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Max Tender's Game Armageddon
At the turn of the decade (aka the beginning of this year) I had amassed close to 4,000 video games (digital and physical, including duplicates ported to other systems) and was gaining more at a rate that there was no way I would be able to play all of them if I kept going. So I decided to make a new year's resolution that was both interesting and arbitrarily strict enough that I thought it might be possible to complete:
Honestly, even looking at the year from early January when I am on/ahead of schedule, I don't know if playing (and writing about) 366 games in 2020 is sustainable, though as long as I break my previous record (of 228 new games played in 2014), I will consider the experiment a success. I have long wanted to maintain some kind of presence online and work on my thoughts/writings about games, so if nothing else I think this will be a good structured outlet to get better at those things.
I know that playing 366 games in a year means that certain games may not get the time and consideration that they deserve, but also as someone who has played thousands of video games, I also know what I generally like and can figure out pretty quickly if a game is going to be something that sticks with me or not.
This post explains the general guidelines that I use when selecting games to play for this blog.
1. I have to own the game and must be able to play it.
There are way too many games I don't own that I need to focus on what I have. Plus, this helps to save money.
2. The game must be new to me.
This basically means that I have not played the game before. Certain situations get a little grey here; for example if I own a game that I have played before at a friend's house or arcade, but not my own personal copy, I still consider that unplayed. On the flip side, if I own multiple identical ports of the same game (i.e. I own a ton of compilations of arcade games, many of which have the same games on them), I am counting those as one single game.
3. I am allowed to purchase games under certain conditions:
a. If I sell any of the games I currently own, I am allowed to turn those profits into new games (zero sum total being spent on games)
b. I host a podcast called My Best Friend's Game with 2 of my friends where we discuss old and new games like a book club. If we get assigned to play a game that I do not own, I am allowing myself to buy that title. (I will see if I can combine this with rule 3a, but I don't think I'm going to be a huge stickler for it).
c. I'm not about to tell my wife what to buy, so if she wants to buy a new game, I am allowed to play it.
Here's a breakdown of my unplayed games per system at the beginning of the year, so you have an idea of what to expect:
Famicom - 846 Unplayed
Playstation 2 - 339 Unplayed
Super Nintendo / Super Famicom - 179 Unplayed
Playstation 4 - 156 Unplayed
Playstation Network - 125 Unplayed
Playsation Vita - 83 Unplayed
Playstation - 66 Unplayed
Playstation 3 - 47 Unplayed
Wii - 30 Unplayed
Switch - 29 Unplayed
DS - 29 Unplayed
NES - 21 Unplayed
PSP - 21 Unplayed
I won't go under 20, but there are more systems down in that range as well.
At the turn of the decade (aka the beginning of this year) I had amassed close to 4,000 video games (digital and physical, including duplicates ported to other systems) and was gaining more at a rate that there was no way I would be able to play all of them if I kept going. So I decided to make a new year's resolution that was both interesting and arbitrarily strict enough that I thought it might be possible to complete:
Buy zero new games and play at least one previously unplayed title a day (on average) during 2020. 366 games in 366 days.
For my own sanity I am not strictly going to limit myself to a new game every day: I may play 7 new games over a weekend then no new games during the rest that week; the average is what matters. I am also not going to plan out which games I will be playing because I want to have the freedom to change my mind and play what I feel like at any given point.Honestly, even looking at the year from early January when I am on/ahead of schedule, I don't know if playing (and writing about) 366 games in 2020 is sustainable, though as long as I break my previous record (of 228 new games played in 2014), I will consider the experiment a success. I have long wanted to maintain some kind of presence online and work on my thoughts/writings about games, so if nothing else I think this will be a good structured outlet to get better at those things.
I know that playing 366 games in a year means that certain games may not get the time and consideration that they deserve, but also as someone who has played thousands of video games, I also know what I generally like and can figure out pretty quickly if a game is going to be something that sticks with me or not.
This post explains the general guidelines that I use when selecting games to play for this blog.
1. I have to own the game and must be able to play it.
There are way too many games I don't own that I need to focus on what I have. Plus, this helps to save money.
2. The game must be new to me.
This basically means that I have not played the game before. Certain situations get a little grey here; for example if I own a game that I have played before at a friend's house or arcade, but not my own personal copy, I still consider that unplayed. On the flip side, if I own multiple identical ports of the same game (i.e. I own a ton of compilations of arcade games, many of which have the same games on them), I am counting those as one single game.
3. I am allowed to purchase games under certain conditions:
a. If I sell any of the games I currently own, I am allowed to turn those profits into new games (zero sum total being spent on games)
b. I host a podcast called My Best Friend's Game with 2 of my friends where we discuss old and new games like a book club. If we get assigned to play a game that I do not own, I am allowing myself to buy that title. (I will see if I can combine this with rule 3a, but I don't think I'm going to be a huge stickler for it).
c. I'm not about to tell my wife what to buy, so if she wants to buy a new game, I am allowed to play it.
Here's a breakdown of my unplayed games per system at the beginning of the year, so you have an idea of what to expect:
Famicom - 846 Unplayed
Playstation 2 - 339 Unplayed
Super Nintendo / Super Famicom - 179 Unplayed
Playstation 4 - 156 Unplayed
Playstation Network - 125 Unplayed
Playsation Vita - 83 Unplayed
Playstation - 66 Unplayed
Playstation 3 - 47 Unplayed
Wii - 30 Unplayed
Switch - 29 Unplayed
DS - 29 Unplayed
NES - 21 Unplayed
PSP - 21 Unplayed
I won't go under 20, but there are more systems down in that range as well.
November 2nd Update: As we round the bend towards the end of the year, it is clear to me that with 2 months left, I'm not going to make it to my initial goal of 366 new games played in 2020. While I am confident that I would have been able to reach that number during a normal year, 2020 has been anything but normal, both for myself and for the world at large.
But I am still pressing on ahead with my new goal of 300 new games played by the end of the year, which puts me at about a game a day, something that I have done before and should be able to finish. I am hoping to continue this blog at a more leisurely pace in the future, though I don't know if I will be maintaining the rankings. At any rate, I've already blown past my old record of 228 games in a year, so I think in some small way my 2020 was a success.
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