Sunday, October 25, 2009
This Is Pretty Much My Eternal Backlog and Me
This too eerily reflects my own gaming habits...
One day I may actually get back to playing games on Day 1 of release. But it's iffy.
(A) The big hit games tend to come out around Christmas, and my wife has threatened to kill me if I pick up something she intended to get me for a gift. So I have to wait until December 26th to buy any games.
(B) I'm not as plugged into the mainstream hype as I used to be. That, or I'm too jaded and cynical to believe that the upcoming New Game That Will Revolutionize Gaming is going to be any more earth-shattering than the last 10,000 attempts.
(C) Back in the day - when game reviews tended to appear in magazines a month or two after release - a popular game could still be current and worthy of talking about six months or more after release. Nowadays, a game is relegated to historical insignificance in under six WEEKS. So if you don't pick up a game the week it is released, you may as well be playing a five-year-old game as far as anybody else cares.
(D) Thems that wait six months or more get to play with the worst bugs patched from the get-go.
(E) Them's that wait long enough years get the "Platinum Pack" with all the expansions fully integrated in and patched to the latest level for a big discount.
Labels: Geek Life
- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 7:00 AM (Permalink)
Comments:
Links to this post:
<< Home
I know what you mean & how you feel.
Practically all my arguments nicely bundled together! ;-)
It's not that I don't get hot for certain new titles like Uncharted 2 but when I'm not even through the first one I won't buy the second already.
I would have done exactly that a few years ago - for the fear of missing out. Now I'm more relaxed and wait patiently until I'm done with the prequel (or another title that needs attention first).
I also don't buy & play anywhere near as much as five years ago - not because real life increasingly interferes but I like to concentrate on really good titles now. Not necessarily triple-A titles and mega blockbusters but games that truly interest me. For example even a casual game like Flower.
Same with movies: Now with Blu-ray I buy & watch less movies but have a better experience. I "savor" them more thoroughly, if you will.
And it's hard to argue the price argument when games like Kill Zone 2 are already "Platinum" or is it?
Practically all my arguments nicely bundled together! ;-)
It's not that I don't get hot for certain new titles like Uncharted 2 but when I'm not even through the first one I won't buy the second already.
I would have done exactly that a few years ago - for the fear of missing out. Now I'm more relaxed and wait patiently until I'm done with the prequel (or another title that needs attention first).
I also don't buy & play anywhere near as much as five years ago - not because real life increasingly interferes but I like to concentrate on really good titles now. Not necessarily triple-A titles and mega blockbusters but games that truly interest me. For example even a casual game like Flower.
Same with movies: Now with Blu-ray I buy & watch less movies but have a better experience. I "savor" them more thoroughly, if you will.
And it's hard to argue the price argument when games like Kill Zone 2 are already "Platinum" or is it?
# posted by 
: October 25, 2009 11:39 AM
: October 25, 2009 11:39 AM
Five years only? I have just started playing "Baldur's Gate I (Tutu Version)". :) (and I still haven't touched D.I.D.'s "Inferno").
# posted by : October 26, 2009 6:01 AM
: October 26, 2009 6:01 AM
LOL! I'm the same way most of the time -- I'll wait until the games are half the price (or less) before I'll pick them up.
The exceptions are the games that really stand out and appeal to me, e.g. Half Life 2, Crysis, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands, Rage...; those I'll purchase on release.
The exceptions are the games that really stand out and appeal to me, e.g. Half Life 2, Crysis, Left 4 Dead, Borderlands, Rage...; those I'll purchase on release.
I buy handheld games and some indie games on release, but they are cheap enough for me to do so. After playing Devil Survivor on DS I was quick to pick up Persona for PSP and got a cool collectors edition with soundtrack for the same price.
My first encounter with diablo 2 was several years after release, I think I paid $20 for it. I got Fallout 1 and 2 for $10. Most PC games are just not worth what they want to me, neither are the major console games. I finally bought Oblivion last year for cheap and still haven't gotten to play it due to my non-gaming (cheap) systems.
I'm also dying to get a PS3 and play Fallout 3, but both the console and the game are going to have to keep going down. I never bought a PS2 because they never went down enough and figured I would just skip it and get the PS3 in a few years. I also estimate that in 2011 or 2012 I will have a computer that will play Oblivion, rock on!! :)
My first encounter with diablo 2 was several years after release, I think I paid $20 for it. I got Fallout 1 and 2 for $10. Most PC games are just not worth what they want to me, neither are the major console games. I finally bought Oblivion last year for cheap and still haven't gotten to play it due to my non-gaming (cheap) systems.
I'm also dying to get a PS3 and play Fallout 3, but both the console and the game are going to have to keep going down. I never bought a PS2 because they never went down enough and figured I would just skip it and get the PS3 in a few years. I also estimate that in 2011 or 2012 I will have a computer that will play Oblivion, rock on!! :)
I've always been like this. The only game I was ever excited enough about to get at release was Half Life 2, and it was a weird experience, playing it at the same time as everyone else.
I also always miss movies. I see posters around, think "that looks good, I might go see that in the cinema", then a few months later notice that it's no longer on and I missed it. Why do they stop playing them so soon?
Another advantage: If people are still talking about it, you know it was actually good and therefore probably worth putting your time into. Pre-release hype means nothing.
I also always miss movies. I see posters around, think "that looks good, I might go see that in the cinema", then a few months later notice that it's no longer on and I missed it. Why do they stop playing them so soon?
Another advantage: If people are still talking about it, you know it was actually good and therefore probably worth putting your time into. Pre-release hype means nothing.
You and me both, brother. Games that have made it past the hype cycle and into the "remember what a great game that was" cycle are the only ones to play. There's too much else out there, and the new stuff costs way too much to take the risk.
I review such games at LongTailGamer.com -- in case you're interested. These days it's all about the XCOM goodness. Next month... who knows?
Post a Comment
I review such games at LongTailGamer.com -- in case you're interested. These days it's all about the XCOM goodness. Next month... who knows?
Links to this post:
<< Home
