• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

The NeoGAF 1 year challenge: stop buying games*

T

Taglioli

Neo Member
I'm trying to decide what to do about bundles, whether I should make them an exception or not. So far I've just said no (it's only been 3 weeks, so why does it feel so long?) but some of these bundles are really great and support charity and developers I like. At the same times that feels an awful lot like cheating. Even if it has one or two games I really want and will start immediately, it comes with several others. I don't know. The new Bundle-In-A-Box is just staring at me.
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
Taglioli said:
I'm trying to decide what to do about bundles, whether I should make them an exception or not. So far I've just said no (it's only been 3 weeks, so why does it feel so long?) but some of these bundles are really great and support charity and developers I like. At the same times that feels an awful lot like cheating. Even if it has one or two games I really want and will start immediately, it comes with several others. I don't know. The new Bundle-In-A-Box is just staring at me.
Click to expand...
If you want to help charity/developers just gift the bundles away.

I'm still keeping strong, the DLC on Payday actually hooked me back in the game and I'm mainly doing that, LoL or Lollipop Chainsaw. I beat XCOM on classic, and went through Home in one sitting, as suggested. Home is pretty cool, I think it's very honest about your choices not actually changing anything other than your perception of the story. I find that refreshing, compared to games like Mass Effect or The Walking Dead, that present themselves as branching and that your choices do matter, when in the end they often override or trivialize them.

So summary:

Beaten: XCOM (yay), Home (yay)
Playing: Payday, LoL, Cheerleader Rape Simulator
 
T

Tenck

Member
So many games to buy, you'd be mad man to do this challenge!!

I'll see how far I go. So count me semi-in until I break down and buy a bunch of game ;_;
 
K

Keikaku

Member
So my 3DS and games came in yesterday and I can safely say that Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has turned this challenge into Easy Mode for me. I'm not a huge fan of rhythm games (though I have played many of them) but this has become my personal gold standard for they genre.

It's also deep enough to keep me going for at least 2-3 months. And I still have Disgaea waiting in the wings after that :D
 
RpgN

RpgN

Junior Member
:)

Games Completed:

Shift Extended (minis/PSP)
Jet Set Radio (vita)

New Game:

Jetpack Joyride (minis/psp)

Games Currently Playing:

Dead or Alive 4 (xbox 360)
Xenogears (PS1/PSP)
Ecco the Dolphin Defender of the Future (dreamcast)
Headhunter (dreamcast)
Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing (PS3)

Just as expected, those two games were completed in no time. They have been worth it, I had tons of fun playing them. I also decided to play Jetpack Joyride straight after Shift Extended, its structure turned out to be something entirely different. There is no real ending and beginning. There is only one level where you have to survive as long as possible, you then purchase upgrades with the coins you receive and can try to get the in-game trophies. I don't think this game will have any effect on my backlog, I'm just going to play it here and there without focusing on it.
 
B

barugon

Member
Steam Autumn sale was a bitch to ignore. Only ended up buying one game (Q.U.B.E.) and immediately completed it. Beyond that, I've managed to finish Batman: Arkham City (all side missions) and Skyrim, two of the longer games (40hrs+) in my queue. Working my way through the Broken Sword trilogy now. I fully expect to beat 5 more games by the end of the year.

Doing well so far. Left on my own I probably would have added 5-10 more games to my queue during the Autumn sale.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
So I just put down Far Cry 3, this means I'm finished with both the games I bought since I started the challenge: FC3 and Syndicate :D Another thread got me really wanting to play the No One Lives Forever games (only played 2 back in the day), so I'm thinking of starting up the first one (which I bought long ago). That, or I'll continue my second playthrough of Mass Effect 2. The problem is that I really want to continue with Mass Effect 3, but... I don't own that game yet :( And buying a 40 hour game and commiting to finishing it before playing anything else seems... less than smart :(


barugon said:
Steam Autumn sale was a bitch to ignore. Only ended up buying one game (Q.U.B.E.) and immediately completed it. Beyond that, I've managed to finish Batman: Arkham City (all side missions) and Skyrim, two of the longer games (40hrs+) in my queue. Working my way through the Broken Sword trilogy now. I fully expect to beat 5 more games by the end of the year.

Doing well so far. Left on my own I probably would have added 5-10 more games to my queue during the Autumn sale.
Click to expand...

First Steam sale done, great job :)
 
RpgN

RpgN

Junior Member
Tomba 2 is back on the store, I got it straight this time. I don't think it's a new game that will break the challenge since I already have the physical version on the ps1 :)
 
N

Necrovex

Member
Kept forgetting to post in here. I begun my journey to avoid purchasing games for my backlog (this journey begun right after the Autumn Steam Sale).

A few exceptions for the Winter Steam Sale: I will purchase Dark Souls and Revelations if they are both $15 (well Revelations if it is $10) or below. I sold my PS3 copy of Dark Souls to obtain a copy on my PC. And I have been waiting for Revelations long before the challenge (and will use the escape clause for that game).

I am currently playing:
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
The Old Republic (level 35 out of 50).
Persona 2 (on and off with Shadow Dragon)

Wish me luck my brothers.
 
D

Dark Octave

Banned
RpgN said:
Tomba 2 is back on the store, I got it straight this time. I don't think it's a new game that will break the challenge since I already have the physical version on the ps1 :)
Click to expand...
Tomba 2 is on PSN? Oh wow. My wife burned throught he first one. When I get a new PS3 I'll have to remember to get this for her.

Thanks to the THQ bundle and FTL along with the few other games I already had, my Steam account is now 11 games deep and I have yet to play any of them. I feel like I'm clearing up my physical backlog and building up a digital one to replace it.
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
Ledsen said:
So I just put down Far Cry 3, this means I'm finished with both the games I bought since I started the challenge: FC3 and Syndicate :D Another thread got me really wanting to play the No One Lives Forever games (only played 2 back in the day), so I'm thinking of starting up the first one (which I bought long ago). That, or I'll continue my second playthrough of Mass Effect 2. The problem is that I really want to continue with Mass Effect 3, but... I don't own that game yet :( And buying a 40 hour game and commiting to finishing it before playing anything else seems... less than smart :(
Click to expand...
If it helps, Mass Effect 3 is pretty terrible. I came to accept that ME2 sent the series in another direction and I actually ended up enjoying it, but ME3 does it all wrong...
 
RpgN

RpgN

Junior Member
Dark Octave said:
Tomba 2 is on PSN? Oh wow. My wife burned throught he first one. When I get a new PS3 I'll have to remember to get this for her.

Thanks to the THQ bundle and FTL along with the few other games I already had, my Steam account is now 11 games deep and I have yet to play any of them. I feel like I'm clearing up my physical backlog and building up a digital one to replace it.
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that is the case for the EU PSN store, not sure where you live :(
 
I

iLLmaticV3

Member
Oh, this is easy. I can definitely do this, I remember not buying a single game from 2007-2010, until FF XIII came out. As long as gifts don't count and games I may already have pre-ordered way ahead of their 2013 release don't count (for example, the delayed Bioshock Infinite.) I can hold out until the next consoles come out. There aren't many games I feel like I must own, anyway. Other than Final Fantasy Versus XIII, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. My backlog is a good 70+ games across Xbox 360/PS3. Not including PC or my Vita. I'm in!
 
I

isual

Member
Just beat and finished

suikoden 5
rogue galaxy
shadow hearts 1
Persona 3 FES (journey)

I'm in. I have a huge PS2/360/ps3 jrpg backlog. However, I do have one game that I'll be buying most definitely next year and that is Total war rome 2, and possibly the next cod. hahahaha.

Games I would like to buy in 2013

Total war: Rome 2
Starcraft heart of the swarm
Dark Souls 2 !!!
Super robot wars OG2

PS2 GAMES
front mission 5 JP version
magna carta tears of blood
bards tale
tales of legendia
grandia 2
grandia 3
grandia xtreme
mana khemia alchemists of al revis
castlevania curse of darkness (ehhhh).
wild arms 5
wild arms alter code f
street fighter anniversary
full metal alchemist 1
full metal alchemist 2
lotr third age
stella deus
steambot chronicles
xmen legends 2
baroque
suikoden tactics
metal saga
mega man command mission x (accidentally deleted my save file; have to restart)
romancing saga
rogue galaxy FINISHED
shadow hearts 1 FINISHED
shining tears
atelier iris 1
atelier iris 2
makai kingdom
disgaea 1
disgaea 2
la pucelle tactics
phantom brave
suikoden 5 FINISHED
SMT Devil summoner raidou kazunoha vs the soulless army
SMT Devil summoner raidou kazunoha vs king abaddon
SMT Persona 3 FES FINISHED
SMT Persona 4

PSP GAMES
valkyria chronicles 2
super robot wars z2 (already finished, however i think i messed up the different routes on my second game..)
super robot wars a portable
crimson gem saga
hexyz force

PS3 GAMES
mw3 (dlc on sale)
nier
star ocean 4
resonance of fate
white knight chronicles
white knight chronicles 2
ff 13-2
fear 3
disgaea 4 FINISHED
dc online universe
trinity souls of zill o
valkyria profile (at the last mission)

XBOX 360 GAMES
front mission evolved FINISHED
risen
cod black ops (dlc on sale)
two worlds 2
dragons dogma
divinity 2 dragon knight saga
mass effect 3 extended FINISHED
magic 2013 FINISHED
agarest war
agarest war zero
magna Carta 2
halo 4 FINISHED
cod black ops 2 FINISHED

PC GAMES
ff11 (On hiatus at the moment, sort of excited for the new expansion)
world of tanks (finally got the jagdpanther, i want the king tiger now)
battlefield 3
diablo 3 (mostly endgame barb on inferno)
TERA (almost up game time)
borderlands 1
trine 1
trine 2
ys origins
witcher 1


DS GAMES
pokemon heartgold
dragon quest 5
ff3
smt strange journey

PS ONE
ff chronicles (specifically 4) stuck at the boss after the magus sisters in the tower where you rescue the girl .

BOOKS I'M READING

war40k Nemesis FINISHED
war40k ciaphas cain omnibus hero of the imperium
war40k fear to tread
war40k ravenor omnibus
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
What did you think about Shadow Hearts? I only played like half an hour and didn't really grab me but is there more to it?
 
K

Katzii

Member
Dark Octave said:
Ok that's cool. I have a EU account and I THINK I can purchase from there if I'm in the US...right?
Click to expand...

You can as long as you have money on the account, I would say. Not sure if you can use a non-European credit card on there, but it's easy enough to buy the credit online.
 
W

Wibblewozzer

Member
AgentOtaku said:
Finished OG Assassin's Creed (whew, what a chore!)

Now onto AssCreedRev

...and on portable, still working on P4
Click to expand...
You're going from the first to Revolution? That's a bit odd. I'm assuming you played the two in-between?

Anyhow, as for an update. A reminder that my rules for this are a wee bit different (no physical game purchases until collection is under 200 games, no Steam purchases, all other digital is okay).

So tonight I finally finished typing in all 702 games I currently have located into Google Docs spreadsheets. All games are accompanied by notes on condition of the packaging and discs/cartridges. I'd really like to price them but that's a huge endeavor and might just worry about doing that for certain titles or systems. Also need to mark which games are definite keepers.

In a week or so I'll likely look to the Buy/Sell thread and see how much people are interested in there. Yikes.

Realistically I can see me getting under 200 fairly quickly if I'm diligent in putting my lists out there online and using eBay to sell lots of games that would otherwise not sell well individually. While that would then allow me to buy more physical games (though not at the same frequency as before) I'm still sticking to zero Steam games for a year of my post saying I'd agree to that term.

As for playing stuff! I've been slowly playing some Sleeping Dogs (couple hours in) and I downloaded DJ Technika Tune and have already put three or four hours into that, I'm estimating. I've gone through every available song in Star Mode and a small handful in the other difficulties. I'm pushing myself to focus on the physical games over digital so I can finish more and be more willing to sell off titles.

After finals I imagine I'll clear out a good bit of 360 and PS3 games. That'll be enjoyable.
 
R

rataven

Member
Officially kicked this challenge off on the 1st, and it's going well so far. One week in, and no new games! Actually, that really puts things into perspective...

Anyway, working my way through my PSN downloads first. Just finished Outland, then it's on to Back to the Future.
 
RpgN

RpgN

Junior Member
Dark Octave said:
Ok that's cool. I have a EU account and I THINK I can purchase from there if I'm in the US...right?
Click to expand...

As mentioned by somebody else, you are able to buy from other accounts as long as you have the means to do so. CC usually don't work because they check the address that goes with them, but if you can get hold of EU PSN cards, you should be fine. You'll have to decide which country's you want to use as well, since you'll have to think about pounds or euros.
 
D

Dion Blaster

Member
Maybe I'll try this soon. God knows I have enough unfinished games. I just bought Hotline Miami, thanks steam :( I hope to become a regular in here soon though.

edit: Just realized this goes til Christmas, oh well. That's when I plan to start lol.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
linkratos said:
Maybe I'll try this soon. God knows I have enough unfinished games. I just bought Hotline Miami, thanks steam :( I hope to become a regular in here soon though.

edit: Just realized this goes til Christmas, oh well. That's when I plan to start lol.
Click to expand...

Christmas 2013... so a year from now :)
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
Yeah so that makes three games I'll use the escape clause on: Dark Souls II, Bioshock Infinite and GTA V.

I'm sure there will be more, though.
 
L

Ledsen

Member
zkylon said:
Yeah so that makes three games I'll use the escape clause on: Dark Souls II, Bioshock Infinite and GTA V.

I'm sure there will be more, though.
Click to expand...

I'm probably not getting Bioshock, but Dark Souls 2 and GTAV? My most anticipated games this generation. I'll just pray Dark Souls 2 comes out later in the year.
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
Ledsen said:
I'm probably not getting Bioshock, but Dark Souls 2 and GTAV? My most anticipated games this generation. I'll just pray Dark Souls 2 comes out later in the year.
Click to expand...
Ah, GTA might be the one I cross off my list if I'm not feeling like it. I'm tired of Rockstar.
 
bunbun777

bunbun777

Member
Hey far be it for me to judge another, but why in the world would anyone buy a game and not play it within the same day? I can think of lots of circumstances, but to buy something and knowingly not play it for months? Is it a sickness, or some kinda collectible mania, or just an overabundance of wealth and a limited amount of time?
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
bunbun777 said:
Hey far be it for me to judge another, but why in the world would anyone buy a game and not play it within the same day? I can think of lots of circumstances, but to buy something and knowingly not play it for months? Is it a sickness, or some kinda collectible mania, or just an overabundance of wealth and a limited amount of time?
Click to expand...
It is a sickly thing, so avoiding it is the purpose of this thread.

It's a very easy thing to do, though, specially if you're on Steam, you'll constantly find yourself in the situation that Steam heavily discount in a game you like but couldn't play right away, so you tuck it away into your backlog. By the time you're free up another heavy discount shows up, and so on and so on.

I have like 200 games on my Steam account and I haven't played around 80 and out of the other 120 there's many I didn't finish.
 
S

Spiffy_1st

Member
You guys might have chosen the wrong year to do this though, next year is looking pretty entertaining.

Don't force yourself to play a game if you don't want to, that's a good way of ruining video games for yourself.
 
Majima Everywhere System

Majima Everywhere System

Member
I've been meaning to get back to this! I did buy some games, but my backlog might not hold up for a year. I'm trying to catalogue everything on backloggery bit by bit. The purchases I made were mostly on autumn sales and Black Friday.

Xcom
Forza Horizon
The Walking Dead
A new 360
Skylanders came with it, but I am going to get some achievements and give it away.
Torchlight
Far Cry 3 (old school Xbox trade in credit purchased this. Got $105 for an OG Xbox)
Person 4 (free with PSN gc I got)

So I'm going to try to make it trough next year with $55 at GameStop and $10 on PSN. I'm skipping the winter steam sale, but I might do the humble bundle. I'll go from mid December to mid December. Don't know if I'm still within the spirit of this, but I'm excited for my own challenge.
 
K

Khaz

Member
This is something I did this year. And surprisingly I can thank Valve and Steam for that!

What I did is I diverted my clicks: instead on clicking on the "buy now" button, I'm clicking on "add to the wishlist". All the game i want to play are there in a list, I just haven't spend money on them (yet). And once I'm commited enough to play a game, I'll go and buy it. I admit it's still very tempting to look at that list during sales with all the -75% next to all these games I know I will love.

It's like the backlog of my backlog.
 
K

Katzii

Member
...I caved and bought a Nintendo Land code for £15 from a very generous GAF member (technically a little more due to fees). BUT I have been playing it!

In fact, I think I might chronicle over this year exactly how much I spend on games in an attempt to disgust myself out of spending loads. Goodness knows I've spent probably a good...... £200+ on Amiga games alone in the last six months and they're being sorely neglected!

Week 1 Summary: December 9th 2012

MY BACKLOGGERY

Completed games: 0
Games started: 0
New games purchased: 1
Total spent on games since 01/12/2012: £15.71

- I have been making considerable progress in Epic Mickey 2 and New Super Mario Bros U, the latter of which I've hit a dead end in Soda Jungle and need to find a way out. I will be going back through the game to get the Star Coins but am just playing the levels for fun for now.
- Making slow chips at Skylanders Giants where I can; I usually try and complete three challenge stars (all the objectives in a single level) whenever I turn it on, which means having to delve into my old figures to use a Magic Skylander.
- Stuck on World 3-4 of Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters currently... I seem to play the game much better under the influence of sleeping medicine than I do when I'm awake.
 
I

isual

Member
zkylon said:
What did you think about Shadow Hearts? I only played like half an hour and didn't really grab me but is there more to it?
Click to expand...

I thought it was a decent game. Unfortunately, I played shadow hearts covenant first, and then from the new world. I just wanted to play it to fulfill the trilogy. Covenant is the best in the entire series, and it was great to finally see the references to Koudelka. I understand now how it's closely tied to that game.

If I was a multi-millionaire, I'd give a couple million to Aruze to develop another shadow hearts. 8/10 game;too short though. Did like getting all the demon fusions, extra dungeons were too short.
 
N

Necrovex

Member
Spiffy_1st said:
You guys might have chosen the wrong year to do this though, next year is looking pretty entertaining.

Don't force yourself to play a game if you don't want to, that's a good way of ruining video games for yourself.
Click to expand...

Not a big problem if we pick up the game and play it to completion (or when we are completely sick of it) instead of tossing it into the backlog.

First week progress:

I am nearing completion of Persona 2. I only have a few more dungeons to do, so I should done with it this week (after finals!).

Making decent progress in The Old Republic. About to hit 37, so only thirteen more levels before I can put this game away forever.

Shadow Dragon is going at a slow pace. I am on chapter 4, and I wish the plot and characters didn't feel so bare bones...
 
S

Spierek

Member
Week 5:
Games bought - 1
Games finished - 3
Backlog - still loads.
Now playing - Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, Army of Two

Finished Virtue's Last Reward, that game was totally worth buying. Now's the time to tackle that humongous backlog. After Army of Two is finished (probably during that week) I'll try to get rid of L.A. Noire too.
 
jono51

jono51

Banned
Finished Hotline Miami.

I couldn't resist a free copy of Metro 2033, been wanting to play it for a while. Will start it once it downloads :3. Still at 0 backlog games started/beaten, lol.
 
W

Wibblewozzer

Member
My goal: Can't buy any physical games until my 700+ collection is under 200 games (and will likely try to go below that a fair bit). No Steam games for a year. All other downloads are okay.

Update. I've now sold 48 games as of today. Since starting I purchased the final episode of The Walking Dead and DJ Max Technika. I believe those have been my only digital purchases since starting. Slow and steady!
 
Z

zkylon

zkylewd
animlboogy said:
What do you think of Lone Survivor? Something about it doesn't click with me. I think it's mostly trying to navigate 3D maps in a 2D sidescrolling setting. I constantly waste time figuring out my orientation. My brain just doesn't like it. Very cool game otherwise, I'm just not sure if I'll stick with it.
Click to expand...
So far I really like it, I can relate to you getting disoriented but it hasn't really became an issue with me, and I really like the survival and Twin Peaks aspects of it. My biggest gripes would be the basement section and the lack of a "continue" option. Since you have to retread all your last actions, I feel like the game could've done without the going back to the main menu part.

Also the music's fantastic.

edit so it doesn't get buried: looking for suggestions of what to play from my list (if possible that I haven't played yet, people that know me might know I've played Bloodlines, even if it doesn't show on Steam): http://steamcommunity.com/id/zkylon/games?tab=all
 
SeanNoonan

SeanNoonan

Member
Sign me the fuck up.

Ubisoft are giving me some games for Christmas, but outside of that I'm exclusively backlog for the foreseeable :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom