Too many games, not enough time (or interest)

When I was younger, especially when I got into my "new computer, full games" period (about 2000, 2001) I used install lots and lots of games at once. I usually would uninstall them soon after, seeing how I lost my interest in playing them, because I had too much choice. This is the sole reason for the fact that I haven't finished some titles, even though I repeateadly tried to, over many years (Total Annihilation and Heroes of Might & Magic 3 are good examples here). And now, I think I'm having a relapse.

Living in England allowed me to tap in into the second hand market. There are lots of opportunities here to pick up older games: Charity Shops, second hand shelves in regular stores and places sorely dealing in second hand merchandise (so called "Entertainment Exchanges"). Since I moved in here, I must have bought at least 30-40 games, for the sum of (roughly, and guessing) something above 100 pounds, if that. The fact they're so cheap, and the fact that I missed out on these games tempts me to buying more. That has it's cons though. At the moment I've got around 30 games installed. About half of them are the kind of games I get back to often, or it's my 100th attempt at finishing them. Realistically speaking, only 5 or 6 of them are the kind of titles that I'll finish and forget for a longer while. So what about the other 24? Are they going to sit on my laptop now and for the years to come?

See, I had a philosophy which assumed that I should have no more than a few games installed at one time, so I can digest each of them, finish them properly, have my fun and then uninstall feeling that I've finished what I've started. With a majority of titles however, I never finish the games. And I know I can leave the Savegames when I uninstall them so I can get back at the point where I left. But it just doesn't seem right. I'm asking the question - do I really have such a short attention span? Or are the games simply the kind that you kind of play, but there's no definite "end" to them (games like Total War or Diablo 2)? I don't know, to be honest, but I feel that even if I had the sufficient time to finish all of them, the interest just wouldn't be there.

Sometimes I do try to sit down and finish a game. I tried that with Warcraft 2. Got stuck on some of the final levels. Then I tried the same with Red Alert 1. Got stuck on the final Soviet level, didn't bother to play the Allied campaign. Total Annihilation? Got to the seventh, eight mission, lost interest. Sim City 3000? Played it for a bit, uninstalled it today. Freedom Force? Seemed fun, but I just can't make myself play it (then again, I did watch my girlfriend finish it, maybe that's the reason). The list drags on. I'm not even starting on how many games that I bought I just installed, played once, kept on the hard drive for a while and then deleted.

My birthday is coming up in two days. And I plan on buying myself some games. But there is this silent voice at the back of my head saying "What's the point, dude? You've got a hell lot of games, why buy more? You won't finish them anyway...". But you know what? I'm planning to. I'm getting Dead Space, Mass Effect, C&C3 + Kane's Wrath, Riddick (Escape from Butcher Bay) and Mafia (another title I never played, despite it's impact on the gaming world). And it is my plan to finish as many of these games while I stay in Poland (with a good computer to run them), and then to pick games one-by-one. No more of that "10 played games" crap...

But yeah, we'll see how that works out. I'll probably find some work, which means that I won't be playing anything much I guess. That's life. Time to grow up? I'm not planning to. Not until I play all the games I missed. And if I finish Total Annihilation and HOM&M3 when I'm 60? Hell, I'm going to be a very fun old guy!