Tips for working through your backlog?

T

Tonious

CAGiversary!
I'm sure this question gets asked a lot on these forums but I'm having trouble working through my backlog. @_@ I have several PS3, Wii, and 360 games that are piling up more and more. I guess I'm indecisive or just suffering from too many options because it's hard to pick a game and jump into it. I also have a bad habit of going back and replaying old games I've already beaten. ~_~ So, any tips on going about this? What I've been trying is picking a system and picking a game for it but that makes me feel limited. Helpz! How do you pick a game to play from your backlogs?
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']This can be easily solved by only buying games that you're actually very interested in playing.[/QUOTE]

I deny your reasoning with my own flawed logic! Cheap game = Instant buy
 
Here's an idea, stop buying new games. Play your way through your backlog. If you feel the urge to buy new games keep in mind that whatever game you're buying today will be cheaper down the road. Your goal should be to play the games you currently own.

If this strategy doesn't work for you. You can always try selling/flipping them for games you really want to play.
 
Sell the games you don't have interest in playing because they really are not worth playing just to justify the purchase or a "good sale price".

Play the ones you like the most first.

Time is too valuable to waste on shitty games.

1 awesome outstanding, memorable game > 10 cheap crappy games

In fact, no games at all is better than 10 crappy/mediocre games.
 
I've been trying to go through and look at games i wanted to play and trying to work them one at a time. its like focusing instead of spreading yourself too thin. I don't want to get the story lines confused.
 
[quote name='kill3r7']Here's an idea, stop buying new games. Play your way through your backlog. If you feel the urge to buy new games keep in mind that whatever game you're buying today will be cheaper down the road. Your goal should be to play the games you currently own.

If this strategy doesn't work for you. You can always try selling/flipping them for games you really want to play.[/QUOTE]

In addition to this, don't go onto CAG/the internet and tone down your other entertainment forms (i.e. movies, gambling, facebook, etc.).

Give yourself outside incentive to play the game (i.e. achievements, multiplayer, friends, based on the creator, etc.)
 
I haven't had one for years as I started only buying something if I can play it within a month.

When I had one last gen it was just a matter of selling off games I knew I'd never play, and not buying any new games other than the 1 or 2 absolute "must play right now" games at launch. Of course, I don't think I ever let my backlog even then get above 10-15 games.
 
Working through a backlog without acquiring more cheap games while trying to do so is impossible if you continue to come onto CAG while attempting to do so. I have found this out, as instead of slimming down the number of games I have I've added to it.:roll:
 
[quote name='dashrendar']Stop visiting CAG? At least that way you won't be adding to it as quickly.[/QUOTE]
This.
 
It's weird how too many options makes it harder to pick a choice. I sometimes play an hour or even half hour of a few different games and see what sticks tomorrow.

I ALWAYS have a backlog and picking what to play problem because aside from wanting to play through my PS3 backlog, beating Heavy Rain and GOW3 again, as well as AC2--I'm also addicted to MW2 online and play sports games. Having a season going in Madden and NBA2k11 at the same time and getting through all the old stuff while enjoying Gran Turismo 5 every night is a problem.

It's always the hype that gets me...I'd be plugging along on my backlog if it wasn't for GT5, but now I'm on that so no new games for me...besides Fallout3 GOTY that should be arriving any day...then I'm set. At least until the hype gets me again in a spring thaw!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, especially for gamers.
 
Chances are that most of the games you haven't played suck. Just throw away the stuff that's obviously crap or mediocre. Or sell it or something.
 
Here's some advice of steps I have taken to reduce the backlog.

1) Before you purchase a new game, try and clear 2 out of the backlog. If you know Call of Duty 19: Super Rogue Militia is coming out December 25th, 2017. Finish off a couple before you pick it up and move on. Stick to this and your backlog will go down.

2) Forget about 100%-ing it. While a huge amount of trophies and achievements is nice, it eventually could be seen as a monument to a bigger problem and a time sink.

3) Game are supposed to be fun. Don't be afraid to drop the difficulty or even get rid of the game if it's too difficult or you just don't like it. Why keep playing a game you don't enjoy when you have a huge stack of potential fun?

4) Set some "goals". ex: Beat Perfect Dark before this weekend. Setting personal game dates will help here as well. Ex: Halo on Wednesday

5) Don't obsess over the collectibles. They drastically add to time you spend in a game, and often add little to the end-game experience

6) Be wary of games or modes with no end. You can polish of CoD single player in less than 8 hours, but if you move into multiplayer, you could spend 15-20 hours easily. However, don't pass up having fun. If the multiplayer is fun, play it, but if you are trying to cleanout your backlog pay attention to how much time you re investing in that.

Hope those help
 
The above poster put some of the best advice you can get. I have started working through my backlog and especially follow number 1 because it is a guaranteed way to cut your backlog.
 
Replaying old games is hardly a bad habit. That just means that they are great games.
 
Might use some the provided advice here. Stop buying that's what I've been doing, even if it is on sale, knowing it will probably be cheaper later.
 
[quote name='dashrendar']Stop visiting CAG? At least that way you won't be adding to it as quickly.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely DO NOT do this one.
Last time I did I missed the mlb.tv sale for $20 and bought it a week later for $120.

I have the same problem.
I guess the best thing I can say is to stay away from buying games that you don't imagine you'll play in the immediate future.
And maybe playing games you're really interested in first. Playing something incredibly good might give you motivation to jump right into the next game in hopes of a similar experience.
 
If you consider playing through games that you own "work," you probably shouldn't be playing them. Get rid of anything that you'd consider work, and only keep and play through the games that would be fun. When a game stops being fun, shelve it and go to the next.
 
this is a lesson I learned recently. Be more broke. I went back and am trying to 100% the achievements in Fallout 3 until I can get new vegas lol. And going back through all my games to get the achievements and pointless bs I always wanted to when I got them. And if I have a game that I know for sure I will never play again, I get rid of it. Deep inside you have to have some feeling of games you know are a last resort. Just get rid of them, all they do is prevent you from playing the worthwhile ones.
 
This is how I deal with my backlog:

Anything I buy on day 1, I play on day 1. Why pay a premium, to just throw it in a backlong and the value drops? DON'T DO IT!

I try to play many shorter games before I play an RPG. For instance, I will play around five 10-12 hour games, and then one 50 hour game. It breaks the pace up a bit, and makes me feel satisfied because my backlog drops.

My backlog is around 30 right now... but I played 5 games in the last 4 weeks. I also bought around 3-4 games in that time.... lol... I make progress slowly!
 
[quote name='Nova_01']Absolutely DO NOT do this one.
Last time I did I missed the mlb.tv sale for $20 and bought it a week later for $120.

I have the same problem.
I guess the best thing I can say is to stay away from buying games that you don't imagine you'll play in the immediate future.
And maybe playing games you're really interested in first. Playing something incredibly good might give you motivation to jump right into the next game in hopes of a similar experience.[/QUOTE]

Relax buddy, it was a joke.

In all seriousness, if you don't like a game after 2-3 hours, put it aside/sell it back/etc. because you probably won't like it any better after 10 hours. I made this mistake with Final Fantasy XIII, got about 30 hours into it and realized I never enjoyed playing it.
 
I made a system for when I have a load of games I have not finished yet. I use a timer application called Pomodairo. It is a small to-do list application.

I set it to 25 minutes and start playing one game for a whole week using this app. I take 25 minute breaks, usually doing work or cleaning, and then I get back to playing for another 25 minutes.

If I like a game, I may raise the time to an hour.
 
I recently have tried knocking some shorter games out of my backlog and then throw in the RPG's.

However, I know I will never complete my backlog. I have to many games and a lot of them for older systems that I know I'll just never play.
A lot of them I got really cheap, and a good chunk I got for free while working at Game Crazy.

Problem is, I'm a collector as well and I don't want to get rid of my collection of video games - at least not yet.

It's my OCD - bust buy more....ooohh a sale.
It is the one big weakness that I have but I accept it.
 
[quote name='grrouchie']I recently have tried knocking some shorter games out of my backlog and then throw in the RPG's.

However, I know I will never complete my backlog. I have to many games and a lot of them for older systems that I know I'll just never play.
A lot of them I got really cheap, and a good chunk I got for free while working at Game Crazy.

Problem is, I'm a collector as well and I don't want to get rid of my collection of video games - at least not yet.

It's my OCD - bust buy more....ooohh a sale.
It is the one big weakness that I have but I accept it.[/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure that describes like half the people at this site. "Oh! A $10 game, why not buy it?" That sums up like half my collection.
 
I have a backlog, but I've stopped buying new games. I've created a "virtual" backlog by using a Amazon wish list to contain the games I hope to purchase in the future. In the mean time, play through your backlog 1 by 1 until you have no more games in your physical backlog. Then you can look for deals and cross the games off your wishlist. Also, if you see a really good deal, you can still get it, but just keep in mind that all games always drop in price eventually (except really rare titles).
 
[quote name='grrouchie']I recently have tried knocking some shorter games out of my backlog and then throw in the RPG's.

However, I know I will never complete my backlog. I have to many games and a lot of them for older systems that I know I'll just never play.
A lot of them I got really cheap, and a good chunk I got for free while working at Game Crazy.

Problem is, I'm a collector as well and I don't want to get rid of my collection of video games - at least not yet.

It's my OCD - bust buy more....ooohh a sale.
It is the one big weakness that I have but I accept it.[/QUOTE]

I think that's what really sums it up - we're all collectors at heart and it's really hard to pass up a deal, especially on a game one may have some sort of interest in.
 
Yeah, thankfully I've never been a collector really. Maybe with movies and cds I guess. But never with games. So that's kept me from ever having too big a back log as I've always been a play it, see the credits roll and sell/trade it and move on to the next game type of gamer.
 
[quote name='dashrendar']Stop visiting CAG? At least that way you won't be adding to it as quickly.[/QUOTE]

Yup, make sure you spend more time playing the games then hunting down deals on games. And wait until games hit rock bottom less then 10 bucks prices to pick them up.

I also had a rule that I needed to beat 3 games before I could buy one more. This made me pass a few deals but if the game was really something I wanted to play I would eventually pick it up later and often for cheaper.

Also be willing to play games on "easy". If all you want to do is burn past a game then playing on easy is usually the first step. Sure you may miss out out on some achievements or trophy's but would you rather pump up your nerd score or get past your game log.
 
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