Currently, a hoarding phenomenon is emerging in the gaming community, where many accumulate games in their digital libraries without necessarily playing them. A report indicates that more than half of Steam players have not touched numerous titles in their collection, highlighting that the act of buying often prevails over the experience of playing. Chris Zukowski, a video game marketing expert, argues that this trend has been enabled by Steam, which offers superior social and curative features, in addition to legendary sales, thus attracting “hoarders” of digital entertainment.
Accumulating seems to be our thing
The competition from entertainment platforms, such as Netflix and video games, is leading indie developers to fight for players’ attention, who also have to manage their time among various activities, including sleeping. According to Zukowski, this poses a challenge for games that do not clearly fit within a genre; players tend to accumulate titles from well-defined genres, while those with ambiguous categories are less likely to be purchased.
As players become collectors, what many call the shame pile is repeated, where interested parties fervently buy, even without the intention of playing. Zukowski points out that this irrational behavior may have changed the commercial landscape: “If Steam players were rational and only bought games they would actually play, we would sell many fewer games,” he emphasizes.
However, this accumulation of games does not necessarily mean a disinterest in the gaming experience, but rather is part of the pleasure of collecting. With such an accessible shopping environment, players often find themselves at the crossroads of an expanding digital library, but with little time available to enjoy it.
