The inevitability of backlogs

[hankwangford]

And in the infamous words of Cadbury's, "How do you eat yours?". Or rather, how do you cope with yours? For personal reasons my gameplaying in the beginning half of 2003 was limited at best and it wasn't until 2004 that I really got stuck into things like Wind Waker and what have you. As a result, I've got almost 20 games that have barely seen the inside of my machines, let alone actually been sat down with and experienced.

No doubt we all manage to throw ourselves head first into such a situation during Christmas time, what with this ridiculous policy of companies releasing a few great titles all year around and then unleashing dozens of, at the very least, good games on us all, and I've seen people cope with this in dramatically different ways. Myself, I just panic and try to play everything at once before being rational about it and settling on a few titles at a time - of course, this means that anything I buy just gets thrown on the shelf for months before I get round to it. However, one of my friends, even though he might be really enjoying a particular game, will just offload it on ebay without remorse!

I was wondering how you all cope with them and what things you think you've missed out on as a result; as in, ignoring Splintercell on Live to catch up on some stuff and then coming back a month later to find everyone is level one million

[Sarkster]

I do exactly the same as you; buy loads of games and never gime them all the attention they deserve. I think because of this, I have a very low difficulty tolerance now with games, if they get tricky, Ill just shrug, take it out, and play something else, instead of actually developing my skill at that game.

when I look back to getting my PS on release day, I only had Wipeout to play, so I drained every last bit of fun out of the game, these days, what with having a job and all, I just buy too much stuff and dont commit to a game. Im considering putting all of my games in the loft bar 3 or 4 and really working on those games.

[NeilMcRae]

Its something that concerns me. If you look at the large number of quality titles coming over the next 3-4 months - will they get the visability that is required for the developers/publishers to pay back the investments of time and effort. Hopefully it means that the pants that we see on the shelves will dissapear over time but i'd hate to see future games get canned because a great title didn't sell well.

[mr_fantazmo]

I rarely get stuck into games nowadys, but don't get me wrong it's not because the games are crap, it's because games are too good!! As soon as something else catches my eye i buy that play for a while then dismiss it as something newer comes out. Let me see what i have on the go -

Resident evil zero GC- Not finished
Resident evil GC - Not started
Eternal Darkness GC - Not finished
F - Zero GX - Not finished
Metroid Prime - Not Finished
Mario Sunshine - Not started
1080 snowboarding - Not Started
Manhunt Ps2 - Not finished
Vice City - Not finished
Ico - Not started

I think i'll stop now as there are far too many more and i getting bored and your getting bored of reading them!! But i too need to hide loads away and just keep a few select ones out!

And to think i was gonna play all Resident evil games before the 4th comes out........wishful thinking!!

[gossi the dog]

I simply have a pile of games sitting untouched on my shelf. One day about half of them will get the time they deserve while the other half may never be played properly. I really should get rid of many of them, but I just can't get myself to sell a game unless I don't like it, and to come to that conclusion I'd have to have invested a good few hours with it.

[chosen_one666]

I have a few games that I've never finished. Most of them I bought on a whim, and wasn't terribly impressed with. The only game I liked but have never finished was Onimusha 2. Not sure why I gave up on it, I just did.

[nips]

Purge yourself of incomplete games. If you don't want to complete them leave them, if you do, sit down and finish them because otherwise I find it's easy to get bogged down and fed up.

No point in making gaming a chore, it goes against the point!

[JammyD]

I don't have a backlog anymore , it's not good for the wallet or my enthusiasm for gaming in general. So much better when you finish one game before buying the next one.

IResident evil zero GC- Not finished
Resident evil GC - Not started
Eternal Darkness GC - Not finished
F - Zero GX - Not finished
Metroid Prime - Not Finished
Mario Sunshine - Not started
1080 snowboarding - Not Started
Manhunt Ps2 - Not finished
Vice City - Not finished
Ico - Not started

You're never gonna kill off that list are you? I'd play ICO and SMS and sell the
rest cos you know you'll be playing Resi 4, MP2 and San Andreas soon enough.

[gingerj]

Ahh i've got a ****load of games to complete like i say 12 games i think, cos i only buy games in bulk like 3 at a time i inter-change between them all at once and rarely finish any of them cos my attention span is like a 2year old.

[Welrain]

I sell my backlog. If I feel I have to many games I get rid asap.

I still have MGS: Twin Snakes and BGE outstanding. I really want to play them...but...Burnout 3 is the bomb!

[darkangel]

I still have SH4, Disgaea, vf4 evo to finish.

On top of that i'm in the middle of buying Intial D, Gradius V, and Espgaldua!

And don't even mention the Q4 schedule!!! >_<

[nips]

I'm being very careful this Q4. I'm getting the main titles and leaving the other niche games for next year. I think Halo 2, HL2, Killzone (on release) and possibly GTA:SA. Nothing more...

[Strider]

I've got a ridiculous amount of games to complete.

52 Xbox titles, completed Deus Ex 2, House of the Dead 3 and Jet Set Radio future

30 GameCube titles, completed Resident Evil 2, Four Swords

20 GBA Titles, completed Aria of Sorrow

I just can't control myself . I'd save a fortune if I just tried to complete all my current games...

[PeteJ]

I've been pretty good with buying games since getting a job - in fact I think that within the last month I've only bought two games. No...three...five games. Of which I've not completed any.

Damn.

[bluepuddy]

Current Games on the Go:

Metroid Prime
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Ikaruga
Advance Wars
Colin McRae 3
Otogi: Myth of Demons
Planscape Torment
Spider Man 2

I'm awaiting:
Halo
Project Gotham Racing 2
Burnout 3 (Couldn't hold back after a 10/10 in Games TM.)

Anyway unless there are any 10/10 games from now until Christmas I can hold off buying any games during the Christmas rush.
I've pretty much got all the good games of 2004 to buy yet that have already been released.

In conclusion backlogs inevitable if you try to have a life outside of games.