How I Deal With My Backlog of Games 

Totally didn’t know you were a teacher. And of course you are. You seem like such a kind soul. Love watching your channel and being able to see your collections. You’re such a humble dude. We need more of that in this world. My collection is a tear drop compared to most but it means I get to spend more time with each title. I simply HAVE to finish RPGs. I’ll be dead before I to play them all. Currently playing Shining Force for the first time and wow....blown away.

If you open a museum I will pay good money to go to it and see your awesome stuff. Don’t give up on the dream.

Brother, please PLEASE DO NOT BULLSHIT US. You don’t have a back log. You’re immortal. You’ll play them when you want and you have all the time in the world. You’re the man, brother. Love your channel

I dont collect games at all. But i love watching your channel

I found myself buying games faster than I was playing them, and I knew I had to focus more on actually playing them. I actually turned attacking my backlog into a RU-vid series. I made a list of games that I plan on beating in a year, and then every end of the month I make a video talking about what I finished, to keep me accountable. I'm still messing with the format of the videos (think I might turn them into livestreams), but it's helped me a lot. In two months I've finished ten games, some of them longer RPGs. Of course the point of the list and videos was to help me stop buying games because I don't need them. It's helped a little bit, but still, gotta make sure I have games for my NEXT list! By the way, love what you do! Usually I get annoyed at people who buy games and never play them, but you've got a good reason for it. Keep on keepin' on, man.

There is a small aspect of my collection that is for preservation, but mostly what I'm trying to do is create a "store" of sorts in my home. The day is coming that I won't be able to go out and game hunt the way I do now, so my plan is to get all the games now that I possibly can and intentionally build up my back log. That way when my wife and I are sitting around, unsure of what to do, we can go into the "store" and pick out a game we haven't played yet! Good luck on hitting 50,000 subs!!!

Long time watcher. First time comment. I play my back log of my games like you. One game at a time. Sometimes I get what I call, "Gamer Anxiety", in where I have to many games to play - so little time. So, I look for a game I can play in short bursts to satiate my appetite to play. Additionally, I love RPG's and find that those are the hardest to start because, like you said, length of time to devour them. Love the channel, love the content! Be easyu.

Thank you for the videos you put out, it really is a breath of fresh air with the angle you take on Video games. Very inspirational and I look forward to the museum you eventually will open.

My back log is bad with my relatively small collection, so I can’t imagine yours. At some point you just have to accept that you won’t make it through every game and just enjoy the hobby!

Great outlook to have and a great way to approach a backlog of games, John. It’s exactly like you say, do what you enjoy. That’s what gaming is all about.

Now everyone is going to call him Mr. Hancock.

Being a new dad and working 12 hour shifts I don’t get to game nearly as much anymore so I tend to agree with everything you said. Great video.

I truly appreciate the time you take out of your life to share your passion with us!

Love these videos and your thoughts! I have so many games on my Steam list, and even for my new or retro consoles, that I don't play, and some I may never even play. You're right, a good game is one you will return to again and again

I love the awesome content as always. Keep up the great work. Much love and thanks as always. I really appreciate it!

Hey, fellow teacher and ex-collector here! Just found your channel today while looking for a video to show my videogame buisness and history class and I totally agree with you on how doing RU-vid as a side gig can be really challenging when you have outside life to handle. Gonna try using a few tips to add on the ones i personally use to get through my own backlog haha Good luck dude!

I'm a teacher abroad and feel ya on the time crunch. I appreciated your logical approach to the backlog. Plus you seem like a super genuine dude. Thanks!

You deserve this success! Keep doing this great job and you will achieve what you want!

As always, love your stuff, thanks for the video and addressing a pretty commonly asked question.

Love your videos, I watch every week!

He John, nice to hear we share pur profession. I'm an elementary school teacher too. But I work in the netherlands and mainly with handicapped children. I totally agree with you about games and gametime. I love playing the classics and arcade games because i can complete them easily and if I should have to put 'em down I still know what to do! Also with a family of a son and daughter I cannot play every game when they are around. Great video!

I love your energy man! Subscribed

Dude! You totally need to run your own museum. You are a teacher and have an incredible collection. I like many others here would like to see you have your own museum. It would mean a lot to everyone that loves video games. You rock! 🤘😎

I'm an 8th grade math teacher and I have the same time problem as you. My wife and I also had our first kid in November so that has taken some time to adjust to. I have quite a big back log but I just find myself playing the games that get me excited to play and I spend a lot of time returning to my favorites that I played growing up. I would like to come up with a more efficient way to attack my back log but that might not be able to happen until the summer. Keep up the great videos!

I am as much of a collector as I am a gamer, so I pretty much only buy the games that I know I want to play. I focus on buying the best games of each console, and I always try to get them complete; this way, my collection grows slowly but surely, it is beautiful and I love it. I always try to beat the games I play, and I love to alternate between games that you can pass in an hour or two (like Sonic on Genesis) and RPGs (like Shining Force). I love the feeling of accomplishment when I finish a game, and alternating between short and long ones really keeps me motivated and happy to play! As everybody else, I wish I had more time to play, but I have other passions and I have to put time into them to. Great video as always!

Thank you John for sharing your collection and knowledge of gaming with us. Your collection is definitely worthy of its own museum! I'd even pay to see it if I am ever up near the Washington area. Big congrats to you hitting 50k subscribers! You are so lucky to have such a great and supportive family! Hope you can get that 100,000 subscriber goal in the very near future! It is very much deserved. Great content, great channel. Cheers to the IMMORTAL JOHN HANCOCK!!!!!

We love you John. Keep at it!

Your habbits on backlog and gaming are exactly the same as mine lol! I don't have the time like I used to. My family and life in general keeps me busy. I play mostly handheld systems also. That way I can always play on the go. Great video as always John.

I have a huge backlog as I have to work in night shift mostly. Have to divide time efficiently. Sometimes, I play video games just only to beat the games even in easy mode. Just don’t rush it, Enjoy & Embrace it !

I love your approach to this topic, I think I need to eventually get to a similar place. My backlog is bothering for me, I strive to eventually conquer it but that's probably not a reality. I hate that I have to miss some absolutely incredible games because I can't play them all. It's a hard thing to accept.

You've been bringing up great topics lately! Kuddos

I really can hear you! Back in the days when i had plenty of spare time i really loved to play those time intensive RPG's. Meanwhile with job and family most of my time is eaten up. So that's why i prefer to play some good old games because you're fast in and out and had some 15 minutes fun with it and that's totally ok for me.

You'd be such an awesome teacher to have. Your students must love you! Keep being awesome, I really enjoy your content.

Great video love the open dialog!

New subscriber here John from the UK (jay aka GodOfRygar) loving the channel long time. Kudos to u for the Rygar, Rastan an Choplifter arcade cabs mention. Keep up the good work Mr H! :)

Great video John

Love your channel John, hope to make out to next years Expo in Portland and hang out. Look forward to your videos every week. Keep up the great work.

I know what you mean on having very little time. I myself do a lot of collecting, but I have little time because of going to college and working a full time job. As always I love your videos and enjoy watching them. Keep on being awesome!!

Like you John, I love game history and the research that can be involved with it. So much interesting stuff to learn.

You rock John. keep up the vids

Thanks for this video John! Not being able to play my RPG'S till the game is over was setting me back from playing them, but i think your advice is very reasonable (just play while the game is fun). I think i'll do that.

Thanks for the video John! I'll tell you how I deal with my backlog of games..…..I don't and it just keeps growing with all of these new unplayed games in my collection. I wish I could conquer this issue, but currently it's just not feasible for me personally. I even stopped buying new releases, still nothing.

Another awesome video!!

This is how I feel about Super Mario Land on the Game Boy I have beaten so many times but I just enjoy playing it all the time...

Great vid. Total facts! As you get older, you realize how valuable your time is since you start to have so little of it to do what YOU want to do. I'm in the same boat, I don't feel the need to complete every game I play. I just play a game until I'm "satisfied" then I move on. I'm currently slogging my way through Persona 5. I'm 25 hours in and that's with playing maybe 1-2 hours a day, but most days not at all. As nice as it would be to go back to my life of endless gaming when I was kid, it kinda makes those gaming memories of my childhood that much more valuable to me now that I'm aware of how precious my time really is.

I'm still young enough where I still have a pretty decent amount of time I can dedicate to larger games, but that time is slowly becoming less and less with more responsibilities I have to deal with. It's nothing like back in grade school when once I had my school work done, I could just play video games for the rest of the day without a care in the world. Great video and pretty relatable.

Thanks for taking the time to share. Love watching your channel. I have two kids a wife and a job as well so I'm completely with you. It definitely impacts what I purchase on modern consoles. It took me months, about an hour a week, just to get through the Last of Us. The switch changes things a bit. I was actually able to play though Breath of the Wild simply because I have more opportunity to play it being handheld. I've described my backlog as infinite, so I think in saying that it helps me to understand that it's not possible to get rid of. I usually have a game I'm working on with several console so if I feel like playing that console I don't have to think too much about what to play. If I didn't do that I'd sit there looking at my games instead of playing them so I think part of it is recognizing your own habits and figuring out ways around them or embracing them depending on the habit.

I try to play everyday whenever possible. But as a married man and a father of 2 boys time is a luxury. I skip hard games altogether. I just play most games on easy and stick mostly to the main missions. If I get stuck at a hard section I just drop the game and watch the ending on youtube . Too many games but not enough time.

That's what love about the Sega flashback. I'm older now and can't spend the whole weekend playing maximum carnage. I save it where I normally couldn't save then pick up where I left off when I'm ready. Gonna start tracking down those streets of rage style games and aventure games similar to that, thanks to that save feature.

I just finished a video about my backlog and your video popped up! I don't think I could handle a giant collection - I feel like I NEED to play every game I buy, at least until I feel I've got my money's worth. I just finished putting a giant list together, and now I have a road map for the order I'm going to play in. Just beat game number 1: Chrono Trigger :)

Whats up bud. Just finished my game room. Yours looks great. Love the birds hat. I heard the playoff games loud and clear i live a block away. I remember you saying your a birds fan. And I feel you on the tough schedule. I try in get in a sega classic when i can john. Keep up the good videos bud.

Thanks for the advice, i too have a huge backlog of gaming. Your voice sounds exactly like John C Reilly. Like I'm at work only listening to this video and i swear i feel like im watching StepBrothers.

great topic

I tend to knock out any unplayed games when my nephew visits every few weeks. I let him choose order we have alot of fun.

I'm same man. Between 2 kids 7 and 1, full time shift, wife, house chores, school pick up/drop offs, sleep.... its really tough to squeeze in a home console gaming. What I do, I play alot of handhelds during travel or sometimes at work. Also, has to be the quick ones like racing, hack and slash, flight fighting, etc. I'm just lucky enough that when I was younger I was able to beat likes of FFVII, FFIV, Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire 2/3/4.. And some adventure games... I'm with you John, tough to sit and play 2-3 hours on an RPG lol Great vid man! Looking forward to see you at 50K.

I like this point of view. It's basically what I go with. Nowhere near this scale, but I like to collect and then play stuff from the collection whenever it strikes me.

God damn it give the man a museum!!

I jump around way to much. I just started to pick a game and beat the story. Then move to the next one. Love the channel hope to see you hit that goal! And as a kid of a teacher I completely understand the free time thing lol.

Love this video John. I have a pretty big backlog of games that I want to play but can't due to my family & work (I also teach at an elementary school, I'm a PE Coach).

Very cool to hear you're in education, and it makes sense! I'm tech support for 3 elementary schools in the school district I work for.

Man you just rock!!

Right on dude. Good video

I feel the same way. What I collect far outweighs what I can play. I love RPGs but rarely have the time or will to see them through and also feel I could be enjoying many other games while playing them instead of focusing on one. This is why nowadays I tend to gravitate towards side scrolling platformers and especially shmups. I can get a level or two done, and if I feel I need to shelf it for a few days or even weeks I can come back and pick up where I left off without skipping a beat.

Good Video! Great comments!

Love it!!!!!! More!!!

i only play games on easy, thats enough to enjoy the games...

My backlog started back with the Super Nintendo and hasn't stopped growing since. My problem is that I'll spend a great deal of time with a new game and struggle to go back to it if i don't finish it quickly. Case in point, the switch Zelda and Mario games.

John seems to be the nicest of guys. I just can't for the life of me wrap my mind around someone actually wanting to collect all this stuff. The ONLY value I ascribe to these items is that which they can actually be liquidated for. For myself, I'm constantly trying to get rid of stuff, not accrue stuff. All that being said, John has an awesome family. I wish them nothing but the best. I'll also continue to enjoy his videos. I do also realize that it's different strokes for different folks. Rehoming this stuff to a museum could be really cool. Would be a great nonprofit venture for the northwestern retro community.

Great vid. What are the rough dimensions of your game room there (L / W). Thx

We are a lot alike. Glad I’m not the only one who will want to own a game just to play once in a while. I can count the games if “finished” on one hand. But I love playing!

Hi John, just wondering what do you think of movie tie in games - whats your favourite

The way I look at my back log is I sort of create a tier list for myself. The games that excite me the most end up at the top and I start knocking those out. Another helpful tip is switch up the consoles and genres to avoid burnout. I’ll typically follow a horror game like resident evil with a nice, colorful platformer like ratchet and clank to cleanse my pallet a little bit. Another thing is to not bite off more than you can chew before a game you’re looking forward to comes out. Let’s say a game you’re hyped for is coming out in a week. Now is a good time to start knocking out an indie game or two in your backlog. Whatever you do don’t start a 60 hour final fantasy game. You’ll risk getting through some of it and never completing it. Save the longer games for when there are months between big releases At the end of the day this is a hobby and not a job. When deciding what to play next, Fun factor should be at the top of the priority list. What do you WANT to play next.

Great video, don't give up on the dream.

Hey greetings from San Luis Potosí, México. Amazing collection.

I'm 24 now, and for the first time, I'm starting to find myself deciding on games, as you are, based on public/personal reception but also on how cumbersome the game is. I have a few friends that have already put 15-20 hours etc. into the new monster hunter, and I simply can't see myself 'completing' one of these games. It's definitely strange, but I've inadvertently discovered lesser known and quicker playthrough indie titles because of my lack of free time. It's not all so bad, in fact, it's a new perspective on finding great titles.

Well said... I myself can't and won't get to all my games. Nice video !!

Thanks for this video... Nice to know even big time collectors struggle with time to play! Will say with previous iterations of monster hunter, I found that early in those games, they really aren't too far off from pick up and play. The quests are less than an hour, sometimes as short as ten minutes... So I sunk in hundreds of hours but never felt that time burden I get with RPGs for example. Mhw however might change that, I don't know. All in all, you seem to deal with this issue in a similar way to me. Cool stuff!

What i do as a kid in school is hang out with friends after school, then come home and do homework, eat dinner, do chores, and at like 8-10 I play games. Over the weekend on Friday I stay home and play games the entire time after school and Saturday I spend with friends then Sunday I spend time with family and do weekend homework and any time I have free time I’ll fit in some game time. My parents don’t give me a time limit or whatever I just set up my own schedule

Good to know I’m not the only one that collects game and doesn’t play them. I don’t play games because it was a big deal growing up that it really did take so much of our time glued to the tv. I was always a kid that wanted to be out and about living the fast life. But they are fun and cool. I love games as a hobby not something I like to do on the basis

I have a backlog of over 200 games currently. I try to remind myself that i collect to play and enjoy, not to complete. I've got a habit of completing the same game multiple times though lol.

Man, arcade Rygar and Rastan, you are speaking my language. Love those for a quick pick up and play as well.

Follow your dream and never give up. I don't just see what your doing as a great homage to video games, but a preservation of where art and the human imagination can go through that medium.

Do you sim race at all? Steering wheel and pedals and all that stuff?

I can definitely relate. I am more addicted to buying games than playing them. I love buying random nes and atari games that don't require 100's of hours to beat the games.

Hey john have you ever checked out the website how long to beat? That is kinda how I determine what to play.

It’s crazy: I didn’t have a backlog at the start of the Xbox 360/PS3/Wii generation and I already had hundreds in the collection from past consoles (everything had pretty much been completed), but now I’m looking at about 200 games in my backlog (Steam, GOG, Wii, Wii U, PS4, and now Switch). It sucks because I also try to watch movies, tv shows, and time is a huge factor. It also doesn’t help when I want to revisit games from the 90’s (I’ll probably just use cheat codes to save time on grinding haha). Overall, unless I either quit my job and stay home all day and get my games caught up, stop buying new games or even selling/trading them, I’ve just come to terms that I’m not getting my backlogged cleared

Hey John New subscriber and love the channel. Have you played sky skipper on the Atari and what’s it like ? Many thanks Alex

I am just like you brother, I love gaming, byte size gaming is so sweet, a game I love I will try and finish, some multiple times. I appreciate your time as I love your channel as you are so passionate about games and very genuine, game on 👍

Greetings from Anchorage, Alaska!

I agree 100% with you for the "arcade-like discussion". I am a little collector compared to you, but, as you, I have a lot of games to play and I prefer always an arcadish experience in comparison to long narration. For example, I bought Bravely Default, then I bought Life Force/Salamander because I wanted something fast to play and then I used a lot of time for memorizing the path of the first level. And overall I rarely finish a game, but I like when the game "challenges" you in the way you cannot feel frustated.

You know man I couldn't agree more. I usually play a game until I lose interest. Quick, short arcade style games or beat 'em ups are great for that. I do not care in the least about a gamer score or if I even finish a game anymore, as long as I had fun and enjoyed myself. I am a huge retro fan as well so the 3DO and and Sega CD hold a special place for me. Great vid.

I’m with you John. I love the games you can play for a short period of time and not sink hours into. I’m your age and I think this is how our generation likes our games.

Cool video. Interesting to hear about balancing different types of games and work/family life. My gaming tends to be one of three categories at the moment. 1. is more modern solo champaign games (ps3 ps4). 2. Is casual on the go gaming (psp gba). 3. Is retro with mates on the sofa. (snes neogeo etc).

I Think you would like Resogun, Nex Machinna and Matterfall. Awesome recent arcade style games... Digital only though ( PS4)

I know how you feel about Adventure games. I'm playing god of war and that game is phenomenal. I invested so much time in that game and only was like 25% in the game, then my PlayStation started tripping and ultimately deleted ALL of my saved games. Uncharted, Horizon, Nioh, all gone! My heart is broken. I got really far on all three of them and vowed to finish them all now I have to start them all over. I already started god of war over but I doubt I'll finished those other ones. I don't have alot of time to even play video games so I try to put my time outside of work into working out and playing video games now. I'll be back in school for the fall which will consume more of my time

Great topic. I'm the same as you. job, family, kids. Little time to play. Right now I'm on a Atari 2600 kick. So easy to just pop a game in and try for a high score.

Man I would've loved to have you as my elementry school teacher! Of course I'm 36 yrs old now but as avid gamer myself and some collections I would talk to you for hours about games man.

I can only play 1 to 2 hours after work. More on my days off if the wife and I aren't too busy doing things. My backlog is tiny in comparison. I'm still playing the Uncharted series and going back to SNES RPGs. Love the channel John. Than you.

I play games on easy mode. I don’t need to brag and make my self cool. I play games to enjoy my self and have fun. I don’t want to stressed in games after working hours and doing house chores i’m tired😅

Cant stop playing “Name This Game” on 2600. So my backlog goes back centuries.