When will your backlog actually be completed?

[2ko]

For me it's entirely up to how you define "backlog" I guess.

If it's just games I've bought and haven't played, I could realistically do it in a couple years. It's somewhere between 100-200 games and I generally play between 30-50 games a year (depending on the games I play. If it's lots of RPG's that number is closer to 30). My collection is actually not as massive as it once was cause I purged a good 50% of it like 7 or 8 years ago. I went from just collecting everything that looked interesting and putting it on my shelf to creating a highly curated collection featuring only my top 50 games on each system. So I've actually beaten a good 90% of the games in my collection, with most of the unfinished ones being games I picked up in bundles on Steam.

But if you broaden the definition to just "any game I want to play but haven't", it will take much, much longer. I am constantly looking for new games to add to my collection. It's really fun for me to find a game that makes me rethink my collection. Like "if I add this to my collection, what will I take out". On top of that there are systems I haven't really collected at all yet like the Famicom and Super Famicom, So I'll probably have to play through 100+ games before I can settle on my top 50 I actually add to my collection.

[bikingjahuty]

For me it's entirely up to how you define "backlog" I guess.

If it's just games I've bought and haven't played, I could realistically do it in a couple years. It's somewhere between 100-200 games and I generally play between 30-50 games a year (depending on the games I play. If it's lots of RPG's that number is closer to 30). My collection is actually not as massive as it once was cause I purged a good 50% of it like 7 or 8 years ago. I went from just collecting everything that looked interesting and putting it on my shelf to creating a highly curated collection featuring only my top 50 games on each system. So I've actually beaten a good 90% of the games in my collection, with most of the unfinished ones being games I picked up in bundles on Steam.

But if you broaden the definition to just "any game I want to play but haven't", it will take much, much longer. I am constantly looking for new games to add to my collection. It's really fun for me to find a game that makes me rethink my collection. Like "if I add this to my collection, what will I take out". On top of that there are systems I haven't really collected at all yet like the Famicom and Super Famicom, So I'll probably have to play through 100+ games before I can settle on my top 50 I actually add to my collection.

I definitely subscribe the the more broad definition of a backlog. I also did a huge downsize several years back and am continuing to downsize still, albeit at a much less aggressive pace. Any game that's in my collection currently will be played at some point. If I ever come to the realization that I won't play that game ever, to eBay it goes. Also, if I play a game, don't like it or I can't see myself ever wanting to play it again, it also gets sold off. Still, there are a ton of games I don't own that I plan on playing eventually too. Essentially my backlog is never ending and I'll never truly complete it, even if I live to be 100.


On a side note, you should participate in the 52 games challenge we do on here. Pretty much it's users trying to beat at least 52 games in their backlog a year. It's a fun thread and I always enjoy seeing what others are currently playing. Would love to see someone else participate in it. The more, the merrier lol.

[dhaabi]

I went from just collecting everything that looked interesting and putting it on my shelf to creating a highly curated collection featuring only my top 50 games on each system.

I am constantly looking for new games to add to my collection. It's really fun for me to find a game that makes me rethink my collection. Like "if I add this to my collection, what will I take out".

I don't know if you catalog your collection anywhere, but I'm curious what comprises it. Actually, what would be even more interesting is to see just how it's changed since you've begun downsizing in this manner to see how tastes have refined.

[wartoy]

Even if I lived 100 lifetimes there is no way I could ever finish all the games I wanted too. I'm always adding a new game. But I enjoy collecting just the same and throwing in a random game every now and then to check out is fun too. 

[2ko]

I definitely subscribe the the more broad definition of a backlog. I also did a huge downsize several years back and am continuing to downsize still, albeit at a much less aggressive pace. Any game that's in my collection currently will be played at some point. If I ever come to the realization that I won't play that game ever, to eBay it goes. Also, if I play a game, don't like it or I can't see myself ever wanting to play it again, it also gets sold off. Still, there are a ton of games I don't own that I plan on playing eventually too. Essentially my backlog is never ending and I'll never truly complete it, even if I live to be 100.


On a side note, you should participate in the 52 games challenge we do on here. Pretty much it's users trying to beat at least 52 games in their backlog a year. It's a fun thread and I always enjoy seeing what others are currently playing. Would love to see someone else participate in it. The more, the merrier lol.

Yeah if we use the broader definition, I definitely am not finishing it lol There are hundreds of Indie games alone on my Steam wishlist I someday want to try..... Let alone the consoles I haven't started collecting yet as I mentioned.

I'll give the thread you mentioned a look in a bit. I got some down time at work later, sounds fun to hop in.

I don't know if you catalog your collection anywhere, but I'm curious what comprises it. Actually, what would be even more interesting is to see just how it's changed since you've begun downsizing in this manner to see how tastes have refined.

Unfortunately a good 80-90% of my collection is in Canada while I live in Japan. The only real collection manager I have right now is Game-eye, which is only tracking GBA and GBC. I started collecting them when I moved here because I like collecting CIB, but those systems are just too expensive to collect back home. Here though a CIB Pokemon Leaf Green is like $50 lol

My biggest change was probably Xbox 360 and Wii. When shops like EBGames (our Gamestop) were getting rid of their 360 inventory I was right in the middle of my "I want a massive gameroom" phase. They had sales like "Buy 1 get 3 free" and my 360 collection doubled overnight basically.

As to how my taste changed / developed, I definitely was not as critical back when I was just collecting a massive collection cause I just played the games and if they were fun, they were fun. I didn't really "score" my games, I just had a general sense of what games I had fun with (which were most of them).

But I realized when I was forced to reach a specific number and had to cut games, a lot of the games I enjoyed playing at the time actually were not that good (imo) when directly compared with other games. For example, the Medal of Honor reboot on 360. Is it a fun campaign to playthrough? Sure. But it is totally forgettable, doesn't do anything that interesting or unique and is kind of just a cookie cutter FPS campaign. So it got cut from the collection. If I ever want to play a 360 era FPS game again I still have the Call of Duty Modern Warfare Trilogy. The first game imo does so many cool things, and you actually get some really cool characters to follow like Captain Price. I would much rather play through that Trilogy again than 3 other kinda mid FPS games (even if they are fun for what they are worth).

I'm actually moving back later this year so maybe I can do a little post about my 360 collection, what games are in it and why (and maybe explain why some notable games are not in it lol) and get a bit of a discussion going. Might be interesting to get people's thoughts on if they built a similar collection for a system what would they add / remove. Might even get some suggestions on games I should try that might end up going into my collection lol (and if it sparks a good discussion, I could try doing it for the other systems I collect too).