It is holiday break and the end of the year. A time I look forward to for some much needed downtime. A time when I look forward to playing a lot of video games and catching up on the games I missed.

So I made a list. What were the big games this year that I heard about but didn't have time to play? After about twenty games, I had to stop myself.

Good grief, when my hobby become a job?!

I played some great games this year but this is no way I can keep up with the list of good games released.

you are the problem...

Like all problems, part of it is my fault. I have conflicting beliefs.

On the one hand, the boyish part of me is still excited about new games. The time in my childhood when I could really get into a game and I had tons of time to play them. The time in adulthood when I could afford to go to a store on a Friday night and pick up the new release and then play it over the weekend.

It is irrational but I like to talk about the new games, imagine how much fun they will be and then play them. I look forward to it, I research my options, I listen to what people are staying. The whole experience.

On top of that, I enjoy a wide range of games. First person shooters, real time strategy, turn-based games, MMO's and all types of settings from fantasy to sci fi and everything in between.

And then there is the conversation. Like most people, I want to be in the conversation. I want to play Starcraft when everyone is talking about Starcraft and Modern Warfare when everyone is talking about that.

While one part of my brain drives me to a new game with every weekly podcast, another part says slow the #$% down. You already have games that you have not finished. You paid good money for them and you ought to finish them before trying something new. Its like starting on dinner before you finish lunch, dude, you are acting like a video game glutton! In other words, part of my brain watches my wallet and lays on the guilt.

but you had a lot of help...

But while my inner self struggles, the industry has not helped.

The entire industry is built on expectations, hype, and first week sales. People are talking about games for months before anyone can really play them. All industries do this a little but gaming is an industry built on hype and even though I know it is there, it affects me too.

On top of the hype, there is the volume. There is money to be made in game entertainment and companies push out a metric shitload of content every year. From movies-on-rails games like Modern Warfare to the never-ending MMO's, no one could possibly play and enjoy all the games in a given year.

With the hype and volume, the conversation for a game can only last for a few weeks. While I could watch a new movie every weekend, I cant possible finish a game every week. A straight forward game might get finished in two weeks but something like Red Dead Redemption or Fallout3 can last for a month or two. I dont even bother with MMO's anymore.

nostalgia for the past...

Like a lot of people, I find myself nostalgic about the past, a simpler time. A time when I both had more time to play and fewer games to enjoy. A time when everyone would play Ultima for a summer and the conversation could last for months instead of days.

Oh well. Our reality is a fire hose of entertainment. Games, movies, music, books, TV. Our culture spends far more energy on entertainment than anything else. We have a culture of excess where every meal is all-you-can-eat portions and a smorgasbord of choices.

In our culture, it is up to the individual to find happiness in setting their own limits. In picking the content they can afford and enjoy and not getting stressed out about all the stuff they are missing.

I hope its easier for you than it is for me.