For the last few years, just about every major gaming platform has offered some form of “wrapup” that takes your gaming data and gives you insight into how you’ve enjoyed your hobby that year. I’ve seen all of mine, and I’m surprised. In some cases, things might even need to change. Here’s what I learned.
5 I Have Too Many Gaming Platforms
Setting aside that it’s partly for my job and the need to have access to games and software, so I can write about it, I’ve always had enough FOMO to irrationally want all the platforms. That’s great and all, but it does mean my limited gaming time as an adult is spread across too many devices. I have a Quest 2, PS5, Switch, gaming laptop and handheld, 3DS, emulator handheld, and even my Mac and iPad get some game time.
I have a wonderful little PS5 setup all to myself (my wife has her own) and I spent all of 30 hours using my PlayStation 5 in 2024. While I’m not about to sell off any of my gaming hardware (it’s a sunk cost after all) when the new generation of consoles and hardware swings around, I might consider just investing in one. OK, who am I kidding?
4 New Games Just Don’t Appeal That Much Anymore
According to my Steam statistics, I only spent 19% of my play time in 2024 playing games that were released in 2024. The vast majority was spent playing older or classic games. The truth is that there were very few games released in 2024 that interested me. Titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 still keep the depth and creativity of older games alive, but most modern games are aimless micro-transaction-filled life simulators where you have to dig through a mile of fluff to get to the actual “game” part of the experience. In my opinion, of course.
Likewise, games that I should like, such as Dragon Age: The Veilguard just don’t seem like my type of thing, moving away from tactical squad-based RPG gameplay to hack-and-slash action adventure, with a story pitch that has not made me feel like opening my wallet.
I swore off buying games partly for this reason, and so far have managed to mostly stick to that commitment, playing games in my back catalog instead and really enjoying that more than anything modern.
3 Mac Gaming Has Snuck In Without Me Realizing It
If you read my work often, you’ll know that I like to dabble in Mac gaming, since my first Apple Silicon laptop came with quite a capable GPU. What I didn’t expect is that I would end up spending about 10% of my Steam play time on Mac, which doesn’t include the handful of GoG games I played on Mac too.
I recently got a brand new M4 Pro MacBook Pro, with a truly potent CPU and GPU and my experiments with Whiskey mean that I’m likely to pick playing on my quiet and portable Mac rather than my big and noisy gaming laptop when I have the chance.
2 Handheld PCs Have Pulled Me Away From Consoles
I’ve always had a soft spot for handheld gaming as an idea, but the hardware was never quite where I needed it to be until the Nintendo Switch. I had loved my PSP, Vita, and I still love my 3DS. However, the Switch let me play the same games that I had been playing on my home consoles, which was a game changer at the time.
Now, my handheld PC is finishing the job that my Switch originally started. If I have the option, I prefer playing something on my handheld PC, and this little relatively underpowered machine is also pulling me away from my full-fat gaming laptop. If a game runs well on my handheld PC at all you can bet I’m going to play it there instead of my more powerful computer. It turns out I don’t care about graphics as much as I thought.
1 Video Game Platforms Are Watching Me Far Too Closely
The last thing I learned from these wrap-ups is that the video game platforms I use watch every single thing I do closely. Of course, on an intellectual level, I know this.
However, seeing it all laid out like that really brings it home. I’m not sure how I feel about it, and for sure, some of the most convenient aspects of modern digital gaming rely on gathering some data, but I think I’d like to have the option to opt out too…
How To Find Your Wrap Ups
If you’re interested in seeing your own video game wrap ups, then the easiest way is to start up your console or your Steam client, and it should be on the front page.
If it’s been too long, you can usually visit a website to see your wrap-up history. That includes the Nintendo Year in Review as well as Steam Replay. Sony fans can check theirs at PlayStation Wrap-Up and if you’re an Xbox supporter, there’s the Xbox Year in Review.
Those are the most notable examples, but most game platforms now offer something similar, so if you want to learn something about your own gaming habits, there’s no time like the present.