Backlogs Part 2.

Yesterday, I brought up the topic of backlogs, but the initial topic was more general. Perhaps you're more interested in finding out where your backlog fits on the backlog spectrum, according to my scale. I don't care if my authority on the matter is questionable, because this is my blog, not yours. Anyways, here are the different stages of backlogs, and the symptoms to watch out for:

1. Backlog Newbie: Your backlog started sometime in the past few years, or maybe over the past gen. You've never experienced a problem like this before, or perhaps you've relapsed after getting through a previous backlog, against all odds, and are back to square one.

Panic sets in. Maybe you make threads on message boards talking about your backlog, or maybe you confide in your friends that you're feeling overwhelmed. Maybe you suffer in silence. Either way, you can put your plight into perspective, in comparison to the later stages.

2. Backlog Overflowing: You've been amassing a backlog for at least a good gen now, or maybe just under a gen. You're beginning to feel like you're slowly drowning in a rising river, despite your best efforts to keep your head above water.

You're starting to doubt that you'll ever get to all of your games, and despair sets in. You may begin to develop Gamer's ADD at this point, which is the inability to focus on one game at a time, for longer than a short period of time, which can lead to many games being played, but few being finished. You may start kicking around the term "backlog mountain" as well.

3. Backlog Denial: Your backlog grows to the point where you decide it's easier to just pretend it doesn't exist. It may be bigger than a T-Rex standing on the shoulders of another T-Rex, playing tennis with a giant, in a large enough court to accommodate them, but if you don't acknowledge it, maybe it will go away, right?

At the very least, you won't have to think about it, so it will be just like it isn't there, right? Maybe you can just keep up with current releases for the time being, to make it seem you don't have those other games to get through as well.

4. Backlog Acceptance: As much as you're ashamed to admit it, you have to accept that your backlog is here to stay, and it isn't going away. So, you begin to climb backlog mountain again, but this time, you take it one step at a time, to make the journey seem less daunting. You still keep up with modern games, but you no longer ignore those other games you happen to own.

5. Backlog Contentment: It's time to face facts. You may die of old age before you get through all of your games. So, it's time to stop fretting altogether. Your backlog will grow, and grow, but there will always be games for you to play, no matter what you're in the mood for. People may complain at times about videogame droughts, but you're the person kicking back in a hammock next to what you now accept as a glorious oasis.

People may complain that the vita, and current gen consoles, are lacking in games, but you don't see it that way, since, if one system doesn't meet your needs, you have plenty of other games that will.

Maybe one day, you won't like where the industry is heading, and won't have much fondness for upcoming games, but that's ok, because that may be a good thing for you. Like the many retro gamers who only play games made up to a certain point in time, so too, might your exit be coming up. Or, maybe your exit isn't coming up, and your backlog will only get bigger and bigger, but hey, an oasis is a good thing. Maybe you can pass on your backlog to your next of kin one day.