For some people; a Steam sale here, an Xbox Summer of Arcade promotion there, and PlayStation Plus discounts everywhere, are not that big of a deal. You might pick up a couple of games, but they are ones you want, that you plan on finishing, right? Same with finding a couple of gems in the bargain bins at brick-and-mortar stores. It doesn’t matter what you buy, games or otherwise. Why buy something if you aren’t going to use it? Makes sense. Don’t waste money buying stuff you don’t need or want. Simple logic. So why do so many of us have gaming backlogs? It would seem that for some, we have taken the idea of consumption and ran with it to the point that we have become arguably the best gaming consumers out there. The ones that buy games yet never play or finish them.
Maybe my backlog (as seen in the photo above) is smaller than yours. Maybe it’s bigger. Comparison doesn’t really matter. (This pile does not include the games PlayStation + has given me or the games I have bought from PSN.) My gaming backlog is something I have grown to be ashamed of and is a reality that saddens me. As I shift further and further into adulthood the dedication I once had to finishing games seems to be diminishing. As a kid I would get a new game — good game or bad — and be excited beyond expression. Playing games used to be a magical experience that let my wild and developing imagination run freely. I would burn through games multiple times. These days? I see that Rayman: Origins, is $10 at Walmart and I say “Sure, why not”? I’ve spent a bit of time playing Rayman and I have enjoyed what I have played so far, but along the way I bought another game and let Rayman receive the fate of the other games in my backlog.
I’m not here yet… BUT OH MY GOD WHAT IF I WAS?
I don’t plan on writing about every single game in my backlog. That would be almost as insane as trying to finish every game in my backlog. I can’t imagine I’m the only one who has a large backlog of games they have grown to be ashamed of. For the most part I’ll be picking and choosing the games to write about. As well as talking about the games that stuck out the most, for better or for worse. It might be the case where the act of trying to finish a majority of these games will be a test of my patience and endurance – But nonetheless, if I’m going out of my way to write an article about my ever growing backlog of games, then I might as well go the extra mile and try my very best to finish every single game in my backlog. If there is a game in particular that you would like me to share my thoughts on let me know in the comments section. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shovel and try to dig myself out of this pile of video games!
25 Posts in Total
Alas, this fate befalls a lot of my games too. I have Rainbow Six Vegas to start (the only reason I got it was because it was £1) when GAME was going through financial trouble) and I also have Alan Wake, Batman: Arkham City, Lost Planet 2, Homefront and many other retail and downloadable games.
It always seems to be, like you’ve said, that other big name titles come along and pry you away from games you picked up out of curiosity. I think every gamer would agree that their life is an endless black hole of unfinished games. All of us are guilty of it, but we’ll get around to finishing those games eventually. I think it may also be down to a whole “Hey, that’s the game everyone was talking about and it’s cheap. Why not?” there are some games in my collection that I’ve bought just for the simple pleasure of owning it, which is strange but true unfortunately.
I’ll be trying to keep that photo up to date as I write about my progress. Just last night I started the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection. I’ve only ever played MGS4 and I wanted to catch up on the timeline. On the game’s main menu they list the games (MGS 3, Peace Walker, and MGS 2) in order of when they take place in the timeline so I started from the beginning with 3. My backlog might not look that big but some of these games are JRPGs while others are HD remakes, both of which come packed with a lot of game. Either way, there’s no turning back now. I have to do this!!!! Even if by the end of all this I am just a blubbering fool with a fried brain from overdosing on too much video games….
Luckily for me I’m not in school right now and my work schedule allows me the freedom to stay home and play games. Which is ironic considering from the looks of the picture I took it seems like I don’t play ANY video games.
Wow. I have a lot of games I’ve never played, but I never bought them lol. You bought them and never played them. My list would actually be longer than yours thought because I like to play a game to completion, which means I play very few games a lot, while most of you play many games a little.
The Backlog has had to take a backseat as I am scrambling to get ready for my Game of The Year list. But I’m glad you have decided to try and do something about your pile of shame! Wether this article inspired you or not I wish you the best of luck in your conquest. I am not very far into my backlog and I’m already feeling a little stressed. Though that probably has a lot to do with not being ready for GOTY stuff. I keep juggling around the initial list of games I want to play first. I think once I’m done my GOTY list I can really start to sink my teeth into this pile of games and try and make real progress.
I’ve been considering this alot of late and having a 1 year old has meant my gaming time has reduced significantly. I even had to sell a shed load (65 games approximately) to help with paying for Xmas. I’ve only kept the games I really want to finish. Dark souls (I have a vague hope that I’ll have the guts to get out of blight town) skyrim and deus ex are the most notable along with deadly premonition, which I love and really intend to finish. All my pile of shame I have started and have every intention of finishing. I’m about 73 hours into skyrim and have 2 of the dlc packs but with the amount of time I have these days and no money I may finish these by Xmas NEXT year. I may never finish dark souls though. It’s amazing but the amount of work you have to put in to get a few feet is excruciating. I play skyrim as a holiday destination away from it
Damn, just realised I still have to finishass effect 3,dragon age 2, borderlands 2 and even more! I’ve put cod:blops2 on the back burner as im playing halo 4 but keep playing the multiplayer as opposed to the campaign on that. Im literally getting nowhere with my pile of shame! Im also getting dishonored for Xmas so im really getting more for my pile
Mass effect 3, not ass effect. Bugger. I was typing too fast.
This might sound like an obvious idea but as someone who isn’t getting anywhere on his backlog either I can’t stress this enough. PLAY ONE GAME AT A TIME. If you bounce back and forth and keep starting new games you wont get anywhere. I made this make and I’m now suffering the consequences. I’ll break it down and further explain in the next update…
Good advice, I look forward to reading how you get on with this. I went through a patch where I just bought what I liked and had the time to put into them.