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Having a backlog made gaming so much cheaper than ever before

KAL2006

Banned
I bought a PS4 near launch with inFamous Second Son. But for some reason in that generation my gaming time was reduced had alot of stuff going on in my life but I'm finally back gaming way more. In that generation I only played a handful of games, Uncharted 4, Monster Hunter World, Street Fighter V, Titanfall 2 and etc. Maybe around 20 if that.

So now I bought a PS5 near launch and I see complaints about game prices and here I am just playing my backlog of free Plus games or picking a game up for £10. It helps that the graphics of next gen isn't a significant improvement where PS4 games just don't look desirable to play anymore with the next gen excitement. I'm just over halfway playing God of War with 60fps for the first time. and this game still looks amazing. I'm gonna then move on to Ratchet PS4, Resident Evil 7, Control and some other Plus games before I then buy other games like Lost Legacy, Ghost of Tsushima and etc. All these upcoming games look exciting but I can wait when Demons Souls and Miles Morales are dirt cheap or free on Plus. It made me think being behind on games is so much more cheaper. I will get excited for new trailers and E3 I just make a mental note that I'll play these games when they are free or when they are dirt cheap. The only system where this strategy of buying doest work is with Nintendo which is why I only buy the best of the best Nintendo games like Mario Odyssey and skip stuff like Pokémon, Donkey Kong and etc.
 

TTOOLL

Member
I mean, if you always want to play the latest games you are going to pay for it, it's the same for every product. I prefer playing cheaper games since I don't even have a lot of time to dedicate to gaming. The only thing I'm playing right now is Diablo 2, best investment ever.
 

fart town usa

Gold Member
Backlog all day every day.

It's nice to read up on modern gaming but there's so many gems I missed out on. I'll never run out of old games to play. So glad I have a plethora of old consoles and that sales are always going on. Picked up Doom 3 for like $5 the other day on the PS4. That game has been on my list for years, only played a bit on PC back in the day and then a bit of the PS3 version.
 
Same. I bought a PS4 in 2017 and couldn't believe how cheap most games were. I think I got the entire first party library for less than a 100 bucks. Looking forward to the same experience in 2024, when I get a PS5(Pro?).
 

amigastar

Member
I mean, if you always want to play the latest games you are going to pay for it, it's the same for every product. I prefer playing cheaper games since I don't even have a lot of time to dedicate to gaming. The only thing I'm playing right now is Diablo 2, best investment ever.
I remember paying 10 bucks for D2 + Lod back in 2007/2008. Best 10 bucks i've spent.
 
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DGrayson

Mod Team and Bat Team
Staff Member
Ya i hear that. I have a large backlog. I dont refer to it as a backlog anymore. Just games i would like to play someday.

Just no time though.
 
Yeah, it's very rare for me to feel like I need to play something at launch. And a huge backlog always means waiting is no problem. I could never buy another game ever, and I'd live out my days as a gamer very satisfied.
 
I concur. I got a backlog on ps4 a mile long due to plus. I also have a backlog still going back to ps3, psp, vita, nds, 3ds... shit technically I have a ton of ps1/ps2 games to still get through.
Couple that with PC... steam/gog/epic(for free games), and damn... I just looked on my gog launcher (where i have all system accounts in) and it is showing 1010 games.
Thats not including the switch where i have over 100+ games on that alone, or indie games not on those platforms or retro win16/dos games.

I could stop buying games now and be set for 100 years. I have games like city builders and strategy games that last 100s of hours by themselves. Or arpgs like diablo , dark souls etc.. that can be replayed with different builds.

I never understand how some people say they need new games all the time. Where are they getting the time? Even games i have beaten recently (which is low as I get bored and move to another game usually) i still have stuff the see and do. I also will replay older games for the nostalgia. Something about firing up some early 2000s rpg or stealth game and replaying the games. They have a mystery about them that I don't feel with modern games. They are janky sure, but the atmosphere of lower poly count environments is just different. (arx fatalis, tome, deus ex, thief, undying, morrowind, kotor, alice, fear, rtcw, half-life, gothic 1/2, Rune, Dark messiah of m&M, Wizardry8) ...

Tons of games to play, and no time. I get maybe an hour a day now, outside of work. I have a new gf that I live with and would rather spend time with her and make my relationship work, i ruined a 9 year marriage by checking out and playing games and disappearing from the house... not doing that again (to be fair to myself, she wasn't worth it).
 
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JimmyRustler

Gold Member
I mostly cleared my backlog in the past 2 years so gaming is getting a bit more expensive as I find myself without anything to play here and there. Also, clearing my backlog helped me to siff our the genres I do not really like (any more) so it kinda narrowed everything down even further.

The positive effect this all has on me is that I acutally find myself looking forward to new games, which is nice.
 

NinjaBoiX

Member
I ever rarely buy games anymore since I got a Series S, I cried a little when I saw that a good 20% of the games on Game Pass were ones that I’d previously bought (and still not played) for the PS4.

I still look at the eshop sales once or twice a week and will buy the odd bargain but yeah, I’ll probably buy a couple of games a year nowadays.
 
I play more games than ever at launch due to Gamepass, but I much prefer to wait generally - cheaper and fixed by the time I get around to them generally.
 

Cryio

Member
PS5? Ha.

While my PC can do just about 1080p120 in pretty much any game released currently (more or less), what I've been doing instead is playing games emulated from GameCube, PS2 and PS3 since about April this year.

I'm in no hurry anywhere. I've got all of space and time.
 

kingpotato

Ask me about my Stream Deck
K KAL2006 I'm in the same boat. Since you are on PlayStation, definitely take advantage of the wishlist. You can add games on it to help remind you what you were interested in and then also use it to see what's on sale from your interests when you are shopping for a new game.
 

KAL2006

Banned
Just noticed my thread got bumped here.

Just wanted to say this has got way worse. I went into a CeX the other day which is a used game trade in store. And I just had a browse around and seeing so many PS4 games that are dirt cheap, with the addition I can trade in my old games to pay towards these games. Gaming is just so cheap and I'm glad I'm back into physical games. I used to be I to digital sales and get games for £10 and under. But just being able to go into one of thee stores with a bunch of old games and getting trade in to buy physical games for £10 and under which I can use to trade in again is just way better.

By the time I'm all caught up with the PS4 backlog PS5 games should be affordable for me. I look at games like Ratchet, Guardians of the Galaxy and even launch games like Demons Souls and think to myself I'll grab that down the line for £10. By then the game would also have patches and be more stable.
 
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KAL2006

Banned
K KAL2006 I'm in the same boat. Since you are on PlayStation, definitely take advantage of the wishlist. You can add games on it to help remind you what you were interested in and then also use it to see what's on sale from your interests when you are shopping for a new game.

Yes I use to do that but I realise getting into digital sales isn't a smart move for someone like me who ain't into collecting games I just play one game at a time and finish it and move on. I realised I wasted a bit of money when I looked at my digital library all those £10 add up. If they were physical I would have gone into a trade in store and got back a bit of money. Of course there are exceptions like pick up and play games I want in my hardrive such as Street Fighter. But any singleplayer games which I'm nornally into doesn't benefit me buying digital.
 

Quasicat

Member
I did the three year Game Pass deal since I found a great deal on a Live Gold a few years ago. I don’t plan to renew, so I only download the 360 games I get every month to add to my list of games. With the exception of a couple of Switch games to play with the kids, I haven’t bought a new game for myself in almost a year. I’m just going back and playing my old stuff, in which I have literally hundreds of unplayed games.
 
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dorkimoe

Member
I rarely EVER buy a game at launch. Farcry 6 is 40 bucks right now second hand, by the time I am ready for it I will be paying 25 bucks. No more needing to play it day 1 is such a great way to save so much
 

BlackTron

Member
Pretty much this. I buy a small handful of new games each year. It was a strange event to buy a brand new PS4 game when Ghost of Tsushima came out. Nintendo gets me with stuff like Dread and long-awaited dream titles like classic Mario Party in HD without joycons...it will be the first one I buy since the very first one lol.

It's so easy to get a bunch of cheap used PS4 games, or deals for steam codes...if you are patient and just play what you have while waiting for the right moment. You can get more quality games than you'll ever have time to play while spending hardly anything.
 

Guileless

Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
If you really want to save money, walk to the library and check out a Dickens novel.

I'll be pre-ordering super ultra premium versions of Ubisoft titles the minute it's possible.
 

Quasicat

Member
If you really want to save money, walk to the library and check out a Dickens novel.

I'll be pre-ordering super ultra premium versions of Ubisoft titles the minute it's possible.
That’s awesome that you’re buying the latest and greatest as it comes out. You, my friend, are keeping the industry I love alive and well.
I’ve been on a love/hate thing with games for a little while now, and while the new stuff I want to play will be there, I am very content right now playing my Super Famicom Classic.
 

Fbh

Member
For sure. These days even if you are just 6-8 months behind popular releases you'll often play them for less and in a better state thanks to updates and patches.

IMO the only reason to buy stuff day 1 now is to support games, franchises and Devs you like. I'll be buying games like Elden Ring, Hollow Knight Silksong and SMTV day 1 because I want games like that to continue existing.

Otherwise playing slightly older stuff is great. On PC it's even crazier thanks to regional pricing, I've walked away from sales with like 6 months worth of stuff to play after spending $40
 
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godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
Gaming got cheap for me when I stopped buying the games on release date. I’ll play games once they hit GamesPass or I see them on sale. I have some exceptions such as Metroid Dread, but that is because Nintendo never discounts their games.
 

Belthazar

Member
Same here but I really need to stop buying. At least until Elden Ring comes out.

Me too, but it's a never-ending cycle of finding deals on psn gift cards (usually 20 or so % off) and using those credits to buy shit on sale. In my head I'm saving money, but in reality I'm just spending on things I won't reasonably have time to play. It's crazy.
 
I've been trying to be more selective with my purchases in more recent times. A good discipline I've managed is not buying something new until I finish at least one or two other games.

Long live the backlog. I'll be gaming for years to come without needing to buy anything.
 

gundalf

Member
As for most here, money is not the issue but time and one have to be picky about the games you buy. The game must offer a experience that is worth the time, not some filler busy work madness, that boringnes is for adolescents.
Becoming a cheap LTTP gamer is just a nice side effect.
 

FranXico

Member
Aye, my backlog on both console and PC confirms as much. The real cost nowadays is time. I can spend many months without buying anything and still find new games to play in my backlog...
 

Great Hair

Banned
Share the backlog. Give us a list we can work with. I will tell you, if ya wasting your time and money.
imagination GIF
 

dave_d

Member
The downside to playing the backlog is sometimes I just think to myself I so should have played this game sooner. Oh and Vanquish is definitely a great game. (That's what I'm playing now.)
 

Skifi28

Member
I've been mostly playing from my backlog these past six months, haven't even made a dent. At least I can use all the money I've saved for therapy so I've got that going for me.
 
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