Have you ever had “too much” to play?

[Deleted member 49611]

yeah. this year i'm cutting down how many games i buy. i'm trying to finish up some games before March arrives because that's stacked. I'll probably need to hold off on a couple games because no way will i have enough time to finish the March games before Cyberpunk. Everything is going on hold when that comes out. In May there is TLOU2 but that can wait too. basically i'm trying to get everything in order before Cyberpunk.

in 2020 i am being more strict to what games i buy. i only plan on buying 9 games this year.

Day 1 - Cyberpunk 2077, Persona 5 Royal, Animal Crossing.
Will definitely buy but in no rush and/or wait for sale - Control, Disco Elysium, Halo Infinite, Doom Eternal, TLOU2
Buy if it's any good - Watch Dogs Legion

 

[OSPC]

I've stopped buying games unless I plan to finish them right away. Of all my methods, this has been the most effective.

 

[Rosebud]

Always since last gen. But I don't see it as a problem.

 

[JoetheGamer]

this was happening to me a lot during the last year but i started to have more discipline and finish games i have started. otherwise its a waste of time and money. the time because when i let a game lie there after starting it for a few months i want to re-start it to get fully immersed again - and money because i usually buy games in the first sale and then play them only much later when they would be much cheaper. so better to manage your backlog and play focused. i have not achieved it yet but trying now :)

 

[Jonneh]

I can't remember the last time I didn't

 

[Fatoy]

Like many other people have said: constantly, since I got older and had children.

Right now I'm supposedly playing / trying to finish: Control, Fallen Order, Darksiders Genesis, and Death Stranding. I've barely touched two of those, and I've got pretty sidetracked / bored of the others. I probably also have 50+ unplayed games that I bought in sales in 2018/19. Most of the time, though, when evening rolls around and my wife goes to bed, I just end up watching TV and falling asleep.

The games I've put the most time into recently have been instant-access things like Tetris Effect and Crash Team Racing, and deeper time-sucking-black-holes like Total War Warhammer 2. I don't know why I keep buying single player adventure / RPGs. I'm going to try not to buy ANYTHING in 2020 if I can avoid it.

 

[Worldshaker]

I've had this issue for the past decade. Just use a random number generator to decide and chip away at your backlog. This is also why I stopped buying games at full price.

 

[unicornKnight]

I already had a backlog of 20+ games from 3DS, Wii U and consoles before them but now with game pass things are even worse. Of course I don't consider all 200+ game pass games back log but there are more than 10 games in there I'd like to play. The good thing with not owning those games is that I don't feel I have to complete them, just play them, have some fun and then move to the next one.

 

[monstar]

Ever since 2010 at the very least

 

[Jakisthe]

Have I ever had a backlog?

I mean, probably since I discovered Steam.

 

[Deleted member 7883]

Yup. Growing up sucks. I just got Witcher 3, Deadly Premonition, Link's Awakening, and like five different fighting games all for the holidays, on top of slowly working thru DQXI S, Death Stranding, Assassin's Creed Odyssey... too many games not enough time.

 

[Dodoow]

used too, sold everything from 4 gens ago. Only have this gen left. But thinking about selling my XBX and Ps4 and only keep my Switch. The only system I play and have a small backlog for it.

 

[Flevance]

It's been a long while since the last time I didn't, I'll try to clean up my PS4's backlog within these couple of months and not buy anything till FFVIIR and RE3R

 

[MauroNL]

Anyone who says he doesn't is a dirty liar

 

[defaltoption]

The moment i could afford my own games i had too much to play

 

[Deku_o4a]

Since I have a proper job. I spend too much on games, but don't have time to play them all.

 

[Grouch Douglass]

I have the same problem but with the kicker of I will sometimes hesitate finishing games I have almost beaten for some unknown reason.

 

[Majukun]

yes, epecially now between the games i own, gamepass, eas access and the monthly psn plus games

 

[Femto0]

Yes and I can't play because i'm away from home

 

[Minsc]

Only real solution is to not buy more than 1 gaming system and mainly play platform exclusives and nothing else. That or just develop gaming tastes that restrict your games to 1 very specific genre (like AAA console exclusives) and not care about anything to even give it the time of day (indie game - pass by default, not in my chosen genre of gaming? Don't even acknowledge it).

The second you open yourself to multiple platforms and explore your gaming palette outside of your comfort zone, it's all over.

 

[Deleted member 61326]

Over the past few weeks I've started The Outer Worlds, Untitled Goose Game, Jurassic Park Evolution, Rage 2, and continue to dabble in Gears 5. I've purchased Grand Theft Auto V and Resident Evil 2. I have 475 downloaded games on my Xbox. And what have I played most? TECMO BOWL THROWBACK, NBA JAM ON FIRE EDITION, and PACMAN CE 2. I don't know what to do with myself.

Click to shrink...

Perhaps there is something to be learned from this about what games / genres you actually enjoy

 

[Ramble]

I'm a monogamous gamer - I play only one game at a time - but yes I have a huge collection of games to get through.

It really doesn't help that I still play WoW from time to time.

 

[Kanann]

Since 200x

My library now over 1000 games

 

[Gozan]

Bitch I have a backlog stretching back to the Amiga

 

[Deleted member 49535]

Ever since I started making my own money, yes. But lately I've been trying to spend less and sell what I know I'm not going to play.

 

[Efejota]

I haven't bought the switch yet because of this. Only played some games with my gf, but for the rest, these past 3 gaming years have been all about finishing 3ds and wii/wiiu stuff, and it feels good to actually play the stuff you paid for. maybe you could try something like this starting next gen and avoid getting the new consoles right away.

(Steam is a beast on its own and I'm sure I'll never play everything I got, that's why nowadays I only buy 1/2 things a year on PC)

 

[Deleted member 4262]

Yeah, for the past 10+ years or so. This year I'm only buying a handful of games.

 

[Kill3r7]

From the moment I had enough money to buy whatever games I wanted but lacked the time to play them. It has been a tough 15+ years.

 

[stan_marsh]

For the past 20 years.

80 hours into Death Stranding and only 3/4 done the story.
Stardew Valley is also eating up my time.
Shovel Knight

Still have to play Pokemon Shield, Link's Awakening, Ori and Fire Emblem Three Houses.

and fucking DBZ comes out this month too.

 

[FTF]

Non-stop for the past 30 years

Click to shrink...

lol one and done and same for me.

 

[JustJavi]

Since I got my first job 19 years ago.

 

[SturokBGD]

FOMO is the issue when you have a large library. I was recently noticing that if I played a different game from my collection every night for the next 10 years, I still wouldn't have experienced all of them. I don't know yet if that makes things better or worse; I have to learn to accept that I'm just not going to get to the majority of it.

 

[Karlinel]

Since I finished college and started working! At first, since I played mainly (read: only) WoW, I didn't have much of a backlog...but nowadays, even with a new year's intent on not increasing it, I'm juggling Luigi's Mansion 3, Dead Cells, Smash bros, outer Wilds, Death Stranding and...new WoW patch!!!

 

[Cyrus_Saren]

For the past couple years. A family, work and going back to school for my Bachelor's will do that. I'm finishing school up this year though so hopefully I'll be able to cut it down...

 

[Voyevoda]

Anyone else experienced the same?

Click to shrink...

On a serious note: yes. Especially this gen, among the Steam sales, PS+ games, and ever-growing choice in games, I find myself cycling through all of my backlog, playing each game 15 minutes and then switching.

This doesn't happen when I have a long anticipated game (Death Stranding, recently), or when I'm in the mood for a particular genre. Otherwise, when I'm not sure what to play at the moment (and after having finished said long anticipated game), I get this feeling almost all the time, unfortunately.

 

[MattHeus]

Way too much stuff to play

I recently adopted the policy of having only one downloaded game, the one that I am currently playing. I used to play way too many things at the same time without actually finishing anything.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

I'm a monogamous gamer - I play only one game at a time - but yes I have a huge collection of games to get through.

It really doesn't help that I still play WoW from time to time.

Click to shrink...

I'm similar with the one game at a time rule. Except I have second side game, it's usually Mario Kart or Street Fighter for some downtime from the main game I'm playing.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

I did until this gen. I just ditched my backlog (I never go back and play old consoles anyway) and have avoided building one this time. I just buy games when I'm either going to play immediately or there's a good deal on whatever game I want to play next.

I have a ton of unplayed games from PS+, Epic etc., but I don't feel any obligation to play those as I'm not spending money on them (I pay for PS+ as that's where I play online with friends).

 

[GhostBanana]

On Steam at least, I have found a solution which works for me, by taking the time to sort games into the following categories:

1. Playing now (3 games max)
2. Want to play
3. Maybe
4. Probably not
5. Never

Click to shrink...

I did something very similar late in 2019 and it has helped a lot. I also had to RMA my GPU and ended up playing a lot of smaller/shorter games on a less-beefy second computer with an APU. That was a lot of fun to play older games I hadn't got around to trying because of the newer/shinier games. I might try to make that a year-end tradition and save up the shorter titles for the holidays/New Year period.

I think the secret is to not buy games that you aren't going to play right away. Everyone says this but it's true. The excitement of buying a new game is its own thrill that really has nothing to do with the joy of actually playing the game. They are separate.

Another secret I found is establishing how much time I need to get out of a game to enjoy it enough to move on to something else. I don't need to (and can't) complete every game I buy so I try to estimate how many hours I plan to spend with a game before starting, how long I will give it before moving on. Then once I hit that hour estimate I ask myself if I want to keep playing or not. For example, I'm going to start RDR2 this month and I estimate 40 hours. I'll give it that long to grab me and if I don't want to finish it after that I'll try something new and will feel fine about it.

 

[AstronaughtE]

Yes. It started late 2014, but it was 2015 that was caused the blockage. Just Arkham Knight, Witcher III, and Metal Gear V took me years to digest.

 

[ViciousToaster]

Count me in as someone who struggles with too much choice in games, movies, shows, etc. Unfortunately, I fear this issue will just get worse with game streaming on the horizon. At least with Game Pass, I have to make a decision to download a game, and that wait is enough to give it go (for a while). Once everything becomes instant, my brain will just shutdown when trying to figure out what to play. It's a nightmare for a completionist.

 

[Sword Familiar]

Many choices, probably too many, but I'm fine with that. I usually find something I want to play in the moment. My problem is I feel like games can be too long and I just want to be done with them so I can move on to the next. Takes a lot of fun out of it, sadly.

 

[Deleted member 9857]

that's been me for 15+ years >_<

I'm really bad about analysis paralysis due to depression & anxiety :-/

 

[Deleted member 25870]

This gen especially I've had a constant backlog. I blame lifestyle games like GTA Online. It's so easy to get sucked into one game that demands your time and dedication to amount to anything. Too often I've bought a new game that I've been really looking forward to only to leave it on the shelf in the wrapper because some new event or update happens in a lifestyle game I'm playing.

 

[Calm Killer]

I still have a backlog from the 360 generation.....