You’re probably as excited as everyone else when that sequel to the game you liked is announced or some studio puts out something you think looks really awesome. Except you don’t have the time or money to jump on the bandwagon on day one.

In many cases this is purely an economic consideration. You know that the Steam sale or some other discount will become available and you can get it cheaper. For some, you’ve been burned enough by Day 1 issues with software and are going to wait until that first stability patch comes out.

For me, it is a bit of both. I can’t bring myself to take PTO (Paid Time Off) when a game comes out to play it. Also I am not necessarily foaming at the mouth to pay $60-$70 on most AAA games. I do, on rare occasion, pre-order and shell out the money. In recent memory, I can think of four titles I did this for: The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Dragon Age II, Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age: Inquisition. For everything else, I waited until the Steam Summer Sale, Autumn Sale or Holiday Sale to pick up.

There is also the benefit of, if you wait long enough, you can get all the DLC in some kind of Game of the Year or Master Collection bundle that costs a fraction of the original and then you don’t have to pay for it piecemeal. You also have the benefit of all the weird kinks of the game getting ironed out before you ever install. Also you know if you’re wasting your time because other people have spent the money, have played it and have plenty of information on how it went.

There are drawbacks as well, like anything else. You can fall into the trap of everyone else spoiling everything for you. While your friend or friends is waxing poetic about the complexities of the plot and that twist near the end, you’re sitting there feeling left out. Like in gym class and every other facet of your formative nerd years.

You can also find yourself in the position that no one else is playing, which can make co-op uncomfortable or downright impossible. Or, multiplayer support gets discontinued because whatever service the studio used to set that up goes under. And then you wait months for them to migrate to something more stable.

I’m looking at you original Borderlands.

All things considered, I do believe many games get better with age. It’s like reading classics – they will stand the test of time, and though the graphics may look a little dated and they may not have all the glitz and shiny new game smell, they’re still a damned good time.