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General discussionOfficial Stop Buying Games Self-Help Group(863 posts)(863 posts)
(863 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 05, 2015
Before any purchase, I ask others their thoughts on the game(s) and watch a couple of video online if possible. Since I'm a really careful buyer, I didn't made many purchases that disapointed me (although I feel I have sometimes overpaid them ).

I have little time and little money so I cannot allow myself to pick too many games. But videogames are not my only hobby so this could explain that.

I 've a solution that always worked for me: getting bored.
It's incredible, I stop caring about videogames for a while so I can enjoy them once time has passed.

Another solution could be to play some free games online. Some are quite good !

And finally, don't look too much at the discounts because it's quite hard to fight the temptation of buying games cheap to save some potential expensive purchase.
Posted January 05, 2015
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undeadcow: I think I've been purchasing more games than I can play in a bid to reclaim my childhood; or in wonder of how far technology has advanced. Maybe I'd gotten giddy with seeing a legitimate video game digital download site and justified purchases as some sort of political support.
That makes a lot of sense. When I first signed up here, I just wanted to buy a very specific select handful of games that I missed back in the day, or missed due to not playing games for a decade. my criteria for what I "needed" to buy were super harsh. But then I discovered that I didn't even know about many games from the non-gaming decade so I felt the need to close the gap and I started to overdo it, buying obscure indie games and many not-so-classic older games as well as new purchases that weren't even proven to be must-have material.

Ultimately, I ask myself if all this isn't just an excuse and it's just one big weapon of mass procrastination that I chose not because I really missed out on this or that game in the past but because I'm actively procrastinating in the here and now and games are a mighty convenient way to do this.

I mean, why do I need to know about all the games and play everything? Is there going to be a test later?? It's fun and interesting yes, but I think it's mostly just procrastination to me rather than the real passion it used to be when I was younger and valued games above everything.
Posted January 05, 2015
LOL, great thread.

Steam games = 950+
GOG games = 50+
GamersGate = 150+

I really dont have a problem, really i dont :)

2015 year goal is to surpass 1000 Steam games and get the special badge!
Posted January 05, 2015
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Cyraxpt: I'm actually kind of proud of myself in that regard, i didn't buy any game during Steam Christmas sale and i'm putting a stop on the bundle purchases (and the 1$ for Volgarr was really tempting).
I don't know, i have this huge library of games but when i look at it it's:

- Yeah, not in the mood;
- Nah, i have to learn how to play it and i don't have the patience;
- Gonna save it for later;
- Ok, let's play this. *15 minutes later* Meh, don't have the patience, quit.
I can definitely sympathize, and my Windows desktop is testimony to that. A graveyard with tons of tombstone icons for unfinished but undead games. The Undead are taking over!
I only finished about 34 games last year, a fraction of what I had started.


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Cyraxpt: Besides, my mentality was stuck on "i must complete this game quickly so i can go for the next one" and i wasn't really enjoying the games, it was really a speed run, it's like having a good meal and not even appreciate the taste, just shoveling everything down the throat.
When it comes to that, it's definitely a problem and you came to the right place to talk about it.
I've somehow managed to stop playing a game before it gets all too mind numbing but I still can't get rid of the "must get my money's worth" or "must finish this regardless" attitude 100% so I'm still not quitting games early enough when not enjoying them and end up wasting away precious hours of my life that way. Example: Torchlight

If one fully enjoys a game, and without any regret, then even 100 hours is ok. But if you're not enjoying yourself, even 10-15 hours is too much. Some games take time to get into before they start being 100% fun so it's not an easy call all the time.
Posted January 05, 2015
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Heretic777: LOL, great thread.

Steam games = 950+
GOG games = 50+
GamersGate = 150+

I really dont have a problem, really i dont :)

2015 year goal is to surpass 1000 Steam games and get the special badge!
I think it was Gandhi who said: "First, you ignore your game purchasing addiction. Then you laugh at it. Then you fight it, and then you win."

I'm currently fighting it.

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TanguyLOZ: I 've a solution that always worked for me: getting bored.
It's incredible, I stop caring about videogames for a while so I can enjoy them once time has passed.
That's a great method, definitely! Oversaturation leads to jaded sentiments and results in people making threads like this (guilty me). It doesn't solve any underlying issues but it takes care of the "I don't enjoy games anymore boohoohoo" problem many of us have every now and then, especially those of us who have passed the 30 year mark - though one can become jaded at an earlier age, of course. When I was a teenager, I didn't know oversaturation. No amount of gaming hours could reduce my hunger and enjoyment for games.

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TanguyLOZ: And finally, don't look too much at the discounts because it's quite hard to fight the temptation of buying games cheap to save some potential expensive purchase.
It's easy for me to ignore Steam sales (unless it's a big End of the Year one) because I hardly ever check out the Steam website but I log onto GOG almost every day when I'm around and it's really hard to ignore the promos here. The only thing that has been working for me (for almost a week now!) is to strictly prohibit myself from buying anything anywhere altogether. Apparently, I'm not good at balanced methods so I went from one extreme to the other.
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morciu: I'll try and contain myself from now on. I have way to many games I need to play. Maybe I'll sin when GTA 5 comes out, and I will surely sin with the resident evil reremake and Grim fandango but that's where I intend to draw the line.
When Grim Fandango gets released here on GOG, it will almost be "mandatory" to buy it because people have been asking for it for so long and strong sales will prove that this community reliably puts their money where their mouth is and is a customer base to be reckoned with.

So that will be a tricky situation for my purchase abstinence plan indeed, not sure how to handle that one yet.
Post edited January 05, 2015 by awalterj
Posted January 05, 2015
I have way too many games, but I don't think buying them is an addiction. In fact I plan to play more or less every game I've ever bought. Maybe my lifetime won't be long enough for that, but in that case I regard buying the games as support for the developer who managed to create something that interests me.
Posted January 05, 2015
high rated
Since colorful promos are part of the problem, I suggest a full-on embrace of the grey: adjust your monitor / GPU settings for monochrome output. ; )
Posted January 05, 2015
This sounds like a good idea. I just checked my spreadsheet and at the moment I own 407 games. Most of them either CD/DVD or here on gog. And since I started a while ago all games I already completed in a different color this also made me realise I only played ~35% of the games I own.
Last year I was very proud of not buying more games than finishing games, but this was by a very small margin so it was not really helpful in decreasing the number of unplayed games.
My biggest problem are the sales. When I see a game that is on my wishlist on sale for 80%+ off it is just so hard to resist buying it.
So perhaps I should start to ignore the sales (or at least try it) and only buy games that I really want. Which last year were two games. I bought them at release and instantly played them.
Argh this is really hard. I kind of like looking at my huge collection but I also always feel guilty because there are so many I have not played.
Posted January 05, 2015
The Norwegian currency is weak at the moment, making dollars and euros very expensive for me. It has made me temporarily stop buying games :P
Posted January 05, 2015
Hell,if you can afford them then buy 'em.If you can't then don't,until you save up for them.
Nothing wrong with too less or too many games,don't worry about trying to keep up with the (Jones).
There are far worse additions than this in the world...:-)
Posted January 05, 2015
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Random_Coffee: The Norwegian currency is weak at the moment, making dollars and euros very expensive for me.
Have you seen the hungarian forint ??? You will cry .
Posted January 05, 2015
You would think the GOG staff would take this thread down or something, since their whole purpose is to sell games...
Posted January 05, 2015
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tinyE: I quit alcohol, cigarettes, and pot.

WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME!?
I'd have to start doing cigarettes and pot in order to quit them, and I have no desire to do any of those but I also can't say I quit them. Do you realise the dilemma I'm in?

Don't fucking touch my booze though.
Posted January 05, 2015
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samlii: Is there a special sub-group for bundle purchasers?

Last relapse: This morning :(
There was a bundle on BundleStars that I had been eying for a while, $2.99 --- but I kept putting it off... I did that with a few of their other bundles, and "missed out" on them, just by delaying it til the last day (or forgetting to check the expiration). Now with that bundle I had been on the fence with, there was only one game I wanted (+DLC) and knew I more than likely wouldn't play any of the others...

So my solution was, wait for that game to go on sale (it did), and just buy that game + DLC for 3.49. Thus the one game I actually wanted, I got (for slightly more), and 70%+ of the purchase price went to that devTeam, instead of 0.25 or 0.50 or whatever amount of pennies they get from those BundleStars bundles.

My goal is to only buy from my wishlist (though I keep adding to wishlists)... The other rule is when I buy games (mostly from the wishlist), to also remove games from my wishlist that are
1) Too much like another game I already own and have not played.
2) Know deep down that I may never actually play said wishlisted-item.

So to buy games from my wishlist, I also need to remove games from my wishlist. Also do not do impulse purchases. Add to your cart, and hum-and-haw for a little while, then remove some (or all of them).

Also keep in mind the "saving money" fallacy, if you are buying something just because it's on sale, you aren't saving money... you are spending money you wouldn't have just because you *think* you are getting a deal.


One small addenum:
I've also found that the idea of a game is frequently better than the actual game itself. If you actually set aside some time to play a few games (even if just 15-30 mins) it will give you a much better insight into what you should consider buying (or not) in the future. Also, go through your wishlist after playing/trying a handful of games and start nuking the wishlist from orbit.
Post edited January 05, 2015 by CrashNBrn
Posted January 05, 2015
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tinyE: I quit alcohol, cigarettes, and pot.

WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WANT FROM ME!?
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Maighstir: I'd have to start doing cigarettes and pot in order to quit them, and I have no desire to do any of those but I also can't say I quit them. Do you realise the dilemma I'm in?

Don't fucking touch my booze though.
Actually booze was the hardest, hence my hospital stint back in November. I realize I shouldn't joke about it but that does help deal with it. :D
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionOfficial Stop Buying Games Self-Help Group(863 posts)(863 posts)
(863 posts)