Topic: The Great Pre-Wii U Backlog Saga

[Kairon]

Join us as we embark on a quest to clear our lives (and closets) of shrink-wrapped, unplayed, and unbeaten games before the next generation of gaming arrives this fall.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/31006

Sales. 25% off. Buy 2 Get 1 Free. Free plush with pre-order. Free soundtrack. Midnight launch party. $20 gift card. Clearance. Pre-owned discount. The internet. Hype. Coupons. Ads. Friends. Family. The guy who sits the next cubicle over and always seems to have the latest game.

This is how a backlog grows. No one just wakes up and decides they'll buy dozens and dozens of videogames they won't find the time to play. You come into a new game system immaculate and clean, without any gaming debts. Then five or six years later, due to a combination of human weakness and all the temptations mentioned above plus more, you find yourself guiltily staring at a pile of games you haven't touched, but that apparently at one point in your life you desired enough to purchase, borrow, or (god forbid) steal.

This is what a backlog is, an unavoidable testament to irrationality, to money spent but not enjoyed, to games owned but never experienced. And because of these stacks of unplayed games, many of us will not be able to come to the Wii U freely when it launches this fall. We'll always have our backlogs weighing us down a little, a history of hesitation that prevents us from completely looking forward to a brighter gaming future.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The Wii U isn't out yet, and we still have a lot of time before anyone expects it to arrive on the scene. We have months to get clean. Mario, Link, and Samus always fight till the end and so will we.

Some of us here at Nintendo World Report have resolved to shine the light on our secret backlog shame and mend our ways before the Wii U comes out. We're making resolutions to shed games the same way people make resolutions to shed weight, and we invite you to join us over the next few months as we keep you updated on our attempts to do just that, all the way right up until the Wii U launch. If you'd like, you might even want to think about joining us in our quest, and maybe we can all enter the next generation of gaming a little lighter, a little wiser, and a little better at videogames as a result.

[Oblivion]

I have a backlog of about 25 games, most of them digital.

[Caterkiller]

I'm going to finish Kirby Epic Yarn, Sonic Colora, Xenoblade, and goldeneye. I want to finish Silent Hill but it's just too scary. Seriously it's hard for me to play games like that. Knife wielding maniacs, zombies and aliens are one thing, cause you can punch and kick them. But demons and ghosts just don't sit well with me.

[Razorkid]

I have about 4 Wii games I need to complete not including Xenoblade and The Last Story, both of which I plan on purchasing this year. Despite its terrible release schedule over the last 2 years, I haven't experienced a drought on the Wii (or 3DS for that matter) at all. I don't even want to explain my PC backlog for fear of forever scarring the faint of heart .

[HeyItsMe]

Wii games haven't completed(not including digital games) :

The Legend of Zelda : Skyward Sword(glad i'm not the only one)
House of the Dead : Overkill
Little King's Story
Pikmin 2
Epic Mickey
Punch-Out! Wii
Monster Hunter Tri
Excitebots : Trick Racing
Boom Blox Bash Party
Xenoblade Chronoicles
The Last Story (when that comes out)

I want to get and beat before the Wii U comes out

Flingsmash
New Play Control Pikmin
Kirby's Return to Dreamland

I also have many DS games that I haven't beaten but I won't even mention those

[Neifirst]

Great feature!  I re-acquired a Wii in May after not owning one since 2007 to play Xenoblade, then spent June and July going through the old reviews here to build up a collection before games become expensive and difficult to find.  I've now got a collection to last me through at least late 2013 when I play on getting a Wii U:  Kirby's Epic Yarn, Zelda: Skyward Sword, Klonoa, A Boy and His Blob, No More Heroes, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Punch Out, Pikmin 2, Mario Power Tennis, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Trauma Team, Trauma Center New Blood, Big Brain Academy Wii Degree, Metroid Other M, Sin & Punishment Star Successor, Zack & Wiki, Wario Land Shake It.  I've already beaten Xenoblade (93 hours!), Kirby, and am just about done with Skyward Sword, so I'm on my way.

[Disco Stu]

Carmine!  Play Super Mario Galaxy 2 this very second!  I would put it in my top 3 games ever made, it's such a joy.  But I'm guessing you already know that many people feel this way, sorry if I'm just piling on the backlog guilt.

[C-Olimar]

I have quite a few Wii games to finish, but none hurt me more than Skyward Sword or Little King's Story! There's also a lot of 3DS downloads that I need to complete as well.

[TeaHee]

I still cringe when I look at my GBA, PS2 and Dreamcast collection.  I have given up on everything older, but of course that hasn't stopped me from buying a bunch of games off of the Steam Summer Sale.


Xenoblade and Monster Hunter I will beat you! (I hope.)

[Ymeegod]

Yeah, I also have a huge-backlog of games but I'm trying to finish up the WII's but here's my list:
Sin and Punishment 2 (still sealed)
Metroid Prime 3
Xenoblade
Last Story
Monster Hunter Tri
Trauma Centers (I played the third one but skipped the first two)
Curse Mountain

[NWR_Neal]

I'll be joining this crusade when I get my Wii back from the shop. It seemed defeatist to start it when I can't really play any Wii games. Stupid disk drive...

[EJtheK]

My backlog stresses me out.     I'm not even kidding.  If I were to count the actual number of games in it, it would only make me even sadder and more stressed...


However, knowing I'm not alone in this is comforting.  Also, humor is great medicine for my plight.  Thanks for the post! 


Then again... When I see titles listed by others that I didn't play or buy, I can't help but find myself saying, "gee, I really should have played that too!"  This is why I have an Excel sheet that is becoming a backlog to my backlog.  Perhaps, I shouldn't read all of the posts here after all...

[Chozo Ghost]

My backlog stresses me out.     I'm not even kidding.  If I were to count the actual number of games in it, it would only make me even sadder and more stressed...

If it stresses you out that badly, here is what you do:

1) STOP buying video games entirely.

2) Play the ones you have.

3) After you've played ALL of them, now you can consider buying more again.

[LudicrousDa3ve]

I'm digging this! I've got a bit of a backlog (even dating back to NES games I have put off finishing for over 20 years), though using http://www.backloggery.com has helped quite a bit!
   Being as the Wii U is backwards compatible, my focus is clearing out my XBox360 backlog. She's losing her place on the primary tv, so its now or never for some of those titles.

[iDraTion]

Where's Lindemann?  I hear he actually plays his games now and has left us all to suffer in the wake of his spreading epidemic.


Backlog:


Red Dead Redemption
FFXIII
Fable III
Xenoblade
Bit.Trip Runner
Limbo
Dear Esther (stupid steam sales, I don't even know anything about this game)


Handful of other games to finish like Kingdoms of Amalur, Metroid: Other M (post credits section), Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Pushmo, Radiant Historia, I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting.  Currently playing through Radiant Historia.

[Kytim89]

Here is my backlog:
 
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (up to the third Imprisoned battle).
Monster Hunter Tri (beaten with 300 hours of online co-op playtime).
Epic Mickey (beaten).
Madworld (beaten).
No More Heroes (beaten).
No More Heroes 2 (beaten).
Dead Space Extraction (beaten).
Resident Evil 4 (beaten).
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (beaten).
The House of the Dead Overkill (Beaten, but no unlockables).
Red Steel 2 (not beaten).
Metroid: Other M (beaten. Third highest play time).
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (not beaten. Damn monkey trials).
Metroid Prime 3 (not beaten).
Punch-Out! (Not beaten. Stuck on Sand Man).
Fling-Smash (Not beaten).
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (no unlockables)
New Super Mario Brothers Wii (Not beaten).
Goldeneye 007 (beaten).
Wii Sports Resort and Wii Sports ( not beaten).
 

[Kairon]

Carmine!  Play Super Mario Galaxy 2 this very second!  I would put it in my top 3 games ever made, it's such a joy.  But I'm guessing you already know that many people feel this way, sorry if I'm just piling on the backlog guilt.

So much guilt... T-T

I have quite a few Wii games to finish, but none hurt me more than Skyward Sword or Little King's Story!

Yikes. I never finished Little King's story! That game got too hardcore for me fast!

...I also actually haven't finished SS still, it's sitting there right next to my Wii. I'll probably pick it up again and try to finish it at the same time I'm working through my official backlog.

[Ian Sane]

My list of games I've never beat is HUGE.  I don't even really think of that and, hell, some games will never get completed because I either suck at them or the game itself sucks (for example, I have no desire to go back and finish a certain Metroid game).

However I am embarassed that I actually own a Wii game I have never played.  Last Christmas I got Skyward Sword, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Sin & Punishment.  I've completed Zelda and have since been occupied by Xenoblade but S&P has not been played at all.  That's just weird but I've had a very busy year and getting three games for one Christmas was quite unexpected.  Plus Xenoblade just eats all my gaming time (and I don't complain about that).  I've never had a new game just sitting there unplayed before and it feels really weird and somewhat dishonest, like I'm a spoiled person to have videogames that don't get used.

However my interest in classic games has run amok.  There are too many SNES, Genesis and NES games that I'll grab because they showed up at the used videogame store and if it's a title I want, I could possibly not see another copy for YEARS.  That's just how it works with used titles.  You never know when you'll be making purchases.  But I haven't been able to fit a bunch in yet and my NES was busted for a while before I got a new connector and that just created a good sized backlog.

Let's say I got married and my wife did not want me to buy more games.  I could actually probably live with that just due to the sheer amount of SNES games alone that I have not dedicated a good amount of time to.  If I sat down and refused to buy any game until I was finished with every game I owned, I would probably miss the Wii U generation entirely.

Summer is the worst time to talk about backlog though.  You think I play lots of games when the weather is nice?

[leahsdad]

Wow, great feature!

I'm married with 2 kids and I have a job and a consulting business I do on the side, so...I'm kinda busy.  With that said, I have a 2 backlog lists:  a "finish before Wii U" list and a "I'll play this during the eventual post-launch drought" list:

Finish before Wii U:

Xenoblade
Sin and Punishment 2 (stuck on that samurai girl in the school dress)


Wii U Drought:
Last Story


I don't think I've played more Wii games than anyone (or everyone) else, but I've been forced my by lifestyle (having no life) to be more selective.  But looking at everyone else's list, I'm wondering....a lot of the games that everyone is mentioning have been reviewed as being mediocre, or worse.   Are you sure you want to spend time on those?   I haven't played it, but seriously, Carmine, I doubt that Real Heroes: Firefighter is a must-play game.  Or Zoo Hospital.  Or Zumba 2.  Andrew isn't immune from my nitpicking either, Mr. "I'm going to play Bikini Zombie Slayers".   And Danny, Mr. "LOTR: Aragorn's Quest."

[Kairon]

However my interest in classic games has run amok.  There are too many SNES, Genesis and NES games that I'll grab because they showed up at the used videogame store and if it's a title I want, I could possibly not see another copy for YEARS.  That's just how it works with used titles.

Yeah, one of my biggest regrets was not picking up a GB Micro when I found one at a used game store. This penchant for old, nostalgic things is fun, but also the reason I have to force myself to stay away from EBay.

But looking at everyone else's list, I'm wondering....a lot of the games that everyone is mentioning have been reviewed as being mediocre, or worse.   Are you sure you want to spend time on those?   I haven't played it, but seriously, Carmine, I doubt that Real Heroes: Firefighter is a must-play game.  Or Zoo Hospital.  Or Zumba 2.

There are games on my list that I'm expecting to pick up, find not to my liking, and then drop again within an hour or two, but those are not them actually. I mean, I could be wrong, but...

Zumba 2 got a good review from a Wii Fitness Game - focused blog I was checking out, and my dad's a fan of Zynga so I'm actually quite curious to play it.
Zoo Hospital is a Trauma Center clone. 'Nuff said.
And Real Hero Firefighters is... well, it's about firefighters, which is potentially awesome. Worst possible scenario is it gets me pumped to rewatch Backdraft or replay The Ignition Factor on VC. (IF is a GREAT firefighting game!)

I can understand that if you only buy/play a couple games a year you need to be picky, that's the way my younger brother is with seeing movies in theatres, which is sort of a drag... But with the Wii I've rediscovered an adventurous streak within me, some might call it blatant optimism, and I'm keen to experience and discover all sorts of games and gameplay, even if they're not perfectly polished to perfection. Also: third parties. Support them!

[Fiendlord_Timmay]

The Steam sale has quickly dashed my hopes of shrinking my backlog this summer. But the backloggery is great. Whoever mentioned they're using an excel sheet.... dude go set up a backloggery account. It's free, it's an attractive interface, and there's a community to compare your stats to if you so desire. It's almost fun to fill out your backloggery in and of itself, IMO.

Here's my backlog:  http://www.backloggery.com/Nintengineer

Also, take three guesses as to whose this one is:  http://backloggery.com/MrDiamondJ

[ejamer]

Great article, but I disagree with this statement:

"No one just wakes up and decides they'll buy dozens and dozens of videogames they won't find the time to play."

That is almost exactly what happened to me with the Wii generation. I knew that I had more time and money at this point in my life than I was going to anytime in the near future, and took advantage of that to build a huge backlog of games.  Now I've got a full shelf of games with many that have only been lightly played if at all.  Granted, there are probably only a dozen or so titles left that I would consider "must play" games... but having a sizable backlog isn't a burden for me. It's a blessing, and insurance that I'll be happily gaming for years to come.

[pureval]

My backlog goes way back, too far to even consider. I have come to the realization that I will not be able to 100% most of the games I buy, I either do not have the time to search every square inch of the world for some stupid hidden trinket or I really suck at the game. I am basing my backlog of how I feel about a game. If I look at it and feel that I wasted my money it goes on the list.


Bully-Put a few hours into it, hard to find time to play when my son is not watching.
De Blob 2-never even been out of the case
Donkey Kong Country Returns-my son likes to play as Diddy Kong, really slowed down my progress
Epic Mickey-never played, got scared by the camera complaints
The Godfather-about half way through, love it, can only play when my son is not around
Kirby's Epic Yarn-played a little, got distracted
Metorid Other M-played a little, motion sickness kicked in with the missiles
New Super Mario Bros Wii-was playing with my wife. Accidently threw her down a cliff and still have not heard the end of it
Punch Out-got stuck on Bald Bull
Scarface-never played due to son
Sin and Punishment 2-played a little, never got back to it
Tatsunoko VS Capcom-bought because it was cheap, never played it
Xenoblade Chronicles-put about an hour into it before my daughter was born.


Looking at my list my biggest issue is adult games. There is very little time my son is asleep and the tv is free. The same issue is why I still have not finished the last season The Walking Dead or Boardwalk Empire.

[Kytim89]

I looked over my Virtual Console game collection with a degree of shame because I have beaten so few of them. This is mainly attributed to the physical Wii games that I have had at my disposal over the last four years has turned me away from retro games. Eventually I would like to focus all of my time on the VC games when I have completed all of my Wii games. Here is my Wii wishlist:
 
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex
Wii Play Motion
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Conduit 2
Rayman Origins
Fragile Dreams
Arc Rise Fantasia
Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Trauma Center: Second Opinion
TMNT: Smah-Up!
Wario Land: Shake It!
Sin and Punishment 2
Mario Sports Mix
Lost in Shadow
Little King's Story
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby's Return to Dreamland
Xenoblade
Last Story
Pandora's Tower
Okami
Bully
Skylanders
Epic Mickey 2
 
I really hope that we get a Wii Virtual Console for the Wii U.

[Chozo Ghost]

I really hope that we get a Wii Virtual Console for the Wii U.

The Wii U is fully backwards compatible with Wii software. We might see some HD remakes of Wii games, hopefully with achievement support.