Too many good games - what do you do?

[antares]

Lately I realized that my addictive behaviour in terms of playing videogames increased during the last years to an unhealthy level. The main problem is that the number of games I'm interested in increases all the time. In the days of Dreamcast and PS2 I bought like 30 to 40 games in total during the whole lifespan of the system. Now I already own about 50 XBox 360 games (retail and download) and I only own the system for 2 and a half years. And if I look at what is announced I could easily count 30 games which I'm planning to buy in the next 6 months or so. And that's only for the 360. If I think of my other current gaming systems (PS3, Wii, DS, iPod touch) it's just waaay to much. Then take into account all the games I own and feel I haven't played properly I don't know how even the rest of my life should be enough to play all this.
Next thing I realized is that online Leaderboards and achievements add further to the wish to play games properly and put more effort into it thus consuming even more time.


Anyone feel the same and has some tips for me? I'd really love to lower my videogames consumption as I feel it has become a serious addiction in my life but I don't know how I should do it.

Just buying less of the games I want wouldn't work as I always would feel like I'm missing out on something.
Also buying the games at release to play them at a later time isn't possible as the stream of released games never ends and there just isn't time to revisit all the old games.

[drauch]

I've been in the same boat with movies. Years back I became obsessed with cinema and felt like I had to see everything/own everything. I wound up accumulating near 1,600 movies and used to watch an average of about 500 a year in my prime. I would buy all kinds of stuff for cheap and waste every last dollar I had on movies. Eventually I quit and now my main hobby is back to video games, although it is not quite an obsession, but simply just a hobby now.

The best way to get out of such a jam is to look at your collection and see what games were "worth" it. I mean, take a look at all of the games and think if you will play them again, or if you feel like you should devote the time to something you only "kind of" want to play. I dunno, that is kind of how I am now. Years before when I had more money I would just buy pretty much anything in the spur of a moment, just because I thought I needed it. I still own a lot of my movies, but I have gone through and sold a lot of them, or plan on getting rid of this and that because it was "okay", or the fact that I'll never watch it again.

I dunno, I don't really know if this is the same boat, or if this is any help at all. In reality, you kind of just have to face the fact that you won't be able to play everything, for there simply isn't enough time. Yeah, it sucks... Just focus on what you really want to play and go from there.

[emphatic]

Except for the horizontal CAVE attempts, I only buy vertical shmups, that should narrow it down nicely.

[Ruldra]

I'd say you should look at all your backlog, play the games you really want to and trade/sell the ones you don't like anymore. Only buy new games after you feel you're done with the ones you currently have.

Waiting to buy new games is good not only because of price drops, but by the time you get them, any bug/glitch should be fixed and there'll be enough reviews out there to know if the game is really worth your money. Besides, you won't worry about new releases when your mind is busy with your backlog.

[Acid King]

I was the same way before I sold my stuff to buy a cabinet. I had a ton of games, most of which I never played, because I always figured I'd get to the backlog eventually. The problem is that unless all you do is play video games, you'll never get through all of them and if you don't play a game, you're still missing out on it even if it's sitting right next to you.

I'd suggest giving yourself a limit on buying new games based on the last purchase you made. Don't buy a new game unless you finished the last one. If you didn't like the last one, sell it or trade it before your next purchase. Give your backlog an honest once over,consider what games you actually want to play, sell the rest and start playing them. Try to remember that you really aren't going to miss the stuff you sell. You never played them and you probably won't even notice when they're gone.

[MR_Soren]

TC, I understand exactly what you're doing.

My way of looking at it is to assume my backlog will last me the rest of my life, and that allows me to be far more critical of new releases. I also don't remove the plastic wrap from a game until I actually have time to play it, so I can keep the resale value up.

I still buy and own far more games than I will ever have time to play properly, but my purchasing has slowed down considerably.

[Alec]

Too many good games

[ED-057]

Here`s what you need to do. Decide which system you like the best, then become a fanboy of said system. Declare that all other systems suck, and swear off playing any games for systems that suck or games published by companies that make systems that suck. Hope this helps...

[sjewkestheloon]

Stop checking news items and reading forums as much. Become ignorant of release dates and don't randomly browse shops and online stores when you don't specifically want something.

I have done the above and now find that I enjoy my game time a lot more. It leaves me far more open to spend quality time with a game and I now regularly replay games many times rather than rushing to complete one and then moving on.

I also find that my tastes tend to fall alongside 'endless' games like complex RPGs and arcade scoring games so I don't feel the need to get something new all of the time. I recently downloaded Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for £7.99 and have played it for about 50 hours with very little progress and I can't see much point in picking up something else for the PSP until I've greatly improved and taken on the big bad beasts of the end game.

Another way to do it is to put your spare income into a savings account. If you don't have it you can't spend it. I have become frugal after a seriously long illness and pretty much zero income. Now I find it more difficult to justify wasteful purchases.

(and I've got secret commy leaning and am trying to stop being a consumer whore)

[antares]

Thanks for the tips so far, I'll try to take some inspiration from them.

Stop checking news items and reading forums as much. Become ignorant of release dates and don't randomly browse shops and online stores when you don't specifically want something.

I can see this working very well but it needs a lot of self discipline which I don't have I'm afraid.

[Ed Oscuro]

Too many good games -> just pirate bad old ones

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Work for 10-12 hours a day. You'll be so tired the only thing you'll want is go to bed.

[Limbrooke]

Less buying and more doing. It's easy to become enveloped in consumerism and who can blame oneself, the urge for more and more of things we're told we 'need' and should have is a constant battle since the campaigning is everywhere in media. Whether it's eating out or in this case video games, you need to ask yourself "why I am buying this"? Are you really missing out and is there any constructive way to not miss out on everything that is potentially of interest to you? Less is more.

Stop the flood and realize that it's a losing battle. Also, incase you've missed it...

...arcade games, pick out one you can do ok, one you can do as opposed to a whole bunch of em where you don't know what the hell you're doing...

Pick a game, play it a lot. There's tonnes of games out there and almost nobody can play them all. It's not life or death so simply decide for yourself and pick what interests you most. Games will always be there but life waits for nobody.

There's more to life than games and if you keep buying games due to not being satisfied, find a different exercise. Best of success.

Work for 10-12 hours a day. You'll be so tired the only thing you'll want is go to bed.

This too is good advice and eventually becomes a reality for most people anyway.

[Davey]

I also find that my tastes tend to fall alongside 'endless' games like complex RPGs and arcade scoring games so I don't feel the need to get something new all of the time.

Pick a game, play it a lot. There's tonnes of games out there and almost nobody can play them all. It's not life or death so simply decide for yourself and pick what interests you most.

I agree with these. When I started college (1999) I was really into 8 and 16-bit games. Since they were so cheap, I probably bought about 200 games between NES, SNES, and Genesis. But by the end of college I was mostly just into shmups and puzzle games, and given how much replay value those can have, I ending up selling most of my game collection.

Nowadays I'm even more narrowly focused. I mostly just stick with a handful of online games that I really like. I was never into online gaming, but once VOOT came out on XBLA I got a gold membership started playing stuff on XBL. If you find a few games you really like with an active online community, you're pretty much set. I'm not even looking to play anything new in the foreseeable future.

Also, keep in mind that there are thousands upon thousands of video games out there, so you can afford to be picky. Even games that are merely "good, but not great" probably aren't worth your time unless they appeal specifically to your taste.

[Icarus]

I used to be an RPG nut, but stopped playing them after realising that 1) there's little replay value after you've cleared one, and 2) they take ages to play. I generally only play score attack games like shooting games and puzzlers now, and occasionally simulation games like SimCity, and currently most of my interest is focused on short games on the iPhone, as well as the shooting games on PS2 and 360. In the midst of a clearout as well, since I had somehow amassed a big collection without actually playing most of it.

A game from another genre has to be very special to get my attention now, and it must be totally amazing before I consider buying it. Bayonetta, Dead Space and soon Vanquish have been those kinds of games, just recently. But other than that, I stick to what I usually enjoy, and try to minimise the amount of non-essential game purchases.

[Elixir]

Stop playing games you have because you want to clear them, and start playing games you have which interest you.

I know there's this current trend rolling around, what was it uhh, backloggery.net? OH MAN, LOOK AT ALL THESE GAMES I WON'T BEAT. It's not even that, it's pretty much a Gamertag for pre-current gen stuff. It's needless; if don't have the incentive to play a game again the next time you see it, it's not for you.

[Ed Oscuro]

Stop buying games on the theory you want to clear them, and start playing games you have which interest you.

Fixed. I think the concept of backloggery is only useful as far as it convinces people to play what they have instead of buying stuff they won't. As far as playing games for the sake of playing them regardless of interest, I agree, it's rather silly.

[ncp]

How in god's name do you have more good games for xbox 360 than PS2?!

[xris]

There are some good and sensible replies so far. I admit to having a decent sized back catalog, around 100 games for many systems over time. I have done a good job of trading stuff in, when it's worth it, of sharing it with friends. There are still games that I have now that I would like to sell still. I also do play through older games that I have. Usually a few over a year. It's easy to go through them quick, and I usually have good saves. This year I played Silent Hill 3, Earth Defence Force, Strider 2, Zombies Revenge, but allot of my time has been eaten by new to me shmups. I'm on of those types that will play Shenmue every three years, and one of the Silent Hills every year, or could kill Colossus once in awhile. It saves money, it's fun, you have the games you like already.
I do buy games new and used. New when I hyped, and when I want the people to get paid for what I like, so they can make more. When I can I'll wait, still waiting for Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno to be $20.. Fallout New Vegas, I'll probably get it at midnight.. Fallout 3 was the only game I've ever gotten at midnight, it was actually allot of fun. So, I guess I'll always fall a little on both sides of the fence. I would really suggest just parring down what you have to the coolest stuff you have, what the sense in having any crap games mixed in. You can make out pretty well going into Game Stop with a stack of low worth games. Some times the staff there is on your side, there are bonuses for number of games traded in at a time, and if you time it with renewing magazine / discount card it can really make a difference.
edit: It also really good to have people that you can trustfully trade off games with, you both save money.

[Jeneki]

Too many good games - what do you do?

My solution is to only buy and play niche games right away.

Anything that's "best hits" fodder, I wait. Mainstream franchise? It'll have a rerelease. A game has commercials on TV? The price will be cheap next year. If I'm still interested then, I'll pick it up. Even if I wait several years, there were so many made that finding it will still be easy and inexpensive. Meanwhile, a niche game may be difficult and expensive to locate, glad I got it right away.