20 Reasons Why We Buy Video Games that We Don’t Play
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It’s time for yet another Steam Sale. The one that gives my bank account anxiety. It’s hard to resist the urge to happily click “add to cart” and find some sense of accomplishment watching my progress towards the next collector’s badge level.
Far too often, I buy a new game on sale and then don’t complete it. Or even worse, I never even install it. And it’s not just me. Doing a quick survey of friends, it’s not unusual to have 30% or more of your game titles listed as unplayed. I have 65 of my 200+ game titles in my library of shame. Even buying them on sale, that’s a lot of money spent on games that I’m not enjoying.
So why do we buy video games that we don’t ever get to enjoy playing?
20. Collector Badges
There is a sense of pride and accomplishment displaying badges, especially those difficult to achieve on your profile page. With the requirements increasing each level, earning some of the higher ranks is no small feat. The top player on Steam recently unlocked the title of “Game Collector” for owning 25K games. And yet, he only has a game completion rate of 24%, so I’m guessing he’s probably not even opening many of the games he owns.
19. Game Collector
Similar to stamp or book enthusiasts, game collectors like to own video games. They might have the same title in different formats and across multiple platforms and take immense pride in their collection.
18. Art Style / Visuals
There is a saying, don’t judge a book by its cover, but the same can be said for video games. Sometimes a game has a cool art style or impressive visuals that appeal to us. But after purchase, the gameplay is not what we were hoping for, and the title is quickly retired to our unplayed library.
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17. Nostalgia
Remembering the hours spent on classic gaming titles in our youth, there is a sentimentality adding them into our present-day collections. The games may never get played again but seeing them in our library reminds us of fond memories.
16. You Can Afford it Now
There was a time when every dollar counted, and we missed out on some great games when they were new. Now that money is a little less tight, we don’t want to deprive ourselves when there’s a good sale and may buy more titles than we have the time to play.
15. Habit
Ever put a game in the shopping cart only to find out you already own it? Buying new games can be a habit, especially when life might be feeling a little stressful and we need a little pick-me-up.
14. Title is Considered a Must Own
Some popular game titles are considered classics. How can we call ourselves a gamer if we don’t have them in our library? We may never find the time to play the game, but we are still part of the millions of fans that own it.
13. Making it Legal
Had a great time playing a game that you didn’t exactly pay for? It’s nice to show support to the game developers and go legit, even if the legal copy never gets installed.
12. Franchise Fan
Sometimes we didn’t start playing the games in the franchise until later in the series. Looking to have a similar positive experience, we pick up those older titles even though they may be outdated. Or reversely, we loved the original and consider ourselves a fan. We feel a duty to support the community and buy all the titles and spin-offs even if we never get to play them.
11. Peer Pressure
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Our friend can’t stop gushing about this new game. Chat is full of stories of the fantastic gameplay and the top reviews, but the title is not really our thing. We buy it anyway and unsurprisingly don’t get around to playing it.
10. Game Out-Date / Doesn’t Work
Not all old games are updated to work on the newer systems. That great classic that was only $1.99 might not be playable on Windows 10. Or an interesting new title that is still in Early Access turns out to be very buggy. If developers abandon it, that new game won’t likely get any playtime.
9. Re-released or Re-mastered
We bought that title years ago but never got around to playing it. Now it’s been remastered with improved graphics or gameplay. Or we are buying it for the first time, the newer version and original sold together as a bundle. Typically we don’t play both versions, and one ends up collecting digital dust.
8. Too Many Games At Once
We are currently playing that MMORPG fantasy game, the builder/strategy game with friends, the huge single-player RPG, and the hack and slash title for fun. Looking forward to it, we buy a new title, but before installing it, we want to finish one of the current games first. A good sale comes around, and now there are 3 or 4 new games on that priority list, and that title that we couldn’t wait to open gets pushed away.
7. Bought it on a Different Platform
We were initially going to play it on PC, but then our friend bought it on their console and wanted to play together. Or maybe it was more enjoyable to play from the couch than our gaming rig. Either way, once completed on another platform, we didn’t play the game again from the computer.
6. Not Ready to Commit
Video games can be a real time commitment. Between expansions and new content, that MMORPG has kept us engaged for years. That Bethesda title was great but took 150 hours to complete. Knowing how long a new title may take, we don’t want to start until we have the time to enjoy it. Similarly, if the controls are unique or it’s a game known for having a steep learning curve, we may be looking forward to playing it but have a hard time getting started.
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5. Spoiler
It’s an awful feeling. A new game has great reviews for having an excellent storyline and a surprising twist ending. We did our best to avoid the spoilers, and then our friend ruins it unintentionally. Or we came across the ending online while reading about something we thought was unrelated. Either way, now it no longer seems worth investing in the hours playing it through.
4. Bundles
Sales often have a bunch of games bundled at a discount, even whole publisher collections. Sometimes buying as a bundle is the most cost-efficient way of getting the games and DLC that we want. But it might include a game or two that doesn’t interest us, and those unwanted titles sit in our game library unopened.
3. Bought for Someone Else
We agreed with our friend that we would both buy a new game to play together. But life has a bad habit of changing time commitments. Now they don’t have time, are working a different shift, or are just no longer interested. Now neither of us is playing that new purchase.
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2. Great Price / Special Offer
It's hard to turn down that game that's been on our wishlist for six months when it goes on sale for 50% off. Or it's a title that looks interesting, and for only $1.99, seems worth the try. Perhaps it's that limited quantity collector's edition that you don't want to miss. Who doesn't love a good sale? But afterward, more games get added to our queue, and not all are opened any time soon.
1. Time
The number one reason that we don’t play the games that we buy is time. Video games are fantastic, but there are only so many hours in the day. Other priorities, like work, eating, and sleeping, all take away precious time from our gaming. As of March 2021, Steam has over 50K games available. Even playing 24/7, it would take more than a lifetime to play them all.
Our gaming wants are always going to be bigger than the time we have to invest in them and most of us will always own more video games than we can play. But next sale, think about when you’re really going to find time to play those discounted titles. And maybe, save yourself a little money by not adding too many more unplayed video game titles to your library.
Author:
Laurie Trueblood is a writer and life coach that enjoys fantasy, science, psychology, and everything nerdy. As the founder of Adventures to Authenticity, her mission is to help others level up and become the best versions of themselves.
Read more about video games and psychology. Check out Can Gaming Help With Anxiety? and How To Stay Motivated When It Feels Like You’re Not Making Any Progress
