The Chronic Consumer

Earlier today, I mentioned how my husband wanted some new Xbox 360 games for Father’s Day. Well, I did some more research this afternoon to find out what the most popular titles currently are.

As expected, Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City tops the list. There has been so much hype about GTA IV that the only surprise would be if it didn’t sell well. Next up at No.2 was something called Assassin’s Creed, which I’d never even heard of. The publisher promotes the game by saying, “Be an assassin!” Hmm, what does that say about our society these days? The third best-selling game was Halo 3, and fourth was something that hasn’t even been released yet, Ninja Gaiden 2.

I think the only one my husband would truly be interested in is GTA IV, so I’m now looking around for good deals on that title. Maybe by the time Father’s Day gets here, there will be used copies available.

I’m not a huge music fan, as I prefer to load my iPod with audiobooks or free lectures from various universities, but every once in a while, I do add a few songs. I hadn’t put anything new on my iPod in ages, so last week I decided to browse through the iTunes music store to see what they had. I’ve looked at the music store before, but just stuck with the free stuff like podcasts and the aforementioned lectures.

Anyway, this time I decided to make a purchase. I wanted the song “Dice” by Finley Quaye & William Orbit. This song was featured on The O.C., a show that turned me on to a lot of other music as well, including stuff from the Pogues, Ryan Adams, Syd Matters, and Phantom Planet. I didn’t want to buy a whole CD, so I figured this would be a good time to make my iTunes test run.

The shopping process was extremely easy. It took less than 30 seconds to enter my search query and come up with the exact song I wanted. I then clicked another button to make my purchase, entered my credit card and address info, and had the song in my iTunes library shortly thereafter. It was a breeze from beginning to end!

I noticed that iTunes also accepts PayPal, and there’s no minimum purchase amount required (though now that I think about it, my credit card company probably has a minimum purchase requirement….). So you could spend $.99 for one song or $99 for a hundred songs. Because of this, I could easily see myself spending a ton of money on iTunes if I were in the right mood, so I better watch out for that!

Overall, I concur with what most music lovers have been saying for years now: iTunes rocks!

With Father’s Day about a month away, my husband has started hinting around at potential gifts that he’d like to receive. Actually, “hinting” is giving him too much credit, as he’s not very subtle at all! So far, he has expressed interest in a motocross helmet, a Playstation 3, some new Xbox 360 games, or a set of Cobra golf clubs.

Which one will I get him? Well, let’s just say it sort of depends on what I get for Mother’s Day this Sunday! That’s only fair, right?