Discussion Do you ever feel like being subscribed to streaming services just... adds to the backlog?

[Irene]

I've seen this sentiment echoed before, that sometimes streaming services feel like they give you this enormous library of games you think look exciting, yet you end up playing, like, a fraction of those games, thinking that you'll end up playing the rest... a little later. These services are meant to give you a ton of games all at once for an extremely modest sum. Which is a great deal! But with so much avaliable in front of you, it can sometimes feel like it's overwhelming - choice paralysis kicks in, and with the next thing on the horizon, there's no real time to get to the next indie pearl on Game Pass, or finally try out Kirby 64 on NSO... but you'll get to it. Right?

There's this feeling I get sometimes, like what a streaming service does is give you a game you're certain you're going to like (often the game you most likely got the streaming service for in the first place) and then it all becomes window shopping and "Oh, this is included! I'll play it... eventually.", and thus, it's now sort of part of the backlog. Not saying that you're obliged to play everything - it's obviously okay to have a vast backlog - but it's this weird state of "this game is 40 bucks, I'd rather get it on Game Pass", which is smart! But you get the game, and the months tick on - "I'll keep my subscription, I'll get to this and that soon" - and on, and on. I dunno, it's strange. What do you all feel in regards to this?

 

[Evil Lucario]

Absolutely. The trick would be to put out a list of games you absolutely want to play that's available on the service, then you play them all in a row, then you cancel quickly so the money isn't spent.

Choice paralysis is a real thing and people emulating or using an Everdrive would also be hit by this. The only solution is to just turn on the machine and commit.

 

[Síriocaz]

That's why I have only paid for Gamepass on like six occasions since its debut, monthly fees only. I pay exclusively when I want to play something.

 

[Heron]

After 3 years of Game Pass, I felt like I'd got through most of what I wanted to play on it. My backlog is back to basically zero.

What helps is:
-Making a list of what you're actually enthused to play before you even sign up, so that you don't fall into the "Eh, maybe that might be good?" trap of playing mediocre content because it's there. Unless you are SUPER excited to play a game - as in you'd pay full price for it - don't. Life's too short.

-While this goes slightly against the point above, stay abreast of what's leaving the service in any genre you might be interested in, and try out each of those games for 30 minutes. That's just enough time to see if you can uncover a hidden gem, and even if not you broaden your gaming horizons. It's only about 3 hours to spend a month. If you DO like a game, you'll be willing to buy it. If you're not willing to buy it - no loss - you didn't care enough to play it anyway.

Between those two things, Game Pass was nothing but an absolute blessing for me.

 

[Josh5890]

If it is a game that has been on my radar, then yes I will consider it a backlog game. The truth is that I will probably never touch at least 70% of the GamePass and PS Plus libraries.

 

[HockeyBird]

A big reason why I haven't subscribed to Game Pass yet is because I would feel like I'm wasting money not playing those games because I'm busy playing games I've actually bought.

 

[Mekanos]

I have zero interest in a streaming service for games, I don't play games regularly enough to constantly need stuff to play every month. My backlog could probably sustain me for at least a decade and that's fine.

There's NSO but a lot of that is games I've already played so I feel no urgency there.

 

[meatbag]

I'm only subscribed to NSO right now because it's cheap enough that I feel I can get my money's worth just playing one retro game, especially with my girlfriend putting hours into Tetris 99.

I would like to try Gamepass but I've heard PC Gamepass can cause issues, so I haven't tried subbing. But theoretically I would have liked to sub for a month and play through Psychonauts 2, Pentiment and Forza.

Will I ever sub for a full year? Probably not. I already have access to a library of games, especially on Steam. I don't need stuff to play; I need more time to play.

 

[PixelKnight]

NSO I don’t really see the same as gamepass, in that the games are stuff where, outside of the odd obscure gem, I’ve played them on various systems in the past, often 20-30 years ago. I see them as more of a bonus rather than stuff I need to play, and I happily let my sub run out when I’m not actively playing an online game. They aren’t going anywhere and I’ve played almost everything I want to play before.

Gamepass feels more like Netflix to me in that it’s really selling access to most of the new stuff for a single price rather than buying individually, it’s aimed at people who would otherwise buy at least one full price game a month, and yeah, I can see why if you’ve got a pricy sub like that you’d want to make the most of what’s recently released and upcoming. Depends what the hobby is to the player, what they play in terms of new games and where they are on the time-money scale I guess. I play so few games that even a gamepass-type thing for the Switch for £50 a month wouldn’t be worth it for me, I’d probably play more for a few months to try and justify it then realise I should let the ‘perceived value’ go when it didn’t match up to the reality of how I engage with the pastime.

I did have PS+ back when I had a Vita, and while I did start by checking the games out as there were some great indies on it, ultimately I ended up just chucking them in folders and not even touching them. It felt like a chore to even look at them sometimes. That’s when I realised that out of the hundreds of games released on modern platforms, having access to vast quantities of them for an ongoing sub price isn’t always value if you value your time. There’s something like a thousand games a year that release on Switch alone, and I generally play about 3-4 full-price ones and half a dozen indies. That already feels like me being pretty ‘engaged’ and there’s at least three times as many more games that come out that I actively want to play than I can, without even considering paying a sub to access hundreds more that hadn’t caught my eye. Ultimately I kinda triage the hobby, manage a wishlist rather than a backlog, and avoid subscriptions where I can.

I also only use one platform- I imagine it’s even harder for people wanting to keep up with what’s coming out across multiple ones.

Also I guess I play a lot of rpgs- I’m more likely to have my head down on one game for weeks at a time and barely look at any others, so subs offering tons of content likely appeal to me even less than someone who happily moves between half a dozen on any given month.

 

[VolcanicDynamo]

I can feel this to an extent. I can only speak for NSO, since it's the only gaming streaming/subscription service I play, but having quick access to lots of games I want to play can add up quickly. I especially feel this with GBA NSO, which has a lot of nostalgic favorites to replay already. But I also let myself just...follow the dopamine and see what happens there.

Now, if I had Game Pass? I couldn't handle that. Too many choices. Too many games!

 

[AxkilAvenger]

I don’t consider nso a backlog issue because I play and view those games differently than I do my regular modern day video games. Playing on nso is like taking a trip to a gaming museum every time they drop some classic games to update the service. I’m 80’s/90’s youth so the nostalgia is for these games strong in me.