Ugh, my backlog is getting a little ridiculous. I still have Wii games I need to play. Hell, there are still a few Wii games I want to buy. Still some Wii U games. Still some 3DS games. And an ever expanding list of Steam games. Most of those are games I missed from the last gen, so when they go on sale for like $5, they are hard to resist.

Being an adult sucks.  No time to play.

The backlog is concept is shit.

If a game has been lingering in your shelf for months or eve years, or you feel compelled to play something merely because it was critically aclaimed or because it's part of franchise X or Y, then what about just not playing it and letting it go?

You aren't really interested on it, on all likelihood. Just do it - it's liberating.

I guess it's because not playing something you bought is wasting money. And people don't like wasting money.

Or maybe you really want to play it but there's tons of other games that you also want to play and they're even more interesting? I know that's the case for me.

Ah the backlog. It is a bit big... I'm going to only include games that I bought in 2019 otherwise it's going to be too long.

Games I have yet to finish that I bought in 2019:
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Alpha Mission [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
Guerrilla War [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
Athena [Arcade] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
Alpha Mission [NES] (SNK 40th Anniversary Collection)
Giga Wrecker Alt. (gave up)
Pato Box
Ring Fit Adventure
Toki Tori [Gameboy Colour version]
Toki Tori 2+
Project Highrise: Architect's Edition
Lapis X Labyrinth
Disgaea Complete+
Deadly Premonitions Origins (not started it yet)

Right. Kind of goes to extend what I said: Instead of having other games to play, there's other stuff in general that gets higher priority.

Mine is freakin' huge. I was merely describing it to a clerk at EB Games, and she was like "keep that thing away from me!" I still plan to be buried with all my unopened physical copies. #gamecrypt

I worked on some PS exclusives this year at least. Finishing both Horizon: Zero Dawn and Spider-Man. I've almost certainly played more this year than last, where I just squeaked past the 1000 hour mark. The reason being EDF 5. I've logged another 400+ hours in it since getting the plat last April. I definitely care less about trophies than used to.

Yeah my backlog keeps on growing too but I've gotten a better hold on it recently.

I basically consider it like this: If a game is more of a spur of the moment and I buy it cheap it's likely not going to get played for a while; or at least finished but I'll get it at a good deal because it may interest me.

If a game is a high priority and I buy it full or close to full price I'm likely going to finish it and focus on it sooner; and likely more often. This isn't always the case, but it's a general metric.

Some of you seem to be held back by games that basically never end, or replaying some older games over and over. I have to say that in a world where exciting new things are always coming out, the thrill of repetition totally escapes me.
I'm a single platform gamer with a lot of time in my hands outside of working, which seems to be just perfect for my gaming. I always have something new and interesting to play, but I don't fall back too much to get clogged up.

Aside from EDF 5, it's happened to me a few other times in my life where I've played a game "that doesn't end" for ridiculous amounts of time. Project Gotham 2 on the Xbox is another example. I get you though. I'm usually the same way. Some games are so timeless though. Like the old Namco arcade games. I just bought Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, and Dig Dug for the umpteenth time. Always fun/rage inducing to do a high-score run.