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[Rayderism]

Only 10 to 20% of games are worth finishing. And that's being generous.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Time.

Don't have that much of it nowadays to dedicate to videogames so I don't really finish them. Last game i actually finished was Days Gone and that was how many years ago.

Also what are the kids into nowadays? Fortnite? PUBG?

 

[MayauMiao]

For me, I just buy it, try a few minutes to make sure it runs, and continue later on when I have time to complete it.

Also, my PC simply can't run some of the games properly due to its age and I'm waiting for upgrade the PC end of this year.

 

[chikydee]

I remember an interview with a Dragon Age Origins developer who said that most people who played never got past Ostagar (the intro city). That's despite Origins being objectively the best game in the series and arguably among the best RPGs of all time. Attentions spans are becoming notoriously short and this is affecting many industries, not just gaming. Just look at how few people read books anymore, from beginning to end.

 

[crackajack]

There is probably not much sense in expecting everyone to finish everything everytime, but nevertheless it's just weird how even with e.g. Telltale games, after the first wave dropping out rather early, with each trophy or achievement the rate gets lower, up to the last trophies. Higher than 10% I think, but there is a gap at every step up to the the finish line. So people play long enough to know if they like them, those rather short games and still say at some point: meh, the hours invested are gone but I just don't want to see the outcome of the story"
But it's their time and their level of commitment or lack thereof. It's up for the devs to analyze if changing it benefits their sales or this is inevitable and as it is it is actually closer to an optimum than turning everything into 5-10h, easier games.

 

[rkofan87]

i have not beat too many games they get to hard for me i know get good lol.

 

[Drew1440]

I want shorter games.

I don't mind longer games but repetitive side quests and scavanges need to go.

 

[NightmareFarm]

I try to finish the games I play most of the time and I do unless they are genuinely bad. I used to just try to soldier through bad games but it's really not worth the effort unless they are short or gameplay centric games like roguelites for example where you can just listen to a podcast whilst playing to make it more tolerable.

Gaming is meant to be for leisure it's just not worth the pain to slog through a game just so you can say you beat it.

 

[xrnzaaas]

It's always been like that, but I think currently it's even worse, because services like Game Pass made it super easy to move on to the next game from their extensive libraries.

From my perspective the main reason I abandon a game I initially liked is because I think I've seen everything it has to offer and I'm not that desperate to reach the ending. Or, unfortunately, I get swamped with work and it's not easy to return weeks later.

 

[Fabieter]

As stupid as it is I have a higher chance finishing my games if I going in early and pay more for the product. If its really bad and I don't enjoy my time iam still gonna drop it but the chances are higher than when I buy the games on a sale.

 

[DenchDeckard]

If I'm playing a game that I've spent any thought on. I'm completing it.

 

[FewRope]

This probably has something to do with the overblown FOMO of gamers. Can't finish one game, because the next new thing is out.

This. Consuming behaviour has change radically in the last like 10 years, people now play a game just thinking on the next thing to consume. Honestly kinda depressing

 

[Barakov]

Gamers aren't kids anymore. We have life and busy with outside world.

Go to bed, old man.

 

[buenoblue]

Yeah I can see this, though it's lower than I thought. I finish 90% of games I start. But some of them I find such a slog at the end. I finish it because I'm like well I've come this far might as well finish it

 

[Pejo]

It's easy for even non-hardcore gamers to tell when you get to a point in a game where they're just adding bloat to pad out the length so it won't hinder their review scores. Whether you push through that is going to depend on how much you like the base game mechanics or how value oriented you are.

Still 20% is lower than I expected.

 

[GHound]

I'm one of the few people that can be trusted when I say "I'll get to it eventually."
I hope by the time I die of (hopefully) old age I'll still be able to go back to and finish a game I'd started 80 years ago or something.

 

[Neolombax]

Is this before or after subscription services like GP and PS+? Or maybe a large portion of casual gamers nowadays gravitate towards multiplayer games?

 

[Allandor]

This topic is not really a new thing.
Most games that people play have a strong start but over time have parts that just aren't that much fun anymore. So people get easily distracted from the game by other things. This gets worse and worse for longer games.
Just think of assassins creed Valhalla. A few hours it was interesting, than there was 70h of lengthening content and than it was over. I did not even remember story bits of the beginning when I finally finished the main storyline. And yes I tried to do sub quests in the hope that there will be something interesting and the game gets better... well it didn't...

I also never finished many other games. Even Elden Ring. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game, but somehow this game is not really something for me in the long term. It just feels to much of "work" instead of fun for me.

Even worse, my pile of shame of steam games I never played ... (bundles....)

 

[Hudo]

Gamers aren't kids anymore. We have life and busy with outside world.

Skill issue

 

[MH3M3D]

This has more to do with not liking the game within 15 minutes than WANTING to finish the game and end up quitting. Personally I try many games from Game Pass and PS+, not liking 90% of them. I used to force myself to finish games that I bought, but I gave that up as well.

 

[thefool]

Games went from being hard to being a bore to finish. Not surprised by the stat.

 

[KungFucius]

I get it. I anger finish most long games these days. These huge games just drag on and on. I really want to know how much they could save on development cost/time by reducing the scope.

 

[Esppiral]

I still have games to finish on the PS1 and the Sega Saturn, Dew prism, Akuji, Grandia etc, yet I still buy games to play them for a few hours and never touch them again.

On the other hand there are games since then that I've completed several times lol.

 

[Badlucktroll]

i shall finish silent hill 2 multiple times to get all endings

 

[darrylgorn]

I play through 5-10 different games every week, so it's rare if I finish one. Occasionally one game might hook me but I prefer to enjoy a variety of games, a few hours at a time, so it's rare.

 

[Knightime_X]

FF7 rebirth
I'm at 121 hours, and skipped a crap ton of side quests after a while.
STILL NOT FINISHED with the game yet.

Game is way too damn long for its own good.
Could have completed 3-5 games by now.

 

[eerik9000]

The game must be very interesting to make the player finished it, look at the last of us 2.

That's the percentage of PSNProfile users, global is 58%, which is still very high. That being said, I am currently in the process of platinuming the PS5 port, narratively the game is dogshit and the third act is a complete slog. I am surprised that so many people completed it, must have been the pandemic effect when people had nothing better to do.

 

[Orpheum]

makes complete sense to me. I used to finish almost all of the games i started but nowadays it's tough to find the time.

My job is demanding, GF wants to spend time with me of course, i have friends i want to spend time with as well, workouts are important . i sometimes plan to play once my partner goes to bed but i tend to be too tired by the end of the day.

All of this doesn't even take into account that most open world games are a chore to play after a certain time, i can't be arsed to complete Hogwarts legacy for instance and i clocked in 20 hours. The game i play the most atm with a few friends is Helldivers 2 like once, maybe twice a week at most and we usually stop after 2 hours

I'd love to have more linear and shorter games

 

[killatopak]

I can count on my fingers how many games I haven't finished in all my life.

A lot of people seem to just waste money willy nilly. Either that or they don't even know their own taste in gaming. Even worse have no taste at all.

 

[asdasdasdbb]

FF7 rebirth
I'm at 121 hours, and skipped a crap ton of side quests after a while.
STILL NOT FINISHED with the game yet.

Game is way too damn long for its own good.
Could have completed 3-5 games by now.

Rebirth is 38% having completed Chapter 14... and that's with "Won a Battle" at 92%. All Side Quests is only 10.1% though.

 

[Sintoid]

Having less time and less money to invest in this hobby makes you more selective about what to play
This works very well for me, I usually complete the most of the games I buy

 

[Laptop1991]

I did 2 of the New Vegas endings in the early days, but that was it, game over, so the play through's i've done since, i don't actually end the game as i love open world games and want to stay immersed as long as i can in the worlds they are set in, and games like Dishonored, i like to have replay ability with new game + modes or different characters, as for games i don't finish at all, that's because i don't like the game and i stopped buying those long ago.

 

[zokie]

i usually will finish/complete Resident Evil games and watch the ending credits but i won't have the time to unlock every thing but nowadays its all paid dlc

 

[Kiya's Guard]

Finishing games is for nerds anyway. The game now is about flaunting your massive library to others.

Sarcasm aside, it's normal. After being tired for weeks it's really hard to pick up a game and play, it's not as easy as falling on the sofa and watch a couple hours movie or a series. Games require involvement, effort. I've had to force myself to play shit for the past almost 10 years, and even more to finish one.

 

[MagnesD3]

Most people dont care that much. 20% is probably the actual amount of people who love video games. Also adulting does make it harder.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Business model is set up for you to BUY the game, not PLAY the game.

 

[Negotiator]

This probably has something to do with the overblown FOMO of gamers. Can't finish one game, because the next new thing is out.

It's not just gamers... chicks and Tinder are exactly the same situation:

Embarrassment of Riches - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Human beings are not hardwired for an abundance of choices. They become indecisive.

So yeah, both gaming and dating have been ruined irrevocably.

Business model is set up for you to BUY the game, not PLAY the game.

The traditional model, yes, but the newest business model requires maximum engagement.

Devs who submit their game on Game Pass/PS+ don't get paid on units sold (because there is nothing to "sell"), but most likely based on hours spent.

That's why most devs these days no longer make 10-hour long linear games, but instead they prefer to make 200-hour long open-world collectathons with tons of RPG trinkets to unlock.

Basically the WoW effect of the 2000s has infected the whole industry like a virus, like a cancerous tumor.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I probably play 30-50 games a year, and I beat < 10 usually.
It's my main problem. Too much comes out. I like a lot of different genres. Not a ton of gameplay time. etc.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

The traditional model, yes, but the newest business model requires maximum engagement.

I think the 10 - 20% number is referring to the traditional model.

That's why most devs these days no longer make 10-hour long linear games, but instead they prefer to make 200-hour long open-world collectathons with tons of RPG trinkets to unlock.

Basically the WoW effect of the 2000s has invaded the whole industry like a virus, like a cancerous tumor.

Gamers prefer low cost of entry and long lasting value from their games. The old model was the cancer. The industry found chemotherapy in the form of GAAS.

 

[sigmaZ]

Some games are just not worth the time investment if you have a job and other hobbies. This year for example has so many massive titled that are 100 hours plus each. It's just not feasible to play them all to completion. I just let the game speak for itself. If it compels me enough to come back again and again I will surely finish it.

 

[K' Dash]

I’m 39, have two kids, a mortgage and back to college for a second degree.

10% sounds about right.

 

[kiphalfton]

I used to be a completionist; not so much 100% a game but at the very least beat the campaign and do some side stuff (assuming there are side quests).

However, these past 10 years or so I've gotten bad about even beating the main campaign. Usually if I don't beat a game, it gets sidelined after playing a couple hours.

I started a new game in Fallout 3 (I had played it back on Xbox 360, but didn't complete it), and I don't think I'll complete it (the main story, at the very least) this time either.

I only have so much time, and I think I'm over 100 hour long campaigns (which incidentally seem to be most open world games).

Sad as that shuts out a lot of high profile games (Witcher, CP2077, etc.), but moat games don't even have good enough gameplay to carry it 10 hours let alone 100 hours and I just feel guilty playing something that doesn't 100% captivate me.

 

[Shubh_C63]

Less time. Too much bloat.
I loved Tsushima and there was no repetitive missions, even then I stopped playing halfway through.

This is where GaaS shines. I can play 2 matches of Darktide and call it a day. For longer weekend sessions there is always something else waiting.

 

[Arsic]

It takes a really good game for me to finish it. The medium is flooded with so much copy paste with small unique traits that usually after a few hours I’ve gotten my fun out of it and move on.

Even a short game like hellblade 2 I gave up on after 2 hours. It’s “meh” so I moved onto the next game to provide actual fun.

I think my biggest surprise is 75 hours with star field. For me to drop that many hours in a game with clear issues, means something was there that I call secret sauce.

Sometimes that’s all a game needs to real me in.

 

[Sophist]

Is that achievement thing reliable at all? When i look at the stats for gta5:

24.1% finished the final mission (To Live or Die in Los Santos) while only 23% finished the mission before (The Big One!).

Steam Community :: Grand Theft Auto V :: Achievements

steamcommunity.com

edit: also, using cheat codes disable achievements.

 

[FunkMiller]

Elden Ring has a completion rate of 40%.

A lot of this is about how bad games across the board have become, with a few notable exceptions.

 

[danklord]

Some eat until they're full, others eat to clean the plate.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Seeing a single battle in Baldurs Gate take half an hour I thought to myself: how many people actually finish this fucking game?!

I am too afraid to look it up.

 

[Jacob0101]

I always finish games, even if I don't like every one of them. I don't buy games just to have them in my backlog. I finish one first, then I buy the next one.

 

[Halo2redvsblue]

I've put over 25 hours into Ghost of Tsushima for PC, I just rescued the Uncle and moved into the upper half of the map.
Thing is I am kind of over the game and not sure I want to keep playing. I've taken a break for over a week now and I don't really wan't to boot it up and finish it now.
It's a good game but I might be done with it.

I'm literally in the same boat. loved the game at first but after saving your Uncle. It's just became tedious.