So, there you are sitting comfortably, feeling accomplished as “Thank you for playing” makes its ascent through your screen. “Meh”, the ending was mediocre at best, but you are driven to find the next piece of entertainment that suits your taste. What to play? What to play? Hmm. You’ve had that copy of Psychonauts you’ve been meaning to play now for the last 3 years, but that hot new release comes out Tuesday and if you start Psychonauts now you won’t get an early jump on multiplayer. Back on the shelf it goes.
At what point does that backlog just become a collection? There’s got to be a point where you throw in the towel and come to grips with the fact that it is socially and even physically impossible to put in the hours to complete such a task. So what now? Well my friend, you have become a collector. Now when you come across a non Greatest Hits copy of Shadow of the Colossus, you very well know that you’re not getting to it anytime soon, but you just have to have it in your collection. It’s an essential. There it sits proudly mingling with your PS2 copy of MVC2 and a mint copy of Ico with box and instructions.
Now you’ve become obsessed with having all those rare obscure games in your collection. I mean, who cares if you have a copy of FF VII, it’s not a black label. Ick! Let’s not forget to check that used case on the store shelf to be certain you’re getting a manual. I’m sure some of you can relate. Truth be told, there are a lot of gamers out there that care for that kind of thing, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, I won’t buy a used game if it’s not in its original box with instructions.
Gamers with giant backlogs and collectors both exist as separate subgroups. Yeah, there is also that middle ground of folks that collect and do their best at keeping up too. Which are you? Have any of you become this sort of collector as a product of having an enormous backlog? Or, do you intend to get to everything someday? How many games are you behind? I’d like to hear from all sides, so go ahead and leave some comments and share with us.
Comments (9)
Oh! I also have every Legacy of Kain game, including Blood Omen 2, which contains areas in which walls disappear to reveal The Matrix.
So I have a giant backlog, and I collect certain franchises. And I may never get caught up. But at least I always have something to play.
As for your question, I'd say that I'm more in the middle. I don't really care if a title is in original or greatest hits packaging, but I do like to have boxes for my games. Instruction books aren't a big deal though (unless it's a really complex game). I have a sizeable backlog, but I only really started developing one last year when I had some money to blow for once.
Once I realized that I was setting myself up for never completing my games, I made a choice: no new game purchases until I have 1,000/1,000 achievements in three unfinished games. This has done wonders for my gamerscore AND put a huge dent in my Pile O' Shame.
This has helped with getting the proper value from my purchases and allowing me to plan my purchases based on my frugality. ODST, Borderlands, Modern Warfare 2, L4D 2 and Dragon Age: Origins have helped get me to complete 7 games so far. If anyone was interested in trying this then I suggest going to www.x360a.org as their guides help a lot with completing games efficiently.
I created a database.
Now, I have a list of games that I need to play, ranked by a complex model that includes the aggregate review scores for the game, any subsequent games that can be played afterwards (and the review scores for THOSE games), and a fudge factor that takes my level of interest into account. As a result, I know that Metroid Prime is the game I should be playing right now, and that Psychonauts has moved up on my list as Brütal Legend gets closer to release. Yes, it’s extraordinarily geeky, but I am strangely proud of it.
Oh, and it can also tell you which new or used games are a good deal. What’s a better deal: A used copy of Elder Scrolls IV for $29.99, or a new copy of Sly 2 for $9.99? The database knows!
