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So, I must ask: how can people have such massive backlogs?
- Thread starter SofNascimento
- Start date
I buy games if I like them but I don't have the time to play them all. So my backlog keeps growing and I'm perfectly fine with that.
I usually don't buy those games at full price though. They're more like impulse purchases during sales.
I usually don't buy those games at full price though. They're more like impulse purchases during sales.
I say that, lol. But it's not really a negative thing... it's nice to be spoiled for choice, though it's a double-edged sword due to choice paralysis. I think the negative aspect is simply just lamenting that there's not enough time to enjoy all the things you'd like to.
Games are just the most overwhelming, simply due to how long they are... you could watch all 110 episodes of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes thrice in the time that it'd take you to beat a single mammoth RPG like Persona 5, Dragon Quest XI, or The Witcher 3.
To many bundles under 10 euro (especially humble bundles a couple of years ago), free stuff epic gives away and too little free time.
I also got a backlog on ps3 now, since you can get a pack of 5-6 games for 20 euros on the second hand market.
I also got a backlog on ps3 now, since you can get a pack of 5-6 games for 20 euros on the second hand market.
Honestly, backlogs make me happy. I have a whole pile of games to play that I think I'll enjoy and optimistically expect I'll get around to some day. I don't see it as any kind of chore or obligation.
Oh my sweet summer child.
Dozens?
Try over 2,000. That's just on PC.
Add Game Pass and EA Play and I'm never getting out of this.
Bought the humble choice this month because...I have no idea any more.
I'm too exhausted to play during weekdays. And even weekends nowadays. It takes 3+ months to finish even a short game.
I did stop buying them though. Have around 100, should keep me entertained until the day I die.
I did stop buying them though. Have around 100, should keep me entertained until the day I die.
To me these single mammoth RPGs are like a lavish buffet, I play them for hours and when I no longer have the desire to boot them up for weeks, I have had my fill and I am good with it.
I mean unless you are compulsive about finishing every single game you start, I think you get to experience many great games like this. If I do finish these 100+ hr RPGs I consider them to be my all time favorites.
I would just like to say, if you have like 2000 games just sitting there, that isn't a backlog. A backlog is something you actually have a desire to play not just "well maybe some day" or "why not it's cheap." What you have is a hoarding problem. Humble Bundles and giant sales with impulse buys...that stuff doesn't count. Some people just need to be honest with themselves that they have no actual inclination to play any of that and dump it and focus on the stuff they actually desire to play and THAT is your backlog.
Signed, guy who has actually finished his backlog many times and finished multiple thousands of games.
Signed, guy who has actually finished his backlog many times and finished multiple thousands of games.
Steam sales. I was buying games for fun basically.
I did plan on playing them but eventually became too daunting. I've permanently removed a lot of games and just accepted I will never play others.
2019-2020 has been a cleansing period. I worked through all the games I wanna play and now I'm finally at the point where I don't have any games I'm actively playing.I've sold off my PS4 + Switch so only have my PC for playing on at the moment.
I'm going into next gen with a clean slate.I'll buy and play Cyberpunk. Once I'm done with that then I'll buy Demon's Souls for PS5. I'm sticking to buying and playing one game at a time from now on.
my PC will be for multiplayer games like Rocket League, Overwatch, Valorant, Fortnite, etc. Games that I can sink hundreds/thousands of hours into. On Series X + PS5 I'll play single player games.
I did plan on playing them but eventually became too daunting. I've permanently removed a lot of games and just accepted I will never play others.
2019-2020 has been a cleansing period. I worked through all the games I wanna play and now I'm finally at the point where I don't have any games I'm actively playing.I've sold off my PS4 + Switch so only have my PC for playing on at the moment.
I'm going into next gen with a clean slate.I'll buy and play Cyberpunk. Once I'm done with that then I'll buy Demon's Souls for PS5. I'm sticking to buying and playing one game at a time from now on.
my PC will be for multiplayer games like Rocket League, Overwatch, Valorant, Fortnite, etc. Games that I can sink hundreds/thousands of hours into. On Series X + PS5 I'll play single player games.
I keep thinking that I want to play brand new games different to anything I've ever played before.
In reality new games are a bit of an effort.
What I actually want to play minor variations of the same few games forever.
However once in a while something will join that list of forever games, just got to get through a lot of games to get there.
In reality new games are a bit of an effort.
What I actually want to play minor variations of the same few games forever.
However once in a while something will join that list of forever games, just got to get through a lot of games to get there.
They devalue games and barely support devs by buying on humble bundles or steam
That's my guess from the people in my discords/slacks
That's my guess from the people in my discords/slacks
That's definitely me. And a lot of that is due to both the volume of games I've accumulated across my various gaming platforms, and the lack of time I actually have to game during a week. On workdays, I have maybe an hour, 2, max, that I can devote to gaming, if I'm not doing other things like reading, drawing, catching up on tv/movies, or chatting with friends. On weekends, I have a little bit more time to game, but I'm usually recovering from the busy work week. The pandemic has actually given me a little more time after work, because I no longer have a 1.5-2 hour commute home, so I can maybe push my after work gaming sessions to 3 hours, but that's rare.
Most of my games are RPGs, which tend to be long, so it takes me a long time to get through them (with the exception being Persona 5 and Royal, because I put about 100+ hours into both of those). But yeah, if I stopped buying new games completely, and just focused on my backlog, I'd still have enough gaming to last me some years for sure.
I buy 99% of my games years after release, pre-owned, for next to nothing. Most of them under £5. I also don't see my games backlog as this chore to get through. For those prices, I'll pick up anything I think could be interesting. Every time I go to start a new game, it gives me a huge choice. If I never get to get a game, it's no big deal as it cost so little in the first place.
I don't mean to be rude but can you really not understand how people might have bought a bunch of games and haven't got round to playing yet?
Life happens - you can buy a game intending to play it there and then and suddenly you have something else to deal with in your life that's more important (family, work, home etc.). And then a new game comes out with its own zeitgeist of chatter and conversation and the cycle can start again.
Sometimes games people are interested in go super cheap that you may not immediately want to play but know you want to in the future.
You may end up not in the mood to play games for a while - maybe you want to talk to people, or concentrate on watching films for a while or listen to music instead. Mental health issues or even just fatigue may come into play.
Whether it's the intention or not, this kind of feels like a 'I'm better than you because I can manage my money' kind of thread.
Life happens - you can buy a game intending to play it there and then and suddenly you have something else to deal with in your life that's more important (family, work, home etc.). And then a new game comes out with its own zeitgeist of chatter and conversation and the cycle can start again.
Sometimes games people are interested in go super cheap that you may not immediately want to play but know you want to in the future.
You may end up not in the mood to play games for a while - maybe you want to talk to people, or concentrate on watching films for a while or listen to music instead. Mental health issues or even just fatigue may come into play.
Whether it's the intention or not, this kind of feels like a 'I'm better than you because I can manage my money' kind of thread.
I play to enjoy myself, if my interest takes me elsewhere, it's usually because I find that new game more enjoyable or interesting at that moment in time. I don't feel bad about leaving games behind, or in my 'backlog', I just play what takes my fancy, when I fancy.
I think a lot of folks over think the idea of a 'backlog' and burden themselves with the idea that they need to play all these unfinished games. It's okay to not finish a game. It's okay to play a game for 30 minutes, experience the core gameplay loop and say, I enjoyed that but I don't feel like playing more of it right now.
For me, I often play a game for 30 minutes, an hour or whatever and then I feel like 'I get it'. I understand core gameplay loop and what the game has to offer, and it I had decent time with it, but I don't want to play more, at least not at that moment in time. To use an analogy, I play games like a wine taster, sometimes you don't need to consume the entire thing, to get the full experience. I find this especially true for games that built with clear loops in mind, once you've gotten a decent experience of the core gameplay loop, you're only missing some minor variation here and there. Sometimes I enjoy the moment to moment feel of the game enough to keep playing or even beat the game, but I never push forward just for the sake of progressing, or the idea of beating the game.
I think a lot of folks over think the idea of a 'backlog' and burden themselves with the idea that they need to play all these unfinished games. It's okay to not finish a game. It's okay to play a game for 30 minutes, experience the core gameplay loop and say, I enjoyed that but I don't feel like playing more of it right now.
For me, I often play a game for 30 minutes, an hour or whatever and then I feel like 'I get it'. I understand core gameplay loop and what the game has to offer, and it I had decent time with it, but I don't want to play more, at least not at that moment in time. To use an analogy, I play games like a wine taster, sometimes you don't need to consume the entire thing, to get the full experience. I find this especially true for games that built with clear loops in mind, once you've gotten a decent experience of the core gameplay loop, you're only missing some minor variation here and there. Sometimes I enjoy the moment to moment feel of the game enough to keep playing or even beat the game, but I never push forward just for the sake of progressing, or the idea of beating the game.
Simple: On PC I can get games for less than the price of a cup of coffee. If they look interesting and they are $2, I'm going to get them. If I wait a bit, I can get AAA games for $10.
I just have all the games I want on a list on isthereanydeal.com with a price threshold, and they send me an email when that happens.
I just have all the games I want on a list on isthereanydeal.com with a price threshold, and they send me an email when that happens.
A good 90% of my backlog is on PC because of sales and impulse buys.
The other 10% are usually console games I was interested in that didn't really click with me for some reason. Though I'm far more likely to beat those console games as they cost far more to buy on average.
The other 10% are usually console games I was interested in that didn't really click with me for some reason. Though I'm far more likely to beat those console games as they cost far more to buy on average.
I had a backlog of about 10 games before my son was born. I don't even think my son and his future offsprings will be able to complete my present backlog.
Interesting games are always coming out, and after some months they tend to get heavily discounted. $10-20 for a good game feels like a no-brainer, even though there's no time to play them all.
Steam sales mainly and some bundles. With bundles there's some games that I don't count into my backlog, as I have no interest of playing them. But you're correct, I did stop buying too many games at some point. For couple last years I've only bought games I'm going to play rather immediately. And I don't buy 10 games at a time anymore, limiting myself to few per sale. But there's already about two hundred games I wish I had the time to play and of course I'm prioritizing, so never going to play them all.
Currently I'm not playing any time sink games like Wow, Dota 2 and Hots. So maybe I'll get to eliminating some of that backlog.
Currently I'm not playing any time sink games like Wow, Dota 2 and Hots. So maybe I'll get to eliminating some of that backlog.
my backlog include games i don't own yet, it's just i know i need to play them at some point...
And then there's the PC library...
So many games from all generations i want to play, so of course the backlog is huge
And then there's the PC library...
So many games from all generations i want to play, so of course the backlog is huge
FOMO on the new games, especially when you take part on a forum that changes discussion from game to game on a regular basis.
I never got it also, meanwhile I see these same people complaining games are now getting more expensive when they already buy way more games than they can play.
I never got it also, meanwhile I see these same people complaining games are now getting more expensive when they already buy way more games than they can play.
I have about 20-30 games in my "backlog"
Steam sales added bunch to the list, and I could imagine the same goes for a lot of people.
BUT
my main issue is that I play a lot of multiplayer games like Battlefield 4 and Forza Motorsport 7 and on top of that I replay a lot of my games and I also practice a lot of old arcade and console games as I play those for high score or speedruns.
Looking at my 52 game challenge list so far about half on the list is replays
Steam sales added bunch to the list, and I could imagine the same goes for a lot of people.
BUT
my main issue is that I play a lot of multiplayer games like Battlefield 4 and Forza Motorsport 7 and on top of that I replay a lot of my games and I also practice a lot of old arcade and console games as I play those for high score or speedruns.
Looking at my 52 game challenge list so far about half on the list is replays
Games require a huge time investment.
Sometimes you buy them expecting to have a certain amount of time available... then you don't.
Sometimes two games you want to play might release at the same time, but after playing one it turns out that you don't have enough time to finish the other before the next big thing gets released that you'll be playing with your friends.
Sometimes you get games given to you (e.g. PS+) that you'd like to play, but hasn't been expecting and so don't have the time allocated.
Sometimes you see a game you've been curious about on sale for a ridiculously low price, and figure it's worth picking up at that price even if you know you won't have time to play it for a while.
All of these things are reasons why I'm not too concerned with backwards compatibility beyond the current gen. My current gen backlog is already massive enough to last me for years, without getting into the gens before that.
Sometimes you buy them expecting to have a certain amount of time available... then you don't.
Sometimes two games you want to play might release at the same time, but after playing one it turns out that you don't have enough time to finish the other before the next big thing gets released that you'll be playing with your friends.
Sometimes you get games given to you (e.g. PS+) that you'd like to play, but hasn't been expecting and so don't have the time allocated.
Sometimes you see a game you've been curious about on sale for a ridiculously low price, and figure it's worth picking up at that price even if you know you won't have time to play it for a while.
All of these things are reasons why I'm not too concerned with backwards compatibility beyond the current gen. My current gen backlog is already massive enough to last me for years, without getting into the gens before that.
I once intended to beat every game I own, but the idea of a backlog turned out to the useless and stressful.
I have so many games on Steam now that it's more reasonable to treat it as a library that I can pick from whenever. I will not play most of it, and that's alright. Like Netflix, etc.
I have so many games on Steam now that it's more reasonable to treat it as a library that I can pick from whenever. I will not play most of it, and that's alright. Like Netflix, etc.
I have a backlog hundreds of games strong because I buy them on sale.
It tricks my brain into thinking I'm saving money...when I'm really spending much more than I need to.
It tricks my brain into thinking I'm saving money...when I'm really spending much more than I need to.
Poor impulse control really.
I buy games, get like 3/4 of the way through and drop them and never pick them up again. Then I buy a new one and the cycle repeats. Don't hurt me.
I buy games, get like 3/4 of the way through and drop them and never pick them up again. Then I buy a new one and the cycle repeats. Don't hurt me.
I only have some 500 games or something but yeah I don't call it my backlog, it was just the beginning of a hoarding problem.
I've sorted it out with some categories like "never gonna play" etc. I only have like 5-10 games I want to play at some point in the future, usually I pick one of them up when there's no new interesting releases for a while.