Backlog - A Bad Thing?

[ElkinFencer10]

Whatever makes you happy and doesn't negatively affect the other areas of your life is doing it right.

Definitely collecting is a good hobby as long as you manage your time and money efficiently. There are so many games out there that setting rules and boundaries for yourself is a must.

The big problems I currently see with collecting are people who:
A.) Collect for Monetary Value. Buying/Selling to support your habit isn't bad but buying games solely for their monetary value is a bad idea.
B.) Spend Excessive Amounts and then get in a cycle of buying/selling huge chunks or the entirety of their collection. Setting an allowance per pay check or per week/month etc. is a good idea. Splurging on occasion is fine but a game library isn't a savings account and doesn't give you much of a safety net for financial emergencies.
C.) People who rapidly buy huge collections then get burnt out. Like everything else collecting is best done in moderation bing purchases are hardly ever a good idea.
D.) Feel the need to play every game they get. Let's face it some games that look amazing end up sucking. If you get to the point that it's a drag and the end is no where in site move on to the next game. Games are for the most part meant for entertainment so don't turn them into work. You can always go back to a game later.

I tend to fall into category D, though I'm trying to work on it.

[Fragems]

My main problem is I get side tracked to easily I more often then not will get 75%+ through a game and then find something else to hop on. I'd say for every 4 games I play I maybe beat one. That being said I have a high return rate to games I like and when I do go back to a game I usually restart it so I get a lot more play time with them then I usually would beating them my first time around.

[dsheinem]

I, too, wrote about this at some length a while back:

http://kotaku.com/how-to-beat-400-games ... 1607296068

and a longish follow up comment: http://kotaku.com/one-more-tip-for-beat ... 1608077366

[BoneSnapDeez]

I love that article. Not just because it's interesting and well-written, but because of the random internet losers spazzing in the comments.

[MrPopo]

I love that article. Not just because it's interesting and well-written, but because of the random internet losers spazzing in the comments.

To be fair, the article is on Kotaku, so that's the only sort of creature that exists in the comments on that site.

[Sarge]

I've already resigned myself to "collector" status. I worry less about the backlog now. I know there are games that are awesome that I'm missing, but really, there's only so much time in a day/week/month/year/life. There are bigger things to worry about! (Not that it doesn't manifest itself as "analysis paralysis", which Exhuminator wrote very eloquently about.)

And only 37% uncompleted? That's amazing. If I had to run the numbers on my stuff, it'd probably be much closer to 5%. I've got nearly 1000 games on Steam, a legit physical collection of over 1000, and then you throw emulation into the mix and I've got more than anyone could (or should!) ever play.

[ElkinFencer10]

Wow, this has all made me feel a LOT better about my "backlog anxiety," as Exhuminator put it. I knew there was a reason I joined this community. =P

[8bit]

out this stuff one time in the best video game blog ever* that no one bothered to read:

http://ardentexhuminator.blogspot.com/2 ... cklog.html[/size]

*In my admittedly totally biased opinion.

I just read your article and really really enjoyed it. Adding a quote to my signature in celebration of hearing such good words of wisdom.

[ElkinFencer10]

out this stuff one time in the best video game blog ever* that no one bothered to read:

http://ardentexhuminator.blogspot.com/2 ... cklog.html[/size]

*In my admittedly totally biased opinion.

I just read your article and really really enjoy it. Adding a quote to my signature in celebration of hearing such good words of wisdom.

And I posted the exact quote you mentioned in your comment as my Facebook status just now.

Look at Exhuminator, being all inspirational and shit.

[Nemoide]

I just think about why I buy video games. I buy video games because I want to play the video games. Having a large backlog means I'm spending more money than I should be amassing games that I won't have time to play for years. I want my backlog small. Even if I don't beat everything I'd like to at least play everything.

But I think everyone has to really wrestle with their backlog and how good/bad it is themselves. Maybe you have a reason to want to own a lot of games you aren't playing. That's on you!