How long does it take you

[barbzilla]

So I have become aware lately that I put off starting new games. It isn't because I love the games I'm currently playing (even though I do), it is because I am afraid that my thoughts about a game won't match up to what the game is. I don't want to come off as sounding entitled, and I don't think I am, but it seems like advertising has set unreal expectations of the game in my head. When I say advertising, I don't mean just the little video trailers, but also the game previews in magazines and websites, the dev conferences, and the general hype.

Where this all becomes a problem is that I am well aware of the hype, so I don't buy games until they have been out for a while (with a few notable exceptions that I had to have day one, though Diablo 3 kind of broke me of that) so I can get a feel for what everyone is saying. I tend to only buy the games that the majority of people say are good (by good I mean the game isn't buggy, it meets its goals, and plays well), but like any human being I have my own likes and opinions.

This brings me to where I own the game and I haven't played it. I just keep playing games that I am already bored of in fear of having made a bad purchase. The funny thing is, I rare do make a bad purchase. Most of the games I buy I either love, or like enough to finish playing without feeling bored (if I get bored i'll put the game in the To Be Completed pile, where it will likely sit for eternity).

So I am asking does anyone else have any weird habits or rituals when it comes to playing a new games, and how long does it take you from the time you purchase a game till the time you play it?

 

[antidonkey]

For me, I think it depends on how much I paid for the game. Right now I have a chunk of games I got really cheap off steam that I haven't played yet. Some of which I've had for a year. However, I got them really cheap so they tend to sit at the bottom of my "to play" list. If I buy something else, if it's more expensive, even if it's only buy a buck or two, I tend to play it before the games that cost less. That means if I ever pay full price for a game, it gets played immediately but since I have a pile of unplayed games, I'm perfectly content waiting for the new ones to come down in price.

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

Just bought the new gears of war and starcraft and managed to beat both over the weekend so, no it doesnt take long for me to finish a game. Unless it happens to be a open world rpg game like fallout in which I spend hours just exploring the world. And I just buy games that interest me. Sometimes of instinct of buying the next game of the series (though they may not be good) and sometimes because I want the game.

 

[Aslyn]

My husband bought me Persona 3 four years ago and I still haven't played it.... If I know a game is really long, and/or is difficult to save (45 min plus between save points), then I tend to put it off. When I first got it, I was in grad school working a crazy amount every week, and now I have a kid. And kids aren't conducive to long stretches of free time....

 

[Starik20X6]

I'll usually start playing immediately. That said, I try not to have too many games "open" at once, lest I become inundated with half-finished files.

 

[samgdawg]

Oh man. It's almost entirely random. I mean something I've been looking forward to will almost definitely be in the console as soon as possible, though anything that ends up being bought at discounted or marked down prices can be put off for who knows how long, or played then saved halfway through and dropped for months at a time.

 

[Megahedron]

Almost always within the first week, if we're not counting Steam bundles. I pretty much only buy games I REALLY want, so there's too much anticipation to put it off longer than the next weekend. However, Red Dead Redemption is continuing to just wreck the curve 2.5 years later, with no end in sight.

 

[crimson sickle2]

I try to play a game at least one session in the day I buy it. That said, Bioshock Infinite and Xcom are still unplayed because of sleeping problems and homework. I've also systematically put off playing every MMO in existence. I once got Guild Wars for a Christmas and it remains unopened in my room.

As far as rituals go, I have two siblings so I ask anyone in the vicinity if they want to comment about the beginning as it happens, if I'm playing a console game. So the unwrapping of every new game turns into an amateurish episode of Unskippable, except with more insults.

 

[thejackyl]

Usually takes a few hours, due to me either: Buying the game on Steam and thus needing to download/install it. Or: I have to drive 30 minutes to buy any console game worth getting that isn't a "dudebro" game, and than most games for PS3 require you to install anyways.

The only time I haven't was with Lollipop Chainsaw, and Spec Ops: The Line. Mainly because both games I bought on a whim to kill time while I was waiting for co-workers to get off. I ended up going out with them instead of going home and playing.

EDIT: I forget what game it was, but I remember I bought a game on day one. And didn't get to play it for about 2 weeks, because I had a full-time job, and another job that I ended up putting in 3 14 hour days, and between the two I had almost no free time.

 

[Gennadios]

Normally I buy a game on a day off and then play through it as a marathon while I have free time. Lately though, hadn't been playing anything except Avengers Alliance on Facebook and a few oldies off GOG.

The last AAA game I bought was Dead Space 3 and I managed to beat it, before that I pre-ordered Dragonborn for skyrim, but still hadn't started that game since it launched.

I think I'm just not really a gamer anymore, I just don't find AAA titles worth it, and maybe I no longer belong here.

 

[Eliwood10]

With some major AAA releases that are more periphery to my primary interests , I tend to wait and see if it stands the test of time. People still liked Mass Effect and Dragon Age Origins years after the release, so I bought them; and at a significantly reduced price to boot. If I still see a generally positive view of Skyrim in a year a two, I may pick it up if I see a good deal on it. I'm defiantly not buying the new Lara Croft for a good long while. We'll see how it holds up.

Pretty much the only games I get on or close to release are ones people give me for Christmas of my birthday, or ones that I closely follow and anticipate (Pokemon, Starcraft II: HotS)

 

[Full]

Well, this was a tough question for me to answer. I think that's because I kind of had to deal with counting but not really. I think. There's a lot of overlapping involved with thinking about games that are being played. I think. I'm blaming numbers. Grr, numbers, you pesky demons!

I just play what I want whenever, I guess. That spoken I usually beat new releases in a matter of days, maximum, and games that are not those I tend to span out over much longer periods of time. Like, unnecessarily long. Laziness prob.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

i mind dont putting the game to ''be completed pile ''if it was brought cheap
eg - sleeping dogs, kindom of amular, dragon age 2

however if i paid retail price then i better get it done and perhaps (twice or thrice through at a later date) if i need to.
eg - bioshock infinite

 

[Eleima]

Oh, it can take a while.... A long time... Witness the pile [http://www.backloggery.com/eleima]. Oh, how it looms.
Some games I bought in 2008 or 2010 and still haven't gotten around to. Things do tend to pile up when you have a full-time job and a family to take care of. Now get off my lawn.

 

[dumbseizure]

I live all of 2 minutes away from the closest games shop, so it is usually 2 minutes between buying a game and starting to play it.

Most recently was Bioshock Infinite, woke up early, rushed to EB, bought it, rushed home, and within 30 seconds I was playing it.