Does anyone else suffer from Platinum pop syndrome?

[ladynadiad]

I do indeed do this, but before trophies I went into the opposite direction and had a hard time pulling myself away from a fun game to play other things.  The platinum at least gives me a solid feedback that I'm done and can move on to another game because without that I'd just keep playing my favorites and never try anything new.

 

I think another thing that contributes to this is that now if I really just want to enjoy the story of a game again, it's easy to go to youtube and just watch whatever cutscene I want to see again rather than having to play through hours of a game to get there or set up saves so I can pop back to favorite scenes, which is usually the main reason why I want to replay a game.  I can easily access the soundtrack of a favorite game so I won't try to replay to listen to an amazing track either.  So I don't think it is totally that trophy hunting and getting a plat that has led me to play less, it's more that many other factors have eliminated most of my reasons to play a game again and if I decide I really want to actually play it and will be dissatisfied by the lack of trophies, I can either buy another stack (if one is available) or play on another account.

[BigHatPaul]

13 hours ago, BlackSabre500 said:

Yeah, my PPS was so bad i had to go see a doctor. Luckily he gave me a prescription to help my symptom. 

was it a credit card to blow on Ratilaika games?

[Viper]

I do...and i have no issue with that, it feels natural. In fact, I don't really vibe with non-trophy hunters who can stick to playing the same game over and over for months and months on end. I mean, it's their time and if they're having fun, then so be it. But that's just not how I roll.

 

I consider having 2 different "gaming lives". There the pre-trophy era and current era which effectively started in 2009 for me (but really got underway in 2012). Back when I was a kid playing on the NES/SNES/Genesis I had a small stack of games I played over and over and over...it was normal life back then, I didn't know any better. I got maybe 1 or 2 new games a year if I was lucky, usually around Christmas time and would play those over and over. Even back in the PS1 days, I played Smackdown 2 for over a year until I got a PS2 and Just Bring it.

 

When I got my PS3 and discovered my love of trophies, everything changed. Although I didn't really have a lot to play until 2012 when I first got PS+ as a way of keeping a stream of stuff to play, then sales started becoming a weekly thing and the backlog started to materialize. But yeah, I realized I didn't HAVE to stick to one game for inordinate amounts of time anymore, I get what I want out of it (whether that means Platting it or playing it until I feel I did enough), and I move on to something else. Nowadays that's more relevant than ever...little did I know subscribing to PS+ and having sales every week was going to build me a literal mountain of games and create a backlog so deep I doubt I'll ever finish everything...especially with a new console generation on the way. 

 

But it's just that. There's too much to play out there these days to just stick to the same old same old, especially once the Platinum pops. And usually the only way I go BACK to a game, is if it got a remaster and a new trophy list (and I liked the game enough to replay it). That happened a few times with PS3 and PS4 games...it could happen again with the PS5. When I was a kid, there were quite a few games I probably put over 1000 hours into...didn't have a choice. Nowadays, Borderlands 2 is probably the game I've put the most time into and even then that's only about 500-ish hours worth, and that's combining the PS3 and PS4 versions. I put nearly 300 hours into AC Odyssey, and that alone felt like a feat considering I just don't do that. Putting a 100 hours into an RPG because it's actually that long is one thing...but again, I don't replay those either that's 100 hours in a single run. 

All in all, it's the way it should be. As much as a backlog is intimidating in a sense that I may never touch certain games I'll want to play (I still have PS3 games in my backlog), I love knowing I always have something else to experience. I have no shortage of games to play, and if I want those experiences I can't just stick to one thing forever. 

[Beliar4]

Im totally opposite. I beat the game platinum pop, backlog enormous and the feeling to rush/start new game isnt equaly big. If game is good i enjoy it and after plat is still stuff to do im sticking in.

[SwiftlyPaws]

Yes I do the same. 

Not because the game isn't good but it is done and all the other games are staring at me. Sometimes I hear them screaming "me, pick me, me"

Spoiler

or maybe I still have nightmares from the time I fell asleep while watching the Shrek DVD

 

I do keep most of my games, so if I want to play them again I can always reinstall them.

[Alternatewarning]

Yes, however, I was always that way.  Even when I was playing my PSP and PS2 once I finished 100% of a game I would put it down and not come back.  I have too many games to play and I play mostly story-driven games.  So I know the story know, why go back?  With recent re-releases and remasters I've come back to those games again, i.e. Kingdom Hearts, but now that I finished it again I feel no need to go back and play it.  I still remember the story, that's what matters to me.

[JEDLander]

Absolutely. I don't rush games per se but I definitely don't take my time with them. I've enjoyed recent games like Ghost of Tsushima, FF7R etc. but I rattle through the trophies and then move straight on to the next game.

If I'm being totally honest, I don't know if I even appreciate the platinums that I'm getting.. I just sorta get them and move on, and because I still have a lot of games that I want to get done, I find it kinda hard to just sit around playing a game that I've 'finished'.

I find I'm way less patient with games and barely take the time to appreciate them because I'm subconsciously rushing to get it done.

Also the moment I start to see the end of my backlog, I find I just sorta add new games to it for some reason. This time last year I had no interest in Assassins Creed, I had about 4 games in the backlog. Fast-forward and I've dropped about 150 hours getting Origins and Odyssey done. Did I enjoy them? Kinda.. maybe? Did I NEED to play them: absolutely not.

I also never go back to games that I enjoyed playing unless new trophies become available. 

 

My plan is to stop adding games to the backlog, finish off my trophy list for now and then actually try to get back to when I used to play games for fun, and the trophies/ achievements were just a fun side-project.

[GoldenShaka]

Sounds horrible, I hope I never get that.

I mean I just have the typical trophy addiction, but from there to bury a game as soon as I get the platinum, heck no.

Yes, I know how frustrating is seeing backlog getting bigger and bigger, I just got used to that.

Maybe for me it's hard to get that disease because I like to collect games and I even look for games that have moderate to high replayability.

I would say, those that have that addiction should try to buy physical versions so you can sell those platinumed games. 

Idk, it's the first that comes to my mind. 

Good luck everyone and happy gaming.

Edited September 10, 2020 by GoldenShaka

[zippydpt]

Yes, but I believe the correct term for the condition in question is "I finished everything in the game, thus I have no reason to play it any longer."

[MandA60VISE]

I feel you. I've had a similar issue before trophies were a thing. Once I beat a game I just wouldn't play it again no matter how much I loved it. Most of the games I played before trophies were long story driven JRPGs so it kinda makes sense. I just tend to retain more of that experience after many years than most people. I can still tell you most of the plot of Final Fantasy VI or Xenosaga (two of my most favorites) and I haven't played either in over 5 years. Trophies actually made me replay some of my favorites just to get their platinum or play games in harder difficulties and enjoy the game more which I normally wouldn't have. Furi and DMC1 are in my top 100 favorite games of all time because I tired them on the hardest difficulty and loved the experience.

[GUDGER666]

Only games i go back to are ones with coop like Cod Zombies. If it's a Single Player game then what's the point in going back when there is so many more games to play. Only way i would go back is if it's a Remaster. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by GUDGER666

[SirWaWa]

 Yes, except for delete the game part.

[starcrunch061]

On 9/6/2020 at 11:27 PM, enaysoft said:

This happens to me with a lot of games recently, even games that I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

Kinda goes something like this:-

 

-> Platinum pops

-> Sync trophies to the server ( arguably the most important part psychologically, a message to my mind the game is "finished" )

-> Delete game (Definitely has to be after syncing)

-> Probably never playing this game again in my lifetime. Even though I liked it..

 

Mainly because I have so many other games to play / things to do in my life as a middle age adult.

 

I kinda hate the way trophies might make me play a game more than I want too and then afterwards make me never want to play it again.

Once I've witnessed the sync to the Playstation Network, it feels like I can move on from that game. (unless surprise DLC comes along I guess)

 

I definitely do. It's incredibly rare for me to replay a game nowadays, because I'd rather play a new game with a plat (or, very occasionally, a 100%). I delete it because there just isn't enough space to keep it.

[GT__Jedi]

I'd love to keep all the games on the HD, but just don't have the room.  The one game I've never deleted is Journey.  Like going back to the game every 6 months or so just for the hell of it.

[TraumaticChain6]

When I get the platinum of the game or 100% I never play that game again on the console I got the 100%/platinum on. Like others have said, I've a lot of games that I want to play. Most of the time if I've the platinum I feel like I've got my moneys worth with that game. But there are exceptions like Far Cry Primal were I got every collectible and completed every side mission, even though it's not necessary for the platinum. If I liked a game enough (like Life is Strange), I'll buy it on another system, not full price though, so I can replay it and can get all the trophies/achievements again. Altough with both Ps plus and Xbox gold you have some chances to get some double games. 

[Property_Damage]

Yes and No

Ive been an active trophy hunter for 8years now.  earning my 1st platinum on august 12th 2012, and my 306th plat on august 14th 2020, all while never missing a single month in the years in between from then to now. So for those 8years, yes.  I had an 8 year long platinum streak i was trying to uphold, on 3 platforms (ps3/4&vita) with a massive backlog of games for each from either being a gift from my spouse or from my own doing of over spending on digital games through countless flash sales over the Years, its mostly the latter, but I digress.  
 

About 3 weeks ago now i bought a Nintendo Switch and i havent touched any of my playstations since...and its AMAZING!  I feel like ive been lifted from a curse, like im alive again.  Im no longer forced to suffer with my ocd and have to slog through games because of the trophies/achievements because they arent there, sure some games have in game achievements but only you can see them, nothing is tied to your account for the world to see if youve “finished” a game or not, just that you played it for xx amount of hours.  I can play games and enjoy them for what they are, mind stimulation, Not a giant Mindless check list of stupid shit to do so you can finally have 100%

 

 

[SHAZAM_SAVAGE]

I hate the fact that I am hunting plats now. 
 

Before I would just play for fun, now I just go for plats and then move on. 
 

There are games I don’t even play because I don’t want to invest 200 hours into like RDR2. But I guess I can create another account and just play for fun on that one lol. 

[Upendo_Vitani]

I do the same thing. I'm trying to get out of that mindset. I'm playing some older games and my Switch. I started a fresh profile in preparation for the PS5. Not going to waste time or money on more games unless I actually want to play them. Not because I'm hunting platinum trophies. I wasn't one to buy those little cheapy games at least. I've been playing the crap out of the Avengers game. I feel like I'm having fun again, mostly because I know the platinum is such a long winded process that I may never get it, so it's setting a good precedent for the games I eventually want to have on there. I want my platinums to mean something to me again, not just a boring slog so I never have to play it again. If I get a platinum, I want to look back and be like, yeah, that game deserved all the time I put into it. I still have my old profile. That's going to be my catch all. My new profile is where my obsessiveness of actually playing my new games can chill. 

[Geridian]

15 hours ago, Property_Damage said:

About 3 weeks ago now i bought a Nintendo Switch and i havent touched any of my playstations since...and its AMAZING!

Glad to read that when you bought the Switch it helps you with difficulties in your life. Hope you will enjoy playing with the Switch for a long time.

 

What I want to write down about the Switch is not something about difficulties in life, but something about if you are infected with "Platinum pop syndrome" like me:

• My girlfriend and I bought a Nintendo Switch last year (exactly: 7. September 2019) because it was sold for under 300€ in one of the great local electronic markets in Germany.
• We also bought a micro SD and the games "Super Mario Odyssey" and "The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild" at the same time as we bought the Switch.
• We bought the Switch because I was interested in Zelda BotW and wanted to buy a Switch because of this game since 2018. Also I was interested in SMO and my girlfriend wanted to play Zelda BotW also.

==> And now over a year later: Try to guess how often the Switch was used?

Spoiler

The Switch was used four times in over a year (Me 2 times and my girlfriend 2 times), nothing more.

No game completed.

I also wrapped the TV stand of the Switch in foil so that it will not collect much dust.

The Switch is resting in transport pouch.

The reason:

Spoiler

 

My reason for not playing with the Switch is that there are no Achievements integrated into the games. There just seems to be no challenge included. "Only ingame achievements" do not interest me much.

Yes, normally I should be fine when I just enjoy playing a game and console I bought. But.. something is just missing.

It is not the fact that Zelda BotW or SMO are bad in any way. They are great games and I had fun while playing them. But as I wrote before: Something is missing.

The multi platform games I buy for the PS4 and will not buy them for the Switch.

Maybe I will return to the Switch when I feel like doing it or when the Metroid Prime Collection or Metroid Prime 4 are arriving.

I do not know the reasons why my girlfriend does not play with the Switch. 

 

 

[thefourfoldroot]

I wouldn’t call it a syndrome (that implies a negative). I like that feeling of popping the plat and knowing I’ve done everything important in the game. There has only been one game I’ve continued playing after getting a plat, just for the sheer joy of it, and that’s the exceptional Astro Bot, for everything else I happily delete and sell the game knowing I’ve reached the end point.

 

I do enjoy going for trophies, and thus us the entire reason I have never played the Switch which my wife bought primarily for Animal Crossing (I was even snowed when she bought Catherine on it as I wanted to get it on PS4). 
 

To be clear though, this is not a bad thing, it just means trophies are a fun thing for me to go for. I just agree something is missing if I’m not playing towards one.

Edited September 11, 2020 by thefourfoldroot

[Darling Baphomet]

Yep, absolutely. Once I have the platinum in a game, I immediately move onto other things. I tend to oscillate between playing games just for fun and trophy hunting, though, so that gives me some time to replay games I want to.

[Skargarim]

Well, I have a totally different aproach to completing a game.

 

For me it totaly depends on what kind of game it is and how much fun I'm having long term. Every now and then I play a game that I really just wanna finish ASAP. Last one was Burly men at sea. Just downloaded it, played it for like 4 hours, got the plat and deleted it. No big deal, it was "free" on PS+ anyways . I wouldn't pay for something like that...

 

But most of the time, especially lengthy games I play in stages. So I keep to it as long as it's fun and then jump to the next, and after that maybe to the next. At some point, a month or a year later, I come back to the first one, because of how much I liked it and the reason that it's not finished yet. And this might happen a couple of times. Skyrim and Fallout 3 for example took me almost 4 years to plat like that, it never got boring or anoying, because every time I got sick of it I moved on.

 

That being said, I've never been the kind of person to replay a game. There's only a handfull of games I played through entirely more than once, that's just not a thing I do, no matter how great the game is.

 

So I guess, I rarely touch a game after getting a plat and it usually gets deleted right away, but until I get to that point I've left the game and came back to it a couple of times.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Skargarim

[Lava_Yuki]

i certainly do that, i feel that some games have platinums where doing do is justified in that the game makes you do everything and experience 100% of it, so there's nothing left. Most RPG platinums are like this, making you play so long that it's actually a relief when the platinum pops and you can finally play something else (e.g. FF, Kingdom Hearts games, Tales games)

 

However, some games I feel are worth playing longer than the platinum, like Life is Strange 2 where you just need one playthrough and don't have to bother with all the endings to get the platinum. Detroit was the same, where the platinum did not need you to fill the flow charts. However, I want to be making progress so I 'd rather play a new game and earn trophies than replay an old game and earn nothings. 

[Folgers101]

This is something I regularly do. All 86 platinums of mine and all 62 100%'s after every single trophy I sync then update my profile and after the platinum/100% I delete the game. It's a "staple" my friends call it when they witness me finishing a game how quickly I sync and update and delete all at once lol after you've done arguably EVERY THING in the game why would you keep it? It takes up space at that point lol

[SnowxSakura]

This was a thing even before trophies, it's not uncommon to beat a game and never play it again