Getting something on sale lowers the price, and price is obviously a part of the calculation for "value". Generally speaking and not considering anything related to time, everything about the product remains the same, but in the case of games, they usually get better after launch. Price and quality are big parts of the value calculation, so waiting for sales is definitely a good strategy.Other than more rare occasions (supporting indie developer, meme, just have to have it), the way I see it is just getting the best deal possible regardless of how much joy or whatnot it will give you. Just to give an example: In a local shop they had a deal on my favorite dental floss, a 2 for 1 deal. So I bought 14 of them (I ordered them, obviously did not grab them from the shop physically). Next week they were having another deal on same floss, this time the cost was 3 for 2. Same floss, but not the same deal.
As for joy, how much pleasure you get from entertainment is also a factor, but it's usually something that you only know in hindsight. You probably always think you'll like a game if you buy it, but that doesn't always work out.
Edited my other post for readability. Also, I thought issues related to sanity were funny last night, but it doesn't seem funny this morning, so I got rid of that.
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