At what point does buying games become an issue?

I think you're at that point, my dude.
I can't say I relate because at max I only have 4 or 5 options of games to play, but the solution is crossing off the games you're forcing yourself to play, or isn't having fun, and focus on the ones that suit your interests the best. If you don't find any, it's a good idea to find some other stuff to do on your free time, forcing yourself to play every game you buy doesn't really help the problem, after all. Also, stop buying games lol

Yes you have a problem.

My direct suggestions are:

• Don't look at the offers. So unsubscribe newsletters, dont visit the storepages and such things. Out of the sight out of the mind work mostly
• Start to catalogise what you have
• Think over what you need or don't need by the games/bundles

For sure are Bundles, high discounts and such things are teasers and for sure "each" of us buy "too much" or at least more as we really need^^ but i think a lot have, at least, a list of the stuff they have and not buy all unwillingly more then 1x.

I may keep about 20 games installed at a time but I do limit myself to about 2-3 I'll play fully. Then I'll move on to the next one installed. The installed ones are usually my que for games.

If this money is not being missed anywhere else in your life, then I see no problem. It's also not a problem when you "stop going to parties to buy games". It's a problem when you, for example, stop buying food and go hungry to buy games. When you don't pay your bills to buy games. Then it's a problem. Otherwise, if you have the money to spare, do what you feel like doing.

yes, buying stuff you never use is problematic. instead of buying try to play one of the crap games. maybe that will stop you from buying more chunk. i stopped buying games in total. humble monthly is the only source of games i play and only if i want to play the early unlock.

i can't buy a $1 for 100 games bundle if there's no game i'm interested in in it. even if there are cards... buying games to sell cards isn't really my stuff

Some people buy expensive watches, clothes, shoes, glasses, bags, etc only to be barely used or even never. Remember 7 deadly sins? Lust. It's hard to control but it's the way we human work. I too buy games only to not be played or barely, I don't even have that much games. The ones I never touch are mostly free ones for the cards only.

I would say that when you start wondering if it is a problem, it probably already is a problem. Simply put, if you no longer enjoy buying games you can just stop.
I honestly can't critizise you beacuse I've hoarded more stuff in my steam account that what I can reasonably play, I haven't even been playing much recently.

It becomes an issue when you start believing that you must 100% all those games.

if it's really bothering you, either get into reselling your duplicates to make some money back (and help clear your basement a bit) or adhere to a "don't buy something new until i play something through" regime of some sort. :)

If you buy game even if it looks dumb...

Then again games that looks interesting can turn out to be shit so who am I to judge.

The problem begins when you start lacking funds for stuff that is important to you maybe? If you have spare cash you don't mind spending like that then whats the problem?

start by put the money you put in stuff you don't need in something more constructive. build other priorities.

As with anything, it becomes a problem when it negatively affects your life.

You like soft drinks? Fine. Are you getting fat from it and that's making you distressed? Well, there's a problem.
Do you like gambling? Fine. Are you finding yourself short of money on a regular basis? Well, there's a problem again.

So if causes you stress or you are missing the money because you spent it, then there's a problem.

I have around 500 games that I want to play on my account and I decided to stop buying any games on my wishlist until I finish them. UNLESS there is a really good deal on some game such as 80%, 90% discount or a good bundle.

With the best of intentions, I went through my Steam library and sorted them into categories.

I have:

COMPLETED
CURRENTLY PLAYING
PLAY NEXT
ETERNAL PLAYS ( which is for stuff that I can play forever, like Factorio or Skyrim )

I rationed that the main reason I was buying games, was because I saw them just at the time I was undecided about what to play. Like, sure, I could play Skyrim again, I could fire up Borderlands again because they were the easy options.
But by structuring it so that I had a clear path, a journey, a where do I go from here, the hope was, I'd stop buying shite I don't need/play.

I mean, the theory was sound. Everything seemed like a good idea. It just, hasn't worked.
Shrug.

I dont think its ever a good idea to ask anything on the internet. The internet is full of idiots, including myself. We can't tell you how to life your life. If you're happy to have "collecting games" as one of your hobbies, that's okay. Other people spend hundrets on stamps and other stupid shit. The thing is, whatever your interests are, the internet is judging you, no matter what, so you wont get a helpful response.
So ask yourself, if you're happy with your situation. If so, then stop blaming yourself and enjoy the new hobby. If you don't like it, change it.

If you think it's a problem it likely is one.

Throw out your credit cards. You tend not to buy things when it's inconvenient to do so.

When it starts affecting your real life then it's a problem. Otherwise it's more like a guilty pleasure. Shopping might be categorized as a type of gaming in itself and sometimes even a type of gambling and it can have different causes and effects. You are the only one that can decide if it's become an addiction or simply a stress relieving mechanism. Either way one must be careful not to fall into extremes.

For bundles, I now take the approach of wishlist. If there's a wishlisted game in there, I buy it. If not, I'll ignore it.

To be fair, I have a much bigger problem with buying Games Workshop miniatures. The major difference between that and buying Steam games though is that I made a load of money when I had a clear out of stuff I was never going to paint on eBay recently...

I'm buying more games than I can play, but I'm ok with that. I like to have a choice. And I'm making up to devs for my years of piracy. When I was a teenager I could barely afford necessary hardware upgrades. Games were terribly expensive relative to my country's purchasing power.

Sounds like a problem when you auto-buy stuff, but as far as it is not a monetary burden on you, I think it can get a pass, but that is up to you. Would worth to sit down and think about it for a bit.

I can understand quite well this topic.. it can become an addiction, and all addictions work in similar ways for some reasons..
I would love to have more time tonight to write way more and better on this topic..
Anyways, if it's something that takes you lots of time and money, it definitely is an issue..
If you're taking away time from your real life to spend it on your online life, and most of all not for playing games for entertainment but for doing repetitive or boring or even money-wasting activities, it's something to think about for sure..
Nothing serious though, and nothing that can't be reverted!
I'm sure you'll get over this with time and some effort, I can relate for this and many other addictions.. I've met so many men and women of every age addicted to everything, and buying crappy games or spending money and time for things one doesn't play or isn't interested into can become something harsh to bear..
Best of luck, I hope to be able to be of some help in the future, don't ever give up and you did an awesome thing to create this thread and talk openly about your doubts.
Step by step you'll get over everything, just keep in mind what UltraMaster and other users already wrote - if it affects your real life and your money, it's a problem that has to be dealt with!
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Ive had the problem of buying stuff when I have to much but i never found my self ever buying something I own. the only time I did was when I was younger and ended up with like 3+ copies each of ffx and ffx2. I never ended up throwing them away so i kept swapping discs to find out which one was broken and which one wasnt