Do you get buyers remorse from buying too many games?
This post is mainly to vent but I do wonder if people go through the same thing.
Right now, I want 3 games: Mass Effect PC ,Age of Conan, and Ace Combat 6. However, I feel if I even buy one right now I will get huge buyers remorse. Sometimes I feel like I am way to spoiled. I have a top notch gaming PC and I just sold my Wii to get a 360. Every time I am about to walk out the door and get the game I stop and think, "Do I really need this game right now? Can I wait a couple of more weeks?".
Now I really want to buy these games but I haven't even finished GTA IV. Sometimes I even second guess getting the Xbox because I am mostly a PC gamer and hate console controls sometimes.
I guess I am all over the place with this but have any of you guys felt guilty for buying to many games or buying another game without finishing the one you previously bought? Do you second guess yourself before going out and buying the game?
Thanks for standin' still Wanker!
-XBox Gamertag: Tempest Blaze (Without the Y!)
I absolutely do get buyers remorse with games, I think it's a normal pitfall most people encouter in the hobby.
These three things help me deal with the hype/desire/remorse of buying games:
1) Try to not buy multiple games at the same time. Some will get discarded and forgotten because there simply isn't enough time or attention to get to them all
2) I keep a spreadsheet of my gaming purchases. That helps keep me in check.
3) Game Rentals. I recently started using Gamefly and it's a perk of the console that doesn't exist on the PC. It might be worth considering for your 360.
I know the advice was unsolicited but I hope it's helpful all the same.
Xbox live:Scaphism
I get this a lot. There are so many games coming out this year that there is no way I could play them all, and most I couldn't even play enough of to make it worth the purchase.
Some day I'm going to post a photo of the pile of unfinished games I have at home (PC, 360, PS2, Xbox, Wii, DS and GBA). That combined with my wife getting a better handle on how much I was occasionally spending made me try to go a year without any substantial purchases. I've been playing through old stuff and any tax rebate, bonus, etc.. a very small portion ($50 or less) would go in a gaming slush fund.
It's really made me think about what I want to play and how much I'm willing to spend on it. I've got about $65 left, and I sort of like the Penny Arcade game, but not for $20. So far, there hasn't been one "new" game I felt was worth paying full price for. That's not to say there haven't been some good games this year, but not good enough for me at full price.
When I didn't really have limits, I never felt bad, it was almost like "collecting" games. I'd pick them up and if I played them, fine. If not, I'd revisit them during a dry spell. Because of that, I had a ridiculously huge pile of unplayed games. So, I'm discovering some of the hyped games that I bought at release, really aren't that great. Hindsight is always 20/20, right?
Buyers remorse is a by-product of having limited resources and something that isn't a "need" but a "want." I wouldn't worry about it too much, if it's not impacting your ability to make ends meet, get the game. If you have some bigger goal, step back and think about the game. Single player games don't generally have a time constraint. You play them when you want to and the price will go down in a month or two. So, Mass Effect PC will probably be $20 in 3 months. Ace Combat 6 will probably hit some clearance shelves at the big box retailers soon. Age of Conan is the only one that has something of a time limit. Players are into it now, it's a MMO and if you want to play the a lot of GWJ, that's the one you should probably go for it. In a few months, it might slack off or it might keep a steady player count. It's a gamble. If you wait for the price to drop, there might not be that many players left. If you pay full price, you might only get a few months of play. If that's cool with you, great. AoC would be the only title I would feel any pressure to get quickly if I want to play in large groups of GWJ folk.
Xbox Live | Steam | Last.fm
This was a big step in helping with mine. I have a few games i've not yet finished because i bought others at the same time and would focus on just one and not the others.
Gamer Tag: Rantyr
Um, no. I look at what other people pay for cable or satellite TV, and my habit pales in comparison. We all waste our money, time, on something. I may get remorseful if I buy a game and it sucks, or I do not like it. That 40 dollars on Painkiller is money that I will never get back. But as a whole, it is what I do.
Impose a waiting period between GWJ hype and when you buy. Reading this site will reinforce your natural inclination to purchase games, resulting in a lot of bad purchases. Defcon? Fun for the week that GWJ played it, then not. I've started waiting for a bit and if people are still talking about a game, e.g. TF2, then I buy it.
"All that time you waste dating and having sex could be better spent scouring the web for new game developer press releases." - Quintin_Stone
I find that Introversion games play better on the road than in the home. They and Popcap make the perfect road trip games, good on a plan, on a layover, or in a hotel room.
I second the motion that getting multiple games at once is a mistake. Last year for Christmas I got five PSP games. I haven't been able to give any of them the attention I should have, because when I get some time to play I can't decide what to play, so I fall back on WTF or Every Extend Extra or some other arcade-style pick-up-and-play type game.
I need to make an effort to have a queue. A friend of mine buys PC games that he's interested in as soon as they hit the bargain bins, and he's got a queue of games a mile long. He does it right, though-- put them in order, play them one at a time until A) completion or B) critical frustration and then move on to the next title. Works for him, but I haven't had the discipline to do it.
I have the same problem with DVDs, incidentally. I lost count of how many DVDs I've bought because I love the movie or TV show but haven't gotten around to watching yet. I have stuff that I bought four years ago still in the plastic wrap. That's just embarassing.
I keep a spreadsheet of how many movies and TV shows we own on DVD. Categorized by leading actors, genre, subgenre (because some movies are action movies AND comedies), and suitability for younger audiences-- yes, I'm aware I'm a big nerd. I even write out short plot synopsi so I know what the movie is about (my wife's favorites mostly involve the phrase " comes to terms with ", while my favorites usually involve " seeks vengeance from ". Mars, Venus.)
The current count is somewhere in the high three hundreds, counting individual TV series as 1 title, rather than each season box individually. My wife and I justify it to ourselves because we don't have cable, but we still like watching tv.
L337 is not a word. BA7F is a word.
*Legion* wrote:
Nope.
XBL/PSN: zeroKFE | BHA: zeroKFE | Spore: zeroKFE
Yes.
XBox Live: DSGamer GWJ | PSN: DSGamerGWJ
Yes. Especially when they don't get played.
I buy much less games since switching to 360. Games here are at least twice the price of PC games so I've learned to be more discerning. My incomplete PC pile of shame is MASSIVE, my 360 pile is much smaller.
kuddles wrote:
I NEVER buy new games (GTAIV being my first exception since... GTA SA), but even so, I have a huge pile of unplayed games... not sure if I feel remorse, per se, but the dangers of buying used/cheap are such that I buy many more games for "the bank" than I would otherwise. Most of these never get played. I still have a handful of xbox and Gamecube games sitting around in shrinkwrap that were all purchased for under $10 each.
xbox LIVE: NatsuMatto
That's What She Said -- A Podcast About NBC's THE OFFICE
Yeah, kind-of. I have a huge pile o' shame at the moment. I just recently traded in four games, three of which I touched maybe twice at the most. One of them (Super Paper Mario) I had finished, and knew I would never play again. I ended up getting the original God of War for the PS2, and CrossworDS, the new crossword puzzle title for the DS. So I add to the pile further with God of War. CrossworDS is already getting plenty of use, though.
The other three games that I traded in (Kameo, Dead or Alive 4, Ninety-Nine Nights) were ones where I played the demo and thought, "Hmm, this looks kinda cool." They were all pretty old titles, and I gave them a try for a little while, but quickly figured out that I didn't have the will to finish them at all. They sat on my shelf for a while, then finally, I gave in and accepted the fact that I wouldn't be finishing them, and off they go.
But I don't stop buying games. I just bought both seasons of Sam and Max from Steam. I bought the EA Command and Conquer: The First Decade set. That's a pile-in-a-box, right there, although I've finished Tiberian Sun before. I have yet to play Shivering Isles, Gothic 3 sits on my shelf, neglected, and many, many other titles I can't even recall for the PC, 360, Wii, and even PS3 (Motorstorm, the pack-in, doesn't appeal to me, but I bought Uncharted a while ago), PS2, PS1, and Original XBox.
XBL: NSMike | Steam | PSN: NSMike | Wii Friend Code: 7763 1519 2475 2278 | GWJ Google Calendar
Seeing as I've only ever bought 8 games and 1 system even remotely close to release dates (FFVIII, FFIX, FFX, FFX-2, FFXII, GoW2, LoZ:TP, Wii Sports, & Wii), no I don't have remorse over the games I buy.
I'm an Uncle!!! -8/20/07
I buy even though I have 2 of them. I likey the Snakey. - Scrub
ICO: General Fancypants l Steam: Grenn[GWJ] l WoW: Goquelyrslf, Grendwar l XBLA: GWJ Grenn
I used to. About two years ago I seriously started curtailing my impulse buying, started planning more, using more trade-in credit instead of outright buying, and when my "want to try" list gets too long, will run a Gamefly subscription for a while.
It's helped immensely.
I've only had a couple buyer's remorse incidents over the last two years as a result.
It's tough resisting the forum effect sometimes, but I play more of what I have now as a result, so while I miss out on some multiplayer stuff (GTA4 has been the toughest to miss out on so far, Halo 3 was another), I think I'm more content with my hobby not eating into my budget so much anymore.
This is the most important one to me. I'm the same way, getting huge buyer's remorse, buying a bunch of crap I don't have time to finish, which means I move into a new game before I beat it. This inevitably leads me feeling guilty six months later over having tons of unfinished games, and some of which I leave halfway forever because I find jumping into a game where I forget the storyline, controls and advanced game mechanics too daunting when I can start something else from scratch.
I've started to fix this by instituting a requirement: I can't buy a new game unless I've already completed one or feel confident enough that I won't ever finish it to trade/sell/give it away. None of this "oh but maybe I'll get back to that one day" wishy-washy stuff. If I want to finish it, now is as good a time as ever. Otherwise, drop it.
I would think the first rule of PR is to ignore forum people, because they vacillate between crazy and liar. - Elysium
Not at all. Remorse is for the weak.
Xbox Live: MrGreen
PSN: MrGreenPSN
Wii: 4859 2... oh f*ck it.
I certainly get that sinking feeling when I get too many games at a time, so my solution was to introduce a new rule: only buy a game when I'm ready to play it, or if I reasonably believe that I won't be able to get it in the future (i.e. FES). It's certainly kept my spending in check and delayed some nascent storage concerns, but the brief trip I went on where I thought I'd write about video games for money derailed me.
I used to... not so much remorse, as feeling held hostage by all the games on my shelf that were calling out for advancement and progress therein, eating up time better spent elsewhere. These days I splurge on systems just to keep my options open, but limit myself to one game per system, and a one-title Gamefly account for variety and shorter narrative games. And considering my current three might be my favorite games ever (GTA4, Mario Kart Wii, & MLB '08) I don't see any of them getting swapped out any time soon. That Gamefly account is a nice safety valve for the urge to "stray". Usually the game comes in, and freed from the pressure of ownership I have a couple fun hours with it and then it's over.
Lucky Ghost: Network Stars
I only started visiting this site when Sins of a Solar Empire came out. I never would have heard of it if not for the conference call, and the weekly gushing got me interested even though I generally hate RTS games.
Long story short, I bought it. I'm glad I did, though. It's the first RTS I've ever had any fun playing.
However, I must be careful. My innate low-sales-resistance coupled with this initial positive experience might lead me to be susceptible to GWJ conference call hype. Already, I've felt a pull towards WOW or AOC, and I've never wanted to play an MMORPG before in my life. I've cast a glance toward TF2, and I know I'm crap at competitive FPSs.
The waiting period sounds like a good idea. It worked to keep me from buying a Wii. It can work to keep me from buying too many games.
L337 is not a word. BA7F is a word.
I will get buyer's remorse but only for the titles I buy and either don't play or don't get to play much. I too follow the rule about not buying multiple titles at the same time and that helps a lot. If I can summon the willpower to put down that second title I'm holding, once I get home I don't think about it anymore. I've also been heavily relying on rentals lately (partially from being unemployed but more in general as well) which has helped a lot, though I still really prefer to buy games that I either feel are really worth it and need support or that I know I'll get a ton of hours out of. I have a couple of PSP and DS games I've bought on impulse in recent months that I haven't even taken out of the plastic yet and that bugs me. I have every intention of getting to them though.
"Just because something's popular, that sure doesn't make it right." -Penn Gilette
"You can't fix stupid." -Ron White
blog.digital-lifeline.ca
I highly recommend giving it a shot. I'm not big on multiplayer FPS titles either, mostly because I can't be dedicated enough to really compete by the time I get around playing it. But I've played a fair amount of TF2 because it forces you to work as a team if you want to get anywhere, and because classes like the Heavy, the Medic and Engineer are clearly designed so you can feel like you're helping out even if you're not running around getting headshots at every corner.
I would think the first rule of PR is to ignore forum people, because they vacillate between crazy and liar. - Elysium
Well I definitely have the funds to get the games but I always feel bad getting one when I havent finished the other. It is rare that I buy multiple games on the same day. I think I am definitely going the Gamefly rout for 360 games so don't have games sitting on my self that I will never playa gain.
As most of you know I play TF2 almost every day since launch. I fear if I get AoC I will end up giving that the game the shaft when in actuality, I am still having a ton of fun with it. I know it will happen to because the people who used to be on TF2 all the time are rarely on because they got AoC.
Thanks for standin' still Wanker!
-XBox Gamertag: Tempest Blaze (Without the Y!)
I do, in the past I've been that "impulse buyer" that's been mentioned previously and have ended up with a huge backlog of games. Recently I had to put myself on a game-buying moratorium until I'm able to whittle down this pile a bit, though I did have to break it for GTA IV (I'm so weak!). My biggest problem was trying to figure out what to play next but I think I have it licked - I made a list of games I'd like to finish, numbered them, then used a random-number generator to narrow the choice down to three. It works for me - that's how I was able to finish Metroid Prime after five years!
When you misplace something you do not "loose" it. When you sneak a look at something you do not "peak" at it. And for God's sake the words "funner" and "funnest" do not exist.
Remorse is for the weak! There is no place for the weak... I need you to kill, kill, kill... KILL!
Xbox Live: Nei HD | Playstation ID: Nei_GWJ | Too Human | simExchange
I used to, back when I'd buy more games than I could play. These days I'm more stingy and I have a vast library of classics I can happily replay.
Fedaykin98 wrote:
Yeah. Cheapassgamer.com is a really a really bad influence on me.
Like SommerMatt above, I've got more games still in shrinkwrap that I bought because they were really cheap than I'd like to admit.
Plan to be spontaneous... tomorrow
Xbox Live: DoubleFour
Wii: 1438 1409 5584 0427 | PSN: DoubleFour | Twitter: DanOsborne
http://notrational.blogspot.com
I'm pretty thrifty about my purchases, so I tend not to purchase so many games that I can't play them all. However, I do get buyers remorse from buying games that won't run well on my aging machine.
- Alan
I'm too guarded and planned out, plus I have the kids to help me consume anything that's around. I buy a lot more games than I can play sometimes, but I consider them an investment for summers and other times when the release schedule has tumbleweeds blowing through it.
Duoae wrote: