If you’re a gamer like Big Cheese, Cheesecake, and I are, chances are you also have what’s called a Backlog. In this case, the term backlog is used to categorize a library of games that either have been almost finished, partially completed, have been Started a few times, or in my case as it is for my cohorts, games that haven’t even been opened yet. I’m talking about at least a handful or more of games that STILL have the cellophane wrapping INTACT! Shoot, our backlogs even exist in digital variants. I’ve dozens of games waiting for me that I’ve downloaded (including mobile games) stretching from almost 5 years ago that need some dusting off.

I’m not sure how it goes for the rest of you gamers out there but for me it’s a habit that’s developed over time. This dates back to when I collected DVDs on the cheap to amass a decent collection of old favorites. Campy horror flicks, scifi action, romcoms, thrillers, etc. you get the idea. Gaming didn’t really come full swing for me till got my hands on the first gen PS3 (fat). This machine offered backward compatibility, making my gaming habit that much easier to cultivate. I played three generations of Playstation games, from Syphon Filter 2 to MGS1, SOCOM 3 to MGS3, Resistance 1 to Marvel Ultimate Alliance and on. While playing games I’d see announcements for games I wanted to own and eventually get to once I’d finished other games (yeah, right). I’d start collecting games and eventually this lead to a need to play games outside the Playstation ecosystem, hence my Xbox 360, and a flare of nostalgia for Retro gaming. I added a used GameCube to my console repertoire, giving me the chance to finally play Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a remake of MGS1 for Nintendo which was on sale years ago at a local game shop for $25! For collectors that’s a steal! I pretty much won a small lotto that day.

Over time I added handhelds to my collection, next to my once many but now only 2 PSPs, thereby extending the love of hoarding collecting. My Cosmo black 3DS is an awesome piece of gaming tech. Forget the 3D effects. This thing just has a great library of games to begin with. And with the added ability to play DS games its just a gaming behemoth. It’s the “Of Mice And Men” of handhelds, seriously! With the help of Big Cheese I’ve added 2 Gameboy SPs to the mix this year. One black one that I recovered from a good mutual friend of ours, and a sapphire red one that BC picked up for me around his hood. With more consoles obviously comes more games.

But ironically, sometimes the driving force for me to even get a console is a specific game itself. It’s like the whole chicken and egg idea. It’s been said that its a terrible practice to buy a whole console just for ONE game. But who gives a shit, right? We’re gamers. We play games. Quite honestly, I bought my first PSP (fat) because of MGS Portable Ops. I wouldn’t even own my GameCube had it not been for finding MGS:TTS, my lotto moment. While hunting for those 2 Gameboy SPs I luckily scored Metal Gear Ghost Babel. I’m one of those who has no qualms investing in a game first before buying the console because I know for a fact that, no matter how long it might take, I will own that tech specific for the game I already own. Case in point, my copy of Metal Gear Solid HD collection for PS Vita. I have no way of playing this cart unless its with a PS Vita (or that nifty PS Vita TV that Japan has their grubby hands on ATM) so I consider it an investment for the future when I DO own a Vita. I know it sounds ludicrous but, MGS fan here.

As I’ve said I’ve got a huge backlog. And back then I was a Playstation fanboy (cringe) but ultimately my hoarding hunger for more gaming pushed me to buy an Xbox 360. I did get it for a good deal years ago at a RadioShack. $125 for a 360 Elite and 2 games. I’m still not really a 360 fan but its got decent enough games for me to invest in. I have L4D1-2, all three Gears Of War, Splinter Cell Conviction, and I even sprung for a brand new copy of MGS HD Collection for it. That Shannon Dougherty game pad though, shoot me.

Spot on!

My mobile games have just as enormous a backlog as it can get. I just got GTA San Andreas which released last night, making that 4 total GTA games in my mobile. I have all Sonic The Hedgehog games, LEGO DC Heroes and now LEGO Star Wars, Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Back To the Future, Final Fantasy 1-5, and a slew of emulators to name a few. Since my mobile is jail broken I added Dualshock 3 support for REAL BUTTONS. Counterintuitive from a backlog POV but it works.

As backlogs go, I’m sure all of you readers out there have your own stories to share and we’d love to know about them. Hit the comments, people!