{"id":8060,"date":"2019-02-25T08:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torrentialequilibrium.net\/?p=8060"},"modified":"2019-12-30T15:22:01","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T20:22:01","slug":"2018-video-games-statistics-bonanza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torrentialequilibrium.net\/?p=8060","title":{"rendered":"2018 Video Games Statistics Bonanza!"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s that time of year again, where I spend a bunch of words reflecting on the previous year. Mostly in the form of what video games I played in said year. Also, there\u2019s a bunch of statistics in this post! Whoo, statistics!<\/span><\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s take a look at how many games came into my possession throughout 2018. The grand total adds up to a whopping\u2026 <\/span>102<\/b>. Wait, really? That seems low. *checks spreadsheet again* Yeah, it\u2019s 102. Slightly more if you break up games like <\/span>Mega Man X Legacy Collection<\/b> into their component parts. But for the sake of keeping the total number lower, I\u2019m going to classify any collections that all exist as the same piece of software as a single game. I was hoping to keep it under 100, but then Xmas hit and between gifted eShop cards and lots of games on sale\u2026 Maybe next year!<\/span><\/p>\n

To break that number down further, only <\/span>57<\/b> of those games were actually paid for. No, I didn\u2019t steal\/pirate any of them. The other <\/span>45 <\/b>games that I tracked at a cost of zero were either legitimately free, given to me as a gift, purchased with money I received as a gift, or games that were free through PS Plus. It\u2019ll be a shame to lose those last ones when I stop subscribing, but between the ones I played and the dozens of online hours I logged in <\/span>Monster Hunter World<\/b>, that $70 annual subscription was absolutely worth it.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an aside, I only got <\/span>eleven<\/b> games on disc\/cartridge last year. It seemed like a surprisingly low number to me at first, but the percentage (11%) is actually on par with those of 2017 and 2016 (13% and 8%). I guess I\u2019m a digital kind of guy after all!<\/span><\/p>\n

What really brought my total games number down is that I only bought <\/span>one<\/b> bundle of Steam games last year, which was a Leisure Suit Larry bundle for $5. I\u2019d say it was worth it. Although I haven\u2019t made time to play any of them yet\u2026 I also only paid for DLC for a single game in 2018, and that was the Fighters Pass for <\/span>Super Smash Bros Ultimate<\/b>, which was an <\/span>absolutely necessary<\/span><\/i> expense.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the less responsible side of things, I purchased exactly <\/span>five<\/b> games that I already own. You know, that\u2019s actually not too bad! (Last year it was a staggering 18!) But I\u2019d credit that restraint entirely to the fact that Nintendo and Sony have more or less stopped re-releasing their classic games on current consoles. Virtual Console and PS1 Classics are dead, and so less of my money goes towards re-buying the same games over and over again. I was never not going to buy <\/span>Dark Souls Remastered<\/b> on Switch, though. Pretty sure I would have died without a copy of Dark Souls I can play anywhere.<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as per-system numbers go, here\u2019s the breakdown: Switch obviously has a massive lead with 46 games, and PS4 with a respectable second place at 31 games. PC rolls into third with a more humble 16. 3DS, PS3 and iOS have a three-way tie for last place with a meager three games each.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now, the moment you\u2019ve all been waiting for: let\u2019s find out exactly how worthwhile it was to amass all of these video games! In numerical terms, anyway. I played some real stinkers last\u00a0 year, so quality is not a factor.<\/span><\/p>\n

I played\u2026 an impressive <\/span>66 <\/b>of the games I got in 2018. That\u2019s 65%! Not a bad number at all! But it may be slightly misleading, because it\u2019s just counting any game that I booted up at least once. There are at least a few on there that I played one short session of and never got around to coming back to. For example: <\/span>Space Dave!<\/b>, which is a really cool game, but I guarantee that I\u2019ve spent less than 5 minutes total with it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of those 66 games, I beat <\/span>42<\/b> of them, which gives us a nice, healthy 41%. \u201cBeaten\u201d means that I\u2019ve played a game all the way through to the end. \u201cThe end\u201d generally meaning that I got to the point where the credits rolled, or the game gave me a congratulatory message, or something like that. The point where the game made it clear that I was free to stop playing it and wouldn\u2019t lose any sleep at night over unfinished business.<\/span><\/p>\n

More nebulous is the \u201cfinished\u201d category, which rolls in at <\/span>36<\/b> games, or 35%. Finished can mean all sorts of things. Sometimes it\u2019s because the game has no ending and I decided to stop playing it. Sometimes it\u2019s because the game was not to my liking and I decided to stop playing it. Sometimes it\u2019s because there was so much more game to enjoy even after the ending, and I continued to play until I\u2019d had my fill. Sometimes beaten and finished are exactly the same thing! In any case, it basically just means that I made the decision that I was done with a game.<\/span><\/p>\n

And because no discussion of statistics would be complete without a chart full of numbers\u2026 here\u2019s a chart! It\u2019s full of numbers! (Keeping in mind that the 2016\/2017 played\/beaten\/finished numbers have continued to update through 2018.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n2018<\/b><\/td>\n2017<\/b><\/td>\n2016<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Games Obtained<\/b><\/td>\n102<\/span><\/td>\n148<\/span><\/td>\n184<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Purchased<\/b><\/td>\n57<\/span><\/td>\n122<\/span><\/td>\n171<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Free\/Gifted\/Etc.<\/b><\/td>\n45<\/span><\/td>\n26<\/span><\/td>\n13<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Games Played<\/b><\/td>\n66 (65%)<\/span><\/td>\n88 (59%)<\/span><\/td>\n83 (45%)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Games Beaten<\/b><\/td>\n42 (41%)<\/span><\/td>\n50 (34%)<\/span><\/td>\n48 (26%)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Games Finished<\/b><\/td>\n36 (35%)<\/span><\/td>\n45 (30%)<\/span><\/td>\n50 (27%)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Switch<\/b><\/td>\n46<\/span><\/td>\n36<\/span><\/td>\n0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PS4<\/b><\/td>\n31<\/span><\/td>\n33<\/span><\/td>\n17<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3DS<\/b><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\n15<\/span><\/td>\n30<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PC \/ Steam<\/b><\/td>\n16<\/span><\/td>\n40<\/span><\/td>\n86<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other<\/b><\/td>\n6<\/span><\/td>\n24<\/span><\/td>\n51<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n

Full List of Games Beaten in 2018<\/span><\/h3>\n

2018 Releases<\/b><\/p>\n