Infinite Backlog gives you one place for your entire gaming collection and encourages you to play your games and get your backlogs under control. It provides a visual breakdown of your cross-platform collection, tracks gaming achievements and statistics and lets you connect with other gamers with the same games.
They are also in fediverse: @infinitebacklog@mstdn.games
That’s not really what’s implied in that statement. A better comparison, using your streaming service analogy, would be that you subscribed to Apple TV because you heard Severance was really good. However, one thing led to another, and now it’s months later, and you still haven’t watched Severance. So, instead of starting a new series (say, Ted Lasso) you queue up Severance instead.
It’s still not a great analogy, because the streaming service implies a real, ongoing cost to maintaining access to the service, which is not the case with most people’s game libraries. That being said, with Gamepass and GeForce Now etc, it’s not necessarily out of the question.
The purpose isn’t to “deplete entertainment options”, it’s to utilize the options you already have financial investment in before sinking more money into more options simply for their novelty.
The “point of the product” isn’t to provide theoretical novel entertainment value by sitting, unplayed, on my digital shelves. Bold take here, but I’d suggest the point of a video game is to be played.
I see it as its job is to provide an option for entertainment. To use another flawed analogy, whilst ideally I’d like to wear everything in my wardrobe at least once I don’t feel bad that my jeans see much more use than my tuxedo. I don’t avoid buying a pair of shorts because I already have plenty of shirts. My goal is to have a good selection of options available in the hope that I’ll never find myself short of something suitable.
I grew up playing games in the '90s. I remember running out of new things to play. It was miserable!
So I make a point of having a large library so there’s always things hiding in there that I might enjoy. The last thing I want is to have played everything in my collection. The very notion of a “backlog” is strange to me. It’s a library or a collection, not an obligation. Trying to min/max it doesn’t feel particularly healthy framing to me.
I mean, I guess I just don’t view entertainment options as a finite resource. Amusements abound. Games, movies, shows, books, lectures, theater, articles, podcasts, music, sports, etc. The means to dispense with my free time far far far exceed the amount of free time I have to fritter away. So, while you may view backlog management as unhealthy min/maxing, I would counter that your preoccupation with “running out” of entertainment is, at least, equally as unhealthy a min/max mindset.
Also, I can’t speak for others, but your clothing analogy made me think of this: when I talk about not wanting to purchase a game because of my backlog, usually I don’t mean “aw man, I’d really like to get Baldur’s Gate 3, but I haven’t finished my Madden dynasty yet”. Rather, it would be closer to, “I’d really like to get Baldur’s Gate 3, but I bought both of the Owlcat Pathfinder RPGs last sale and I haven’t even booted those up yet”. So, it’s less about deciding whether or not to buy a shirt based on how many pairs of jeans you own, and more about deciding whether you need the latest, most fashionable cut of Levis when you’ve got 3 pairs of Costco jeans at home still.
Ultimately, it’s neither right nor wrong of you to hoard digital games. It’s your money, you do with it what you will. It just seems like a wildly hot take to come into that conversation swinging around accusatory statements like “that’s an unhealthy min-max mindset”.
Hmm… so how do you know you’re going to enjoy the games you’re buying if they sit in your library past the refund window? Do you not worry they may end up being unplayable bloat “polluting” your library? Or do you have a super broad taste and you enjoy everything?
I ask because I have a small library not because I’m worried about a backlog or whatever, but because I’m trying to make sure (1) I’m not needlessly spending money on games I don’t enjoy and (2) I really enjoy looking at my library and going: “Damn, I could launch any of these games right now and have a great time!” which wouldn’t be true if I have a bunch of shit I don’t enjoy playing and can’t refund.
I suppose I could permanently delete them from my library, but that doesn’t give me my money back. And it’s not like I’m buying expensive games either—most of my purchases are under $10.