Can Everyone Just Stop Making Videogames For One Year?

I, like many adult people who play videogames and enjoy them, have a problem when it comes to my favorite hobby - I do not have the time to play all the cool, fun, interesting, fascinating, immersive, compelling, disruptive, genre-bending games that seem to be coming out at an ever-increasing clip. I start playing Celeste, and before I can turn around there have been FIVE MORE sprite-based indie platformer throwbacks with unique mechanics and a complex, deep, emotional story released. By the time I'm playing Hollow Knight, there are 10 MORE. And then I realize I never got around to Inside, Cuphead, A Night In the Woods, and...well you get the idea.

And then I start playing Overwatch again, and suddenly I'm more backed up than [insert laxative joke here].

The point is - there are too many games, and the problem just keeps getting worse. Between Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, and a multitude of consoles with thriving indie scenes (Switch, PS4, XBOX One), there's simply too many opportunities for game makers to put out their games - and with the current generation of game devs including people who grew up playing games, we've gotten a glut of subversive throwback indie titles, all of which get impeccable reviews, glowing notices from players, and are all apparently "must play" games.

And it NEVER ENDS. Not for one moment. There's no time to take a breath, no time to catch up, no time to look back - if you wanna dive back into Skyrim or the SNES Classic, you're just retreading well-trodden ground and allowing yourself to fall even further behind.

That's why I propose: NO MORE NEW GAMES FOR A YEAR.

Okay, I know this doesn't make sense for ANYONE but specific individuals, e.g. just me. Game publishers and development teams obviously need to make money, and the way they do that is by releasing new games. Most players LOVE the influx of new games constantly hitting the market, as each one offers a fresh new experience (and there's obviously no REQUIREMENT to play every single game that gets released). It is a selfish desire, I'll admit - but I have so many games I'd like to catch up with, what I wouldn't give for an opportunity to do so without adding MORE titles to my FOMO files.

One year seems like a fair amount of time - it's long enough that I could get through maybe 30-40 games if I really committed myself (especially because so many of the titles I'm missing are nice lil indie games, that look like they would take about 8-10 hours total), and all the while I could really sit and enjoy those games, without constantly hearing about the NEW new games everyone ELSE is playing that I'm missing out on. I wouldn't be stuck feeling out of the loop and behind the times - and by the end of that year, I would be all caught up and ready to take on whatever cool new indie I see people recommending on Twitter.

It's a small sacrifice to make, but I'm willing to let game publishers make it. That's just how humble and selfless I am.

Because, seriously - Red Dead Redemption 2 is unquestionably going to eat up a MONTH of my life, minimum, and there's no getting around that. Plus, there's still 3 more Overwatch events this year, and I knoooow I'm gonna have to grind to get the skins I want (not falling for that whole "paying for lootboxes" thing). Plus, I'll probably get sucked into Fallout 76 for at least a couple weeks, and then before I know it I'll have missed out on 50 Steam critical darlings.

Just let me catch up, games industry. Also, give me some REAL deals on the Switch eShop. 10% off doesn't count as a "deal."