What do you use your gaming wishlists for?

The next few weeks are going to be amazing for gamers: Summer Game Fest this weekend, Steam Next Fest (aka Demo Heaven) next week, and then the big Steam Summer Sale at the end of the month. As a result I’m going to be spending a lot of time with my wishlists, both on Steam and on console, and it got me wondering: how does everybody else use their wishlists?

For me a wishlist is a carefully considered and curated list of games I either already want or want to give more attention to once it’s released (check reviews, talk to other players, etc). I don’t tend to add every game that piques my interest — I have to really expect that I’ll be acquiring and playing the game for it to end up on my wishlist. Once it’s there that doesn’t mean I’ll definitely get it; it’s just something I’m keeping a close eye on. If the game is already out and I haven’t picked it up I’m most likely waiting for a sale, but if I don’t pick it up after a few discount opportunities I’ll likely remove it from my wishlist as something I don’t have the interest or time to play.

I’m also constantly revisiting my list to see what’s on it (and yes I was the sort of kid who stared at toys in the store imagining what I’d do if I got them for Christmas — actually I still do that now). This of course results in more churn as I decide something I added three months ago is no longer in my wheelhouse. In the end my wishlists are tight, lean, and closely monitored.

I do recognize I’m probably in the minority here; many people just add anything that tickles their fancy and their wishlists contain hundreds if not thousands of games. I don’t think I could deal with the pressure of having a large wishlist, but maybe it’s something I should try — after all, there’s a lot of games getting announced soon!

What about you? Do you use gaming wishlists, and if so, how do you manage them? Are they “might buy” or “will buy” lists for you? And what does it take for you to move a game from your wishlist — either off it or to your purchases list?