Sometimes you buy a game and realize you also still have a life to deal with.

I have work, wife, kids, home, cars, friends, and so on. I don't get as much game time as I would like and my hobby/relaxation stuff is not as important as those other things.

So I currently have not finished AC3 (actually lost interest), BatmanAC (just stopped to play Pikmin3), NSLU and a few others. I am slowly playing through Earthbound as I've never beat it and Pikmin3 I played through immediately.

I will eventually finish those others when time permits. But its just not #1 priority. Unfortunately people grow up and have responsibilities.

Time is my problem, not enough time in the day to get through all the games I buy. I plan on stopping that habit though because I hate spending $60 on a game and then it just sitting on a shelf for several months before I get around to playing it.

I really have a lot of time to play games, but I start a game, really really enjoy it, and then there are other games that catch my eye in the local game store, or new games coming out that I start. The result was that I had about 20 half played games. I've trimmed it down to around 8, but still I just have commitment issues.

Reading some of the responses in here made me realize how different I am than a lot of the gamers on this site.

Also want to mention that being sidetracked by other games is a HUGE problem. If it wouldn't be for League of Legends, I'd probably be through all of this stuff already (just like I would also have read more books). The most ironic part is I'm not even a gigantic fan of League anymore (it's been starting to get on my nerves), but it is what I play with my friends, so that keeps me going at it.

And as I'm sure is the case with many here, if I actually bought EVERY game I wanted to play, it would be stupid how big the pile was, not even adding in the fact that I would need to buy additional consoles (I still have n64 and gamecube games I wish I could play)

My job gets in the way of my gaming. I have a backlog of over 30 games.

I personally don't like to have a backlog at any point in time. Even if I'm hyped for a game I won't buy if I know I won't have time to play it. I also don't like to stop playing a game because I have a new one. Given my life's schedule I only have time to play 2 games at a time (without counting Dota 2 which I always play haha).

The only exceptions for me are when there's a deal, so I obviously want to take it before it goes, and if I don't have time to play it I just have to leave it there until I have time, even if I don't like it.

This i agree with. Too add, it helps when there's dispoable income or hot deals nobody would refuse. I became a "collector" with Dreamcast, XBOX, Gamecube, PS2. My "hoarding" continued untill around last year when i finally ran out of disposable income. I beat most of my backlog but it's so much work and a lot of games aren't worth the effort. My 7th gen backlog is 100% worth it. I'm selling my games to now fund my Wii U digital purchases from here out. I beat about 4 games a month. In August, I beat Undead nightmare, ballad of gay tony, lost and damned, and got to the end of Ducktales. Right now i'm on Enslaved (ninja theory). From now on I'll only buy a game if I plan on playing it then and there. Instead of buying it and letting it sit until i'm interested.

Short Answer:

I like old games better then most new ones, I'm buying retro games now knowing prices will go up, so I can own the games I eventually want to play. 5-8 year old games can be found at a bargin, so I make sure to pick up what I can knowing I can sell them on eBay for a small profit if I choose to later. For new games I'm much more selective on what I buy.

Long Answer:

I have a lot of video games, and most of them I've beaten. I keep games I've beaten because I am a collector. However I have over 100 games in my backlog, and the reason for this is as described in my short answer. I want to one day play super old games like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Secret of Evermore, but I also really want to beat Dragon Quest IX and Golden Sun for the DS. DS, Wii, PS3, 360, and PSP games now are becoming harder and harder to find, and 6 year old games at EBGames/Gamestop are dirt cheap.

So if I buy old games now, knowing I'll play them, I can save a bunch of money instead of buying them when they are rare and not found in stores. If I don't ever make time for them, or find out I don't like them, I can always eBay them, usually for a small profit.

However with your OP in mind, your friend strikes me as a person who buys games new, not to play them right away and store them. That I don't do, not really, I almost never pay over $20 for a video game. I plan to buy a 3DS soon, and whne I buy it I have 5 games or so I also want to buy. I plan to beat these games in 2013/2014 and then return to my backlog. This way I don't buy anymore then I'll have time for.

However I will admit often I pass on a game, not knowing much about it, and then pick up a copy years later. I recently did this with the Ace Attonrey series (which I love now), so I don't play all my new games before going to my backlog.

However in general, I have most of my recent games finished, and I make a good effort finishing what I have for the current gen before jumping to the next gen, and then limiting myself. Also when I buy a game for $60, then I usually beat it within a few months. Some games I buy and beat asap.

P.S. Super Short Answer I like to always have several games on my TDL readily accessable to play. I would always want 20-30 games in my backlog so when I finish what I'm playing and move on, I have variety on what I wish to play. Plus the money thing, 5-8 year old games are a bargin at EB Games, but when they aren't found in stores, especially old paper box games, prices soar.