Your Game Backlog Isn’t a “Problem” You’re Meant to Solve

Have you got backlog dread? Do you stare at your pile of games forlornly as you swipe your credit card once again to put even more on the pile? I’m here to tell you that your “backlog” shouldn’t be weighing you down.

What’s This “Backlog” Stuff?

The word “backlog” implies a couple of things, but the most pertinent things that pop into my head are “work” and “obligation.” You might have a backlog of reports to work through, or a backlog of videos to edit. It’s something you are obligated to do, and you’re behind! So you can’t really ever rest until that backlog is cleared. Applying that concept to your collection of video games feels fundamentally wrong.

Games are entertainment, not an obligation. So it might be better psychologically-speaking, to stop thinking of your video game collection as a “backlog” in the first place!

Backlogs Are a Rainy-Day Blessing

I have somewhere around 200 physical books in my personal library, and roughly around the same number of DVDs and Blu-ray discs. As you might expect, I have not read all the books, or watched all of these shows and movies. I’m happy to have them at hand, collecting them when they are cheap or about to go out of print, and saving them for a rainy day.

It makes me happy to know that I have a selection of titles that I can pick from when the mood strikes me. It doesn’t bother me at all that I may never get to some of these, partly because I’m not the only person who partakes of this media collection. However, even if I were the only person benefitting from this media, I’d have not a single regret.

I feel the same way looking through my vast collection of digital games. I picked them up at their lowest sale prices, because they looked interesting and like the sort of thing I might play at some point. My Nintendo Switch library is too big to fit on my 1TB SD card, and is packed with wonderful indie titles and portable versions of classic games that I never got to play when they were new. It’s a treasure chest, not a to-do list!

You Don’t Have to Finish All Your Games

Just like I have no interest in “100%-ing” games, I don’t consider it an obligation to even see the credits in a game roll. I will never keep playing a game when I am no longer having fun. If there’s nothing intrinsic about the game’s story or game play loop to drive me to the end of the game, then I’ll simply stop and move on to the next thing. There are some games that I feel are so good that I’ve finished them many times, and I’ll probably never stop playing DOOM or Skyrim, but the mountain of games that lost me halfway eclipses Mount Everest.

Did I waste my time playing them? No! They were fun while they lasted, and I enjoyed my time with them, but just like any healthy relationship, you need to know when the right time is to walk away.

Don’t Let the Sunk Cost Fallacy Stop Your Fun

Much of the gnashing of teeth around backlogs has to do with money. The whole reason people end up with large backlogs is how aggressive games get discounted during events like Steam Sales. Certainly, I’d rather spend $60 on twelve awesome older games I’ve never played, instead of one new game that’s probably stuffed with bugs and monetized to the hilt. However, that’s a recipe to rapidly build up a game collection with hundreds of titles.

You may feel that because you’ve spent money on those games, you’re obligated to play them. You might even feel bad about buying new games because of them. However, this is a good example of the “sunk cost” fallacy. No matter what you do, the games in your backlog are already bought. Whether you play them or not, the money is spent! If none of those games strike your fancy anymore, and you won’t get any joy out of playing them, then you may as well play something else that will make you happy and let you have fun right now.

There are ways to clear your backlog if you really feel you must, but for me, the easiest way is to simply decide that it’s not a backlog at all, and just pursue the games that I want to play right now instead.