Are your number of unplayed games increasing? And is that a problem?

BrotherRool

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So it's becoming pretty common to have a backlog of unplayed games and we've had lots of threads about just how big people's backlogs are.

But is your backlog increasing? Are you buying games quicker than you're playing them (they're so cheap!) and if you are, is that a problem?


I definitely am, and it's reached the point where I'm fighting my urge to buy games no matter how much they're being talked about at the moment or how good the sales are. It's so tempting to pick up the Walking Dead Season 2 for example, but I've got Baldur's Gate 2, Gone Home, the Fallouts and more to play already. Never mind the games I want to replay.


And if a lot of you are having the same experience in me, then we're basically in a situation where aggressive pricing and marketing are convincing us to buy more things than is actual useful for us. Could there come a point when lots of people decide to cut back on their purchases to play the games they have already?
 

ShinyCharizard

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Oct 24, 2012
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Yeah it's getting to be a problem. Games are a dime a dozen nowadays. I don't think I'll ever bother clearing my backlog, I'm not really interested in playing most of em anymore anyway.
 

Specter Von Baren

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Yes it's a problem. Used to be that I'd play the crap out of the games I had because I was a kid and couldn't buy them myself, so I had to choose only what I was really sure I'd like and I'd always beat the game. Now I have money of my own and the number of games coming out is so much greater.

We just might have reached the point where games need to become more expensive in order for us to actually enjoy our purchases. It doesn't matter how good the deal is when there's only so many hours in the day.
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
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Don't get me started.

Between garage sales, steam sales, gog sales, last gen sales, etc...
Yeah, I've got one hell of a damn backlog.
 

Chester Rabbit

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Dec 7, 2011
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Increasing, yes. Is it a problem? No, I like building and having this library of games just waiting for me to crack open and eventually experience for the first time. It doesn?t matter when I get around to it. I have them so I can take my time. Heck I still have unfinished or untouched playstation games just waiting for me. One day I shall finish Heart of Darkness..
 

FPLOON

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Jul 10, 2013
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Yes and No...

Yes, I seem to buy more games that I do end up playing to completion (not because I get bored easily, but because I TAKE MY SWEET ASS TIME BEATING THEM) but it only becomes a problem when I feel like it's a problem... and I never do feel that way...

Is it because I can't handle the truth? I don't know... All I know is that I can't say that I'm bored and/or can't find anything to play that I have around me...
 

Shoggoth2588

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It isn't that I'm buying games more quickly than I can play them more that I'm buying games more quickly than I can beat them. Then there's the other issue of three-dimensional backlogging ie: buying a game you already have on a different platform. For example, I just downloaded Mega Man X on the Wii U's Virtual Console even though I technically already own it on the Gamecube X collection (and plan on getting the original cart some day).

The main problem is that I just don't have the time to complete my games...stupid work...I really wouldn't call it a problem though as I love collecting games and I love the fact that I have a large variety to chose from when I DO have time to sit down and play a game.
 

TehCookie

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Sep 16, 2008
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As someone who has a giant backlog, I don't see buying more games than playing them is a problem. It's a sign there are plenty of good games. The number of games itself is increasing, so it doesn't seem weird that great games you haven't played increases as well. I still find PS1 games to play (or add to my backlog).

My main issue with buying games is if I don't buy it now I won't be able to get it as cheap in the future. Though if I ever do sell my games I can make a pretty penny from some I got cheap and jumped up in price like Xenoblade or the entire .hack collection.
 

Zhukov

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Dec 29, 2009
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No, not really.

I only have about 10 unplayed games on my Steam list. Out of 173 total. And no unplayed games on physical discs.

Once you subtract the games I got as part of discount packages it's more like 6. Mostly impulse buys during sales.
 

piinyouri

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Mar 18, 2012
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I have 14 games on my steam list and I play them all regularly.

Take that!


Cheap games are only a "problem" on PC. Ask a console player the same question. : D
 

Ender910_v1legacy

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Oct 22, 2009
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Definitely. A lot of it's because of all the nice deals that come over on PC releases, but it's also because there's simply a lot more game titles these days. One of these days I hope Steam implements some sort of a system so I can get rid of the absolutely terrible games I'm stuck with, like friggin' Brink.
 

scorptatious

The Resident Team ICO Fanboy
May 14, 2009
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Well if an internal list of games I would like to play someday counts as a backlog, then yeah, it does seem like the amount of unplayed games is increasing for me.

Not really a problem for me though, it just means I'll always have something new to play for now.
 

Catfood220

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My backlog is not as big as some peoples, but I have Beyond: 2 Souls and Dragons Crown on disk to play. And Assassins Creed 3 and Dragons Dogma to play from my PS+ account yet to be played. I'm not sure if those last 2 will ever get played because I only get 3 hours a night to play if I'm lucky and I'm currently trying to slog through Arkham Origins and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles is out in February. Damn it.
 

Directionless

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Nov 4, 2013
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No, since i don't buy games just because they're cheap.

When i first got my PC, i bought whatever was $2.50 during the sales. Then i looked at the 10's of games that i knew i'd never play. I then came to the stunning realization that buying shit i won't play is a bit silly.

Ever since my awakening, i have only bought games i know i will play, and is the reason why i usually don't by any more than 5-7 games during a big winter sale.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

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Sep 10, 2008
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I have a pretty hefty backlog, but that mainly because I want to play them on the rig I'm slowly building.

In the meantime I'm replaying Neverwinter Night again, because reasons.
 

NuclearPenguin

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Oct 29, 2009
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I play MMO games most of the time, so with atleast 6 hours a day going towards WoW, then 2 to Dota, yeah, I am sitting on a backlog of about 200 games on steam alone. Some games I wanted to play that fell to the wayside, for example The Last of Us (No, not on steam) and other games I didn't really care to play, like Game of Thrones.
 

DanielBrown

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Dec 3, 2010
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Yeah, thanks to all the PC sales and bundles I've 126 games on my Steam from the past year and more to come. Have played maybe half of them. Not really that intrested in the other half, but I'll try them when I get the time. Got plenty of games on my PS3 I want to replay as well... and soon I'm starting an apprenticeship, which will take eight hours/day with major physical exhaustion + hopefully a weekend job.
Gonna have to cut buying games for at least a year, since my income will suck arse, but even so; the backlogs will grow. :(