Choices

At the risk of sounding like I’m repeating myself, I want to talk a little bit more about this Metroid Prime Trilogy business.

Only not really.

I’m a teacher and the subject of choice interests me profoundly. We make choices. The teaching side comes down to conveying to students that choices come with consequences, but that’s not what I want to talk about today.

I was thinking a lot about why I felt so bad about bidding on a copy of Metroid Prime Trilogy. It’s not like I don’t have the money for it. Even my own rules allow me to purchase a new game for my collection, provided that I’ve beaten an old game. Well, I’ve beaten around 20 games so far, and I’ve certainly haven’t bought anywhere near 20 games since I started the challenge.

Furthermore, on the money subject, I wouldn’t even have to spend real money or use my credit card, since I have paypal balance for eBay, and gift card balance for amazon. I could get it through either of those channels and it would come out, essentially, to be free.

Enter Barry Schwartz. You should watch this TED talk of his. It’s only 20 minutes. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

I’ve often wondered why it was that going to the grocery store was so hateful to me. I just want some rice. I don’t need 30 kinds of it. There are few things I dislike more than going clothes shopping. In the few jobs I’ve had where I could have healthcare and 401k’s, the prospect of having to wade through pages and pages of choices almost froze me. Now I know why. There is too much choice.

I now think I know why I was feeling so crummy about Metroid Prime Trilogy. It’s not that I was breaking a rule. It’s not that the game isn’t worth it. It is. Metroid Prime Trilogy is a good game, it’s a solid purchase. It’s three games in one, with good visuals and nice controls. It’s hours and hours of entertainment. Each of those games came out at $50 a piece originally, and even at $100, Metroid Prime Trilogy is a bargain. So why was I so relieved when I was outbid? I believe it was what Barry Schwartz calls an opportunity cost. It’s the fact that by making the choice to spend $100 bucks on a game, I see the missed opportunity of all the other things that I can’t spend my money on. And that makes me feel like crap, even though it’s a good purchase.

I’m in no hurry, but I believe I will get this game someday. I just gotta remember that I want it and I’m allowed to have it and it’s not a bad idea to have it.