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[Hyet]

For the last few years, everytime a State of play, Nintendo Direct, Xbox Showcase or simmilar event ends I find myself asking me the same question:

Is anything announced here more interesting to me than the stuff I already got and I haven't tried out yet?

Now is being reported that people are playing older games compared to new games. It's also being pointed out that the newer generations don't have as much interest in consoles.

So, we're looking at older gamers that already have a backlog that seem to be increasingly more interested is playing the stuff they already have more than new games.

Would you agree with this? Does anybody else share the feeling that most new game presentations don't hold a candle to their own backlog? Have you ever watched a new game announcement and thought "I'd rather open up X game that I already have than buy this"?

 

[Cakeboxer]

For me, the problem is the length of the games. Many games offer so much content that I can hardly keep up. Just this year alone, i played Supergalactic Survivor, Two Point Museum, Supermarket Simulator, Crime Scene Cleaner or Powerwash Simulator 2, each with at least 30 hours of gameplay. I would prefer games that are around 8–12 hours long. My backlog is growing and growing.

 

[evanft]

For the last few years, everytime a State of play, Nintendo Direct, Xbox Showcase or simmilar event ends I find myself asking me the same question:

Is anything announced here more interesting to me than the stuff I already got and I haven't tried out yet?

This is a you problem, not a gaming problem.

Now is being reported that people are playing older games compared to new games.

Those games are generally either F2P or some other kind of live service game that has evolved over time. Calling it an "older game" is not really an accurate way to describe something like that. Even with the F2P/live service domination, four of the top 10 most played games on PSN in the last 30 days were released this year.

It's also being pointed out that the newer generations don't have as much interest in consoles.

This is a result of market changes and the population of people who have an interest in gaming getting older. Mobile has become a major platform because almost everyone has a phone capable of some level of gaming, making the barrier of entry quite low. Older people didn't play games as much 20-30 years ago because they didn't grow up with them, but the kids who grew up on SNES/Genesis are getting into their forties. If they're still interested in games, which many of them are, then obviously that's going to increase the average age of gamers as time goes on.

 

[Wildebeest]

I think when execs talk about old games dominating new releases they are talking about things like Fortnite or Counter-Strike. But if you look at current steam stats then Civ 6 is still on top, followed by Civ 5, which is still top 100, with Civ 7 being half of that. I think the problem here is not backlog, because you can hardly say that some one with 2000 hours in Civ 5 still has the game in their backlog, but that the new games are just not that good.

 

[Parazels]

Then develop games that I want to add to my backlog!

 

[Sintoid]

For the last few years, everytime a State of play, Nintendo Direct, Xbox Showcase or simmilar event ends I find myself asking me the same question:

Is anything announced here more interesting to me than the stuff I already got and I haven't tried out yet?

Now is being reported that people are playing older games compared to new games. It's also being pointed out that the newer generations don't have as much interest in consoles.

So, we're looking at older gamers that already have a backlog that seem to be increasingly more interested is playing the stuff they already have more than new games.

Would you agree with this? Does anybody else share the feeling that most new game presentations don't hold a candle to their own backlog? Have you ever watched a new game announcement and thought "I'd rather open up X game that I already have than buy this"?

It's called Hype

Wait for a few weeks after a new game announced is released and you'll be able to choose what to play (new or backlog) with a colder mind

 

[Durin]

Almost like they should make shorter games at cheaper prices, with smaller budgets. Still, it's largely a quality issue, so many new entries in this generation have been lambasted or been considered mid.

Also, kids if anything like live-service games more, but most people are only going to play one at a time. You can only have so many of them on the market at once, and that includes AAA titles trying to have bloated run-times.

 

[Mattyp]

My backlog from gamepass alone is insane, let alone purchasing physical games that I prefer to own outright.

There's way to much content now and something for anyone, no idea how anyone can complain there isn't anything fun to play.

 

[dragonyeuw]

I just sent my backlog into overdrive this week, $24 off CDKeys( Loaded) for GTA5, Skyrim Special Edition and RDR2, none of which I've played if you can believe. At this point the only games on my radar are smaller scale stuff like T2 No Fate and Marvel Cosmic Invasion. Im pretty much in a perpetual state of catch up at this point with my backlog especially when you can jump on some of the older stuff for dirt cheap.

 

[Laptop1991]

Most newer triple A games are not as good as the older games anyway, thats one of the main reasons sales are way down and companies like Ubisoft are in trouble and failing, the quality is mostly mid now and not worth the higher prices they want to charge, my backlogue has far better games currently.

 

[DenchDeckard]

For the last few years, everytime a State of play, Nintendo Direct, Xbox Showcase or simmilar event ends I find myself asking me the same question:

Is anything announced here more interesting to me than the stuff I already got and I haven't tried out yet?

Now is being reported that people are playing older games compared to new games. It's also being pointed out that the newer generations don't have as much interest in consoles.

So, we're looking at older gamers that already have a backlog that seem to be increasingly more interested is playing the stuff they already have more than new games.

Would you agree with this? Does anybody else share the feeling that most new game presentations don't hold a candle to their own backlog? Have you ever watched a new game announcement and thought "I'd rather open up X game that I already have than buy this"?

Great thread, we are a dying breed. It is not our faults. AAA development chased market trends and has even lost the interest of younger people. I know very few younger people that play single player games. I have seen some fall into the hype of Elden ring, but those are rare moments where these huge games break through into the mainstream.

I know that I dont need to buy any new games for some time. and I am actively working through my insane backlog. so your thread rings true for me.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Unpopular opinion: Backward compatability was a mistake. I made sense in the PS2 days because the difference to PSone games was so big. Now the available catalogue is just overwhelming. It's way to easy to just wait if the new release isn't absolutely mind blowing.

 

[Hudo]

That's why I like remasters and remakes. They usually supersede the old versions (e.g. Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake), or are so bad that I don't want to play them anyway (e.g. WarCraft 3 Reforged, FF7 Remake), and therefore my blacklog doesn't grow!

(I am half joking. I do like getting new shit over remakes and remasters. It's just that new shit is often mid to bad these days)

 

[pudel]

I dont have a backlog. I only buy a game when I want to play it RIGHT NOW!

But the continued availability of all games ever made, of course makes it harder over time to sell new games. New games are always in competition with older games. I think thats a good thing.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I'm inclined to say it's a liquidity issue more than anything. Working a full time job paying all the bills /tax, How the fuck do folks have the cash to keep going buying all the new releases?

You lot all on credit or something?

 

[Aurelius]

I put new releases on a wishlist until a sale, and see them as my future backlog.

 

[asdasdasdbb]

Not backlog per se, but Slksong is the only game from this decade that I've played this year.

 

[RAIDEN1]

Newer games aren't the finished article anyway, they either have some bug or the other...look at Mortal Kombat, compared to any other iteration of MK, at least they were ready to go

 

[amigastar]

That's why I like remasters and remakes. They usually supersede the old versions (e.g. Command & Conquer Remastered Collection, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake), or are so bad that I don't want to play them anyway (e.g. WarCraft 3 Reforged, FF7 Remake), and therefore my blacklog doesn't grow!

(I am half joking. I do like getting new shit over remakes and remasters. It's just that new shit is often mid to bad these days)

Really FF7 Remake is bad? I never played it but i thought it was good?

 

[RickMasters]

I put new releases on a wishlist until a sale, and see them as my future backlog.

pretty much what I do. and some games release in not a great state. better to buy them in a years time after they have a had a few quality patches. usually Ill go for the version that comes with all the DLC and buy that in the sale. My other problem is finding the time to play them. I think thats why I just like playing my retro arcade ports. pick up and play, fire and forget, turn off at any point. I want to play one of my big 30+ hour or 60 hour games but, there just is never really enough time to dig in. sometimes its just easier for me to fire up a retro arcade shmup or a go a few rounds on one of my capcom fighting game collections. just straight up pick up and play.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

It's starting to for me. On a slower year I would have bought silent hill f and cronos day 1. Don't have either yet.

 

[digimaster7]

Then develop games that I want to add to my backlog!

exactly, I have like 500 games in my steam library but I still buy NG4 and Digimon Time Stranger at full price.

for game devs: don't forget that your game is also competing against games that's released 10 years ago. If its worse than these old games then why would I buy your game?

 

[DreamcastSkies]

Yes. Too many games release. I've accepted I can't keep up with it and I'm "downsizing" my gaming to largely just buying entries in legacy franchises that I care about. I've also started collecting re-releases of older games even if I know I won't be playing through them any time soon if ever.

 

[ReBurn]

The reason someone may want to play an older game more than a new release has nothing to do with the availability of an older game. It has everything to do with the quality of the new release. If it's not compelling enough to pull attention away from the backlog then chances are it's going in the backlog.

 

[Hudo]

Really FF7 Remake is bad? I never played it but i thought it was good?

A lot of people like FF7 Remake and Rebirth, and I see what Square/Nomura is going for. I just don't like either of them. I do think FF7 Remake is better than Rebirth, for what it's worth.

 

[DreamcastSkies]

A lot of people like FF7 Remake and Rebirth, and I see what Square/Nomura is going for. I just don't like either of them. I do think FF7 Remake is better than Rebirth, for what it's worth.

I love Remake/Rebirth. It has been my highlight gaming experience since Remake released. I can't wait for the third entry. I totally understand people who wanted a 1:1 remake not liking what S-E decided to do though.

 

[PeteBull]

So, we're looking at older gamers that already have a backlog that seem to be increasingly more interested is playing the stuff they already have more than new games.

Would you agree with this? Does anybody else share the feeling that most new game presentations don't hold a candle to their own backlog? Have you ever watched a new game announcement and thought "I'd rather open up X game that I already have than buy this"?

Its all about quality/ hype factor of each game, i got 40-50 installed games on my pc(and even bigger backlog like every1 here obviously) yet when high quality game comes out(say top quality, like elden ring or ff7:rebirth, not just ur avg decent 7 to 8/10 game) u wanna play it anyways.

Im sure my backlog will grow to even more crazy proportions, kinda like marshmallow man from 2nd ghostbusters movie:

But when ES6 launches, being hyped as i am will it stop me from playing it right away?

 

[San Dan Glokta]

I think the general ease and accessibility of game development + billions$$ from hungry investors funding GaaS-bait Minimally Viable Projects has kinda saturated the gaming market. As others have said too many mainstream games nowadays require too mqny hours of commitment and employ FOMO tactics to arbitrarily force users to play their games.

In my opinion the industry needs a kind of recession; lesser budgets, smaller teams, narrower-scoped games, more unique ideas.

I'm in the similar vein as many others where newer games rarely excite me because one look at the corporate approved trailers makes me mentally go 'been there, done that. Next.'

 

[BennyBlanco]

For me they are. It's very rare I buy a game day 1 and I got burned several times this year. Monster Hunter Wilds for one.

Buying AAA games day 1 is not really a good idea. If you wait you get it cheaper and patched up.

 

[SomeNorseGuy]

No matter how big my catalogue/backlog of games is, I'll always make room for new experiences that I deem worthy.

But there's no way I'll fork out $60\$70\$80 for mid games, no matter how much hype there is. Last time I let FOMO get the better of me I got burned on the Fallout 4 CE ($120). Doh!

These days I never buy anything, no matter the studio/pedigree, without checking user feedback and doing some research.

Games that I'm uncertain about goes straight to the wishlist. With that said I buy a ton of games in the $10-$30 range, bulking up my digital library. That combined with my extensive ROM collection and boxes and boxes of physical games the industry could implode on its own slop tomorrow and I'll have enough games to keep me entertained for several lifetimes.

 

[Guilty_AI]

Great thread, we are a dying breed. It is not our faults. AAA development chased market trends and has even lost the interest of younger people. I know very few younger people that play single player games. I have seen some fall into the hype of Elden ring, but those are rare moments where these huge games break through into the mainstream.

I know that I dont need to buy any new games for some time. and I am actively working through my insane backlog. so your thread rings true for me.

Its not that we are a dying breed but that gaming exploded in popularity compared to 20-30 years ago. Take highly regarded releases from the early 2000s and 90s and you'll see they would sell no more, often comparatively less, to games today. With the x360 and the massive growth of multiplayer, casual and social games, the masses flocked to the medium.

Aka, tradional releases aren't losing space (i'd argue they're growing in popularity if anything), its just that there was a massive growth in live service among casual, previously non-gamer public, that makes the tradional games market look small in comparison.

 

[Fbh]

I don't really have the time to play all the new stuff that I want to play. There are still games from 2023 I have to catch up with (like Baldur's Gate 3 and Lies of P) while new releases just keep piling up.

Also, there isn't really any reason to buy most games day 1 other than supporting the devs/publishers. You can buy them a year or more later for cheaper and usually in a better state after multiple updates and patches. Even the games that aren't broken at launch usually just keep getting better over time.

This year I bought 3 games at launch: E33, Silksong and BF6.
BF6 was mostly because for the first time in a long time I've had group of like 6 friends picking up the same multiplayer game. The other 2 were a combination of being hyped for them and the fact they aren't $70.

 

[Duchess]

For me, the price of new games is the current barrier. I'm not willing to pay £70 for a game, so will wait several months for it to drop to something more reasonable.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Its not that we are a dying breed but that gaming exploded in popularity compared to 20-30 years ago. Take highly regarded releases from the early 2000s and 90s and you'll see they would sell no more, often comparatively less, to games today. With the x360 and the massive growth of multiplayer, casual and social games, the masses flocked to the medium.

Aka, tradional releases aren't losing space (i'd argue they're growing in popularity if anything), its just that there was a massive growth in live service among casual, previously non-gamer public, that makes the tradional games market look small in comparison.

Shit, great point. I never looked at it from this angle. makes complete sense.

 

[Shifty1897]

Yes, absolutely. I am not playing Ghost of Yotei right now because I still need to beat Ghost of Tsushima, but I'll need to start over because I dropped it halfway through and remember nothing about the plot, gameplay or controls.

I've since revolutionized how I play games to avoid these situations, but my backlog of a hundred games remains, and I only average 9-12 completed games a year.

 

[dragonyeuw]

I'm inclined to say it's a liquidity issue more than anything. Working a full time job paying all the bills /tax, How the fuck do folks have the cash to keep going buying all the new releases?

You lot all on credit or something?

I buy like 95% of my games at $15 or less now, and even then I kind of cringe paying that much. Most games since getting into PC a decade ago I pay under $10 for. Which had made it harder for me to stick with Nintendo lately because we all know how their pricing model works.

Also helps that I'm fortunately mortgage-free and no kids sucking endless money from me( I'm 48).

 

[Hemingwayoffbase]

We've passed the tipping point where there will always be more amazing games in the past than there are in the immediate future.

 

[Griffon]

I've played most of my backlog. And the games I didn't rush to finish simply did not deserve it. It's not a job, just play what you want to enjoy and ignore the rest.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

It's almost like the number of games released keeps constantly increasing - math, how does it work?

Also GAAS

Also modern releases are shit

Also cRPGs take 100hrs+ easily nowadays

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

I don't have a backlog typically. At the very most, it'll be a game or two I bought because there was a deep sale but that's rare. I'm fucking cheap in general so I only buy what I want to play right now and I think about it for two days or agonize for a week with shitposts on GAF about how I dunnnooo brehhhh mehbeee on sale

 

[Kupfer]

The last two games I bought on release were KDC2 and BF6.
I haven't touched KDC2 yet, but I had so much fun with KDC1 for very little money that I thought it was fair to support the developers with a day one purchase for the full price. I'll start playing it sometime when I feel like it.

And BF6 was a mistake. With that game, you can tell everywhere that it was only made to milk the BF/CoD bubble and that the fun and essence of the original Battlefield feeling was never the focus.
I got caught up in the hype and let myself be fooled.

Yesterday, I finished Jusant, a truly beautiful game that enchanted me.

Next, I'm aiming for Mafia 4 and then possibly Expedition 33.

So, long story short, new releases are all well and good, but for me there are still so many games that have proven themselves; I usually prefer to wait and see if I still feel like playing the game six months, a year or even later.

My backlog is huge btw... I have at least 40 or 50 sealed games and many second hand games I still want to play ....

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I've basically decided to really try to stop buying new games other than Switch 2 titles

I still have games for my PS3 that I have never played

But this is bound to happen the older you get. Let's say each year there's 10 games that land on your backlog. Math dictates that the more years you're alive the bigger your backlog is going to be. This forum is all boomers so I would imagine most of us have a pretty insane backlog.

PC is the worst for me. Between GOG and steam there are hundreds of titles that I must've paid under $5 for

I'm currently working through the stalker series, for example. Old ass games but I think I'm having a lot more fun than I would compared to most modern games.

 

[dcx4610]

It's weird. Video games used to be my life growing up. In the past couple of decades, I care less and less and I think that has to do with what is being released. There is NOTHING that gets me truly excited it. I still play games literally every day but there is never something new that comes out where it's like "MAN, I need to play that day one!". It's "I'll play it when I play it". My backlog is 100s deep and I'd rather just focus on that. When I finish a game, I look through my list and just choose the next game that I'm in the mood for. So yeah, I'd rather tackle the backlog than just play the next new game just because it's new.

 

[R6Rider]

My backlog has yet to reach its final form.

 

[Hawk The Slayer]

Yes no game this year was good enough to take me away from the combo if modded Fallout, Elder Scrolls games and now Warcraft Reforged and WoW.

Next year would be different since there'll actually be some amazing games next year.

 

[The_Mike]

My game time is split between wow during seasons, the same with Fortnite, then the rest of my playtime is strictly retro gaming.

Playing tons of PS2 games atm. I can't even recall the last time I bought a new game, if we exclude expansion packs for WoW.

Most modern games are also garbage anyway

 

[Hari Seldon]

Graphics have completely stagnated, therefore new titles must actually be designed better and not just look better. This is in 100% conflict with AAA developers wanting to make the design worse to milk more money from each user.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

Great thread, we are a dying breed. It is not our faults. AAA development chased market trends and has even lost the interest of younger people. I know very few younger people that play single player games. I have seen some fall into the hype of Elden ring, but those are rare moments where these huge games break through into the mainstream.

We aren't a dying breed, the core gamers who love certain types of games are still there. The problem is that gaming actually went mainstream and became expensive. Take MGS from 1998, for instance, it took that game 3 years to sell 6M copies. If a game sells 6M copies today, some people may even view that as a flop. But the fact is that the mainstream still aren't interested in games like those, they want their Fortnites and CODs and sports installments.

I know that I dont need to buy any new games for some time. and I am actively working through my insane backlog. so your thread rings true for me.

And as for this, I believe this is a direct byproduct f games now costing as much as they do. We have cheaper ways of getting games that usually mean we just have to wait; the longer we wait, the more games there are to actually play. The more there is to play, the less reason we have actually to drop down $70+ for a new game.

Like take me for instance, the last time I actually bought a game within its first week of release was Clair Obscura. And that wasn't even a $70. You ask me to $70 for a game, I am going to look at that game with a lot more scrutiny. And why do I have to when I know if I waited like a year I could probably get it for $50 or less, and if I waited longer, I would get it on PS+.

 

[WaterOnix]

So, we're looking at older gamers that already have a backlog that seem to be increasingly more interested is playing the stuff they already have more than new games.

Would you agree with this? Does anybody else share the feeling that most new game presentations don't hold a candle to their own backlog? Have you ever watched a new game announcement and thought "I'd rather open up X game that I already have than buy this"?

Yes. All the time, for years at this point. Most new games can't or won't out-feature or out-system older games. All they have is graphics, and for me that's not what I want.

 

[coffinbirth]

I feel like a person truly doesn't even need to buy games anymore.
If you have a pc and Amazon and Epic accounts and you've been grabbing the free games over the years, you probably have hundreds, like me.
Throw GamePass into the mix and it gets even weirder.

Sadly, not the route I've taken, as I buy waaaaaay too many games.

Backlog is crazy.