Why spend money on games at all? You can dig a hole in the dirt with a pointy stick.

I was pretty big into computer (video) games. That all stopped when I got to know magic. I haven't really returned to video games since, they all seem so incredibly shallow in their design compared to magic. Seems like I'm not the only one, I've followed a lot of interviews with Edmund McMillen, the prominent indie game designer (Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy), as, despite designing video games, he seems to be mostly playing Magic too.

Dozens of dollars? More like hundreds or thousands.

But to your point, is all entertainment fungible? I don't think its really comparable. Magic is a competitive, fun game to play with lots of strategy and community behind it. This isn't to say that a $2 Steam game doesn't have those, but people play Magic specifically because it is Magic, not because it is generic entertainment.

Cards and videogames are entirely different things. There's a physical aspect to the former that can't be replaced with electronic entertainment.

This is why I love board games and tabletop miniatures games -- both very expensive hobbies -- even though videogames exist. I like videogames too, by the way.

Some people like things. Other people like other things. Value propositions abound.

I don't believe any other game is as joyous as Vintage Cube draft on Magic Online, but part of that is sentimentality, I will admit.

The card games are more fun. I've also spent way more than dozens on both the steam games and the card games.

You can resale the physical cards to recoup some of the cost.

MtG has survived far longer than any $2 Steam game.