absolute cheapest I can find it, even if it means waiting… _six months_. This also keeps me from bingeing on new hardware. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/8 "2004-12-02T15:32:47Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Other than a franchise game that I know I’ll enjoy (Diablo III, Age of Whatever, Half-Life III), I don’t see myself plopping down $50 for a game and then another $40 for its expansion pack anytime in the near future. I won’t stoop to warez, but I will go after that game for the absolute cheapest I can find it, even if it means waiting… _six months_. That’s kinda my strategy. In terms of new games I bought this year, there was, let’s see… World of Warcraft. I think that’s it. I also bought Unreal II (a stinker), Diablo II expansion (pretty fun), Warcraft III expansion (pretty fun) and KOTOR (pretty great) on the cheap shelf, twenty or thirty bucks each. All of them had been out for at least six months before i got them. No way no how was I waiting on WoW, though. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/9 "2004-12-02T16:14:08Z")
I’m not allowed to buy anything for myself starting Thanksgiving until Christmas, and starting one month before my birthday. This was after many complaints by family/friends that they had nothing to get for me because I get everything for myself right away. It’s torture. So many good movies/games/gadgets come out around Christmastime. At least GTA:SA was out before Thanksgiving, so it’s been holding me over somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/10 "2004-12-02T17:22:25Z")
> [@](#): > > Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords has officially gone gold, and will be released on Dec. 6th. No, torture is not getting it until febuary because the Xbox version comes out 2 months ahead… > [@](#): > > I won’t stoop to warez, but I will go after that game for the absolute cheapest I can find it, even if it means waiting… six months. I have a different perspective there. Usually I buy games from developers I know and trust right off (so I got Thief 3, KOTOR, etc. right off) because I want to support them well.) ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/11 "2004-12-02T17:46:54Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > No, torture is not getting it until febuary because the Xbox version comes out 2 months ahead… That’s why I have multiple platforms. You can always splurge for the $149 Halo/KOTOR game machine… I mean _ahem_ XBOX. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/12 "2004-12-02T18:06:28Z")
I have an Amazon wish list, with several X-Box games listed along with books and magazine subscriptions. My sister ordered my Christmas gift from that list, and the boxes arrived at my apartment a week ago. The Amazon boxes with my name on them…that I’m not supposed to open until Christmas…that’s bad enough. I may have to wrap the damned things in my own wrapping paper just to keep myself from peeking. But the fact that I can discover what I got for Christmas just by going to Amazon’s web site, and all that’s stopping me is my own willpower…that’s just cruel. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/13 "2004-12-02T18:59:04Z")
Cruel is when your long anticipated game announces on the 4th of November that the release date will be on the 23rd of November, \*unless \* you are on the other side of the world, where one is relegated to the words “shortly following”. Cruel is (upon learning of some sort of region restriction on an _internet_ game) having to decide whether you should bypass the system and get a copy anyway or wait for the local distribution. Cruel is learning about the price of the collector’s edition, deciding that it’s a good buy, and hearing news of its shortage. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/14 "2004-12-02T19:26:57Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > I know what you mean. I’m very selective about which games I put on my Christmas list, because some I intend to get immediately. (Movies, too, for that matter; I told my husband to take Spider-Man 2 and The Bourne Supremacy off _his_ list, because I’d have them before Christmas day.) In my case, I did put KOTOR 2 on the list (along with Rollercoaster Tycoon 3), because I won’t get around to buying it before the holidays (HL2, World of Warcraft, and games to review mean my December is full). Just curious, but which site do you write for? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-torture-a-gamer/277684/15 "2004-12-02T21:34:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Just curious, but which site do you write for? If you email me, I’ll let you know. It’s not some big secret or anything, but the site is rather well known, so I tend to keep quiet about it, since I don’t want to be seen shilling for a company.