Mario face palm

Adult Gamer Problem: Too Many Games, Too Little Time

Being an adult gamer comes with limitations we didn’t think we’d have as kids. Sure, we can buy games, but do we have the time to actually play them? No, not really.

As a kid, I thought I’d have a ton of money for games and could game all the time without my parents telling me not to. Oh yeah!

Well, my parents no longer tell me not to play games (a bonus of having my own house), but I have a wife and daughter who rightfully have a monopoly on my time (a side-effect of sharing said house).

As the breadwinner in my house, I’m responsible for earning enough money to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads, which I do. We scrape by most of the time, but we make it. We have debts, but that seems to be a common thing in this day and age.  I have limited money to play with at the end of the month which means I have to be frugal with my game choices.

Then comes another Steam Sale to sucker punch me.

A list of Steam video games.

Titles worth £30-60 are suddenly on sale for £5-10. How can I resist? £30 later and I have a handful of games I’ve convinced myself I needed in my life. The problem?  I still have no time to play them all.

When I was younger, there would be maybe five blockbuster games released a year.  A Tomb Raider, a Metal Gear Solid, maybe a Gran Turismo, and so on.  Even discounting the abundance of time we enjoyed (but maybe didn’t appreciate) in our youth, a handful of great games is feasible to get through in a year.

These days, we seem to have a AAA title dropping every other week.  Franchises are born every month, with sequels being pumped out at a relentless pace.  Add to that individual games by smaller studios and indie titles, many of which offer exceptional experiences, and things can quickly begin to feel smothering.  And, oh crap, a developer just announced a HD remake of a game I’ve already played twice but I need it in my life.

I’ve resisted the last few game sales, but they have tempted me. In reality, I’m just delaying the inevitable; the moment I’m a little further through my ‘Pile of Shame’ I’ll justify that one or two new games wouldn’t hurt.  That and these free Epic games are mounting up.

This is everything I dreamt of as a kid, but the reality is a bit of a nightmare.  It’s like walking into a buffet of my favourite foods that I haven’t eaten in a while, knowing I’ll only get to taste a few of the dishes, then they’ll be gone forever.

Someone fetch the violin and play me a sad song while I stare longingly at my Steam list.

I’ve got my plate ready and I want to feast, but I’m getting rations.

Adulting is hard.