I just completed a visual catalog of my collection (which I highly recommend)...and to put a cherry on the top, also picked up a new system (PS3) which has moved me closer to current gen gaming than I've been in over a decade.
However, all told, after many years of retro collecting with a budget of @$50 per month, I've got well over 450 games (mostly PS1/2), so backlog and collecting issues are forefront in my mind. As well, with a new system, I've recently had the pleasure of finishing some games I bought new...which just feels good.So here's some of my rough thoughts on the topic of backlog, collecting and buying new games to kick off 2014.
1. There's no shame in backlog. It's pretty unavoidable at this point. It's hard to judge having a backlog when you can now generate an unplayable backlog on a budget of $20 a month.
2. There's also absolutely nothing wrong with collecting for collecting's sake. Since I've been a collector I've enjoyed stuff short of actually playing the games in my collection like enjoying box and case art, disc art, manuals, watching the opening movies and listening to a game's music, sharing games with friends and discussing games online. Also, it's sometimes cool just to lay out sections of my collection and take some small pride in having found a bunch of really cool games in decent shape over 15 years of collecting. Heck, that's all some people with other types of collections are able to do! Video games have the bonus of being interactive entertainment, but the games are sometimes nice as cultural artifacts themselves.
That being said, having bought a new console for the first time in what feels like forever, I am also really enjoying the feeling of buying a new game with the express purpose of playing it right away and finishing it. It also feels good to support developers again...and to play something everyone is talking about. So, on some level, I'm torn, because this feels like a more natural way to collect and game and, in reality, I used to do this! ie. Buy a game, finish it, get into the series and then buy other, related games and expand the collection that way. That's not a bad way to collect games.
That brings me to a couple other thoughts on this topic.
3. There's absolutely no shame in only partially playing a game from your collection or using a FAQ , in fact, that's sometimes the more appropriate way to go. There may not be time to finish a given game...or finishing might be a real chore given how the game was designed. Also, it's a valid point of view to say that some large part of the charm of a game can be found in a few hours of playtime instead of the forty, or fifty, or ninety a hardcore fan might give. If clearing your backlog means finishing every game at 100% unaided...only people who don't collect games, or sell off most of their collection, will ever have a clean backlog.
4. Some of the best genres of games are pick up and play, like shmups, fighters, puzzle games, rhythm games, arcade compilations, and side scrollers. Of the approximately 450 games I own, I actually got out the disc and logged serious time with more than half...250 games...in the past year at some point, and it was actually not that hard to do when you consider how many games you can play in an afternoon of retro gaming. One of the best reasons to play retro games is to take a break between longer games. And old school series like Metal Slug, Street Fighter Alpha, R-Type and Samurai Shodown are games I've kept coming back to in small bursts for years. I may only play Rival Schools three or four hours a year, all told, but I'm very glad that I have that option whenever I want.
5. The biggest barriers in my backlog are long form games that occupy the same niche. For example, for awhile, the bargain bins were full of strategy and tactics games...and I'm a sucker for the Dynasty Tactics, Kessen, Nobunagas and Romance of the Three Kingdoms type games and picked up a bunch of them for cheap. Now they are sitting there staring at me...and I know that there's really no chance I will complete most of them, much less all the Shin Megami RPGs and Nippon Ichi games in my collection. The same goes for series that went on fire sale last gen, like Onimusha, Sly Cooper, Hitman, and Prince of Persia. I didn't lay out much, if any, money on these discs...$3 apiece?...but they represent countless hours of backlog of similar types of game experiences. On top of which, I've also collected a bunch of lesser known games at good prices like Kya, Bujingai, Ring of Red, Chaos Legion, Drakengard and Blood will Tell. This makes for tough backlog choices. If the choice is between Dual Hearts, Radiata Stories and Steambot Chronicles or diving into Breath of Fire 3 or 4...that's a good problem to have...but it is still a problem!
That brings me to this conclusion about balance.
6. Part of collecting at this point is accepting that you're simply not going to finish every game. You can't. And the best response, in my book, is to find a balance between retro collecting for collecting's sake..enjoying gaming from your backlog...paring down your collection from time to time, either through selling or archiving...and buying new, current games to support the developers that make the kind of games you like the most.
I don't think there's any way around this situation, with services like PS+, Steam, GoG, HD Collections, and bargain bins all vying for your gaming dollars in addition to new stand-alone games crying out for support.
It's all about balance and perspective.
7. Finally, I'd also add, having kept a budget is something I'm glad I did. That's part of balance, too. In some ways it's like a built up reserve. I can always sell off some games if I want to raise some $$ for something new. And, realistically, while it's not like any of the games I've bought have appreciated at all...I can nevertheless sell most of them for close to what I bought them for without costing me much of anything...and that feels good, too. I feel that keeping to a steady budget allows me to have a healthy attititude about collecting, backlog and buying new games.
Hope you found this helpful.
