Backlogged: So Many Games, So Little Time

For better or worse, the holiday sales have descended upon us. For many gamers, that means new gaming purchases for themselves. And even more gamers will be receiving games as gifts. For nearly all gamers, that means expanding backlogs.

Though still vitally important to the industry, the holiday sales period over the last few years is statistically less significant compared to those of previous console generations. The actual number of games released during the 4th quarter is significantly down. Certainly the state of the economy has something to do with this phenomenon, but also publisher apprehension plays a major role as well. Many publishers get frightened of the “Call of Duty Effect” or the “HALO Effect” leaving the release of other games in a retail black hole. It’s the gaming equivalent of releasing a big-budget movie the same day as a Star Wars flick – something no profit-minded corporation would ever view as anything other than financial suicide for the product in question. For these reasons and others, the period between October and December is no longer the dumping ground for an entire calendar year worth of game releases.

Logically, this decline would also lead to a reduced number of games in enthusiasts’ backlogs, right? Not so…

As we are all aware, gaming has become more mainstream. When growing up playing games on the 8-bit and 16-bit consoles in the 1990s, sales/bargains on current gaming products were almost non-existent. Games such as Street Fighter II and Chrono Trigger on the SNES commanded prices of $70 and up. There was also little use of the internet as a commercial tool, and thus competition was limited to brick-and-mortar retailers that didn’t see any reason to drop the prices of niche products (such as video games). Now, with the popularity of gaming more prevalent than ever (with software and consoles routinely offered as part of retailer “doorbuster campaigns”) along with the internet as a source of competition, the holiday period has become a time to “stock up” on older releases.

My haul-of-shame over the last two weeks:

Alan Wake: Collector’s Edition (360)
Knights in the Nightmare (PSP)/Yggdra Union (PSP)
3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (PSP)
Ys: The Oath In Felghana (PSP)
Tekken 6 (PS3)
Resident Evil 5 Gold (PS3)
Dragon Quest IX (DS)

The worst part? Everything on that list was an impulse buy, save one title – Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. I’m as guilty as anyone of padding my backlog due to the presence of steep discounts on games.

My personal backlog now spans console generations and is far too large for its own good. It includes everything from Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and the Baten Kaitos games, to NEOGEO collections and Nippon Ichi Software games, all the way up through games released this year (God of War Collection, Resonance of Fate, Star Ocean International, Dead Rising 2, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Sin and Punishment Star Successor and more). There are even several quirky titles not released in North America (including the NiGHTS PS2 port, Treasure-developed Bleach fighter for Wii, and odd fighter/shooter Japan exclusive sequel to Senko no Ronde on the Japanese Xbox 360). I have stated jokingly with friends that if the zombie apocalypse were to occur tomorrow, I would have enough gaming content on my backlog to outlast it. I am a living, breathing example of gaming Attention Deficit Disorder, and am both proud of it and ashamed of it at the same time.

Scouring enthusast online communities recently, however, makes one thing abundantly clear: in regards to expanding backlogs in the holiday season, I am not alone.