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How long does it take you to move on from the previous generation's backlog?

How long does it take you to move on from the previous generation's backlog?

  • Immedately - I'll move on with the new system

    Votes: 8 6.5%

  • 0-6 months - I'll finish up one or two big games and then call it quits

    Votes: 7 5.6%

  • 6 months - 1 year - I have a lot of games I want to finish so I'll avoid early droughts this way.

    Votes: 8 6.5%

  • 1 year - 2 years - This'll give me more time to wait for the new gen to gather steam

    Votes: 9 7.3%

  • 2 years - 5 years - I typically buy a TON of games so will have a lot to get through.

    Votes: 7 5.6%

  • 5+ years - I'm not so concerned about time but I'll move on at some point in the distant future

    Votes: 9 7.3%

  • Never - If I bought it I definitely want to play it, no matter how long it takes

    Votes: 76 61.3%
  • Total voters
    124
  • Poll closed .
iceblade

iceblade

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,217
I've been wondering this for a while.

Say for example we went back to Nov 2020, but with the caveat that XSX and PS5 release with no BC (or alternatively think of it like the XB1 / PS4 when those released - again, with no BC). In this example, you manage to secure the console of your choice, and it's paid for and delivered to you on the morning of launch day. The cross gen titles (ie AC, CoD) would still come out, but you'd have some of the big hitters being stuck on the past gen system.

How long would it typically take you to move on from the previous generation's backlog, in that case? And by "move on" I mean, not really try and play those last gen games anymore, and instead look at them more like extra games you got in a bundle but don't really care about.

Would you typically make a clean break and leave the old consoles behind when the next gen starts? Or play the old system until you get the new console (however long that takes) and make the break then? Or would you still keep those games on your backlog and try get through them whenever you can? Or would you do something else?
 

Deleted member 79451

Member
Aug 30, 2020
2,171
A great game is forever, and the vast majority of all great games will always be in the past.

If you're playing only the most recent games you're playing new games in favor of great games.
 
chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,640
This depends on the game more than the generation to me. There are some games that have never made it past their respective gen that I'd still like to play. I'm not going to decide not to play it just because it's been an arbitrary number of years since the console it was on was retired, especially given that I still own the majority of the original hardware in working condition.

I bought PS1 and PS2 games last year with the intention of playing them.
 
Grips

Grips

Member
Oct 5, 2020
4,969
Mainframe
Its great that both next gen consoles has BC.
Ive been having a perfect balance of new games and older ps4 games.

Sure helps with the quarantine and the couple months drought of next gen AAAs.
 
aiswyda

aiswyda

Member
Aug 11, 2018
3,093
chrominance said:
This depends on the game more than the generation to me. There are some games that have never made it past their respective gen that I'd still like to play. I'm not going to decide not to play it just because it's been an arbitrary number of years since the console it was on was retired, especially given that I still own the majority of the original hardware in working condition.

I bought PS1 and PS2 games last year with the intention of playing them.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I'm in this camp. If the game gets rereleased on modern consoles, great—I'll play it there instead of digging up old hardware. But if not, if I wanna play a game the fact it's not on a new console won't stop me, it just will probably push it a little further back in my backlog.

i got FFTA for Christmas 2019 and beat it last year on a gameboy SP...
 
calibos

calibos

Member
Dec 13, 2017
2,003
Had to actually read the caveat of no backward compatibility to answer properly. In this case it would be immediate. I sell my stuff and move to the new gen.

With BC however, I am continually going back 1 or 2 gens to play games along with the current gen. Hope its always around.
 
chrisPjelly

chrisPjelly

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
10,496
Everything in the HD era onwards is still good for me. I'm working my way through finishing everything I want to on the PS3, and I think I spent most of PS4 generation just stockpiling games to my collection lol.
 
FinalArcadia

FinalArcadia

Member
Nov 4, 2020
1,802
USA
I don't make clean breaks at all. I jump around to whatever games I feel like, regardless of if they are new or not. Sometimes, I even add to my backlog by picking up some second-hand copies of older games, even to as far back as N64/PS1 era stuff.
 
Redcrayon

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
I was still buying and playing 3DS games 2 years after I bought my Switch. I stockpile RPGs rather than needing to jump immediately. After a new system comes out is the best time to grab all the best games from the previous one cheap too.
 
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Pyro

Pyro

God help us the mods are making weekend threads
Member
Jul 30, 2018
14,505
United States
A year or two before my backlog is satisfactory or near empty before I move on. Though I still play my PS3 so I don't think I'm ever done, like to where I put the console away forever.
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,239
On consoles where there is separate hardware, distinct UX and resolution improvements on new hardware versus the old, I tend to eventually give up on my backlog. Backwards compatibility helps mesh the old with the new, especially nowadays with these performance enhancements. So I don't think it'd be the same for me on the new consoles. On PC, where the experience isn't as segmented, I find myself constantly going through older releases, for example.
 
Nameless

Nameless

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,360
Never. While I appreciate generations for pushing the medium forward, my gaming habits & sensibilities aren't confined by them. It's a library. Timeless.
 

dasu

Member
Aug 2, 2018
525
Move on? And admit defeat? Never!

Although in my case, I don't really start with a new generation until I am basically through with the old one.
 
Biteren

Biteren

Member
Oct 29, 2017
2,607
I so many ps4 game man!!!!

So fricking many! I still haven't played spiderman or tlou 2 or tsushima! And the damn miles of other games still waiting and the other damn games I started but need to finish!!!

I'm drowning!!
 
Hieroph

Hieroph

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,995
Depends on the new generation really. I've always mixed games from different generations, but things are different now. Gen 9 is starting real sloooooow, and I've really upped how many retro games I've been playing.

I'm thinking that this will probably be the longest past-gen generation for me. I've also been thinking of putting more of my gaming money into retro games. Like, there are lots of GBA games I haven't played. I could expand my collection there, get a really nice selection of GBA cartridges going.
 
OP
OP
iceblade

iceblade

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,217
calibos said:
Had to actually read the caveat of no backward compatibility to answer properly. In this case it would be immediate. I sell my stuff and move to the new gen.

With BC however, I am continually going back 1 or 2 gens to play games along with the current gen. Hope its always around.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah the BC really is a killer feature. I'm using the PS5 far more than I used the Switch upon getting both, and BC is a BIG reason for that.

Redcrayon said:
I was still buying playing 3DS games 2 years after I bought my Switch. I stockpile RPGs rather than needing to jump immediately. After a new system comes out is the best time to grab all the best games from the previous one cheap too.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I've realized this and it's in part what inspired the thread. Granted, I missed the 3DS' heyday, so I'm playing catchup, but I keep thinking of games like Dragon Quest 8 and Persona Q2 which are a lot more expensive now. And like you say, the games tend to be cheaper as people start to pay more attention to the new systems.

dasu said:
Move on? And admit defeat? Never!

Although in my case, I don't really start with a new generation until I am basically through with the old one.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

So you'll typically wait till you're done before you buy a next gen console? How do you deal with not being able to play the newer releases in that case?
 

Sprat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,684
England
Don't have a backlog. I buy and play games in interested in immediately then move on.

The beauty of focusing on a single game until finished and not buying anything else until done.

I move on instantly I guess
 
Zafir

Zafir

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,040
Just this year I finally finished Trails in the Sky 1/2 after them being on the backlog since the former first came out in 2011 on PSP. So never is probably the closest answer. If I really do want to play it I'll get to it eventually, my backlog is so long that not every game is going to get played or finished regardless of the generation its from though.
 
Henry Jones Jr

Henry Jones Jr

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
1,731
I've got my backlog up to about the PS2 now.
There are a few PS2, PSP, and Vita games I still want to go back and play.

There are a lot of PS3 games I'm still planning on playing. And a shit ton of PS4 games.

I also have a few Wii / Wii U games I want to get to this year, and a lot of 3DS backlog.
 
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