Doesn't work in the mass market. Otherwise, everyone would buy books and ignore most other forms of entertainment. You can get many hours of enjoyment from the collected works of ens, purchased second hand at a very reasonable price. And yet people go to the cinema in record numbers.
On an individual level, it may make sense. You have X number of dollars to spend, and choose to get some measure of bang for the buck by buying a video game instead of going out on the town. But for the mass consumer market, the outrage doesn't come on a dollar/hour basis, it's only when you increase ticket prices for that cinema by $2 or increase the game price by $10.
Americas spend money on crazy things, some very high priced with little value, across the board. Better?