Digital Hoarding

I can remember a time when I had only a small number of video games to play. I remember in the year 2000 I pretty much maxed out my entire collection after 40 something reviews. In 2001 I got my first job, and I started buying more games, but I still had plenty of time to keep up with them.

I would say things spiraled out of control with the introduction of the last generation of consoles with their cheap digital games, not to mention Steam and their big seasonal sales and all the Humble Bundles that are just too good not to buy.

The problem is that I haven't actually played much of it. And I still keep buying. I recently bought a PS4 and I already have 6 games for it. Currently Dragon Age: Inqusition is the only one I've put any serious time into.

So, for this year, I'm only going to buy the games I absolutely must have and will play straight away - Grim Fandango being one of the first ones, I believe.

So, anyway, 2015's goal is to at least attempt to play most of my collection. I'm not going to waste my time on crap, though.

I currently have my Steam Library divided by genre, but I'm thinking of new categories:

Completed
Crap
The Rest

I also need to put some time into all the digital titles I've got on the Wii U, 360, PS3, 3DS and Vita. I can't even tackle the job of doing a complete inventory - my HG games list probably has most of it.

Comments 6

honestgamer Staff Jan 9, 2015

I have a massive collection that I've also barely touched, particularly in recent years. Accordingly, I've made a similar resolution to yours, but I know I'll break it when the intriguing games start rolling in because I am weak, weak, WEAK! As for digging through my backlog, the size of that project is such that I can't even build up the nerve to tackle it. I'll just play what I want when I want, which was the point of buying so many games in the first place...

dementedhut Jan 10, 2015

I've recently been buying more digital games as of late due to tightening my budget for upcoming stuff... I think I made a huge mistake.

Genj Jan 10, 2015

I'm pretty good about playing the games I spend actual money on. It's mostly free PS Plus stuff that sits in my backlog. I moved over the summer and sold off a lot of games I had no interest in playing to lighten my load too. Blu rays are another story. I've long since lost count but I'm likely in the 350-375 range of titles now and probably 40-50% of my collection hasn't been watched yet.

joseph_valencia Jan 10, 2015

What I generally do is hold off on game purchases until I finish the last game I bought. Unless it's something you know is going to become rare or OOP, like an Atlus title or the Capcom Marvel Comics fighters, it's not worth buying a game if you're not going to play it immediately.

EmP Staff Jan 10, 2015

I had a huge problem hoarding PSX games. Even when it was two consoles out of date, I would search down all the obscure stuff I didn't already have and pay through the nose for it. It was only when I moved and found I had boxes and boxes and boxes of the stuff that I got a handle on it.

I feel like Steam has kind of got me back into that mindset. I buy stuff I know I'll never play because it's right there. I was a member for years but it was only at the start of last year that I really started using it. I now sit at 246 games.

jerec Blogger Jan 10, 2015

Genj, I stopped buying movies & tv shows recently since I ran out of shelf space. But I've been pretty good at watching most of what I buy. I keep a couple of movies unwatched for those rainy nights, but I probably only have around 100ish movies on BluRay (plus another 80 or so on DVD).

My book collection on the other hand... I just don't find enough time to read, these days.

Joseph, I remember doing that in the PS2 era. I loved Disgaea, so I ended up buying all those other ones - Phantom Brave, La Pucelle, etc. The only other one I ended up playing through to completion was Disgaea 2. I eventually let go of the others - at least they were rare enough by that point I got some money back.

For Steam, there is http://www.steamroulette.net/