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New Year's Resolution: "No"; Purchasing Games for 2012

AppleBlade

AppleBlade

Member
So I have always been one to build up huge backlogs (compulsive collector/shopper with a good amount of disposable income, a very understanding wife, and not a lot of free time will do that).

In the past I could always sell my collection of games and wipe the slate (and my conscious) clean, however with digital distribution (Steam, Xbox Games on Demand & Live Arcade, PSN, etc.) this has become a lot more difficult.

Hold on to your seats but I have nearly 200 games that I own digitally but have not played. I decided that this stops now! I will not buy a new game until either I finish 40 games off that list or the years ends.

Anybody in on this with me?

PS - I am debating a possible Bioshock Infinite exception. Would this exception undermind my whole resolution?
 
I

Impeccable

Member
I'm similar for next year.

Going to wait for price drop on most games and take up renting for the first time in years. I'll probably feel obligated/the urge to buy Ni No Kuni, Tales of Graces F and FFXIII-2 at launch though.
 
B

Barack Lesnar

Banned
PS - I am debating a possible Bioshock Infinite exception. Would this exception undermind my whole resolution?
Click to expand...
Yeah it would. The "exception" will probably open up the floodgates. Like when you're dieting and think one value meal at McDonald's isn't gonna hurt then you have another one a few days later, then another, and you're off the wagon.
 
F

FrontalMonk

Banned
scary resolution to make - I say more power to you, although I already have 3 games on my list for 2012 (Diablo 3, Mass Effect 3, Guild Wars 2). I hadn't resolved to not buy games this next year, but I think with those exceptions I could make it work.
 
D

Dynoro

Member
I'm with Flyingpiranha on this - follow the resolution without exception. I'm planning a similar rule as I have a similar issue with my backlog and will just wait on new releases until a substantial chunk of games are complete (such as the 40 in your case).

EDIT: one way round your case with Bioshock could be to preorder and pay for it now (so you effectively have bought it already) - but its a slippery slope
 
A

ascii42

Member
Mine is similar. I am dedicating myself to my PS2 backlog. I have 175 games for it, and I probably have 100 unbeaten, depending on how you view certain games as "beatable."
 
S

SillyEskimo

Member
Mine is similar, but not so extreme. Based off my current collections for Wii, PS3, 360, and PC, I've bought about 65 games per year for the past 5ish years. This year, I'm aiming for 12 (1 a month) or less if I can. I'm going to play what I already own in ernest.

However, stupid deals are exempt. I'm not going to pass up a 5$ Rayman Origins "just because"!
 
P

Phonomezer

Banned
You're setting yourself up for failure, I'd narrow it down to at least one console.

Like, "No Wii games for 2012", should be easy enough :p
 
T

Tenck

Member
I've bought over 100 games the past 7 months. Only played like 40, and even then it's barely played them.
 
B

Brashnir

Member
No exceptions if you're going to do it. If nothing else, having Bioshock Infinite out there will encourage you to get to your "finish 40 games" goal so you can buy it. You'll probably end up getting it cheaper for waiting anyway, so it's win/win.
 
theDeeDubs

theDeeDubs

Member
I'm doing something similar with limiting my Day 1s next year to only my favorite devs' game (Mass Effect 3, South Park, etc.). I plan to wait on other games to hit a $34.99 sweet spot for me.
 
E

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
I guess I'd be okay with doing this, considering I already pre-purchased Guild Wars 2, Diablo 3 and the Starcraft 2 expansions in full in 2011.

I think 'no more buying random Steam sale items' would be more easily attainable though.
 
E

Edeuinu

Member
But, Last Of Us... :)

More power to you, though I haven't purchased as much as I used to, I still need to play some new new stuff.
 
Kelegacy

Kelegacy

XBOX - RECORD ME LOVING DOWN MY WOMAN GOOD
I think this is a great resolution. Or, something similar like only paying $20-$30 max for a videogame (which is super easy to do these days).

Me, I'm a father of 2 children under 3 years old, so it's getting harder for me to sit down and play games like I used to. I also decided to start playing the games I have instead of buying new ones, though my backlog isn't crazy any more. The Best Buy deals this holiday season were crazy good, but I still wound up not buying games I wasn't 100% interested in even if they were $5. I received some cheap games for Xmas, but didn't buy any myself.

I have always thought $60 is too much for a videogame, even though I can afford it. I started renting from a local store this past year, and it has made all the difference. Gamefly just stinks for me in terms of availability and turnaround time, and I've been a member 3 times over the years.

Stay strong!
 
A

atomsk

Party Pooper
Marius_ said:
I will be renting every game
Click to expand...

This is what I do for most major titles these days, and pick up digital stuff on the cheap.

The only "must buy" stuff ends up being XSeed/Aksys/Atlus/NISA when I know the print run is gonna be small
 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
I make this resolution every year, and I always break it before the end of January.

I wish you all good luck, but I'm not going to bother this time. I already know I want to get Kid Icarus for one, plus with Wii U coming out before the end of the year, there is no way I'm not buying that.

I will be keeping myself from buying anything for full price, except for Nintendo titles, because they usually take a while to drop.
 
J

JustAnotherOtaku

Member
There's absolutely no way I could do that. Then again, I don't have a huge backlog. My aim for next year is to buy less UK releases day one and wait for them to drop in price.
 
bender

bender

What time is it?
I'm thinking of going with a more gradual approach and going with a monthly gaming budget of $60.
 
T

TouchMyBox

Member
I did this for 2010, kinda. I told myself that I wouldn't pay more than $20 for a game since I had spent way too much on games in 2009, and I had a bit of a backlog. I did however allow myself up to two exceptions. I seemed to work well, and 2011 has seen me spend about as much as 2010.

I've got a good idea that I myself would like to try sometime.

If you're a steam junkie, load up $100 onto steam as credit at the beginning on the year, and allow that to be the only money you spend on games that year. At least then you won't be tempted to break your resolution if amazing awesome game you've been waiting for happened to be on sale for $5 one weekend.
 
A

AndyD

aka andydumi
Dynoro said:
I'm with Flyingpiranha on this - follow the resolution without exception. I'm planning a similar rule as I have a similar issue with my backlog and will just wait on new releases until a substantial chunk of games are complete (such as the 40 in your case).

EDIT: one way round your case with Bioshock could be to preorder and pay for it now (so you effectively have bought it already) - but its a slippery slope
Click to expand...

This. Another way around it would be to trade stuff in and use the credit. That way as long as you end up with a net $0 spent, you should be OK.
 
E

exfixate

Member
I'm partly with you. I'm going to limit it to 6 months and let it encompass all forms of media. No games purchased, no books purchased, no films purchased. I have way to many things in my backlog and not enough free time to justify the purchase of new media.

I'm planning on taking the savings from this endeavor and purchasing a new television; a little positive reenforcement will be helpful, to me at least.
 
H

Himself

Member
I understand how your trying to rationalize your guilt, but make a more realistic goal. For me it's no new games until I finish the ones I have. Got about 7 or 8 to go...and then I'm going to do my best to not buy more than what I can possibly play at once.

Plus 2012 already has like 5 must buys and about 10 possible purchases. It would be impossible!
 
C

CecilRousso

Member
How many of those 200 games are games that you are actually interested in beating?

I have a lot of games on my Steam account I haven´t seen the end credits in, but a large part of them are games I only bought to try, or games I bought to play specific game modes in. I wouldn´t let those games stand in the way of buying new more interesting games.

But if you have 200 unplayed games, it might be wise to stay away from steam sales for a while.

Worth noting - not all games are games with a specific end goal. Take a game like Frozen Synapse for example. Sure, it has a campaign, but I think most people are playing it for it´s multiplayer mode, where it really shines.
 
stuminus3

stuminus3

Member
Hey MrVargas, I have a 1600+ game backlog. I'll join you in this New Year's resolution. Subscribed to this thread to see which one of us falls off the wagon first!
 
F

flyinpiranha

Member
Going cold turkey with games just seems ... weird. It's a hobby that is meant for entertainment. If you don't have the finances then budget accordingly, if you don't have the time then finish a certain amount in your backlog before purchasing a new one.

Sounds like you mostly just don't have the time. Honestly I stopped with the sales on Steam. Yes, I could get _______ for $7.99 but I would never play it. I don't have the issue you have where it's in the 100's but there are a few that I know I will never touch. There has either been a better game that came out similar to it or a sequel is already out.

I personally Gamefly and do not spend time "trying to finish" a game if I'm not enjoying it.

I know for me I would hate (absolutely loathe) having to go through my backlog instead of enjoying the games I'm looking forward to for the upcoming year (Halo 4, SSX, South Park: The Game, Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2, Dragon Quest X, and a few others are must haves).

Gaming to me is a lot more topical these days. Before I'd spend hours trying to beat something and would be a completionist ... but now it's more like flipping through TV channels until I find something I really like.
 
Z

Zwei

Member
I have a considerable backlog (nothing near 200 games, though) and I will continue buying games throughout 2012.

I don't give a fuck
 
T

TouchMyBox

Member
CecilRousso said:
How many of those 200 games are games that you are actually interested in beating?

I have a lot of games on my Steam account I haven´t seen the end credits in, but a large part of them are games I only bought to try, or games I bought to play specific game modes in. I wouldn´t let those games stand in the way of buying new more interesting games.

But if you have 200 unplayed games, it might be wise to stay away from steam sales for a while.
Click to expand...

I personally made a steam category of games that I actually really want to play through but haven't finished or touched yet. That makes things considerably easier when staring at that never-ending list of games. Our brains are bad at processing a lot of information at once and it becomes off-putting so you just fire up TF2 in order to avoid making a decision. Break that shit down into digestible chunks.
 
T

thefil

Member
flyinpiranha said:
Gaming to me is a lot more topical these days. Before I'd spend hours trying to beat something and would be a completionist ... but now it's more like flipping through TV channels until I find something I really like.
Click to expand...

Man after my own heart.

I like this resolution though. I lowered my gaming budget to $40 a month in 2011 (which is still a LOT I know but small steps) and it worked pretty well until I blew it in December (used the excuse that Steam games were a Christmas gift for myself :( ).

I am debating trying to reduce my gaming *time* in 2012, but we'll see.
 
G

Grizza

Member
I like this idea, as long as it involves a few asterisks. I mean, why torture yourself if Half-Life 3 finally comes out, or you've been waiting ten years for a new Diablo? Maybe make a list of three games that if they come out in 2012 you can buy them, otherwise you don't spend a cent.
 
C

CecilRousso

Member
The easiest thing to do is to not buy games that are similiar to games you already own and want to play. It´s a bit redudant to buy Hearts of Iron III if you are yet to play your purchased Europa Universalis III, you certainly don´t need 5 RTS games if you don´t play a single of one them, and those who buy 20 RPG´s - lol. :)
 
A

Averon

Member
My resolution is never buying a game for $60 again. I actually promised I wouldn't did that after Portal 2 and MK, but the holiday deals from Amazon made me weak. Game prices drop too fast for me to justify buying games at release. And with how the PS3 version of Skyrim being FUBAR, I learned that waiting for performance issues with games from certain developers to reveal themselves is just as important. Also my backlog is growing without limit. I can buy no game for the next two years and my backlog is more than enough to keep me company.
 
B

blackMamba1187

Member
i have a plan to do something very similar. Im limiting my new gaming related purchases to 5 for the year. I can also leverage what i own for bonus " free" content. Its loose but will still be a marked improvement on recent years. Only deinites so far are halo and diablo.
 
P

Polk

Member
not buying games that aren't at least 75% off.
I can buy at most five titles for higher price (for now I've managed to follow this rule this year)?
 
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