Blackbird3216 made a thread recently about his huge backlog, which I can certainly relate to. I have a plethora of games I desperately want to get through but I seem to make headway so slowly. Only a couple of months ago I finally played through Twighlight Princess and felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders - I'd been meaning to complete that game for so long.

This got me thinking. My attitude to gaming has changed. As a child I used to treat games as a fun way to entertain myself and (essentially) fill time. These days I treat video games more like pieces of culture which ought to be experienced. I don't think it's going too far to say that I treat my video game backlog in much the same way as I think of a list of great works of classical literature which I'd like to read through one day - the kind of books you feel you ought to read, just because.

I believe this is is the reason why some people (such as myself) sometimes feel as though their backlogs are weighing down on them. It's not because they enjoy gaming any less, it's because we now feel that games are not just time-fillers; the very best games have become important pieces of culture to be experienced for their own sake, just like the greatest books, plays and films. The challenge is finding the time to fit it all in.

Has anyone else recognized a similar shift in their attitude to gaming over the years? How do you feel about your backlogs?

I have backlogs because there are a lot of great games to play but I have no time to play them. I guess I would agree with you that games are so great these days I feel that they deserve the time to play them and enjoy them thoroughly, as opposed to finishing them quickly so I could move onto the next.

I'm worried about Demon's Souls and Uncharted 2, I'm going to get both but don't know when I'll find time to play them. I just hope I can finish them before Dragon Age: Origins comes out.

yeah, I also feel that way to.went I see a new nintendo games,is like I have to play it someday.
Thats why I been asking myself how long my gamer life will last.probably for a long time.

I think it's an issue of wanting to get your money's worth, too. You bought it, you should play it through.

Certainly there are a lot of games that you feel the need to experience, but it would be hard to sort that desire out of the desire to play what you own and enjoy.

I agree, I feel the same way. I have bought several games based on other people's recommendation even though they are from a genre I usually don't like.

I see I'm not the only one with a backlog of games mine is about 2 hundred :( (yeah I know can't finish them all lol)

I'm probably one of the few who doesn't have a single game in my backlog right now. I've finished every game I've wanted to play that I rented and every game I've bought.

But looking forward I'd say I will get backed up. So many games I want to play the rest of this year and into early 2010. Way too many games to keep up!

@Mr Kahn, yes that's certainly true. I'd overlooked that aspect before and it's especially true of games when compared to films or books because people typically spend so much more on a modern video game.

This. I do feel that there is a sense of I must play this, like I feel with Final Fantasy VII, but much of it is the hard economics of it

I've always played games for fun. I still do today. My backlog is a way to keep track of which games I haven't finished (I have a backloggery sig).

Ultimately if I feel my backlog has too many unfinished games in it, I will finish them off because I hate wasting money and an unfinished game is one I probably shouldn't have spent my money on.