Short attention span - DJ's Blog

DJ's Blog

Short attention span

Posted on May 12, 2009 at 01:13 PM.

(7)

In the last week, I've played the following games:

For the 360 we have:
NFL Head Coach 09
NHL 08
All Pro Football 2k8
Legends of Wrestlemania
UFC Unleashed (demo)
College Hoops 2k8
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08

For the PS2:
MLB 09: The Show
NCAA Football 09
Madden 09

I look at that list and it's mind-boggling to me how I've found time between my job and family responsibilities to play this many games. I remember when I used to only play a couple of games a year and play them until I either completed them or became bored with them; whichever came first.

Now, I'm bouncing around from one title to the next and the result is a lot of incomplete games. Heck, I've had Madden since Christmas and I still haven't finished my first season in my Chiefs franchise. I have yet to start an NCAA dynasty and I've only got a handful of games into my NHL and MLB seasons (granted, I have restarted both a few times).

I think I really need to step back and evaluate my gaming habits. I hate feeling like I'm throwing money away by buying games and only playing them for a couple of weeks before moving on to another game.

Ideally I'd like to focus in on 1-2 games per system and leave the other games behind until I've finished the games I've started.

So, with that said, I think I'm narrowing the list down as such:

360
Legends of Wrestlemania (great pick-up-and-play game that doesn't take a lot of time and a game you can leave for 2-3 weeks and not miss anything)
NHL 08 (just started a Buffalo dynasty and have started seeing my stick skills improve so can't give this up just yet)

PS2
MLB 09: The Show (it's baseball season and this game is just a blast to play, especially now that I've got the sliders just right)
Madden 09 (I need to buckle down and at least finish out my last 3 games in my franchise and then perhaps start up NCAA)

Now, I am in an All Pro Football league so I won't be eschewing my commitments there; I'll just play league games and league games only.

Comments

# 1 rudyjuly2 @ May 12

I would agree with the need to cut down. Games aren't cheap. If you aren't going to be playing them a lot, I would suggest only buying the must have titles and picking up the other games 6+ months down the road at half price. That makes it easier to swallow.

For me, a game like Wolverine seemed fun from the demo. But I don't think I can justify buying that game at full price. That's a perfect Christmas gift down the road. It'll be cheap then and good fun over the holidays.

# 2 DJ @ May 12

Good point, Rudy. I should point out that most of the games on the list I've bought used - and at a good discount - but still, those numbers do add up.

I think cutting things down will help me get more enjoyment out of the games I have and I'm trying to adopt a "buy every other year" attitude when it comes to sports games since there isn't a huge difference from one year to the next - or like you said, wait 6 months or so and pick them up cheap.

# 3 rspencer86 @ May 12

I'm telling you, the "every other year" method for sports games is the way to go. There are so many benefits to doing this:

• Saves a lot of money
• Gives you time to get much deeper in your franchise modes—I usually play 3-5 full seasons in baseball/basketball games and up to 10 seasons in football games.
• Makes the improvements from title to title seem much bigger and more significant. You are basically giving the developers a two-year cycle, something that sports gamers have been wanting for years
• Less time re-tweaking sliders, waiting on roster updates, etc. and more time playing the game.

I've done this for years now and enjoy sports games a lot more than I used to.

# 4 rspencer86 @ May 12

Also, you might consider signing up for GameFly or the Blockbuster GamePass program. This allows you to get a game, play it for however long you want to, and then swap it for a new one. This saves money in the long run as you only pay $20–30 a month instead of $180 if you purchased three games. It also forces you to concentrate on one game at a time so you don't end up with a bunch of games you started but never finished.

# 5 pfunk880 @ May 12

Agreed with both of rspencer's points. I've generally always subscribed to the every other year model. And I'm thinking seriously about Blockbuser GamePass.

# 6 DJ @ May 12

rspencer those are some great points. It's something I've considered doing but have yet to actually put it into practice ... until now.

I was thinking about going with Madden or NCAA this year but since I really haven't scratched the surface with either 09 version (again, PS2) I'm going to give those a good run and maybe jump back in the waters with 11. Same thing with The Show; I'll play it through next year and see where I stand 2 years from now.

# 7 matt8204 @ May 12

The alternate year idea is good for sports games, but do the developers offer roster updates for the old versions once the new one is out? I don't know if I could keep up with all the moves that are made over the course of an entire year by myself, lol. I like my accurate, up-to-date rosters.