Can you call yourself a patient gamer?

[Lauren Morton]

Hey PC gamers, on this week's (last week's, sorry my bad) Chat Log, Mollie and I talked with Chris about patient gaming. Turns out Chris accidentally waited 8 years to play Stardew Valley and he's been having a grand time with it. That led us to wonder: are any of us true patient gamers? Among other places, there's an /r/patientgamers subreddit dedicated to the idea of waiting to play the latest game releases for a number of different reasons. The bar that the subreddit uses is waiting to play at least a year after release.

Can you call yourself a patient gamer?​

It turns out that none of the three of us are really all that patient. We can blame the job, but we're also just riddled with FOMO. Have you waited to play a game because you wanted to get it on a deal? What about waiting to get the definitive edition and all the DLCs until you play something? Have you ever waited to play a game because you didn't hit the system specs or because you wanted to wait for a bunch of bug fixes to happen? Does waiting for an early access game to hit full release count as being patient?

 

[Colif]

Looks like they wrote a thread for Brian.

I can't call myself this. There aren't many games I want but if I see one I probably won't wait that long to grab it.

 

[Alm]

FOMO are my middle initials

 

[Brian Boru]

I liked that show "This is your life"—the Brit version with Eamonn Andrews. Thanks for reviving this just so you could have me on

Does waiting for an early access game to hit full release count as being patient?

Absolutely not, unless you're Zed.

/r/patientgamers … uses is waiting to play at least a year after release

Pffft, amateurs!

Patient Gaming is a thread from 2023-05 where I laid out my stall on the subject—many plusses, a few minuses, sources—and we had a good 50-post discussion.

I think my record for a game I really wanted since before release was Civ 6—I waited 6 years after release for it! Main reason was they kept trickling out DLC—but they still got me, there were even a few more after I bought it
Worked out well for me tho, as the only enjoyment I got out of it was playing Kupe the Navigator of the Maori, which was a fairly late DLC.

 

[Colif]

What about the people who put money into Star Citizen kick starter and are still waiting now? That is a balance between patient, wishful thinking & foolishness. I guess that could be classified as waiting for it to come out of early access, but I feel the time from announce to eventual launch counts.

 

[Lauren Morton]

What about the people who put money into Star Citizen kick starter and are still waiting now? That is a balance between patient, wishful thinking & foolishness. I guess that could be classified as waiting for it to come out of early access, but I feel the time from announce to eventual launch counts.

I think the intent of patient gaming is not just the waiting to play but also the waiting to purchase, so crowdfunding is probably like the antithesis of being patient haha. I mean you do have to be patient, in a totally different way, but not in the patient gaming way of waiting to get involved and invested in something.

 

[Colif]

You are correct, its waiting to get what you already purchased, not waiting to buy it long after release

 

[Frindis]

For me, it's more about suddenly realizing I never played a game and then buying it years later, like I did with Dying Light: Enhanced Edition a couple of years back. There are a couple of games I am waiting for their price to drop though and that is Ghost of Thusima and the latest Warhammer game, so I guess I will be somewhat patient with those games.

 

[Rolfil]

I think for AAA games then I generally will wait.
But for some of the more indie games then I can justify paying £25 or less. Things like The Planet Crafter, Gunsmith Simulator, Star Trucker. I also don't mind paying a small amount for DLC. Things like new states for American Truck Simulator or even a a whole new planet for The Planet Crafter!

 

[mjs warlord]

Chriss waited 8 years for Stardew Valley ??? i cant remember how long the entire gaming community waited for the years overdue guild wars 2 . They said they would not release it in what is now know as early access.
They said your not getting it until we decide it is ready.

Oh boy what an underwhelming let down it was , the character figures looked like they had come out of a childs pre school story book , i used it for a couple of days and got rid.

To be fair to the makers of that game , their seems to be a lot of games that look like the graphics are aimed at children and not adults.

 

[steeleman21]

I would say I'm relatively disciplined when it comes to waiting for games to be either cheaper or more polished, but I have no hard rules around waiting a set length of time; could be 3 months, could be 2 years. I do treat myself now and again to a new release if it's from a franchise or studio I particularly like (and also very importantly, if performance is acceptable according to reviews / tech analysis 🤓).

On the whole I wouldn't say I'm a patient gamer; I think I'm just quite selective with what I want to play, so I don't buy as many games nowdays regardless. One small rule that changed my spending habits significantly was 'I will only buy this game if I am intending on playing it now or very soon' . I'm done lying to myself with 'oh, such a good deal, I'll buy it and play it at some point'. That has prevented me from buying so many games I'm only partially interested in, I need to be actively keen for a game to go ahead and purchase it.

To add more context to my entire position, I'm also signed up to Humble Bundle's monthly subscription, so it's always a pleasant surprise when a game I've been waiting to drop in price on appears in my monthly lot of games - happens more often than you think... 😄

 

[ZedClampet]

I wouldn't call myself patient. I'm just cheap. But I buy new games, too.