No Man’s Sky: Why would anyone want to spend $1300 on a video game?

No Man’s Sky, is, in the developer’s’ own words, a science-fiction game set in an infinite, procedurally generated galaxy. I can’t think of a description more apt. Is that galaxy really worth spending $1,300, however? For one fan, it was. No Man’s Sky is a game based on a formula, an algorithm that will determine your universe. You start a new game, a universe is generated and then you’re let loose in that universe. Planets, stars, asteroid belts, they’re all there. Alien life in the form of flaura and fauna, humanoids and advanced androids, everything is here. If there was ever a game that could simulate our very existence, it’s No Man’s Sky.

It’s also a very ambitious project that only recently reached fruition, and was then immediately leaked. Someone somewhere leaked a single copy of No Man’s Sky, around two weeks before its release date of 9 August, and put it up for sale on eBay. As luck would have it, for the seller, someone picked up that game for a staggering $1,300. The buyer took to Reddit to exult in his purchase and at the request of a great many redditors, explained his reasoning for spending that amount of money. As Reddit put it, his reasoning came down to “because why not.” Who are we to judge him? If you want a longer version, he stated that he has money to spare and doesn’t need to worry about the value of his purchases. He also added that he’s not frivolous with his money, donates to charities and compared the game to crack. As he puts it, “If NMS [No Man’s Sky] is crack for everyone here in this reddit, the idea of an early experience with zero information surrounding it is the equivalent of the purest, uncut and unfiltered crack money can buy for me. This is it for me, this is the nut high.” As someone who spends thousands of rupees on games myself, I get where he’s coming from, and I know he’s not alone. At least two fans of Chris Roberts’ Star Citizen have spent $30,000 and $22,500 on the game and World of Warcraft players have been known to spend thousands of dollars on items and characters on a regular basis. Have you heard of Eve Online? Did you know that the largest space battle in that game cost players approximately $300,000 in real world money? By those standards, spending $1,300 on a game seems rather tame in comparison. Regardless, I certainly hope he’s happy with his purchase. If his reddit posts are to be believed, he’s having a whale of a time, even if Sean Murray isn’t.