Don't get me wrong I want to get this game pretty bad but the first half of 2010 has already exhausted most of my budget next year and I have to put aside money for Reach and the next Call of Duty. If I get a nice tax refund I'll use the money towards this though.

I've pre-ordered mine. Collertor editon on X360. 2010 will be a tough year for the wallet.

Can you link the collectors edition from amazon?

I can't tell you. I've pre-orderd mine on my gaming shop.

Budgeting is a good thing. I'm not following a budget but I'm trying a (somewhat unsuccessfully. lol) "try not to buy more than you need" policy. Because seeing a big backlog makes me feel guilty. lol. The games I have on my plate currently are providing me with good entertainment so I'm in no rush for new purchases (when I get my "fill", I'll move on). The whole "the latest is the greatest" thing is all in our heads. I know what it's like being able to play every game your heart desires (ie. had my PS1 modded from the start back in the PS1 days) and let me say that it's a total bummer when you find out that it's not humanly possible to have all the time to play every game you pirated. lol. Game developers release games way faster than you can play them.

Well my budget is still fairly high. My house hold income is above $75k+ but I spend about $1,200 between games/new gaming systems and movies. It's something I set myself every year unless we have a loss of job or income. Anyways at $60 a pop for a game that still allows me to get 20 brand new games a year which is more then plenty. But lately with all the deals on games I've been ending up getting close to 30 games a year and I hardly finish all of them lol.

Yep, it's the deals that really get you. Like you said, $1,200/year can get you 20 brand new games but if you factor in deals/sales/price cuts into the equation that 20 becomes 30+ easily. And I got about 30+ retail-sized games this year (across all platforms) and couldn't keep up with all that so I know it's too much. I need a software cap (which will have the indirect benefit of saving money). 2010 looks like mission impossible to me. And that's without a Wii and PS3. Gamers who complain about there being "no new games" (a complaint you see often) have to be extremely picky or jaded. Unless a gamer is a AAA-whore, I can't wrap my head around how anyone can say that (and often times I find that the lower-rated games are more fun than the AAA blockbusters. Because lots of AAA blockbusters focus so much on production values and forget what games are supposed to be about: Fun).

Well the AAA peeps need to grab Bayonetta cause It's getting insane ratings... for the 360.
Yeah I know what you mean by cheap games (I go to CAG all the time, post there often.) and I'm almost inclined to spend top dollars on games that way I'll have less through the year (lol) to play with. I can hardly finish 30 games a year as it is and I have a huge backlog from the original XBox and PS2 era.