“Just say no” was a common slogan for resisting drug use, championed by former First Lady Nancy Reagan (Just Say No ‑ Campaign, Nancy Reagan & Drugs | HISTORY) that appeared in many arcade and pinball game splash screens.
40+ years later, this author just applied this to the most recent Steam sale.
I didn’t carry through and purchase the 10 games in my shopping cart. I didn’t modify the shopping cart and only buy the best of the best deals. No, I didn’t buy any games at all. Zero, zilch, nadda.
The reason was simple:
- I have way too many UNplayed Steam games already
- The sales discounts, in most (not all) cases, were not that good
Throughout 2024 I’ve had a resolution to play UNplayed PC games (2024 Resolution: Play ALL My Unplayed PC Games + How To Create Dynamic Unplayed Steam Collection) and I’ve played a bunch, around 15 games a month on average. Still, as of this writing, I have over 100 remaining Steam games still unplayed.
Clearly, the number of games to play that are unplayed remains a problem on my PC. I’ve got to attack this problem more forcefully going forward and I have some ideas for 2025 resolutions.
I’ll get to 2025 gaming resolutions in a future article, but let’s talk about #2 above: the sales discounts for the Steam Autumn Sale. The two biggest game sales times during the year on Steam are the Summer sale and the Winter sale. So, for those wanting the best prices on games, it’s a matter of waiting for these sales or, as the moderator of the PGM Twitch, Vader4633, said recently “the longer you wait, the lower the price.”
So, it’s not “Just say no” it’s really “just wait for what you want to play.” Patience. Don’t buy new, buy older. We know this, of course, and yet the FOMO (Fear of Missing out) overcomes us.
I will likely be buying some games in the Steam Winter Sale, but intensifying my continued focus on playing unplayed games. Remember to use the SteamDB.info buy at the lowest Steam price tip mentioned in this past article: Check your wishlist during Steam Winter Sale open until Jan 4, 2024.
How have you done with playing unplayed games in your library? Do you have any unplayed games? If so, how many? Has it been reduced in 2024? Or do you just buy and plan to play the games … someday?