2. How do you go through two or three games a week? Most games keep me occupied for at least a week, more if it's really good.
It's very possible to go through two or three games per week. Most commercial games are crap. Indie games can be much, much worse; $20-30 for something that lasts 4 hours (like Democracy 2). This perception of crap is relative to the amount of money I spend on them to how much I have fun.
I could spend $10 on two movie ticket and have a great 3 hours with someone I like, or I could spend $30-$50 on a game, spend 20 minutes figuring it, 3 hours getting addicted (not really having fun, just trying to win), and 7 hours still addicted, trying to win and see the next part of the story/cutscene/unlockable. Most games are exactly the same in the first 50 hours as they are in the first 10 hours, so it's a waste of time playing it after you've mastered those first 10 hours.
I can say that there are very, very few games worth what I pay. Fighting games are OK, Avernum/Fallout/BG/Civilizations is worth it, Total War/Dominions is nice, albeit a bit overpriced.. and some sports games rip you off every year, but it's worth it when you have friends who are sports freaks.
I think buying games has been a huge waste of money, and there's only a handful which I'm happy I paid for. I don't even bother owning a gaming PC over the past 2 years, because heck, the best stuff out there barely have graphics.
One game can last for years if it's good enough, but a bad game can barely last a few days. It's easy to go through a few of them, esp. once you get tricked by the games media & fanboys.