Surviving the Steam Holiday Sale - Days Seven and Eight

The Steam Sales are something that we all anticipate with equal amounts of excitement and fear. How many awesome games will be reduced? How many of them will I have already paid full price for a few days before? Will I end up spending my life savings on games I never looked twice at before? We’ve all been there, and the Holiday Sale is no exception.

With a name like Holiday Sale, you almost feel compelled to buy stuff, you know, it’s the holidays, you deserve it, right? Of course you damn well do, you made it through the year! Only problem is, you’re already in debt from all the presents you had to buy for family and friends, and the random people you drew in your work’s Secret Santa that you spoke to once that time by the coffee machine. So seeing all these great deals come up becomes a bit of a balancing act. It’s almost like an equation really.

Where X = happiness:

X = (Game you really want + Great deal) > Amount of debt you can afford to bury yourself in.

Sometimes though, you have to draw the line, and for me, this is one of those times. I have well and truly tightened my purse strings, about to attempt something that may not even be possible: surviving the Steam Holiday Sale without one purchase. Every day, as I browse the sale, I will do so with the goal that I cannot buy anything, because I simply cannot afford to. The best part is, you guys will get to watch me squirm as I let the games slip through my fingers. So whether you want to support or mock, come join me on my tortuous journey!

 

Days Seven and Eight:

You might have noticed that yesterday my Surviving the Steam Holiday Sale article didn't quite make it to the site. I can only apologise for this oversight and insist that it had absolutely nothing to do with how much alcohol had been consumed... honest.

Christmas Day was pretty awesome though, and I hope that you all had fantastic days! I was personally very spoilt and was treated to the Bioshock Franchise Pack and Fez, both of which I had been disappointed about not being able to buy in the Steam Sale, so special thanks to a rather thoughtful friend for those two.

There wasn't much on offer on Christmas Day that I was interested it, so it wasn't too bad, with Deus Ex: Human Revolution being the only game with much appeal. It was Boxing Day really that was the kicker for me. Not really because of the Daily Deals, or the Flash Sale, no it was something else.

I made the ridiculously poor-sighted mistake of going though the "Under £4" list. Yeah yeah, I know, how could I be so stupid right? Well it can't be changed now, I went through the list and to my dismay discovered a plethora of games that I quite desperately want. Gems like Cook, Serve, Delicious!, Borderlands, Portal, Plants Vs. Zombie, The Last Remnant, LIMBO, To the Moon all for less than £4! To top it all off though is one of my favourite games ever made: Fable: Lost Chapters for a meagre £1.74!!

You know what the worst part is? That these aren't Daily Deals or Flash Sales, so they won't be over in a few hours, leaving me with a small window of temptation to control myself through. No, instead they last the ENTIRE SALE, right up until the 2nd January, which is my bloody BIRTHDAY and I can't buy ANY OF THEM! They'll just sit there, every day, laughing at me, while I sit here rocking back and forth in a corner.

Sigh. Well At least Christmas was good! Merry Christmas everyone!