I was just having a talk with DaddyBoJangles this morning about how my co-workers tell me that if I just play World of Warcraft, I will have zero need to buy a bunch of video games and how it will save me money. I won't get into WoW because I have a big enough backlog to work on and I enjoy playing multiple games. Despite my love for games, sometimes I have too much on my plate to play (where I pretty much prove it in my pick-up blog posts). Honestly, it's just not easy to buy much less for multiple reasons.

The main reason is there are just too many series I like. The number continues to grow year after year of series I'll buy every installment of. While there's no doubt I love new IPs, but if I enjoyed games in a particular IP, I will keep buying them until I start to dislike them. For an example, every single main Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, LittleBigPlanet, Star Ocean, Grandia, Xenosaga/Xenogears, Mario Kart, Super Mario, Yakuza, Metal Gear Solid, MotorStorm, Sengoku Basarra, Zone of the Enders, Tekken, Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, Hot Shots Golf, God of War, and many others, I will buy day one regardless of price. A good deal only makes me happier. While I tend to play these IPs quite a bit, sometimes there's one that gets ignored unfortunately. When you add these games on top of all the other games I buy, it can be hard to play everything.

Another thing that causes me to buy more games than I want to can be demos (sometimes certain trailers). Whether it’s a brand new IP I never played or a series I never cared for, liking the demo will MAKE me want to buy it. My liking will depend upon whether I get it day one or later. This year I could say the ModNation Racers demo completely sealed the deal on me buying the game on release. I honestly barely cared about Lord of Arcana for PSP, but after playing the demo yesterday there's a good chance I'll buy it. I didn't play much Dead Space on PS3, but after playing the demo of the 2nd one I'm tempted to buy. I HATE most all western RPGs with a passion such as Bioware, Bethesda, etc. I will admit that after playing the Mass Effect 2 demo on 360 and PS3, I'm starting to get a bit tempted to buy the game, but my backlog is already big. Dante's Inferno, Vanquish, Bayonetta, Enslaved, Dead Rising 2 Case Zero (keep in mind I was not a DR fan when I got it), etc. I bought all because I enjoyed the demos. I bought every single Badman game all because of the demos. Rock Band Unplugged demo made me want the game right away instead of later. Hatsune Miku: Project Diva 2 demo from Japan PSN made me import the first, and really want to import the 2nd (although its $70).

Another big factor in getting me to buy games has to do with friends or game impressions I hear around. Hearing some of my friends play NBA Jam for an example made me want to buy the game sooner rather than later. Hearing friends of mine such as FlamingMoogles, LiK, and so on playing and enjoying 999 (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors) made me buy the game when I barely knew anything about it (keep in mind I rarely play DS, but hearing friends like it made me get it). Like I mentioned before in another blog, seeing my friends play games on Xbox 360 or PS3 make me buy a game too just so I can play with them, such as buying Modern Warfare 2 on both PS3/360 (and I'm not even a huge FPS fan), buying Hydro Thunder on XBLA, and so on. Good impressions from friends on forums can also influence me a little to buy a game (like it did with Kirby Epic Yarn). After hearing some positive reviews for Sonic Colors on forums and some websites/magazines, I pretty much bought the game on release since I've wanted a good Sonic game in 3D for a while (not perfect, but definitely a big improvement). K-On for PSP I'm tempted to buy because I think the anime is cool and heard good impressions from friends (but it would cost me $70 to import). I've been known as a Valve hater for years, but friends playing Left 4 Dead games got me to buy into it.

Good deals can also seal the deal on me on buying games. When seeing the blur deal at Best Buy on CAG, I jumped on the deal due to liking some of Bizarre Creations racing games. I bought Split/Second because I enjoyed the demo and felt the $20 price tag was worth it. While I enjoyed demos to NFS: Hot Pursuit, Castlevania: LoS, and some others, game credit on Amazon pretty much sealed the deal. PSN Store deals can make me buy games on impulse at times. Seeing Sonic Adventure for $5 (I still like the game, but own it on Dreamcast), Riviera for $7.49, Supercar V8 Challenge for $10, along with other deals made me buy sooner than expected. My PSN+ membership deals help too. I will NOT just buy a game because it's cheap. If I have a pretty good interests in it, I will buy it.

While this is rarely the case now these days, but a game becoming harder to find can also influence me to buy a game sooner than later. I kind of wanted Crimson Gem Saga on PSP (just after release), but after seeing every GameStop sell out in my area, I bought right away when I moved to a new area and found it. 999 on DS was bought sooner than later strictly because Amazon was sold out and most every GS in my area (and there are tons) did not have any more copies. I ordered Stella Dues on PS2 early because I figured it would be hard to find which it was. I ordered DJ Max Portable 3 on PSP due to there being a limited print of UMDs. Also got Hexyz Force on release since I saw it being a more limited print game.

Another reason I buy some games has to do with publishers or the game genre. NIS America, I kind of feel attached to them in a way. I will almost all their games (outside of their Hitmaker developed ones) because I enjoy many of them. I barely played Prinny 1 (got at a bad time), but I will buy Prinny 2 because it’s another Disgaea related game published by NIS. I bought Disgaea Infinite, Trinity Universe, etc. for similar reasons. I use to buy every ATLUS game last gen until I hated Magna Carta. I use to do the same with Square Enix until some games put a bad taste in my mouth. One reason I bought Resonance of Fate and Infinite Undiscovery was because Tri-Ace developed them (I'm a big Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile fan). I bought Dance Masters/Kinect on 360 (but didn't like it much) because it was a new game made by the DDR team. I bought Resistance early strictly because Insomniac made it. Uncharted already drew me before much gameplay because I really like Naughty Dog.

Game genre can also influence me on buying games. There's no doubt I love JRPGs. I cannot play every single one, but when they come around, I feel the need to buy them. Some put a bad taste in my mouth so I get rid of it, but roughly 80% or more I end up liking. If you look at my PSP, DS, PS2, Wii, etc., I got RPGs I barely even started and continue buying them. The older consoles, I honestly just forget about it and only work on what I decide. While I know Persona 4 is an awesome game, it is buried in the backlog with a ton of other un-played PS2 JRPGs. Not just JRPGs I do this for, but sometimes I'll do it for certain appealing platformers (another one of my favorite genres) and vertical shooters. I paid $150 to import two Cave shooters on 360 because I love the genre a lot. I'll buy almost every one I come across, even if they can be a hit or miss with me. Radiant Silvergun on XBLA will be bought on release and I won't even try the demo knowing me. I did that to Guwage strictly because it was a Cave shooter (I can't say I love it as much as others, but oh well).

Those are pretty much the majority of the reasons I buy way more games than I want to. Many times I wish I would buy less games and save up more money (like for a new house, new car, etc.) or buy other things, but many times the reasons I listed above make me buy more than I wanted. If I had a girlfriend/kid, I'd probably cut down heavily on gaming, but right now I'm still single so it's hard. While I didn't mention it, some people just buying more games than me can sometimes make me want to buy a little more, but that doesn't have much impact. But overall, I just really love gaming a lot so I'm not going to worry much about this. Thankfully January, February, March, etc. in 2011 have way less games I want to buy compared to October/November 2010, but you never know.

Anyone else tend to buy more games than they want to for particular reasons?