Buying no (or very few) games - 2016 edition

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Following on from the No buying new games in 2015 Catch-None thread. Here is a 2016 edition. I've added the 'or very few' caveat because I suspect most of us will actually buy the odd game.

Personally, having started saying no to the inner gamer who would buy everything that takes my fancy, I am finding myself turning down quite a few games I didn't think I'd be able to resist. It's a good feeling to stem the tide a little.

My gaming time is way lower than my desire for new games. So I made a deal with myself to only buy one full-price game per month. I started a spreadsheet about 6 months ago and so far I've been able to stick to the plan.

I have made some additional rules that you may consider cheating. If the game is cheap, $10 or less, I'll let myself buy two of those in a month. I can also use up slots from upcoming months as long as I don't buy a game that month.

I wish I could join this club, but I know it won't work out. We weren't meant for each other.

I've gravitated to where you are, Higgledy. I've got an embarrassingly large backlog of games I let myself buy at too high prices, and it's time to get my money's worth out of more of them. It's a little frustrating when you have more recreational money than time.

I'm working off a slightly different premise - no new games in 2016 until I finished the games I bought in 2015. Naturally I can't force myself to complete my ENTIRE steam backlog, but just with the games I have right now I'm probably good for a few months.

That being said, I have been waiting for The Witness since 2009...and god help me if The Last Guardian does come out in 2016...

Reposting my plans from the 2015 thread. Thanks for spinning it off, Higgeldy!

I've been thinking to attempt no new game purchases. Difficulty here is...

- as much as I don't want to believe Nintendo's next console isn't until 2017, it seems '16 is pretty likely. I suppose I don't have to buy it on release.

- I've submitted a proposal for summer work that will net a significant chunk of extra income. I would really like a Steam Machine or a PC upgrade at this point that would be the platform of PC games for hopefully the next 5 years (current one (laptop) is 4 years old.

If I know I'm going to buy a new PC with my extra work money (and will still have a significant amount leftover to handle some bills and such) - that might be the incentive.

I also want to participate in steam sales, at a nominal amount.

I'm mostly onboard with this, with the caveat that I've already pre-order xcom2. Gosh it's going to be so hard to say no to Total War: Warhammer, but since I played less than 10 hours of Attila I'm not sure I can justify the £50 price on steam.

Alz wrote:

I'm working off a slightly different premise - no new games in 2016 until I finished the games I bought in 2015.

Hmm that does sound interesting. I'm playing Fallout 4 at the moment. If can finish that, Pillars of Eternity AND Dragon Age: Inquisition (all purchased 2015) then I probably deserve a new game!

I pledge not to buy any games for myself in 2016.

Gifts during Steam Sales don't count right?

I spent $437.48 on video games in 2015 and only played 201 hours for the year. That $2.18/hr of entertainment is just not good enough value. I'm less interested in finishing games so much as feeling like I'm getting my money's worth (entertainment > $ spent).

So, I've instituted a flat cap of $100 on video games for 2016. I'm doing the same w/my board gaming acquisition disorder. The added bonus for the boardgames is that I'm saving space in the closet, too.

We'll see how I do.

Not so much no buying no games but the way I will buy less is my resolution to play everything I buy.

It is embarrassing how many titles are in my Steam library that I have never started.

There have already been a couple of titles I've passed on this month simply because I don't know when I'll play them and I don't want to play them so badly as to stop a game I'm currently on.

It just feels very wasteful to buy something you never use (other than things like a fire extinguisher)

Eleima wrote:

I pledge not to buy any games for myself in 2016.

Gifts during Steam Sales don't count right? :D

Not unless the free Games with Gold games count for me....in which case I'd just need to leave this thread.

Top_Shelf wrote:

That $2.18/hr of entertainment is just not good enough value.

It's better than, say, the cinema, or a round of golf.

I'm so, so gonna try to spend less on games this year because holy crap last year I got a lot of games.

Yeah I'm game.

A little motivational video for you fine folks.

I always had the moment from 0:50 in my head during the last year whenever I didn't buy a game (very interesting for pre-orderers too..)

I am all in on this plan for 2016. Between a small child starting to look towards daycare and the potential of grad school, i really don't need to be buying anything new. I'm going to leave myself a few small exceptions though.
a) Torment, Night in the Woods and Defenders Quest 2, which i've already paid into via kickstarter or preorder
b) If Tacoma releases this year, it gets bought. Period.
c) I'll allow myself one new hero for Marvel Heroes, though they haven't announced this year's slate yet so this may either be an easy choice or a really really tough choice depending on who's coming.

We can do this! The piles, they call!

Dryden wrote:

.

We can do this! The piles, they call!

We can really do this! The piles are real. I have so many great games (and ones unknown to me that might be great) - it's time to check them out.

My summer work Proposal was accepted, so there WILL be a PC upgrade. Or a shower reno. Probably a shower reno....

Should help with kid daycare money on our end, too. As well as maybe focusing on other aspects of life and enjoyment. I haven't played electric guitar in so long, I'm so very rusty... I think I would like to play at least one rock and roll gig this year. Maybe finish that solo EP I've said I was going to do for three years now...

Veloxi wrote:

I'm so, so gonna try to spend less on games this year because holy crap last year I got a lot of games.

Veloxi, reading your steam sale list left my mouth WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE open. ;p

Zoso1701 wrote:
Veloxi wrote:

I'm so, so gonna try to spend less on games this year because holy crap last year I got a lot of games.

Veloxi, reading your steam sale list left my mouth WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE open. ;p

Yeah, that was my last hurrah, as it were.

I see a lot of people talking about their pikes. Don't forget that m0nk3ynoy runs the yearly thread over here. And that Hemidal runs a monthly thread. For those who want to work on a balance between buying and playing, and go beyond a "no buy" embargo (which most of us don't abide by if last year's Thread is any indication).

kergguz wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

That $2.18/hr of entertainment is just not good enough value.

It's better than, say, the cinema, or a round of golf.

Yeah, that's some pretty good value, Top_Shelf. You can't even get a decent coffee at that price in my neck of the woods and that lasts what, fifteen minutes?

Yep. The pile threads are very good. They helped me

Eleima wrote:
kergguz wrote:
Top_Shelf wrote:

That $2.18/hr of entertainment is just not good enough value.

It's better than, say, the cinema, or a round of golf.

Yeah, that's some pretty good value, Top_Shelf. You can't even get a decent coffee at that price in my neck of the woods and that lasts what, fifteen minutes?

One thing I'd say about the cinema, golf and even coffee, to a certain extent, is that those are all forms of entertainment are based at someone else's property. Gaming is generally home based and home based entertainment is, over all, a lot cheaper. The cinema, etc are also, for me at least, 'once in a while' activities rather than many times a week.

I've been thinking about how many games I should aim to buy in the year. No games or very, very few games is appealing but, my problem is, if I break the rule I've set, then everything goes out of the window and I'm back to buying whatever I want.

I'm thinking of a limit of eight games for the year.

Most of those eight slots are already spoken for (below) but, even though I can't contemplate it now, some of those games may turn out to be duds making room for others.

Dark Souls 3
No Man's Sky
Invisible Inc
Uncharted 4
Persona 5
Horizon: Zero Dawn
Ghost Recon: Wildlands
Game 8

I feel like there's not many games I'm truly looking forward to.

Dark Souls 3 ... maybe. Still haven't put much time into Bloodborne.

No Man's Sky? Absolutely, but I'm still afraid they haven't found the fun in the game.

Persona 5? Oh yeah, but I'll end up putting 40 hours into it and never seeing the end of the story. So, maybe I should wait for a discount on it.

XCOM 2 sounds mighty tempting, but I've somewhat soured on Firaxis games.

Final Fantasy Explorers is really tempting to me. We'll see how it turns out.

Uncharted 4, Street Fighter V, FFXV, Mass Effect: Something, Far Cry: Something, all get a shrug from me. They're not selling anything new and interesting to me.

No, the real problem, is sales. Games from last year getting price drops. Those are what I need to stop gobbling up.

I'm trying to stick to the few must-plays and ignoring all impulses to enjoy the online multiplayer titles I've got right now (i.e. Heroes of the Storm, Halo 5, Black Ops 3, Diablo III).

New releases - XCOM 2, Quantum Break, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Jury still out on - Overwatch
It'll hurt but I'll save it for the holiday wish list or next year - Gears of War 4, Mass Effect Andromeda, Dark Souls 3

And nothing else apart from the free Xbox One/360 titles in Games with Gold. That's what I'm hoping on sticking to, and if so it will be a radical departure from prior years).

Persona 5 and Dark Souls III are on my must-get list.
If No Man's Sky turns out to be brilliant I will spring for it.
There is nothing else I'll miss.

Purchased in 2016:

Rebel Galaxy

I would've purchased that last year if it had hit consoles in time, but I instead waited for it on PS4. Excuses, eh?

I BOUGHT IT BEFORE THIS THREAD EXISTED!

garion333 wrote:

Purchased in 2016:

Rebel Galaxy

I would've purchased that last year if it had hit consoles in time, but I instead waited for it on PS4. Excuses, eh?

I BOUGHT IT BEFORE THIS THREAD EXISTED! :P

That's my excuse for my xcom pre-order, and I'm sticking to it!

kergguz wrote:
garion333 wrote:

Purchased in 2016:

Rebel Galaxy

I would've purchased that last year if it had hit consoles in time, but I instead waited for it on PS4. Excuses, eh?

I BOUGHT IT BEFORE THIS THREAD EXISTED! :P

That's my excuse for my xcom pre-order, and I'm sticking to it!

Same with my Dragon's Dogma pre-order.

Damn. I should have pre-ordered some stuff.

Higgledy wrote:

Damn. I should have pre-ordered some stuff.

Haha, yeah... I got Xenoblade Chronicles X just under the wire on 12/29. I had to double check, I was worried I had already broken the seal!

My rule of thumb for good value in gaming is when the cost/time ratio gets to $1/hour. Since I favor RPG's, that's not too hard. Plus I take my time. But $2.18/hour isn't too far off for a new movie rental, so I still think it's fairly cheap overall. It's also not passive entertainment, making it for me a better value than a movie.

I'll be getting some new content through the Fallout 4 and Witcher 3 season passes. And I know I will be getting the new chapters in the Deus Ex, Persona, and Fire Emblem series. So I am planning to buy no more than 6 new games this year. Nothing else otherwise. I will also be avoiding looking at new release calendars.

I'm in for 2016! My pile is so big I've just about run out of games to buy anyway.

Seriously though, I'll make a firm exception for these insta-purchases:
Fallout 4 DLC
Deus Ex
Dishonored 2 (is that even releasing this year?)

I'll make soft exceptions for:
No Man's Sky (if it's awesome - which it probably isn't)
Overwatch (if I'm itching to play with the community)
Two or three awesome shorter indie games (such as Tacoma and Firewatch that I want to discuss before I'm left behind)

I still have The Witcher 3, Uncharted 3, and like 30 AssCreeds I still have to play so I don't need any more games!!!. If I'm being honest though, I'll still be playing Fallout by Spring. Gods help me if the Enderal mod for Skyrim also comes out this year.

"Soft Exceptions" sounds like something I watched on Cinemax late at night back in the 80s.

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