I’ve been meaning to play Devil May Cry 5 since 2019. I’ve been told it’s one of Capcom’s best – which is saying something for a studio with Capcom’s consistently high quality – but I missed it when it came out, bought it on sale, and then never put the disk into my PS5.

This was in a time before we knew that physical game buyers would be the most persecuted people on the planet.

This story isn’t unique to me. I would struggle to find a gaming fan who hasn’t bought a game they’re really interested in only to leave it collecting dust on a shelf or collecting digital dust in their Steam library.

I have a huge backlog of games I’ve been meaning to get to, but I never have the time to do it. Thanks to the price hike Nintendo is introducing for new Switch 2 games and the inevitable price hikes coming as other publishers follow Nintendo’s lead, I’ll have a chance to make a dent in my backlog since there’s no shot I’m paying $100 for Grand Theft Auto 6.

Oh Boy, It’s Bad Out There, Huh?

I’m trying desperately to find a silver lining in the current economic situation that me and my fellow Americans have found ourselves in. Ever since last week’s announcement that the Switch 2 will cost $450, that digital Switch 2 games will cost $80, and that physical Switch 2 games might cost $90, I’ve felt a wave of grim acceptance wash over me. I’m just not going to be able to afford gaming at those prices in my current economic position.

I tried to fight the wave at first, brainstorming ways I might be able to save just a little bit more each month to afford the upcoming games I’m interested in, but with the news that Nintendo delayed Switch 2 preorders to reconsider the console’s price in accordance with new U.S. tariffs, I just had to accept that I can’t afford gaming.

So what do I do? I’m not going to abandon the hobby, partly because it’s my job, but also because, believe it or not, I love video games. Instead of calling it quits, I think the lack of new games I’ll have access to for the foreseeable future gives me the opportunity to try out the games I’ve missed over the last several years.

Like I said, I’m looking for a silver lining.

Me Versus My Backlog

As irritated as I am about potentially missing out on the next few years of gaming since the upcoming release lineup looks so strong, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to dig into some of the games I’ll have the opportunity to play in the meantime.

Like I said, I’ve got Devil May Cry 5 to look forward to. I’ve never played any of the games in the series, but I’ve watched some of the various DMC anime adaptations over the years, and the cutscenes from it look like the exact kind of super weird that I like, so that should be a solid way to kick off my backlog dumpster dive.

With Death Stranding 2: On the Beach coming up soon (and available for preorder at normal, current-era triple-A prices, no less), I’m going to try and get through the first Death Stranding before I hop in on the sequel. I’ve heard mixed things about it, but as an appreciator of games made with strong but weird creative visions, I think it’ll resonate with me. On top of that, I understand that it’s ultimately a game about trying to connect the disparate parts of America together, which is the kind of message I think I need right now.

If I’ve got nothing but time on my hands, I’ll have the opportunity to fill a major hole that’s been in my ‘gamer cred’ for several years by actually sitting down to play Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s a game everyone tells me is great, but one that requires a lot of time and patience to truly appreciate. Who knows, maybe this will be the beginning of my horse girl era.

There’s plenty more I’m meaning to get to while I wait for prices to go down. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Dark Souls 2, Outer Wilds, Inside, Dishonored 2, a replay of Resident Evil 8, all games I’ve either bought and never started or not given the time they deserved and had to move on to other things.

I am unhappy with the current state of the economy, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not ‘voting with my wallet’ to try and teach those meanie publishing executives a lesson since 1) that’s not how things actually work in our economic system, and 2) I’m not ‘voting’ for a different company or game pricing model, I’ve simply been outpriced by the games industry. If the industry ever gets its business in line and fixes the pricing of games so that they don’t break the bank, maybe I’ll start playing new things again. Until then, I’ve got a few hundred hours I need to sink into a horse-riding simulator pretending to be a gritty Rockstar western.

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Devil May Cry 5

Action Systems 10.0/10 Released March 8, 2019 ESRB M for Mature: Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) Capcom Publisher(s) Capcom
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