It's so weird how people on Steam want to add to their "collection"

[WCP]

I've been in a number of threads with people talking about the various Steam sales. The Holiday Steam sale, and the Summer Steam sale. They talk about how last Holiday they spent $250 buying various games on Steam. They have hundreds of games on Steam, yet have only actually played a baker's dozen.

Yet... They are compelled to buy more. We're talking about digital downloads, that can never be resold, and are tied to one specific Steam account, yet it actually seems that some people seem to "collect" Steam games. It's the strangest thing...

I think it's just primarily a psychological thing. Some people get satisfaction from finding a good deal, and buying the good deal, even if it's for an item that they aren't even going to use for many months, if ever. I used to collect Super Nintendo carts (and still do on occasion), but collecting something that is nothing more than a lease with Steam, seems a bit questionable. There is no guarantee that Steam will exist forever. So, it's really like when we are buying games on Steam, we are leasing them for the amount of time that Steam exists, which isn't guaranteed by any measure.

I've been caught up in the madness as well. I have so many games floating on my backlog, yet when I find a screaming deal for $5, I feel like I have to buy it, even if I know deep down inside that I probably won't play it for 8 months or more. It's a strange thing really. Doing it with SNES carts is one thing, because they can always be sold to somebody else.

It's a weird phenomenon.

[skaar]

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

[kupomogli]

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

Did it just eat?

[skaar]

Did it just eat?

I think it might have. I hope so.

[kupomogli]

I think it might have. I hope so.

You should not feed it for a couple days, see if its breath smells the same. Just apologize to it. Say you're testing something out.

[Leo_A]

Their eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

I'm sure the vast majority of purchases are made with the intention of playing through it eventually, so they take advantage of the deal while it last despite already having a backlog of games. That's why, for instance, the gamers here (Not the collectors) have such backlogs. I've got hundreds of games yet to be played, but each and everyone of them was purchased with the intention of eventually giving it at least some attention. I'm not building a collection and just purchase games that I actually do want to play, but you can still build up a large amount of unplayed games that way.

I don't think there is much concern about Steam going away anytime soon. Valve is a healthy company and Steam has been a successful distribution program that is just going to become more common and accepted down the road. So some unplayed games sitting on your Steam list isn't a huge concern

Plus, for many people, including myself, PC gaming is somehow more disposable. I don't keep a PC from 1990, 1995, 2000, and such around to play games from those eras. And trying to do something like play a MSDOS game from 1995 isn't really convenient with a modern PC. PC gaming, with few exceptions (Half-Life, for instance, is a game I'll revisit every few years), is something I experience at the moment with no intentions of revisiting it years down the road. So not actually owning a game is easier to put up with than on a handheld or console (Although I still don't like it).

[Gameguy]

People used to buy pet rocks. People will buy just about anything.

[skaar]

I just gave Steam $10 for games I may never play.