I’m not sure anyone ever has thought that a sale on something they like is a bad thing. And I’m not even sure I do, either. But as I sit here and think about all the amazing sales this winter has seen from Black Friday to Cyber Monday (and everything surrounding the two), my digital wallet, poor thing, feels exhausted.

Allow me to backtrack for a moment.

If I didn’t have a backlog, sales would be sheer bliss. I would play the game I just bought on sale as soon as I bought it, and there would be no guilt because I wouldn’t have dozens and dozens of other games just like it sitting there waiting for me to play them.

This is also one of the reasons I can’t necessarily justify pre-ordering games: because I’m so behind. But that’s just another piece of this unfrugal puzzle.

I remember back when I first got my NES for Christmas in 1989. I remember the years that followed where I was lucky to have maybe six games, all of which I played the living crap out of. Back then, getting a new game was a BIG DEAL (it was definitely an all caps situation). And then when video stores started renting games out, my mind was blown. For so much less money, I could rent a game, play it night and day, and then return it. Nevermind that I rented Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers for the NES enough times that I could have bought it. Nevermind that I had to rent Shadowgate three times before I could beat it. Those things didn’t matter. Having those experiences, that mattered.

So as I got older and games got more abundant, I started buying more than I could ever reasonably play. It didn’t help that there was a large gap in my gaming history. Even if I gamed for eight hours a day, every day, I could never catch up. And that’s a little daunting. Time is so precious and limited; deciding what game to play and when can be a tough choice.

Made all the tougher by these GD game sales.

I went to Target last week to pick up a few things and on my way out I saw a display for Nintendo games. Now this is where sales really get me. Nintendo games seem to hold their value inordinately long and when I see a sale on them, I feel compelled to partake. I want Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, and Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U. They had them all on sale for $10 off. Then I asked myself: how soon will I play any of these? I couldn’t answer myself, so I carried on to the checkout unencumbered with Nintendo goodness.

But have I thought about going back every day since then? Yup.

This year, more than any other in my recent memory, has had some stellar sales. I’m almost relieved that my laptop can’t run games that couldn’t run on a Speak & Spell, as I know the Steam sales would pull me in (or pull me under). I almost feel gluttonous when I buy new games now, as I’m so maddeningly behind that I have no idea when I will get to the game in question.

Even so, I love that these sales come up and allow us all to experience various games that we might not have tried out had we not been able to get them on sale. I am all about the experience, and there are so many just waiting to be had.

How do you feel about all the year end game sales? Do you love them? Do you dread them? Have you bought anything this winter? If so, what?