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An Excess of Game Releases Combined with "Must-Play," FOMO Culture Is Toxic

Its an amazing time to be alive if you love video games, right? Great games are being released regularly, many older games are playable on current platforms, the indie games scene continues to blossom, and so forth. Thanks to GAF and other communication channels, we are consistently fed a diet of information about earlier-released games we haven't played, new game releases, and games coming down the pipeline. Arguably, the video game player in the 2010s is in a more informed position about the video game corpus and future releases than players in previous decades.

But there is also a dark side to this. The aforementioned steady diet is conducive to FOMO ("fear of missing out") and "must-play" culture. Unfortunately, the information overload makes it far too easy to feel as though if you haven't played Game X or even have no interest in Game X, that you have somehow missed out on "one of the greatest game experiences of all time." The excess of new game releases only exacerbates this problem because very few people have enough time to play every major new release to completion. Show of hands: How many of us with full-time jobs and healthy social lives had time to play each of GAF's Top 20 Games of 2015 to full completion (if it was a game that could be completed), or fully unlocking everything, or obtaining all the best loot, or achieving a high rank, or whatever? And that's to say nothing of the games you may have liked that didn't even crack that Top 20!

Yet the pressure is there. The conversations surrounding the "must-play" games are being held without you. Game X does something truly amazing, and you, my friend, have done yourself a grave disservice by not playing it. Those "Game of the Year" award lists, "Top 100 Games of the Last Generation" lists, and "Top 100 Games of All Time" lists are staring down at you, their judgmental gazes peering into the depths of your very souls. "You think you know video games, yet you haven't played so-and-so? Begone!"

Melodramatic, yes, but you get the point. It's an attitude, an ethos if you will, that is pervasive across the gaming side of the Internet, and unfortunately GAF is no exception. While I would never assert that everyone here is guilty of it, I've lurked on GAF before joining long enough (i.e., years) to see it in action many a time. In my opinion, it's a toxic situation we, as a playing community, have put ourselves in. Playing games you may not even find all that enjoyable just to "keep up" isn't healthy for anyone. So what do we do about it? Do you agree it's a problem, or am I totally off-base?

I've had to bring myself to the point of attempting to care very little about the opinions of others concerning my playing habits, and it's been quite liberating, to be honest. Guess what? I have absolutely no desire to play any of the Souls games or Bloodborne. Just not my thing.

Judge away.
 

lazygecko

Member
This seems completely arbitrary on your part. I have never felt this "pressure" you're talking about and have no issue skipping out on games that don't catch my interest for whatever reason.
 

barnone

Member
do I love games, or do I love talking about games? I have this same question about lots of things. it's a good question for self reflection. I've tried recently to ween off from discussion/lurking/hype because i want to digest the actual experience more independently.
 
"Often a broad statement about people reveals less about people in general, and more about the person making the statement."
 

bishoptl

Banstick Emeritus
I hear you.

Of the major AAA titles released last year, I played Witcher 3 and MGS V to 100% completion (just picked up the W3 expansion). That's it. And I do this stuff for a living. I just powered through Dead Rising 3 over the last week, start to finish, because it was glaring at me from my shelf. There's simply not enough time in the day with family, work, and other interests to justify playing every game that I want to. So Fallout 4 will have to wait for a sale in a year or two. Bloodborne has to wait until spring break. Dying Light will get the business around May. Hell, I just picked up Undertale and Crusader Kings 2 a couple of weeks ago in the hopes of playing both before the kids get out of school. Now, I'll pick up and play nearly everything for an hour or two to stay current, but it's impossible to hit up and finish them all. Make your peace with it and show some restraint, OP :D

The game I've been playing the most in the last 6 months?

...Theme Hospital :)
 

Anno

Member
I haven't felt pressure for years. There are just too many great games to actually play them all, so I just play the ones I want and maybe listen to a podcast about the rest.
 

LexW

Neo Member
This seems completely arbitrary on your part. I have never felt this "pressure" you're talking about and have no issue skipping out on games that don't catch my interest for whatever reason.

Indeed, this seems like a bizarre assertion. I've never suffered from this pressure (spoiler-dodging on game series I like is about as much "pressure" as I've seen). It certainly isn't "pervasive across the internet".
 

KingV

Member
I have made a resolution this year to only buy games that I want to play *right now* and stop hoarding games that I want to play "someday".

Last year it was about finishing the games I start which I have been good about other than a few games that just really I found weren't fun after a while (Mad Max comes to mind as the most recent one I just put away and said 'I'm not having fun playing this').
 

sinxtanx

Member
don't give a shit and it'll work out is what I do

If a person cares enough to judge someone else for not playing any particular games they're not worth interacting with
 

jblank83

Member
Step away from AAA. Every AAA is a must play. Every company wants you to buy their new mega hype release, and the $50 season pass also. Even reviewers are inherently invested in pushing big titles for the big clickthrough.

Spend more time playing what you have, thinking about what you actually enjoy. Play those games and games like them. Take more chances on games whose concepts and themes seem interesting to you and less time buying every mega-AAA-marketing franchise.
 

Stopdoor

Member
Is this really anyone's fault? There are too many games and too little time, that's just inevitable. Of course everyone will be trumpeting their favourite games to everyone else, we want to share experiences.

Some people will care less about must-plays, and some people will care more. There's an audience for knowing what's the best of the best - I'll put up with a game I don't like much if it's a known quantity - you can argue that's dumb, and it kind of is, but like you're saying, if that's how I want to pick and choose the games I play, that's how I'll do it.

"Must-Play" is what you make of it. You can choose if you care or not.
 

Bronetta

Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
This is exactly why I don't have time for garbage games.

I only play good games.
 
Before 2005 there was no "Must Play" games, there was only games catching fire with people.

After 2005, there was "Must Play" games but there was always this partial artificialness about the whole system. Peer pressure, echo chamber, etc that made the 16-bit wars look like the child's play that it was.

So therefore my GOTY lists are always crazy, my LTTP threads are of stone-cold classics, and I keep playing Rocket League and SF V.
 

GOOCHY

Member
Give up on trying to play everything that is good right away. It's a losing proposition. The good side of that is that when you're ready to pick the game up it'll probably be much less expensive.
 

Dame

Member
Aside from some dwellers on other sites attempting to invalidate options by using ad hominem and conjecture of wether person A has filled their games quota, There is no pressure from anyone.

Seriously. Their opinions are from a minute echo chamber which are outweighed by those indifferent of how many titles you've touched.
You may be pressuring yourself. If so, for why?
Know that what you play and whag you complete doesn't matter to anyone, provided you live a healthy life, a life that only you can scrutinize. So there's no need to fret about finishing Barbie's Dreamhorse Adventure whilst Your Bloodborne collects cobwebs. Your psyching yourself out.

Very well written post, by the way. You can possibly try writing an opinion piece for a website. I'd read it.
 
Playing everything is impossible

I just try my best to focus on things that are interesting to me and be done with it


FOMO culture is a young mans game
 

joms5

Member
I have a list of over 200 games I plan to play. About a year ago i felt pressure to play them and finish them quickly and move on.

I've stopped doing that. I play what I want, when I want, and talk about them when I want. The nice thing about doing it this way is there is always someone to talk about a game that came out 3 or 4 years ago. Those opinions have had time to cool which means there more level headed and not based around hype or anger. And it's interesting to see if a game still holds up today when playing it for the first time.

Plus my PC upgrades (for the time being) have been cheap, since I need hardware that runs games 3 years behind the times.

I think you need to ask yourself why you play games in the first place OP. I like engaging in conversations with friends and people on here but I play them for me.

If someone doesn't think Vice City is the best GTA game, that's fine, but it is, to me. Don't let the fact that you're missing out on something because others tell you so, detract from doing what you want when you want it.

Time is precious. Use it wisely.
 
I just play whatever I want whenever I have time. I'll partake in discussions that pertain to what I've played. Is that so hard? I really feel zero pressure to "keep up" at all.

This FOMO culture seems to be exclusive to middle-school to college aged students, aka people without fulltime jobs. It was fun while it lasted but they'll see their lives change too.
 

Demoskinos

Member
I'm guilty of this. I bought several games like Fallout 4 and Witcher 3 which I previously had ZERO intent to play because of the hype machine that is the internet. Going through the same thing with SFV right now...haven't bought it. And I shouldn't buy it but there is a little voice in my head always going Comoooooon man just buy it you're missing out on cool stuff!
 

Quonny

Member
This is why I love GameFly.

Game comes, I play it for a few hours, if it doesn't grab me, I send it back. I wasted maybe $3 and a couple hours of my times. Then I move onto the next game.
 

pastrami

Member
Is this really a problem? I just play the games I'm interested in. I didn't realize others felt the need or pressure to play certain games.
 

JCX

Member
Of the top 20, I only significantly played Splatoon and XCX, with a little of Witcher 3, Wooly World, and Mario Maker.

A related problem to FOMO is just not wanting to play a different game. I have a bunch of big story driven games to play, but since it came out, Splatoon has pretty much dominated my gaming time since it's so easy to jump into and rewarding to play. I have to force myself not to play it in order to start other games.
 

Demoskinos

Member
Of the top 20, I only significantly played Splatoon and XCX, with a little of Witcher 3, Wooly World, and Mario Maker.

A related problem to FOMO is just not wanting to play a different game. I have a bunch of big story driven games to play, but since it came out, Splatoon has pretty much dominated my gaming time since it's so easy to jump into and rewarding to play. I have to force myself not to play it in order to start other games.
That's me with FFXIV. It's the thing that's just....always there for me. I always default to that when I think I don't have anything else to play.
 
D

Deleted member 126221

Unconfirmed Member
Having way too wide gaming tastes, and can never play everything I'm interested in, and I'll never be able to in my whole life. It's no big deal. I concentrate on what I prefer, and I'm not afraid to drop games if they're not excellent.

It also helps that I'm not a completionist. I don't care about completion % or trophies, so I'll play a game until I'm not entertained and move on.
 

Xis

Member
This seems completely arbitrary on your part. I have never felt this "pressure" you're talking about and have no issue skipping out on games that don't catch my interest for whatever reason.

I read the OP as not about "skipping out on games that don't catch my interest" and more about "even once I skip the games that don't catch my interest there are still way too many games"

You might not have an issue with this, but it's clear lots of people here do; I imagine it's the driving factor behind most backlogs. People buy games they don't want to miss out on, but don't have time to play all the games they are interested in.
 
This is exactly why I don't have time for garbage games.

I only play good games.

How do you know if a game is good before you play? Based off of other people's opinion? But what if you don't like the game for certain reasons after playing it?

Not gonna lie, I once said this too, but too many times have I bought a game that everyone loved and I just did not like it one bit.

Also on the topic at hand, I'm going out on a limb here and say 60-80% of people don't even finish games completely. I mean, look at Fallout 4. Do you really expect that many people to reach the end of the campaign? There's no way you'll finish every game you'll buy so that'll give you time to play new "must play" games if that's what you do.
 
I don't give a fuck about this "pressure". I have a list of things that people keep bugging me to play or watch or read, but I'll just do what I feel like. I set my own pace and went for it, as long as I'm having fun screw the opinion of other people.

Keep the games coming, sales and my backlog appreciate it.
 
Ehh, I don't really feel pressured to buy any games. I can almost certainly tell if a game is for me based on trailers or gameplay videos alone. Sure I'm "missing out" on games like Bloodborne and Witcher 3, but a week or two after release and I hardly care anymore.

Just play what you want to play, and if you think it looks interesting see others opinions and judge for yourself whether it would be worth it to you. I know I've gotten plenty of enjoyment just watching walk-throughs of some games.
 

Pyrrhus

Member
I can definitely commiserate. One has to learn to let go and step back a little and realize nobody can drink from the fire hose for long these days, especially if they aspire to more than being a hikikomori. There's simply too much content for even an enthusiast to be well versed in it all.

There are a few sublime games that you really can be said to miss out on, but most are just well produced pablum and missing a few spoonfuls won't revoke your gamer card. For instance, everybody was losing their shit over Shadow of Mordor about 15 months ago and how awesome and revolutionary its Nemesis system was, but has anybody really thought of it at all since about January 2015? Most of it is ephemeral and even those of use who love the medium and its potential have to accept that for our own happiness and wellbeing.
 
I'm still susceptible to this even though I try not to. Especially playing things I think I won't like, but feel obligated to in order to be part of the conversation.

Like The Witness, which I knew I would hate, and do.
 

dangeraaron10

Unconfirmed Member
Eventually you'll get a good feel for what types of games, platforms, and genres routinely hold your interest and you can usually decide for yourself if a game is worth your time. Listen to me buddy, games are great, I love video games, but no video game is really worth your time unless you enjoy everything it brings. Time is short and time is precious. Especially if you're not a kid or teenager that has nothing but time. I see GAF go over the moon and back about games like the Souls series, Witcher, Bloodborne, The Witness, etc. but I have no interest in any of these games.

Games that aren't Monster Hunter, Smash, Pokemon, or (thanks to that wonderful little title called Cyber Sleuth) Digimon don't really hold my interest these days. MMOs? Done with 'em. Those days are over. The only MMO related thing I do these days is drive by Daybreak's little reddit and laugh (and cry a little) about their vaporware, especially having bought Landmark in its Alpha release, resisting the urge to actually shitpost.

Anyways, unless its a title or game style you really like, you're never missing out. Its up to you what game is or is not worth your time. And you don't have to experience the experience when its fresh and hot, especially when you can wait for sales. Sure you'll be a little late to the party, but that's a small thing in the grand scheme of it all.
 

CHC

Member
"FOMO" is not a culture, it's an individual feeling. If you can't play a game when it comes out, then don't. It really doesn't matter, because good games remain good indefinitely. There is really no rational reason to have such a weird compulsion, but don't blame it on a "culture."

"You think you know video games, yet you haven't played so-and-so? Begone!"

And yeah... literally no one is saying those kinds of things. That's 100% personal insecurity, no offense meant when I say that.
 

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
I understand where you would see this toxicity. In the GOTY voting thread there was a contingent of people that wanted to ban people that didn't play a lot of games because they are lacking perspective.

Luckily we're not there yet, because I feel that is a bad thing overall.

First step to freeing yourself is to admit to yourself that you're just not hardcore enough. I'm not hardcore enough. I went from having all the platforms in the 2006-2012 era to basically only playing on two and I have easily enough to play every time I pick up a controller. And as long as nobody is in my face about how I dare to be so casual because I don't rejoice at 60 hours stupid as hell modern collectathons I'm pretty much okay.
 

rybrad

Member
How do you know if a game is good before you play? Based off of other people's opinion? But what if you don't like the game for certain reasons after playing it?

Not gonna lie, I once said this too, but too many times have I bought a game that everyone loved and I just did not like it one bit.

Also on the topic at hand, I'm going out on a limb here and say 60-80% of people don't even finish games completely. I mean, look at Fallout 4. Do you really expect that many people to reach the end of the campaign? There's no way you'll finish every game you'll buy so that'll give you time to play new "must play" games if that's what you do.
For me personally, I buy games that I think I will like but if I am not feeling it I don't force myself to finish it. I have a pretty good success rate with choices but sometimes I just end up out $40-$60 and move on. Time is a more valuable currency to me than money at this point in my life and learning to give up on some games, even brand new full price ones, has helped me enjoy gaming even more.
 

Crzy1

Member
I played about 7 of the 20 top games either to completion or by putting in enough time to get my fill of them last year. There was never a point during last year where I felt there was anything that I just HAD to play besides Bloodborne. If a game is getting good press on GAF or with my friends, I'll probably give it a go, but I never feel like I've missed out because I haven't played them. I guess it's one of those things where the experience will stick with you, but if you never had said experience, it's almost completely meaningless to you.

There are games that I consider classics that I've had the good fortune to play and enjoy, but there are countless others that I'll never touch. Being that I have no way to gauge the experience without having participated in it, it doesn't diminish the experiences that I did participate in.

More is better in this situation. A deluge of quality releases means that there should be something for everyone, if that also means that I'm going to have to miss something spectacular, it's a trade that I find to be very reasonable.
 

ys45

Member
Yes I agree with you OP , but I feel more pressured from the time than the social aspect of all that .

This lead me to a hard time deciding what to play next because I check how long the game are (I play a lot of rpgs) but in the end I should just not care how long is a game and just play it and enjoy it and then play the next .
I still have work to do on that part though, but I stopped playing too many game at the same time and I play only what I feel like playing .

But yes too many games are coming out , I miss the old time where you had time to finish and even master a game before a new one came out .
 
I only really feel this sort of pressure in regards to CRPGs. There are a ton of classics I own that I haven't played or put enough time into (The Witcher 1 and 2, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Icewind Dale, Torment, Fallout 1 and 2, KotOR 1 and 2, the Mass Effect series, Divinity: Original Sin, etc.) and it's not that I don't want to play them, they're just too long and too intensive for me to play regularly.
 

Mupod

Member
I was like this last gen. I own a lot of games I'll never play because of it. Nowadays I just stick to what I'm really looking forward to.
 

Lothars

Member
The game I've been playing the most in the last 6 months?

...Theme Hospital :)
Bishop, you have such good taste, I love theme Hospital and haven't played it in so long. I really should play it again. Does it still hold up really well?

Edit: to keep on topic

I would say that if a game interests you than play it but if it doesn't than ignore it. There's no reason that you have to play every game that is announced or in demand. I play what I want including the latest and greatest but it's not essential by any means.
 
Looked at GAF's Top 20 games of last year to see how I did.

1 x Played Extensively
4 x Played Some (3 intend to play more, 1 I didn't care for)
3 x Plan on Playing in the Future
12 x No Intention of Playing

Which for a year that was very busy for me where I had less time & money to devote to new games, that feels pretty good. With so many games coming out, it pays to be more selective.
 
I've gotten to the point now where if I'm not playing some type of videogame during an "open" time of my day, I feel that I'm wasting time, which is ironic considering videogames are a waste of time in themselves.

I play 3ds (paper jam) on the bus, I sneak in games at work (I'm in IT), and when I get home I play on PC.

I also pride myself in playing new releases, and keeping up with the zeitgeist. I rarely play games twice, and rarely play old releases, or games over 1 generation old.
 
IHell, I just picked up Undertale and Crusader Kings 2 a couple of weeks ago in the hopes of playing both before the kids get out of school.

Good luck with that. It took me hours of watching online videos to understand the basics of how the game worked, and the game itself is a hell of an addictive time sink.
 

thefil

Member
I don't think it's a problem. Filtering information and allocation of time is just part of being an adult, and each individual will come to it in their own way.

There is no obligation on any community to change the way they talk about games with the goal of reducing peoples' personal sense of obligation to play those games.

Because its's fun (top 20):
Finished: 3
Played: 4
Interested: 7
Nope: 6

More than I expected in the top three groups!
 

Qwark

Member
I'm really bad at this. I'm a sucker for hype so I read about other people enjoying them and then I end up buying something that I normally wouldn't be interested in. Sometimes it's great because I play an awesome game that I wouldn't have otherwise (like Transformers: Devastation), but sometimes it sits on my shelf unplayed (like the Witcher 3). I'm going to try and do less of that this year, play more of what I already have, and worry less about what's coming out. Though I do have several "Must-Play's" already on my radar.
 
The "need to be there day one" mentality is stupid and publishers are feeding it with preorder bullshit.

Games these days get released buggy with a lot of post release content. Simply waiting and buying the "complete" game with all patches seems the best, and most efficient with money, way to go.
 

Pyrrhus

Member
The "need to be there day one" mentality is stupid and publishers are feeding it with preorder bullshit.

Games these days get released buggy with a lot of post release content. Simply waiting and buying the "complete" game with all patches seems the best, and most efficient with money, way to go.

Precisely this. I've avoided Mortal Kombat X and Batman: Arkham Knight for this very reason. I'll pick them up when they're done using them to bleed the inexperienced and impatient.
 

daveo42

Banned
I've seen an uptick in the number of games I feel I "need" to play since joining GAF a few years ago and most have been good experiences. I do understand the toxic nature of FOMO, but not only when it comes to games. Games are just harder to fit into a set schedule because of the time commitment related to them as opposed to film or in some cases, TV and books. Especially since more games have moved to the open world format.

I think at some point you just have to decide what types of games and what game creators you care more about and focus there, expanding your gaming horizons with smaller indie titles when you have the time, even if it comes months or years after it first comes out. With the amount of time it can take to complete some of the games listed (I dropped close to 100hrs on Bloodborne, 80hrs on FO4 and haven't finished, 130hrs on MGSV), you do have to start making cuts elsewhere in your catalog or pushing stuff off till later.

My suggestion is to focus on a single game at a time and either play it till completion or until you get tired of it. It's worked for me so far, even if I have skipped several higher profile games and series. It happens and you have to be fine with missing out.
 
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