This sad truth unites all gamers

It is far from decided who will win the race between PlayStation, Xbox or Switch among themselves or against the PC. Video game fans often feel a special connection, even obligation, to a platform. There is one thing that probably unites all gamers – it doesn’t matter what they are playing on.

PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Co: The Pile of Shame unites gamers

Anyone who has a video game console at home or plays on the PC – whether every now and then or passionately whenever possible – probably every gamer knows the problem: there is always a game you’ve been wanting to play for a long time but it doesn’t come to that.

Sometimes something comes up, often the next game that you’ve been waiting for appears – and then another game moves onto the pile of unplayed games. It grows and grows and grows.

Statista found out how high it is among German gamers as part of a global consumer survey. Accordingly has at 30 percent, the majority of gamers in Germany play between one and four video games are in stock at home that have never been played:

At 12 percent, the so-called “pile of shame” is a little higher at five to nine games – figuratively speaking. Because many Game sales now take place online and land directly on hard drives of the consoles or PCs, instead of forming a real heap together with the case.

Luckily, because it could get really big for some people: 13 percent said they own between 10 and 49 games, but never having played it. Many of our editors from the GIGA editorial team end up on this scale.

Heaps of shame are counted: Subscriptions replace game purchases

Even more extreme numbers are rare: Only 4 percent still have 50 to 99 games ahead of them. At least three percent of those surveyed stated that they had bought 100 or more games but had never played them. Disciplined gamers make up the second largest portion: At 24 percent, nearly a quarter said they’ve played all the games they own – whether this is just a snapshot remains to be seen.

Comparison of subscription services for games: This is what Switch Online, Game Pass and Co offer:

Especially since gamers no longer have to rely on physical copies and data carriers, the digital heap of shame should grow properly. After all, downloading a game for little money when there are good online offers is even easier and faster than stopping by the store you trust. However, subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass could ensure in the future that the stacks no longer grow.