Quick definition:A collection of games a person has bought, been given or downloaded but has not yet played or finished, often growing faster than there is time to play them.
Meaning
A gaming backlog is the pile of games that a person means to play eventually. It can include titles bought in sales, free games claimed from stores, gifts, and games started and then abandoned, and for some collectors it reaches hundreds of entries.
Backlogs grow because games are often cheap, time is limited and new releases keep appearing. Digital stores encourage buying on impulse, and subscription services add large libraries that are easy to ignore. Players speak of a pile of shame, a joking name for the unplayed collection.
Approaches to dealing with it vary. Some players set rules, such as finishing one game before starting another, while others accept that many games will never be played and treat the list as a menu of options. Some commentators note that the feeling of obligation can reduce the enjoyment of play.
Origin:Backlog is an older English word for an accumulation of unfinished work or unfilled orders, which has been used in business for a long time. Gamers adopted it to describe their piles of unplayed titles, especially as digital sales and subscriptions made it cheap and easy to collect far more games than anyone could finish. Example:During a seasonal sale, Aisha buys four games she has wanted for years, despite already owning more than forty that she has barely touched. She adds them to a list she keeps on her phone, calls it her backlog, and promises to finish two before buying anything else. By March, the list has grown.
Did you know?Some players track their backlog with spreadsheets or websites that estimate how many hours each game takes to finish. The sheer size of the queue can cause stress or guilt, and a few people choose to buy fewer games to avoid it.
