A few months back, the wife and I decided to cut the cable cord. Even after drastically cutting back on premium channels and removing our landline, our monthly cable bill was still over $200, and it was killing us. So we killed our cable.
We kept our internet and bought a Roku3. And last night we hooked up our over-the-air HD antenna, and now we sort-of have regular TV again – enough for us to watch football (and Hannibal when it returns in the winter). I said this on both Twitter and FB last night, and I’ll say it here again, because it’s true: it feels soooooooo good to not feel ripped off. The Roku was $90; the antenna was $40; both of those expenses have already paid themselves back, as far as our needs are concerned.
Being cost-conscious is difficult but necessary for us these days. We have a kid, after all, and we’re trying to eventually move out of the city and into the ‘burbs. We’re not necessarily pinching every penny, but we are trying to pay attention to (and put and end to) unnecessary spending. Between the Roku and the free over-the-air TV, our TV needs are pretty much completely sated. Sure, we don’t have DVR anymore, but considering the amount of crap we were taping and didn’t have time to watch, I’d say it’s a justifiable loss.
I bring this up here because, well, games are expensive, too. I’m trying to not buy anything I don’t absolutely have to have. I’d love to play Divinity: Original Sin, but I’m sure that’s going to be in a Steam Sale at some point, and it’d be nice to actually take advantage of those sales next time around. Similarly, being a Playstation Plus member very nearly pays for itself, in terms of free stuff for the Vita; of the 20 or so games on there, I’m not sure I’ve paid full price – or, indeed, anything at all – for 15 of them.
Speaking of the Vita: man, I wish I had more time in my day for it. As it is, I’ve spent the last few days trying to fit in time with both Rogue Legacy and The Swapper – both of which I’ve played before on PC, and which absolutely shine on Vita. It still takes far too long to download stuff – see, for example, the 12 hours it took for me to download the ~600MB Metrico – but my goodness, it plays these sorts of games absolutely perfectly. (I did say earlier this year that it was an ideal platform for today’s indie darlings, and I’m glad to have been correct.)
Also – I did end up finishing the TLOU DLC the other night. I’m of two distinct minds on it – on the one hand, the story is beautiful and heartbreaking, and told exquisitely well. On the other hand, the combat sections feel shoehorned in and obligatory, and are a drag, and make me feel even less likely to give the remastered original game a second look. I’m still probably going to, being that the release schedule is still so gawdawfully dry, but I’m not going to like it, no matter how spiffy the new graphics are.
Tonight is the NYVCC’s 3rd Annual Summer Hoohah, being held at Barcade in Chelsea (148 West 24th Street). If you’re in town, come on by!
Shouts From The Couch 