"I don't have to buy it right now"

I used to buy new games I wanted on the first day of release, even when I still had some other games I liked and wanted to finish. I had this weird fear that everything I would want to buy would be sold out if I waited for a few weeks later, even if it was a 'niche' title with mixed reviews. This got even more ridiculous when I started buying digitally-distributed games on day one of release, regardless of how many unfinished games I got left, despite the fact that it's impossible or a game like that to 'run out of copies'. I started to realize a few months ago that I could've saved a lot of time and money if I just focused on one game at a time instead of buying new ones as soon as they become available.
 
The most recent example was Mafia 2. I wanted to buy it, but decided to wait because I still have 3D Dot Game Heroes, X-Com (never finished the original one) and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift on my plate.  'I want to finish the games I got first, Mafia 2 can wait' I told myself.
 
Dead Rising 2, I might pick that up if I've finished one of the games I've got by the time that comes out. Managing money when it comes to buying games is a bit difficult for me because I keep thinking 'man if this game is good I'm not going to be able to buy it if I wait too long'.
 
Anyone else got that weird fear? The fear that you're going to miss out on something good just because you didn't buy it the moment it came out?

I used to buy new games I wanted on the first day of release, even when I still had some other games I liked and wanted to finish. I had this weird fear that everything I would want to buy would be sold out if I waited for a few weeks later, even if it was a 'niche' title with mixed reviews. This got even more ridiculous when I started buying digitally-distributed games on day one of release, regardless of how many unfinished games I got left, despite the fact that it's impossible or a game like that to 'run out of copies'. I started to realize a few months ago that I could've saved a lot of time and money if I just focused on one game at a time instead of buying new ones as soon as they become available.
 
The most recent example was Mafia 2. I wanted to buy it, but decided to wait because I still have 3D Dot Game Heroes, X-Com (never finished the original one) and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift on my plate.  'I want to finish the games I got first, Mafia 2 can wait' I told myself.
 
Dead Rising 2, I might pick that up if I've finished one of the games I've got by the time that comes out. Managing money when it comes to buying games is a bit difficult for me because I keep thinking 'man if this game is good I'm not going to be able to buy it if I wait too long'.
 
Anyone else got that weird fear? The fear that you're going to miss out on something good just because you didn't buy it the moment it came out?

Only on the multiplayer side of things, especially the less successful ones.  Case in point, BioShock 2.  I actually really liked the mp a whole lot.  Got to level 40 in a few days.  I'd have to imagine the community is all but dead now.  I would've missed that whole fun experience if I didn't pick up BioShock 2 close to launch.
 
Even with the bigger titles, your CODs and Halos, I feel like I can miss the boat and never fully pick up the game as I'm continually getting stomped by people who never stopped playing since the midnight release.  Thinking like this, among other things, is why developers so highly covet multiplayer.

It's not a irrational fear when it comes to me. The stores around where I live don't tend to restock games I've missed out on a lot of games by not buying them when they first come out. I so need a dam credit card so I can just order them off the net.

Similar case, but not exactly.  I used to buy many games I desired on day one.  It was never anywhere close to every game, but I bought a good many games day one nevertheless.  I didn't worry about it being sold out at all, I worried about missing out on it in some vague capacity.  Like, "oh man, people are going to be really enjoying this game and I won't be able to".
 
Maybe it's a change in how I feel about games in general.  I am very interested in Dead Rising 2, but there are many other games I won't be buying anytime soon after release.

If it's a multiplayer game I'm interested in playing for a period of time I pick it up as close to launch as I can since picking it up later just results in you playing a huge game of catch up with the rest of the community. If it's a game that's being spoiled all over the place I'll try get on it quickly but it's not essential. Generally I wait for prices to drop a little bit before I pick something single player focussed up.

I was going to buy Halo: Reach day one but then I decided that it is a piece of shit because Dead Rising 2 is coming out.

If I pay more for it now, then I get it sooner.  Simple as that and for a lot of games, I gladly play the premium.  The other ones I can get when they drop in price and I'm looking for something new.

If it's a multiplayer game or if I otherwise am really anticipating something and want to be involved in playing and discussing a notable game while its still relevant, I'll buy it day of release.  Pretty much everything else I wait till it drops to $40-20.  I have about a 10 game Amazon wish list at all times composed of games I'm tracking till they drop enough in price to convince me to buy them.
 
The strange thing is that game prices pretty much encourage release day or wait a long time.  If you buy release day, you'll get $10-20 off from Amazon or wherever online, in addition to pre-order bonuses.  You won't get those kind of deals till months later after the price drops.  I've got Halo: Reach and Dead Rising 2 on pre-order with $30 in free game money in exchange.

I used to buy games that I wanted and not open them because I was in the middle of so many games at the time. Just because you have them doesn't mean you have to play them. Getting games early has it's advantages. As some have mentioned, multiplayer is most active close to release. Hell, you can't even play Madden 2009 multiplayer anymore because there are no servers to run it. Another advantage is if a product gets recalled and changed after the fact. I have San Andreas with hot coffee on the disc. I have the version of Liberty City Stories that could be used to hack your PSP. Jeff has a pre recall version of LBP that he bought from amazon. You may still be able to get these games, but they are edited versions of what was once available. 
 
I haven't bought anything day one this year. The only games I can think of that I would have done it for is Heavy Rain and FFXIII, but my PS3 is broken. I still don't have them and I want them before they change the packaging to the ugly red box, and I want to play them before someone spoils it for me, so there are two more reasons to buy them as close to release as possible.

I can't wait to play certain games. Halo: Reach for example, I AM NOT waiting more than 30 minutes to play it. Games where I am like, oh it looks good, I can wait and end up not even wanting it.

I've been eager to buy games because they've sounded like good games but I've never bought a game as soon as I could because I feared I'd miss out on it if I didn't buy it immediately. Even if I did have that problem I wouldn't have the cash to buy every big-name game that comes out.

I almost have the opposite problem. I rarely ever buy games at launch and as a result miss out on some multiplayer experiences because the community has already died down. Still, I'd say it's a good thing because I save money in the long run. 
Recently I preordered Halo Reach so I might be changing a bit :P

I don't buy games until I'm ready to play them. Except for some extremely rare examples of limited runs of games, they always go down in price. If I want to play a game at launch, I get it then. If I'm not going to play it for a few months, I wait. Now, if there's a steam sale and something good is $5, down from $20, you might as well jump on it because it's unlikely to get cheaper than that, and if it does, you'll only lose a buck or two.
 
A friend of mine bought like 10 games during Amazon's black Friday sale because there were so many great deals. By the time he got through half of them, the other half were even cheaper than the price he bought them at. It's generally in your best interest to wait until you're ready to play the game.

Sometimes, I'll pick up niche titles when they're first released because I get it in my head that they will become rare or overpriced soon.  Usually I'm right, but stuff like Disgaea 2 and 3 have come back to bite me in the ass when they drop in price or get re-releases.

There are obviously games that disappear from shelves quickly (like Muramasa: The Demon Blade -- haven't seen a single copy of that in months), and those I'll make sure to pick up early, but in most cases I'm not worried. If I buy something close release, it's because I'm really excited to play it, not because I'm afraid I'll never get another opportunity to acquire a copy.

The internet is never out of stock, also ebay/craigslist/goozex are usually cheaper, unless you are talking niche japanese game you will never have problems finding a copy locally and if you do still easy online.

" I can't wait to play certain games. Halo: Reach for example, I AM NOT waiting more than 30 minutes to play it. Games where I am like, oh it looks good, I can wait and end up not even wanting it. "

For me, it's not a worry that it'll sell out, more that...  I just want to be there for the "event" that is that game. Have it when it's fresh, and wrapped in hype.

" I was going to buy Halo: Reach day one but then I decided that it is a piece of shit, because im a moron. 

i still need to finish 3d dot game hero

" @LordXavierBritish said:

" I was going to buy Halo: Reach day one but then I decided that it is a piece of shit, because im a moron. 

"

You should totally wait to buy Mafia II anyway. Since there's very little in the way of sandbox, the $60 price tag seems a little inflated. But then again I'm a dick when it comes to prices.
 
I buy maybe five full priced games every 12 months, and even that seems like too many for my wallet. I'll never buy used either, leaving Steam as practically my only option.

I was exactly like that a while ago. But it wasn't the fear of a game running out of copies it was the fear of forgetting it. Because there were so many games i was interested in.
 
But just like you i had unplayed games that had to be finished so i stopped preordering and got to the task of finishing my unplayed games instead.

the only games I feel like that with is SMT games.. only because they only keep about 4 of them at the store I go too.