Been thinking about game collecting a lot lately and started mentally crunching some numbers. Something to consider before getting that hot new game.
I have about 100 games across the switch, ps3 and ps4. This is probably a pretty common number of games for anyone collecting since the ps3. About 15 years of collecting. Each of those 100 games is about 40 hours long. Some longer (dragon quest 11s) some shorter (wild guns reloaded) but an average of 40 hours for each game. That is 4000 hours of game. As an adult with a job, I usually have about 8 hours a week to play games tops. That is 500 weeks of gaming to play all the stuff I currently have. Or just under 10 years. This is how it piles up.
I really can't help but buy more than I can actually play, because I can only play so much. I've started grouping games and asking myself, if I haven't played all the tomb raider games I have, should I bother getting the uncharted games I'm missing? The answer is no. I just did that with Luminous arc 2. I thought about getting a copy from ebay. I didn't know there was a sequel and I missed it. Enjoyed the first game, but don't remember it all that much. Then I realized- I haven't played Fire Emblem Awakening, and if I'm going to reach for a tactical rpg, that is going to be the game.
I started to realize exactly what was happening and exactly what games I had time for by keeping a journal for the last couple years. What did I play, briefly what did I think of it, and how many hours clocked. At the end of the year, I tally up what I had time for, and how much I bought.
Not only am I spending less now, but playing more this way. Want to start filling those uncharted holes or get Luminous arc 2 in the collection? Play what I have first. Same goes for comics or anything else collectable that you actually use. I'm trying to use what I have, and be realistic with my time. So much game collecting and hoarding happens because of fomo. 'I gotta get it now while its cheap!' I've been gaming for 30 years. Collecting for a solid 20 years now. Truth is you probably won't play half of those 'got em cheap' games. I know I didn't. By putting them on the pile and not playing them you don't have to worry about fomo, you missed it and you paid for the pleasure.
Buy what you want- play what you want. No judgements. Just something I've been thinking about lately.