I can see logic behind your thought. Having a stack of unplayed games is never a good thing, but....

Would you really read a book halfway through and not finish it? Sure, maybe if it was awful, but most times, you want to finish what you start. But I also don't just play one game at a time. I own several systems, so I try to have 1 or 2 games going on each, usually of different genres so depending on what I'm in the mood for that day, I'll go to that system.

For instance, right now on my currently playing list is:
Wii U: Monster Hunter TU/Punch Out
Wii: Ys Book I&II (still trying to finish up after starting it during Retroactive)
3DS: MHTU and Zelda II
DS: Pokemon machine at this point
PC: Portal 2
PS3: Currently nothing except for when my buddy has time to jump online and we play Dungeon Seige 3. One might say it's collecting dust, outside of being a Netflix/Blu Ray Player.

I do have a backloggery, xcwarrior for those interested, but I hate having games unplayed. But I also hate missing out on games that now cost a ton - like Ikaruga for GCN. So when I see a game cheap, I pick it up. I'll more than likely get to it eventually, I don't care if I'm playing the new hotness or not. And I also read reviews before buying a game, so rarely do I pick up bad games that I don't want to finish.

And to answer your question, good idea on the blog, keep it going.

I usually can commit to 2 games at a time: one that's a bit more involved, and one that's a more lighter/simpler game.  If I try to play too many games during the same time frame, i'll often lose track of what I was doing/where I was going, which usually results in me having to start over or quit outright.

Just my perspective.

I'm glad that works for you Zack. I'm not sure I would like doing that, though. I've been in the situation where I'm in the middle of too many games, and what happens is that I have to do a little bit of re-learning if I don't play a game after some amount of time (like @lolmonade mentioned). If I'm on a roll with a particular game and am engrossed in it, why would I want to spend less time with it and switch to something else? But that's just me.

I keep my backlog small simply by buying fewer games and being realistic about how quickly I can play through them. Being a new dad, it's been harder recently to having gaming time, period.

Right now I have three games going (always have minimum 1 console and 1 portable game going at any given time):

Runner2 (Wii U eShop)
Pandora's Tower (Wii)
Dragon Quest IX (DS)

and I may start a 3DS eShop game. That is plenty for now, and I'm having a great time. I think my stack of unopened games is currently 5 or so.

If I'm not enjoying a game, I'm not going to force myself to finish it at all costs.

I definitely have a backlog, but I'm not the kind of gamer who will complain about it.

I'm not able to play multiple titles at once as you are. I prefer having one lengthy game at a time, but will occasionally play shorter games (usually 8bit/16bit generation titles), I've been meaning to complete, as I play the longer title. I prefer to keep my focus on the single title, especially if it has complex gameplay mechanics that I need to keep track of, or a story I want fresh in my mind.


If I were playing multiple long titles at once, the likelihood of me putting down one, or more of those titles midway through increasing drastically. And then I'll prefer to restart a lot of titles after a long time off. Especially in any game where you're doing heavy management, with strategy titles and RPGs.


Really it's a matter of preference. If I put 30 hours into Luigi's Mansion 2 over the course of a couple of weeks, or put 30 hours into it over the course of four months because I am playing many titles at once, I'm still investing the same amount of time. To call it nonsensical and try to respect someone's opinion in the same breath is disingenuous.

My question was answered in the second paragraph: is it like in Wreck-It Ralph?

I am a tad disappointed.

This is my preferred method of playing. I usually have like 2-3 console games I jump around on. I always try any new games I buy, and if it's something I am interested in playing for next week straight, then I will. It's usually games from my favorite series that will do this (kirby, megaman, and ys recently) but almost any other games I play sporadically with other games. Also I rarely have time to 100% a game unless its a game I really really enjoyed, like kirby or megaman.

I just play a game until I feel like playing something else. Then I play something else. It can take me several months to finish a game simply because I move on to something else. I suppose that would mean that I have a backlog, but I'm in no rush to finish any game in any set amount of time. I mean, I own it, it's not going anywhere. I don't have to rush to finish it so I can take it back to the rental store. I just finished FE: Awakening a few weeks ago, and I've had it since launch day in North America.


So essentially I agree with Zach. I don't pressure myself to beat a game, I just play it as long as I'm having fun with it, and if something else looks interesting I'll play that instead.

I bounce around a lot.  I use "backlog" to mean games that I have not completed or gotten stuck in but need to get back to.  Unfortunately I have N64 games that I bought when they were current that would qualify that I haven't touched in over ten years.  If I try to continue where I left off I'll likely be incredibly lost.

For actual games I have not yet played at all that really only happens during times in my life where I'm incredibly busy.  I only recently had time to play games again after about six months of having no time at all to do it (or really no significant free time of any sort).  So there were a few games I got for my birthday that went unplayed as a result.  Typically I just don't buy games during times of my life where I have no time to play them.  But I have a lot of unplayed retro games though.  Buying an old used 8/16 bit game is typically a matter of opportunity.  A game that's at the store today could not be there tomorrow and not show up again for years.  So if the obscure game I've been looking for is available in the price range I want, I buy it.  It wouldn't matter if I was going to prison for five years the next day.  As a result I have a big pile of old NES games that have not been played.  Some of them might not even work and I'll just have to eat it as I've taken too long to test them for the store to realistically give me a refund.

If I decided to not buy any more videogames at all until I had completed or gotten stuck on every videogame I own I wonder how long it would take?  It would take years for sure and probably require dedicated play time (I have little incentive to play videogames right now because the weather is nice.  Gaming is typically a fall/winter thing for me).

I guess that means I’m also a game jumper. First of all, if I wasn’t then the only game I’d ever play is NBA2K (was 11 on PS3 now 13 on Wii U). I can’t ever get enough of that game. Previous to NBA2K11 I would have only played Madden (95-SNES, 01-N64, 04-GameCube, 10-PS3).
Luckily I’m certainly a game jumper so I get to play tons of other games. I play whichever game I most feel like playing in the moment I sit down (even if that means I have to hurry and download it from the eShop first).
Doing this now has me playing a whole list of games at the same time (only games played in the last 2 weeks count)-
NSMBU
NBA 2K13
Kirby’s Adventure
Punchout
Theatrhythm
Mario 3D Land (only a few more levels before I finally conquer it)
Kid Icarus
NSMB2
Tank Tank Tank
Sonic Racing Transformed
Megaman 3 (3DS)
Starship Defense (3DS)
Plants vs Zombies (3DS)
Brain Age Concentration Training
Mario Kart 7
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Epic Mickey 2 (Wii)
Pikmin 2
Smash Bros Brawl
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Nintendo Land
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (Gamecube)
Kirby’s Pinball Land (3DS)
Rayman Legends Challenge App
Luigi’s Mansion (Gamecube) (yes I know, this one didn’t interest me enough to conquer it back in the GameCube days, but my 3 year old daughter loves it so she sits on my lap and I play and read the words/story to her)
Yes all this in the last 2 weeks I’m certainly a game jumper, however the good side of it is it never takes me long to decide how much I like a certain game because all I have to do is look at my play log and if it’s a new game and it isn’t being played then I know it won’t get played much more and I can feel free to sell it. I know I’m always having fun (if I’m not I pop it out and play a different game)
I’m actually surprised I thought this is what most people did, but it looks like I’m in the minority.

My parents taught me to finish what I started. It builds character and discipline.

My system is simple. I buy a whole bunch of games, and continue doing so over time, and then not play any of them because I'm still playing FIFA 13.

Love this blog.
I am most definitely in the game-jumper category, always have been. I am probably most like Leo13 in that I can jump around several different games in a fairly short period. It all depends on my mood of the moment, which is influenced by so many things: am I tired, how much time have I got to play right now, are my kids playing with me, have I recently heard Johnny wax poetic about ACIII, making me want to pick it up again (yes), did the ALTTP2 footage and Zelda Oracles games announcement make me want to go back and finish Link's Awakening (yes), was there recently a massive sale at EB Games wherein I picked up a bunch of mid-tier but crazily cheap Wii and DS titles that I want to try out right away in case I need to return them (yes), did I just peruse my game shelf and have Scarface catch my eye, causing me to sink a few hours into it over the last two days (yes), am I in the mood for something whimsical, serious, shorter, epic, violent, challenging, laid-back, etc., etc. Often the worst problem I have is actually making a choice in the moment. I have so many games from which to choose, sometimes I am overwhelmed by the posssibilities. This is a nice problem to have.


It's a bit like choosing what to have for dinner on a weekend: lots of choices, depends on what you're hungry for.

Thanks Fatty_The_Hutt for confirming that I'm not the only one that plays games like this.

I have always played games that way. Back when I owned the Gamecube I remember playing Wind Waker, Luigi's Mansion and Paper Mario:Thousand Year Door. I would play the 3 of these every day after school, putting about an hour and a half into each every day. Because of this method, I was able to stretch out the Games much longer then I would have if I would have put all my time into one at a time. It took me about 4 months to complete Luigi's mansion, compared to the average 2-3 days.

On the Wii U right now I got Arkham City, Black Ops II and Zombie U on the go, and play Nintendoland or Super Mario U whenever a group of friends are around.  I am close to beating Zombie U, after owning it for about 3 weeks.

A fan of this method always.
-mackowl

I'm kind of with Ian here.  I game jump, not a big RPG fan because if you leave those games you'll have a hard time getting back into them.  But I have an incredibly large backlog.  The older games because of opportunity and price.  If I pick up an SNES game for $1.99 and only play it a couple of hours, I've probably got my money out of it.  I'll pick up newer games too though.  I have a soft spot for Gamefly sales at $9.99.  That's mainly because I'd rather have a perfect condition game than eventually pick up a newer used game at $4.99 and it looks like somebody played hockey with it. 

So I have a backlog I embrace.  It doesn't bring down my enjoyment.  I'll get to the games eventually.  And if I don't I won't have that much money dropped into them that I'll feel it's a total waste.  I think the key is games are supposed to be fun and I'll play and buy what I want to.  The games in my backlog I want to play, but life is busy with a kid and I'll get to them when I get to them. 

Gaming Without a Backlog

Until I saw Zach's name, I thought Mr. Diamond J was writing a self-help article. ;)

As for me, I sometimes focus solely on one game until I finish it. Other times, I'll dabble between a couple games at a time. I tend to focus on one game when playing RPGs (like The Witcher).

;D ;D ;D 
+1