Too. Many. Games.

Every year, as gaming increases in popularity across a wide range of platforms, the later half of the year becomes crammed with games trying to release before the holidays. This year seems exceptionally ridiculous.

After the break, OH GOD MY BACKLOG...




This year, the fall release schedule kicked off with a bang as Darksiders 2 and Sleeping Dogs both released on August 14th. A week later, Tranformers: Fall of Cybertron was out, and to close out the month, Guild Wars 2 launched. August quickly became Arrrghust.

September, which I now rename Septerrible, saw console release of Mark of the Ninja on the 7th, and the very wise Friday the 14th releases of FTL and the Black Mesa remake on PC. The following Hell Week saw Borderlands 2 release on the 18th, followed two days later by Torchlight 2. Also, THREE indie bundles decided to launch the same week. Pandas arrived in World of Warcraft the following week on the 25th, and another 20+ games closed out the month for all platforms.

October, aka Ugghtober, would somehow manage to be worse on wallets, with an estimated 65+ games scheduled for release. The first half of the month saw such games as War of the Roses, NBA 2K13, Resident Evil 6, and Pokemon Black and White 2 before another Hell Week that included XCOM and Dishonored on the 9th. Just Dance 4 and Skylanders 2 for the casual crowd snuck their way in the same week, and even the new Windows 8 managed to make an appearance. Yet, even after this monetary destruction, the final death blow to wallets comes later in the month with Assassin's Creed III, Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2, and the too-cute-to-avoid LEGO: The Lord of the Rings.

At this point, you would think gamers would have nothing left to spend, but no mercy will be given as November (or Nooooooooovember) looms near. November 4th, Halo 4 brings Xbox Live to its knees and the following week Activision shareholders rejoice as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 sells another billion dollars worth of copies. As if that wasn't enough gunplay for the month, Hitman: Absolution, Far Cry 3, and Planetside 2 show up to the party, bringing a climactic end to the onslaught of major game releases.

As if these games weren't enough for you, numerous DLC packs of all shapes and sizes were spread liberally throughout the fall/holiday release schedule as did many new Kickstarter/crowdsourced projects and indie games.

December arrives with few major game releases, with Hawken the only game of real note. However, just as you are high-fiving yourself and gloating about how you managed to not spend yourself blind, you come to a final, fatal realization:

The Steam holiday sale hasn't started yet...