How to get over FOMO in gaming?

[sam777]

I used to get FOMO about missing out on games at launch but overtime I have got over it with so much to play you realise it's not that big of a deal.

I just buy the games I really want on day 1, about 4/5 a year, the rest of the games I get via Gamepass or sales

 

[Reinhardt Schneider]

Being short of money is usually a good way to get over it.

 

[Deleted member 29682]

If you hang around in places where this hype is everpresent, it's hard to tear yourself away from that mindset. Try taking a break from certain websites for a week or so, indulge in some non-gaming related hobbies, try to forget that next gen is even a thing. You might find that you don't miss the hype-cycle as much as you thought you would.

 

[Tiny Chihuahueño]

Overcoming FOMO is easy. Don't read forums like this one where everyone will hype you up about stuff you don't need or want.
You know what the most marvelous sensation is? When you see a game in the store shelves and think "what, is this out already?" That feeling of not giving a fuck about the hype cycle is so liberating. Just forget about release dates and only purchase stuff when you feel like it.

 

[Deleted member 8593]

Gonna have to echo the posts about leaving places like Era or at least drastically decreasing the time you engage with it. Being surrounded by the stuff you're trying to escape isn't a good idea and one person alone cannot possibly keep up with everything that hundreds if not thousands of individuals are playing at all times.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Chilling off social media helps a lot. For me, the only worry I had this year was TLOU 2 (which I did end up getting as to not be spoiled). Outside of that though? I haven't had much worry about FOMO, most games these days really lack that "big event" feel personally compared to films and the like.

 

[Argentil]

Hey, OP, I feel your pain and I want to help you. I think you're going to have to miss out on a few things to realise how inconsequential it all is. At the same time, make sure you give each game the respect it deserves and don't just jump onto the next big thing every time. I've fallen in this trap a few times. Just try to realise that doing things on your own terms sometimes is actually better. If you can rationalise things in your own favour, you don't always have to be a slave to consumerism and hype.

I'm very much guilty of this myself, but the added week is just an additional hype-builder for me. I'm spending the time capping off the gen and trying to finish as many generation-defining titles as possible.

 

[Ushojax]

I used to feel like that but then I realised how pointless it is. I don't pay attention to the hype machine anymore. I have so many old games to get through there is no point buying at launch just to have another disc sit on the shelf until I feel like playing it.

For example I enjoyed TLOU on the PS3 but I still haven't bought the sequel and I haven't seen a single trailer for it since it was unveiled. I will get to it eventually. There are hours of fun sitting on my shelf that I have already paid for, why add to it if I don't really need to? I just started Bloodborne for the first time despite buying it 4 years ago. I stopped buying games for the sake of it and only buy something when I'm in the mood to play it straight away.

 

[eXistor]

Hard to say as I've never really had it. I just play what I want when it suits me. I don't need to play the latest thing because it's "cool". I'm actually just about to start WIld Arms on PS1 for the first time because that's the game I want to play now. I was also thinking Silver Case, but ended up on Wild Arms.

But really, no one is gonna care about what someone else plays, so you do you.

 

[Comrade Grogu]

As a fellow OCD sufferer and intellectually disabled person, I sympathise with you.

I just look at gaming news websites for my fill of gaming information.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it can be rough. Take care.

 

[Wispmetas]

Don't buy the xbox and see how you feel about it.

Also, maybe cut your time spent on gaming forums and such, that thrive on the hype for new games.

 

[horkrux]

What I like to do is to give in to the urge, go to the website, add the thing to my cart. But then I have this internal debate that I could save all that money if I don't buy it, so I just close the tab lol
Or look at all your games that you haven't played yet and start shaming yourself for it, force yourself to play an older title. Helps to get into a different groove. I'm currently going through games I've owned for a while and it feels right. The first game was the hardest to convince myself to play (even though it's a good game!), but then it got easier.

Idk, what you describe sounds pretty severe ("week worth of hype"). My fomo allows me to buy the thing around it's launch period if I absolutely want it, so there is some leeway.

 

[Confused Cheeseburger]

There's nothing compelling on Series X, feels like a Xbox One remaster. If you have a PC, might as well as pass on the whole xbox console

Click to shrink...

Wow, this is a take.

 

[shaneo632]

Letting yourself miss things or check them out later is pretty healthy IMO and is helpful in breaking habits of having to get everything day one. I know the compulsion is hard but I found my media habits much healthier once I just started getting around to things whenever I could.

 

[Xx 720]

Avoiding message boards/gaming sites/YouTube, but for me that's easier said than done. So what I do is pick a particular game coming out and just focus on it. In the fall there's too many games anyway so I'm not generally rushed.

 

[kenshee]

I have this the worst because I generally enjoy a lot of gacha style rpgs, they cost nothing but time and they keep coming out at a crazy pace, compared to how quickly they close down.
If I don't play them from launch, I feel eternally in "catch up mode", it's what made it impossible for me to truly get into GBF, even if it's the one I liked the most.
And ofc, these games literally disappear as soon as they close down, as with all online only stuff...

Sadly, as unreasonable as I'm 100% aware that this is, this got me into a loop with a bunch of these.
It makes me put off playing real games, simply because they'll still be there later.

That said, when I do have time for more traditional games, they really don't need to be recent releases (probably helps my tastes aren't skewed towards AAA). Most of what I've played this year has been trails from zero, Azure and then replaying trails of cold steel 1 and 2. Excited to play CS3 and 4.... But they can wait, genshin impact is now or never.

So regarding the OP, I don't know where exactly I fall on the spectrum, but I do know I prioritize limited time availability over things I would enjoy a lot more, simply due to that fact. Realizing our lives are finite and that I can't ever come close to playing everything that interests me does nothing to stop this trend sadly, FOMO is a scary thing.

 

[Black_Stride]

 

[Symphony]

Only one of three ways work for me:
1: Money. If something is too expensive I won't get it regardless. For example Genshin Impact, normally I'd have FOMO with the events and such they are running but because the gacha is so disgusting I could never afford to get any character I want, so therefore I don't feel invested enough in the game to care about missing stuff as I'll always be missing content.

2: Having missed something already and never being able to have a complete set or whatever. Paladins is like this, every character has Limited skins that will never ever return and as such I can never get a full set for any character, so I only go for ones I actually like which means often taking long breaks.

3: The game eventually wearing me down with boring updates or content such that the FOMO breaks itself. Once this happens I usually never go back to the game.

For buying games on launch in particular Steam was what helped me break that cycle, big sales and no longer needing to panic about a niche games being too hard to find a year down the line meant I have no reason to rush and get something day one unless I really, really care about it.

 

[Brood]

as someone who used to be susceptible to FOMO back in the day, the best way to deal with it is to not let the hype get to your head. Cut off or at least limit new gaming discussion, don't visit OTs, don't watch Streams of new games, finish your none ending backlog. I can't stress enough how limiting discussion of current new games/consoles or trends curbs FOMO significantly.

 

[Nestunt]

Relish the game you are currently playing.

If you really savor that experience, analyse it, etc, you'll find yourself not caring for release dates.

I'm currently playing Mario Odyssey for the first time, and it's a blast not thinking about other games.

(I understand this gets harder when you are not enjoying your latest purchase).

 

[Deleted member 8752]

Opportunity cost. Remember, every game you play is another thing you're not doing with that same money. You could invest it, or go on a trip, throw a party, or buy something for your home that you'd love.

You could save it. Never underestimate the power of saving money. Capitalism is all about making you feel that FOMO. But if you can rise above it then you can do a lot more with your life.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

Get a house, partner, maybe kids and full-time job, you will miss plenty then and get used to it lol

 

[Isee]

Once you start missing out, missing out become easy.

 

[TheOneJat]

For me as I've got older I take more pleasure out of getting more value for the least amount of money price wise.

I think back to all the money I invested early into the Xbone and Ps4 for them just to be sat until something I actually wanted to play released. Kinda sickens me when I see games I paid £30-40 for reduced down to £5 or so.

I realise everyone wont be able to feel this way but try and dig into your backlog, try find a real good deal on a AAA title you missed along the way or try find a hidden gem you may not have noticed and put some quality time into one of these. I recently started putting a lot of time into my backlog, stopped listening to the constant stream of reviews and was happy to know that a few years down the line I'll pick it up on the cheap and have my fun.

 

[AJUK]

I used to have it, but I became busy with other things (mainly fitness) and the FOMO kinda disappeared. I did however pre-order a ps5, but now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it as I don't really want to play any launch games and still have a tonne of older games I need to catch up on (probably a years worth at my rate). I either sell my pro to recoup some cost or sell the ps5 to a buddy.

 

[Nabbit]

I sympathize with you Plum as I've found myself caught up in this at times. Do you post in the general discussion threads for Nintendo, XGS or PS5? I think those are pretty strong hype factories for better or for worse and it might be easier on you to avoid reading those threads for a while. I also second the idea for doing gaming purchase "exposure therapy" on yourself with this, i.e. purposefully avoid buying a game you absolutely would have bought due to hype and see how it makes you feel. Something that isn't like your favorite game series of all time, but something where the FOMO is a big part of your interest. You might find missing out isn't worth the fear you have been conditioned to ascribe to it. ☺️

 

[Aniki]

What always gets me with FOMO are the ERA GotY voting threads. I like the discussions and want to participate but that means buying games that released that year and playing them even if i would rather replay an older game or one i hadn't played yet. Last year i didn't participate and just played older games and multiplayer games and it felt good. No pressure to finish games by certain time either. But i'm feeling it this year again and i'm considering getting games day one even though i planned on getting quite a few Switch games i missed out on in the next big sale. But i hope i can resist.

 

[Mc.K]

By missing out. Start missing your time-exclusive loot and events and you'll soon realise you never cared in the first place.

 

[Skeff]

I get FOMO for story heavy games in the sense I don't want it spoiled, I was desperate to play TLoU2 due to all of the spoilers. So in that sense I fear missing out on that fresh unspoilt playthrough and the discussions around launch period for certain games but it very rarely affects my decision to purchase.

 

[noyram23]

Wow, this is a take.

Click to shrink...

OP was initially asking for us to discourage to get a series X, not sure why they changed the premise or title lol

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Find ways to increase your focus on thing. The more and longer you play a single game (and enjoy it!) the less time you have to think about things you're going to miss. Accept the fact that you can't have everything and are going to miss tons of stuff throughout your whole live. Be humble and enjoy the things you have, use them and have fun with them.

Embrace that you miss out on something and say to yourself, this is just stuff. Don't find arguments for that stuff, just say it in your mind because your thoughts will sooner or later lead to actions. Miss out and say to yourself it's okay. Try to find joy in using your stuff, not solely in having it.

Realise that you always pay more the earlier you buy (maybe not with early access games). The product isn't finished and often not feature or content complete, yet they charge full price or give you a shitty 10% pre-order discount. If you wait, you get a better product for less money.

Remember games and the era where you thought of a game when on work/school/uni? That you get the urge to play it as soon as you talk about? Try to get that back by playing games you really enjoy and think about, talk about them with friends, try to hype yourself that you rather want to play that particular game instead of just having/owning and doing other stuff. Focus on one or two games at the same time and play it for the sake of its story and/or gameplay, not to complete it because otherwise it will feel more like a chore.

Be okay with it to uninstall/drop games you don't like. If you force yourself through you're just going to feel like wasting time and instead think of "buying another product".

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Stay strong, OP. Resist the hype if you can. I actually have the Series S on preorder but I think I'm going to cancel it. I used to have a lot of gaming FOMO but have cut back big time over the past few years. These days I buy quite a bit of retro stuff as a collector, and some Nintendo stuff that may go out of print if I want the physical version. I've got Pikmin 3 DX on preorder, but only because I suspect it'll have a low print run and may be more difficult to find in a year or two.

 

[sn00zer]

Do a budget and see how much you paid for games in the last year, then compare that to what it would cost to buy those games now.

 

[Cloud-Hidden]

Spend less time on Era and on social media. You'll be happier all around. I'm not being snarky; that's the solution to your issue.

 

[IronicSonic]

Log out Resetera and get help. Seriously.

The 1st step is to miss something out. You will either a) freak out or b) realize that it's no big deal, especially for games that do not really excite you.

Click to shrink...

This is a great first step

 

[Dablado]

I really believe that 'less is more' when it comes to enjoying and caring for video games, or any time consuming entertainment. By that I mean, that a few good games give me more of a lasting impact than rushing through half of too many games.

But it is a battle with yourself. Life in general feels like "the more you get, the less you have".

oh the struggles... :P

 

[shintoki]

1. Get off Era. Era's general mentality is entirely around people with excess money and puts it towards gaming. Era is the oddity, not the norm in this case. The normal is most people aren't going after the 700$ 3080 graphics card and planning to pick up 60$ Cyberpunk 2077. Most people are using graphics cards 3 to 4 years old with no intention of buying Cyberpunk anytime soon.

2. Once you stop attempting to do the day 1 titles, you slowly begin to realize you never needed to do it in the first place. Single player experiences aren't going to change and most games are still going to have a multiplayer community a year down the line.

3. It also applies to GaaS titles, once you stop trying to hit the peak. You realize you can play the title for absolutely nothing and feel satisfied. Miss those time events? Who cares after missing the first.

4. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PLAY EVERYTHING. Just because TLOU2 is considered to be the greatest game of all time... only to hear the same exact words next month about GOT. Does not mean you need to play it. You'll be hearing the same about Demon's Soul and Cyberpunk next month as well. It is a cycle. The less I buy, the more I'm happy.

 

[Huntersknoll]

I recently broke the FOMO. When Last of Us Part 2 came out I waited two weeks to play it. Thought it was going to be the end of the world.. and well it wasn't. Now I made a list of games that would usually be "BUY DAY ONE AND PLAY AND BEAT FAST DAMMIT" that are buy over the summer and I even cut some games. It made me realize.. why play games that I don't love just to play them when I could be spending more time with games I love.

 

[Dymaxion]

You don't need to play 10+ games in order to have a GOTY list. I challenge people who want to get over FOMO to limit their GOTY list and discussion to 3 or fewer games.

 

[Zombine]

Give yourself a few weeks for games that you aren't instantly craving. Not only will you save money, you might find out you don't really even want the game at all. Don't worry about the general conversation about a game. Focus on you, your interests, what you can afford, and if you even have the free time to play a game. My only exception here is Nintendo, as the games rarely drop in price, or recently may be delisted entirely.

 

[werezompire]

I've found that if I only buy games if I intend to play them right away, one of 3 things happens:

1 - I buy the game immediately and play it immediately and probably have a good time since I clearly really wanted it.
2 - I hold off on buying the game and later realize that I didn't want it that much and was just being influenced by FOMO.
3 - I hold off on buying the game and buy it later when I intend to play it, at a lower price than I would have at launch and with patches & DLC that wasn't available then.

I've been using these principles this year and I've completed almost every game that I've bought this year that can be reasonably completed (not going to require myself to complete every game on the TG16 Mini I bought). Of the stuff that I haven't beaten, most I decided I'm just not going to complete (not interested enough) and the remaining one, I'm still playing. So if I'm not reducing my backlog, at least it's under control and not getting bigger.

Also when you get rid of the whole FOMO, you can enjoy what you already have. Since it's Halloween time, I decided I wanted to play a scary game so I went back and have been replaying Siren: Blood Curse. Haven't replayed it all the way through it since I got it as one of my first PS3 games many years ago and I'm having a lot of fun with it now.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

• Stay away from GaaS titles because they are pretty much build around FOMO these days
• Realize that with most titles the longer you wait the better your game experience will be. This is especially true for Early Access games (naturally) and many AAA games, but also AA and some indies. Many games nowadays are expanded with DLC and patches and get more polished and stable to a point where the release version almost feels like a beta. A nice side effect is that you pay less for more complete versions the longer you wait.
• Just don't feel the need to compete with anyone. Just play in your own pace and do the stuff you enjoy. Fuck dailies, weeklies, battle passes, seasons and all the stuff that gives you pressure. If progression is too heavily build around these mechanics just play something else.

 

[Plum]

Thank you for all the replies, everyone! I don't really have the inclination to reply to everyone individually so I'll see if there's anything I want to say anyway :)

OP was initially asking for us to discourage to get a series X, not sure why they changed the premise or title lol

Click to shrink...

Ah, just to clarify I changed the title so that the entire thread wasn't just about that specific decision. Sorry if it made the first few posts a bit confusing.

 

[Calvin]

I am like this to the point that I will often buy 2-3 big games in the same week if there is a crazy launch window, and then only play one for several months) or in some extreme cases even a year?

I am like this to the point that my backlog of "real" games (not freebies, or $3 Steam throwaways) is well over 100 games long across 4 platforms.
I am like this to the point where it gives me choice paralysis, and I have to make lists of what to play, when to play it, what platform to play it.

I think this is part of a larger mental problem (I do not mean that in a flip way whatsoever, it can be caused by anxiety, ADD, OCD, or more - these are real problems that people like us have to deal with).

Anyways, I have the utmost sympathy and am there with you and I suggest making lists. I have convinced myself not to buy/rent upwards of 10 games the week of 11/10 by carefully mapping out when I am going to play which games and allowing myself to get two at a time (one per new platform).

Best of luck.

 

[Myself]

Few tips

1) Have children or some other high expense
'Thing' in your life. It will make decisions for you :)

2) Have a financial goal such as going on a world trip (when the world is no longer Riddled with virus) To get there you'll need to save and not buy or buy second hand.

3) Watch some documentaries about the lives of others in other countries. Once you see the shit people have to put up with every day and the struggles they go through just to eat you will realise how privileged we are and the FOMO will subside somewhat

 

[Plum]

So I'm gonna be making some changes to help me get over the FOMO personally:

1) Sell my gaming PC. This is perhaps the most significant form of FOMO for me and, well, the £750 I can get for it (selling to someone I know for a bit cheaper than I'd get on the general market) is much nicer to have in my savings account than sitting there as a major source of anxiety.

2) Order a Series S as a secondary game-pass machine to go with my Playstation 5. Why? Because ordering a Series X would give me FOMO in regards to the few third-party titles that run on it. Similarly, I don't care *that* much about BC so the lack of significant improvements on it isn't a massive deal-breaker. I can sell my One X for £122 at CeX so I'll be getting the Series S for the price of two new games pretty much

3) Don't buy any games for the first half of 2021, with the exception of CBP2077 if the next-gen patch is launched by then (and I'll be buying that used, of course)

4) Only have games downloaded if they're multiplayer titles I know I'll drop into regularly, or single-player titles that I want to actively play. At the end of the day if waiting a few hours for a game to download is too much for me then I doubt I truly wanted to play it right then and there anyway

5) Just... try and chill a bit more lol

 

[Murr]

My favorite way to manage "unnecessary" big purchases is to just put them off for a bit. If it's been 3 months since you first got the idea in your head to buy that big-ticket item and you still feel a strong pull towards it? Yeah it will probably make you happy, and be worth it. If the wait killed your desire for it, then you probably weren't all-in, and it wouldn't have made you that happy anyways.

 

[Calvin]

So I'm gonna be making some changes to help me get over the FOMO personally:

1) Sell my gaming PC. This is perhaps the most significant form of FOMO for me and, well, the £750 I can get for it (selling to someone I know for a bit cheaper than I'd get on the general market) is much nicer to have in my savings account than sitting there as a major source of anxiety.

2) Order a Series S as a secondary game-pass machine to go with my Playstation 5. Why? Because ordering a Series X would give me FOMO in regards to the few third-party titles that run on it. Similarly, I don't care *that* much about BC so the lack of significant improvements on it isn't a massive deal-breaker. I can sell my One X for £122 at CeX so I'll be getting the Series S for the price of two new games pretty much

3) Don't buy any games for the first half of 2021, with the exception of CBP2077 if the next-gen patch is launched by then (and I'll be buying that used, of course)

4) Only have games downloaded if they're multiplayer titles I know I'll drop into regularly, or single-player titles that I want to actively play. At the end of the day if waiting a few hours for a game to download is too much for me then I doubt I truly wanted to play it right then and there anyway

5) Just... try and chill a bit more lol

Click to shrink...

You should absolutely do whatever it is that is right for you, but I definitely recommend caution about #1. I did that twice and regretted it deeply both times. The flexibility of having a PC to run things that don't quite work the way you want them on console plus the subscription services has proven to be a lifesaver to me, plus there is typically a much lower barrier to TRY games on PC with those sub services, meaning it can be easier to see if a game isn't for you, thus reducing the FOMO.

Hope I haven't thrown a wrench at you, but for someone who I think has similar issues to what you are describing, that was one step that was a real mistake for me.

 

[Fawz]

You stop playing, you stop caring or you start cheating. Games are designed to prey on the fear people have of missing out, with a bigger focus than ever on timed events and challenges with new predatory schemes like Battle Passes.

 

[Plum]

You should absolutely do whatever it is that is right for you, but I definitely recommend caution about #1. I did that twice and regretted it deeply both times. The flexibility of having a PC to run things that don't quite work the way you want them on console plus the subscription services has proven to be a lifesaver to me, plus there is typically a much lower barrier to TRY games on PC with those sub services, meaning it can be easier to see if a game isn't for you, thus reducing the FOMO.

Hope I haven't thrown a wrench at you, but for someone who I think has similar issues to what you are describing, that was one step that was a real mistake for me.

Click to shrink...

Thanks, however I've definitely done more thinking regarding #1 than the other ones. Personally I've mostly come to realise that games which release on PC only are games that, well, I'm not too interested in for the most part; so a PC to me is always going to be more focused on playing either 1) older games at better framerates and such or 2) getting anxiety over current games running on them. I've never been much into competitive games and I haven't really got a strategic bone in my body.

I suppose for me the FOMO from PC comes less from the games it has and more from the benefits it has, which shouldn't really be running my life to the extent they can. If that makes any sense.

That and I can always buy another one later on in my life. It is a big purchase but who knows. However, what I can say right now is that some of the best gaming times for me in recent years were my University years where I simply didn't have a PC (outside of a few months where I bought one only for it to quickly break down) and didn't really pay attention to PC gaming.