Like most of you, I have a HUGE backlog of video games that I haven’t even touched. Between work and school, I have to fight to make time for gaming. Too many games and not enough time. So there they sit on my bookshelf, neat rows of unopened games still shrink-wrapped in cellophane.

I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t even opened Call of Duty Black Ops or L.A. Noire. I’d been meaning to, but then Skyrim got in the way. Just as I completed my last quest and was about to tackle the backlog, Farcry 3 came out. Dang! Instead of my backlog growing smaller, it grew larger. And it continues to grow. Larger. And larger…

If I don’t want my living room to be overtaken by Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect sequels, I need to take action. Here then is my three step game plan (pun intended) on managing my video game backlog:

1. Stop buying new games. All right, this seems to be the first, necessary step I have to take in order to manage my video game backlog. Logically, I wouldn’t even have a backlog if I didn’t buy too many games in the first place (duh!). As easy as it sounds though, it’s incredibly difficult for me to go cold turkey on the purchasing front — especially if there’s a hot, critically acclaimed game thats been released or a super bargain (I can’t tell you how many awesome games I’ve scored around Black Friday for under $10). The madness must stop though, and I have control my urge to buy new games.
2. Sell off the dogs. I’ve got a lot of great games in backlog (The Witcher 2, Gears of War 3, etc.), but I suppose I’ve collected some dogs too (Alpha Protocol, Enslaved, etc.). Granted, because I haven’t even played these games I suppose it’s unfair for me to judge their quality, but I’m going on the opinions of friends and review sites. If I only have a limited amount of time to play video games, why waste time on sub-par titles? By my reckoning, I could sell off at least a quarter of my collection, thereby getting rid of the weak sisters and whittling down the backlog. As a bonus, I’d have some extra cash too. Just have to remember step 1 above…
3. Avoid bottlenecks. As I alluded to earlier, I’d been meaning to work my way through some of my games when Skyrim came out. I was totally stoked for Skyrim, and played the game for over six months straight. During this entire time I was never disappointed, but if I could do it over again, I’d work some other games into the rotation. Yes, I had a blast playing Skyrim, but after a month or so I could have played Alice Madness Returns or Deadspace 2, and then go back to the world of Nords and Dark Elves. This would have kept my game playing fresh, and I would have felt as though I were making good progress at working through my collection.

So how about you? Do you have a video game backlog and if so, what are you doing to manage it?