Gaming in 2016 was something else. We had a ton of delays and a ton of big releases. 2017 is already shaping up to be something similar, if not more intense. Let’s take a look at what has already arrived this year.
*My colleague Riddle43 covered something similar like this with his article about Gaming Overload. This article will focus on the new releases, burnout, and how to combat it with some techniques*
January:
- Gravity Rush 2
- Yakuza 0
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Tales of Berseria
- Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star
- Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of The Cursed King
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Prologue
- Digimon World: Next Order
and there is a good amount of games that I have not even covered yet in January. Let’s take a brief look at February releases (already released and upcoming)
February:
- For Honor
- Nioh
- Sniper Elite 4
- Horizon: Zero Dawn
- Halo Wars 2
and this is just a brief list that does not cover indie titles, PC titles, or other release titles. I can touch on every other official title that comes out this month, but I will hit on a few anticipated titles.
March:
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
- Nier: Automata
- Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 HD Remix
April:
- Persona 5
- Yooka-Laylee
- Dragon Quest Heroes 2
- Puyo Puyo Tetris
Other titles in no particular order or month of release:
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole (maybe???)
- Tekken 7
- Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite (maybe???)
- Final Fantasy 12 remaster
- Fire Emblem Echoes
- Yakuza Kiwami
- Fire Emblem: Warriors
- Crackdown 3 (maybe, depends if not canceled)
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Gwent: The Witcher Card Game
- Mount and Blade 2
- Detroit: Become Human
- Ni No Kuni 2
- Death Stranding (maybe??? with Kojima anything goes)
- Metal Gear Survive
- Dragon Quest 11 (maybe???)
- Spider-Man
- Danganrompa V3
and much, much more releases along with unannounced titles.
Gaming is at an all time high. This is great for gamers everywhere. Whether you are new to the gaming scene, a moderate gamer, or a veteran gamer there is a ton of games for everyone in nearly every aspect. However, when does the burnout set in? At times it seems like it is gaming overkill. We already have been hit with a ton of January and February releases. We have a ton more to go as well for the rest of the year. The usual, summer downtime also seems to be jam packed with releases.
Gaming has become an expensive hobby. Nearly all gamers of all kinds have a backlog of some sort. These games will continue stacking onto there if you are looking to pick up every release. I am still working on my backlog from last year while trying to balance out releases from this year. For me, I grew up with video games. I love them and have a personal investment in gaming in general as I grew up with little to no friends. Gaming was basically my life for nearly 20 years, and currently is a passion and hobby of mine. I consider myself a veteran gamer. However, I can feel the burnout setting in.
I would pick up every new release, or majority of them. I would love to play them, but eventually, I just put them aside. While there is a ton of games coming out, it’s almost impossible to keep up with all of them. It wears you thin just playing them at times. Sometimes I question, how do full time live streamers on websites like Hitbox, Youtube, or Twitch manage to do this without the burnout setting in. Some streamers are pretty open saying things like “there is way too much to play!” with an excited emotion or “man, there is way too much to play” with low emotion. It becomes wearing at times to even the best of us.
So what is there to do? How can we combat burnout on a possibly wallet breaking hobby? Considering I find myself facing burnout I can provide some suggestions on some fronts.
On the cost front:
- Be a part of a loyalty program (such as Gamers Clock Unlocked at Best Buy or Amazon Prime) For GCU, you get 20% off on every new release, and every game in their inventory. This can easily knock down the 60 dollar price tag to 48 bucks. Amazon is more costly with Amazon Prime, however, it offers more benefits that are not just for gaming. You get the 20% off on every new release in the preorder stages up to the first two weeks of release and free release day/ two-day shipping on games. The Shipping also extends to all prime nongaming items. In addition, you get access to prime sales and early access prime sales.
- Shop efficiently. If you do not play a game anymore and do not have any desire to play them anymore, consider trading them into a shop towards another gaming product. This could easily knock off a good amount of gaming costs.
- Do not buy on release day. This is a trend I see constantly where people must have a game “day one”. However, be patient. There is a trend in games where all new release titles tend to go on discounts and sales within a month or two after release. If you can wait it out, you can get this same new game half off.
- Use a rental service such as Redbox or Gamefly. This one is a no-brainer. If you are interested in a game, you can rent it for 3 dollars a day at Redbox, or use the rental subscription models on Gamefly. It is cost efficient and if you are interested you can purchase them at a discount rate depending on the title.
- Watch some twitch streams/youtube videos. This one is something I looked into last year. Most of the new releases are live streamed on twitch upon the day or release. You can watch how the game plays, the streamers reactions to the game, and formulate an opinion. Streamers are gamers too so you can get their honest impressions on most games unless it is a sponsored stream (which they need to disclose anyhow). You can see if the game looks like it is something you want to invest money in, pass on it, or just watch their live playthrough to see how it plays without playing it. I do this very often with the Telltale games.
On combatting the burn out front (I use some of these due to my current schedule):
- Game in moderation. This seems like common sense, but most people don’t do this. They will stay up all hours of the night and day playing games. If you have a full-time work schedule and attempt this, it is a struggle already. If you want to game daily, set only a few hours a day to it, and longer sessions for the weekends. Find what works with you.
- Watch twitch streams/youtube videos. Once again, this is something of a new trend. Watching someone else play can easily not have any burnout. In my case, I can play a game I want to invest time in while watching another game I am interested in on twitch. It basically cuts the gaming time in half, while being cost efficient, and getting the best in both worlds in a sense.
- Purchase games you know you will be fully immersed in. I know this one sounds odd, but with all the gaming releases these days it is a forgotten thing. Recently Yakuza 0 came out, I nearly invested 50 hours into that game and enjoyed every hour I put into it. The games that you are fully immersed and invested in will be the ones you will suffer little to no burn out with. Don’t go out for every game that comes out. Go for the games you know you will love.
Overall, gaming is a wonderful thing. You use it for entertainment, enjoyment, escape from the real world at times, and any other reasons that will benefit you in some way. However, do not overdo it as it can efficiently burn you out. If you are trying to get into twitch live streams to watch some playthroughs or want an idea of where to look, hit me up on twitter or leave a comment below. I will get back to you with a list of some of the best streamers I know on twitch. I am planning on writing an extensive article on twitch as well that will cover it from a technological aspect along with some streamer opinions as well. Look forward to it.
Make sure to game effectively and efficiently. Do not get buried in all your games, or burn yourself out and a hole in your wallet.
Til next time, Mgs2master2 out!