How to Bring Myself to Clear Apps?

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Joshnsuch, Oct 6, 2011.

  1. Joshnsuch

    Joshnsuch Well-Known Member

    Sep 29, 2009
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    I have this thing about deleting apps. I have hundreds on my phone and I want to start cleaning house for when the new iPhone comes out (I have a 16GB 3G S). I can't reason with myself as to why I should delete something. I think of why I should and always picturing myself playing that game later at some time (even though I never do).

    What kind of questions do you ask yourself before clearing a game off of your phone? Perhaps with a checklist of questions I will efficiently clear my phones space up. I'm too torn, hah.
     
  2. drelbs

    drelbs Well-Known Member

    Jun 25, 2009
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    It's tough.

    I made a Now Playing folder with my biggest apps to encourage me to finish them. (You can sort apps by size in iTunes under the Applications tab, which shows installed file sizes...)

    Also, I don't install more than one Gameloft game at a time (I'm a couple behind now thanks to 99-cent sales :eek:)

    I wish there was a way to save app data aside from your backup - I'd be more than happy to remove an app and bring it back later. For example, I removed Infinity Blade after beating the first expansion - am I going to start from scratch to play with all the new stuff? Probably not. :(
     
  3. Filing Cabinet

    Filing Cabinet Well-Known Member

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    whatever I haven't played in over 2-3 weeks, and doesnt look like it's going to get played anytime soon, gets removed. I can always reinstall later.

    I end up downloading a lot of rubbish that's free or 1$ and probably play them once or twice. so no point keeping them on my device.
     
  4. littlezoe

    littlezoe Well-Known Member

    Sep 30, 2011
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    I know the feeling... I just choose by how often i play that specific game.. If i can answer to myself that i probably won't play it in the next week then it can be deleted... Or when i didn't even play a game in a long time and it's just there..

    My iPhone's second page is my VIP page, where only my most worthy games go which i won't delete for a long time that's sure. A game has to be really fun to earn a place there. :)
     
  5. Mr. Grizzly

    Mr. Grizzly Well-Known Member

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    Except for saved games and unlocked things, you can re-download the games anytime. There are some larger games I have finished (such as hidden picture or adventure games) and deleted - knowing I can redownload them anytime I want to replay them. If you have paid to unlock some games, losing the data is not that big of a deal - unless you are still wanting the game to keep track of time played, how many of each thing earned/found, number of deaths, etc. If you have some games you have never really played, never got too far with, or have already completed, then deleting them would not hinder your future gameplay.

    Some games are now saving progress across devices through Gamecenter or some other social network. Those ones you can delete, knowing that when you redownload them, you will be back where you were before. For example, Gun Bros. I don't know if they have a time limit they keep the data though. I bought the Treasure Trove for Bug Heroes, so if I wanted to delete that game, I will be able to play every character, tower, level, etc. I could before - though I would lose data such as number of bugs killed, how much experience, etc. But everything would still be unlocked when I redownloaded it.

    Just some examples. I have the same dilemma: what to delete. Oh, I forgot to add: don't remove the game from Gamecenter, and you will keep certain data that will still be in the game when you play later. My guess is that most of that data is kept on your particular device(s), BUT I know there are some games that sync data and it is stored in Gamecenter itself, such as Jetpack Joyride. Hope my ramblings made sense.
     
  6. awp69

    awp69 Well-Known Member

    Oct 30, 2009
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    If you're struggling with a 16 GB, imagine how much of a pain it is on my 8GB. I'm constantly having to make decisions on what to keep/delete (and sometimes regret it when the game I made room for sucks).

    As with another poster above, I usually don't install more than one or two "big" games (ie., Gameloft/EA) at a time. I've gotten several $.99 games from sales that I still have never installed. I know it sounds trivial but that's why I get upset when I see a casual game that seems way too big for what it is (Spy Mouse was a prime example IMO).

    Anyway, I do wish it would get to the point where all games would have "cloud" saves so that when you redownload them, you can start again where you left off.
     
  7. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    I don't download free games unless it's known to be good. For me, that's never or nearly so, because I generally have everything I'm interested in.

    I can reinstall games at any time.

    I buy new games every week.

    I delete games I didn't like at all off of iTunes as well. Recently, I've been deleting quite a few casual games I used to like in light of my shift of preference.

    Most of them cost a dollar in the first place. Deleting something after five minutes doesn't make me hesitate at all because there are excellent games that have given me tons of enjoyment at the same price and were worth so much more. You win some; you lose some.

    Why should I saturate my good games? I currently have over 200 purchased games from pretty recently. If any of them are over half a year old, it's because they're Dead Space, GTA: CW, RR2, and other games that deserve to stay. Can't bring myself to ever delete the iOS 'classics' like AB, FN, DJ, etc. They deserve a spot.

    If it's an adventure game like Hector, Puzzle Agent, S&S, Dreamscape, etc. with no replay value, I'll delete it as soon as I finish the storyline. If I'm ever inclined to play it again, I'll download it within seconds/minutes for free.

    Most of all, if a game simply just isn't fun, don't take the TIME to get through it even if you paid for it. You could be using that time to play something better because there will ALWAYS be something better out there at an affordable cost. Time over money for the AppStore, for now.
     
  8. JML

    JML Well-Known Member

    Jan 15, 2011
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    Don't ask yourself what you want to delete, but ask yourself what you want to keep.

    Start sorting your games into groups. One group for those games you love and play a lot. Those are games you want to keep. Make another group for games which have real endings and you can finish. You either love those games and play through them so they can be deleted, or you can't be bothered to spend time with them so they can be deleted also. Then make a group of games you are not sure about. Open those games, spend some time with them and then decide if they deserve your time and the required space on your device.

    Be picky and only play and keep games you really enjoy. You deserve nothing but the best, right? There are more games than there is time to play them. Be realistic. Don't waste your precious time feeling guilty about deleting games you don't enjoy.
     
  9. plasmakirby3

    plasmakirby3 Well-Known Member

    Apr 26, 2011
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    Yea, it must really suck to lose save data every time you delete an app, especially when the save data is usually only a few hundred kilobytes. Just another reason to jailbreak, eh? :rolleyes:
     
  10. squarezero

    squarezero Moderator
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    If you have a Mac, there's no reason to lose save data. Get PhoneView: you can navigate your iPhone files from your desktop and back up save files. If you delete an app and reinstall it, simply go to PhoneView and drag and drop the save file into the Documents folder in the App. There's no need to jailbreak and frankly it couldn't be easier.

    I use this method to transfer the save files from my iPhone versions of Chaos Rings and GTA: CW to the iPad versions -- even though the games are not universal.
     
  11. DodgerBlue016

    DodgerBlue016 Well-Known Member

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    Easy way to do it: give idevice to friend and tell them to delete some stuff off of it. If you find yourself going "NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!! NOT THAT ONE!!!!" you have a keeper :p
     
  12. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    Interesting. It's only $20 too. When I start to really have problems managing memory on my 32GB I'll definitely purchase it. Thanks for the heads up. Had no idea this existed.
     
  13. injuwarrior

    injuwarrior Well-Known Member

    Apr 18, 2011
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    I used iphone backup extractror, and then iphone explorer when I wanted to transfer a few save files from different devices. They were both free and worked very very easily, adding about five minutes and an extra sync.

    If you find yourself struggling that much with deleting some games, this is the best way to keep many save files. As for me, I usually delete casuals pretty quickly, and thanks to quite a bit of deleting and the fact I don't play many genres of games, I actually keep anywhere between 6-9 gb of space free at all times on my touch. Off course I never put videos on it, and only have a gig of music. But I do have a good five-ten uninstalled larger games that I need to play eventually. In Itunes I delete almost everything that is not on my touch or is not an absolute favorite except for a select few games and apps I keep under the impression I will get an iphone eventually and make full use of them. I also make an effort to only keep 9 or less endless games on my touch at a time (no progression or levels beside unlocks and highscores).
     
  14. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    #14 backtothis, Oct 7, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2011
    Lol, I always have less than 1 GB of free space on my 32 GB, but I don't give a shit about deleting games. We have pretty similar habits. You just have to acknowledge that the AppStore is an incredibly fast changing place and ride that wave. I try to keep iTunes at 350 always (I used to buy 10 games per week..starting January 2009 until July 2011; so, that was pretty hard at times). But yeah, I try my best at only getting games I know I'll play now. I'm a sucker for anything "console-quality" though. had no hesitation throwing down for Shadowgun, Dark Meadow, etc. It's much harder for me to drop $0.99 for a game like Puffie Launch, or other relatively popular casual games. The only casual games I get now are exceptional endless runners, good platformers, and physics puzzlers. Not a fan of sports games. Can't resist picking up every decent racer though. Any decent RPG or adventure game is a sure buy, notwithstanding price generally. I still haven't picked up FFIII yet though, but that's the only one left for me to get really on the AppStore as far as good adventure/RPG games go. Just broke $2000 on the AppStore recently. Apple seriously needs a better purchase history system so I can go through those receipts faster, lol. I have an 6th gen. 8GB Nano for music though.
     
  15. Joshnsuch

    Joshnsuch Well-Known Member

    Sep 29, 2009
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    Wow. I didn't expect so much input from everyone. Thanks for all of the advice, hah. Another cool thing is that pretty much everyone who posted here, I recognize their user name from other sections that I frequent here. For some reason I just felt like I should point that out.

    I think one problem of mine is that I download many games with the intention of playing but never get the time to do so. This happens with a lot of the good freebies that come up and never get around to them.

    One of the biggest reasons I don't want to delete anything is the fact that it causes me to lose all data from the game. I realize that you can go through programs where you can extract the save files out, but I just don't want to go through all of that trouble. Any game that meant enough to me that I would be extracting the save for it- would most likely never be deleted.
     
  16. injuwarrior

    injuwarrior Well-Known Member

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    #16 injuwarrior, Oct 7, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2011
    Yep I have to agree with the whole 99c vs the larger games thing. I spent a lot of money on 99c games(maybe close to 500 out of the 6-7 total I've spent) in the past few months, but in the last month I have not bought a single 99c game. I got shadowgun and dark meadow and a few others, but I don't think I'll be buying a physics puzzler or endless anytime soon, but the occasional break out or standout will probably get me (saw none since jetpack joyride and MAMC). I can pretty much break most of my games into endless, puzzlers, physics puzzlers, platformers, sports, fps/tps, open world, and then a "campaign" folder for the others (PvZ, Iblade, Osmos, etc). As for space, I bet I could delete all but ten games and my habits/gaming would not change one bit, so a couple games out of the hundred or so installed every week with every purchase and I can easily keep those few gigs of free space

    Biggest thing for me now with freebies, if I would not have payed for them I probably am not going ot keep them and so I don't even bother downloading. There is the occasional game I may have missed or never bothered to get, but I rarely get freebie games anymore. I cannot say the same for productivity and business apps. I have been using my touch a lot more for non game stuff, and the great thing is stuff like that rarely takes up more than a few megs of space. As for the data thing, maybe look into the free mac apps I stated above. start deleting a few and you can pretty much delete anything. I even deleted world of goo, my ios favorite I think, after beating it three times (have it now again though after buying the HD version on sale).
     
  17. mekanikal fiend

    mekanikal fiend Well-Known Member

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    i go thru in itunes and check all of the file size. if the game is under like 30 megs it has a good chance to stay even if i dont like it so much. now once they start getting 100 or 200 megs, its time to say goodbye if i dont like..

    As long as your syncing regularly, all your purchases are still there.

    its funny i have 32 gig iphone and 64 gig ipad, and still have storage issues.
    the sheer amount of good games, and the cheap price points have me with hundreds of games in backlog..

    1077 apps in itunes, and i just deleted 200.
     
  18. spidey

    spidey Well-Known Member

    Jun 24, 2010
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    That's a lot of good advice! (Apart from buying games every week :) )

    Another thing that I do for universal games is I keep a game either on the iPod or the iPad.
     
  19. Shankopotamus

    Shankopotamus Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2011
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    I was thinking about this topic and was wondering if anyone uses this method: Still have and buy a lot of games, but just keep a page/folder or two of games and cycle them through once you are done with them. Like, have 15 games on your device, and when you beat one, you delete it and put another one in its place. Obviously, you won't have that many games on your device, but it will help with memory issues, and will help you to play and finish the games you care about. Thoughts?
     
  20. backtothis

    backtothis im in ur base killin ur d00dz
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    #20 backtothis, Oct 7, 2011
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2011
    Haha, I can't stand falling behind. That's why I never wait on sales for games that I know I want. Thanks though.
    Way too hard to keep track of things if you're buying games weekly and already have a huge backlog, which anyone buying guys regularly will have on the iOS. It's a habit to keep buying even with a huge backlog for the AppStore. For other consoles and devices, I used to always finish a game before buying another one. The iOS definitely changed that for me. Huge backlog of 3DS games now with a growing list of computer games as well.
     

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