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Is anyone losing the desire for gaming?

I've been playing more and more as I get older which is typically not how things go in this hobby. It's mostly thanks to having access to basically any game I want any time I want for next to no money. This hobby is the least expensive hobby I've come across this side of pushing a tire around with a stick. I actually spend quite a bit on hardware and the total sum of money I've spent in the last five years on gaming is less than half of the money I've spent on making model kits.

It's a great time to be in this hobby. All the old games I like or missed still exist. Any new games I have an interest in will still exist after a year and I can get them for $20. I can play old games that used to be tv-bound portably, I can play old portable-only games on a TV. Every console I ever owned still works so I can play those any time I want. My PC runs emulators and can play just about every game ever released to date and it only takes a couple clicks of a mouse to launch any of them. I've been playing games I didn't even consider in the past and am finding all sorts of new gameplay I've not experienced. I'm constantly finding new stuff.

If anything I find myself desiring more time to play video games despite already playing a lot. With the sheer number of games that exist, if you still find yourself burned out on the hobby, it's time to find a new hobby.
 

Wildebeest

Member
I can barely remember the last time I had any excitement for a new release. Maybe Overwatch and Dark Souls 3. Now, even Elden Ring I didn't really care about, and I can't even tell you why. There is a hell of a lot to try right now, but honestly most of it is either irritating or so soul crushingly boring that I can feel devil himself branding me with the Ubisoft logo.
 

22•22

NO PAIN TRANCE CONTINUE
Not at all. I'm on vacation and I'm playing FF14 Endwalker and I'm having one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had!
Well yeah same here. Having a blast with Infinite, ER and GT7. Was more talking about current gaming culture i guess. Including this ongoing toxic forum culture here.


It's a small vocal minority o love this place <3
 

lem0n

Member
I've definitely lost the desire for new games. They just aren't as good (to me) anymore. I'm still playing games, but they're just older titles that I've played before and know I love. All of my online friends are offline now too so that's definitely made me shift my focus from online titles to single player.
 

Cryio

Member
Some games are more entertaining than others.

I've recently played a PS2 game, emulated, Sly 2: Band of Thieves. Extremely easy, chill, smooth, fun. Very in-and-out at any point.

It does take some 12 hours, but it never felt tedious.
 
nah, still love it.

though almost no games genuinely excite me anymore.
last game to get my pee pee real hard was dark souls 1 (played close to the release date, hadn't played demon's souls, went in knowing nothing about the game, only vague rumors it was excellent and not the common-at-the-time super easy checkpoint/waypoint fest).

if you're a graphics whore like me, try upgrading your tech (TV/monitor, speakers, amps, etc.).
 
I thought maybe, but sometimes there's just not much I'm craving to play anymore. Like, I am actually hyped for Outriders update end of June. I'm waiting for Kena on Xbox. I still want Biomutant but have not seen it cheaper than like 30. Waiting for Bright Memory Infinite on Xbox, thought that was supposed to be out by now. Mw 2019 is probably my all time favorite cod, so I am kind of hyped for mw2 this year. Also, Trek To Yomi is incredibly! Exactly the unique fun thing I'm looking for. There's stuff, just not much good it feels like lately. Some world's have felt empty to me.
 

Fredrik

Member
I felt that way maybe 3 years ago. VR reeled me back in. The downside is nonVR games are even worse now.
It’s an emotional roller coaster. I fell in love with VR last year, experienced some of my best gaming moments ever, and then got my heart ripped to pieces because of how few AAA VR games there are. Even with Quest 2 selling like hot cakes AAA devs are still hesitating to jump in with the A teams.

And I absolutely hate that there are exclusives in this space as well. I’ve accepted that I need to own all console but it’ll take a Elden Ring type of release before I buy another VR headset.

So at this point I’ve kinda given up.

I’ll definitely play Moss 2 on Quest 2 soon though, seems great and I loved the first one.
 

Romulus

Member
It’s an emotional roller coaster. I fell in love with VR last year, experienced some of my best gaming moments ever, and then got my heart ripped to pieces because of how few AAA VR games there are. Even with Quest 2 selling like hot cakes AAA devs are still hesitating to jump in with the A teams.

And I absolutely hate that there are exclusives in this space as well. I’ve accepted that I need to own all console but it’ll take a Elden Ring type of release before I buy another VR headset.

So at this point I’ve kinda given up.

I’ll definitely play Moss 2 on Quest 2 soon though, seems great and I loved the first one.


PCVR with mods, that's all you need. Mods with AAA games are better oftentimes than the real thing. RE7 for example.
 
I've been playing more multiplayer with friends and that way you get to hang out and catch up. I can't seem to get more then a few hours into most sp games unless they are very very good.
Tldr try games with friends.
 
This generation is by far the best time to play video games. You get gamepass, and other subscription services giving you games for cheap.

If you are a pc gamer, you get to buy all the old games for cheap, or emulator for other old systems.

Despite that, I dont feel like playing games at all.
I took my break from gaming, did other activities, just so I can have fresh mind to play games again. Still, the same problem.

Same thing happened to me with movies. Having access to tons of movies, lost me the desire to watch movies. And now, I don't watch movies alot. It's being long time, since I actually bothered myself to watching a movie.

All that is left for me now, is just watching documentary stuff.

Is it me, or does having access to alot of content, whether it's gaming or movies makes you lose the desire for these entertainment?
I've been gaming most of my life (I'm 36) so I feel the same disillusionment as you do. With that said I've slam dunked over 128 hours in Elden Ring. The problem is mostly stemming from "been there done that" syndrome. This is mostly the fault of the gaming industry not willing to do more interesting things that challenge preconceived notions. Especially at the AAA level. Some of that is also do to game design being held back by previous generation hardware in the name of cross-gen existence. This has been a very slow burn for interesting AAA games being built from the ground up on PS5/Series X,S hardware. We'll get there. In the meantime I walk my dog and listen to the narration of Michael Talbot's The Holographic Universe on Audible. I can't recommend it enough.
 

triphero

Banned
AAA games have been getting worse since the PS3 360 era. Games have to be long, and gamified, side quests, and lots of fluff. Not many tightly crafted experiences.

Still lots of cooler smaller and indie games though.

But, my desire for gaming tends to remain in doing it with friends. Nothing better than gaming with friends on a couch drinking or taking drugs.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
I lost interest in TV shows and switched to YouTube and Twitch. Now I'm so behind on everything that I have choice paralysis, with no feeling that I'll actually catch up. But, I understand that it's because I'm into what I'm into right now, and forcing myself to consume other forms of media is pointless if it's not what brings me joy.

I love Better Call Saul but I still haven't even watched Season 5. I'll get to it when I'm ready. Entertainment shouldn't be an obligation just because there is a cultural aspect.

There are too many games to play. This is true. However, I have only set aside a certain amount of time to play games every week (4-8 hours between my days off, only occasionally playing games after work) and that has made it easier to just play whatever I feel like. When there's no expectation that I'll finish certain games before the next big thing comes out, it lets me just enjoy the hobby as I go. No pressure to keep up because at this point keeping up is impossible.

The only game that I want to play ASAP is Splatoon 3. I want to jump in while that community is HOT.
 
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Hawk269

Member
I have decreased my desire to play games and read about them etc. I am a bit older than most here at 54 years old. Been a gamer all my life and my past job (Toys "R" Us) for 35 years had me involved in various degrees within the industry. Over the last 9months though, I have been focusing more on losing weight, lifting weights and eating better/more properly. Been a heavy person most of my life and have lost about 50 lbs in the last 9months. When I do game, I feel like I should be doing something "healthier" with that time.

I even have a dedicated "Game Room" in my house. It contains a massive 7.2.2 Atmos setup, big screen, the latest consoles, a high end PC, retro games and systems going back to the Atari 2600 and 5 Arcade Machines. I still see myself as a gamer, but as I approach 55 years old, I have changed some of my priorities and if I have a choice of spending a few hours playing a game or spending that time on a treadmill or in my Weight Room, I normally will choose to workout instead. I still enjoy gaming, but feel that right now for me at least I rather spend time doing other stuff. I don't think I will not stop buying or playing games, but will learn to balance it out a bit more. Just a week or so I had the craving to game for a few hours, but made a deal with myself that I would spend an hour on the treadmill and an hour lifting weights and then do some gaming. Just trying to find a balance.

Good news is that I am in the best shape I have been in the last 15 years!
 
Man I don't know. All I know is I can't remember the last game I played. And every time I come here I usually walk away rethinking my life's priorities.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
Lol I wish I lost my desire to play.

No way that's possible when I have 5 consoles, 2 handhelds and a PC all in the same room. I could go years without new releases (which honestly doesn't sound that bad) and still be entertained with my backlog or, even, replaying games I love.

kingfey kingfey what about that mate? How about playing some game you used to love? Maybe that sparks something inside or, at the very least, give you some good fun.

I do notice I've been distancing myself from game "news" or culture for some years now. Everything seems like a commercial or another one in a dozen game. I do feel i miss alot of good stuff that way I guess...
I think I share the feel mate.

In the past, "gaming news" meant opening a cool as fuck magazine full of colorful drawings, screenshots, the latest game reviews (every game differenr from the previous one) and silly things written by the authors or even fans.

Now it's mostly teasers for teaser-trailers of games you've probably already played but with a different name, woke/political articles, company adquisitions and the worst of all... Twitter schizos that may or may not be insiders (probably not) willing to kill any kind of surprise announcement just for the sake of dem likes and internet recognition (lmao).

It has become quite soulless indeed. That's why my only sources for gaming related stuff are a 4chan and this place. Love talking with people about games but the "gaming news" side really sucks ass nowadays, imo.
 

kingfey

Banned
kingfey kingfey kingfey kingfey what about that mate? How about playing some game you used to love? Maybe that sparks something inside or, at the very least, give you some good fun.
It didn't sparkle anything for me.

I might need some serious 6 months break, and come back when I am fresh.

I just had the switch, with ff7 on it. Went to the shopping. Closed it after that. Didn't even get a chance to play it.
 
I feel one thing that can lead to burn out is alot of games especially open world are becoming way too long, homogenized and bloated. Instead of trying to create memorable experiences, fun gameplay with tighter smaller level design, everyone is trying to pack their games full of content, busy work, bloat, huge size and length.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
It didn't sparkle anything for me.

I might need some serious 6 months break, and come back when I am fresh.

I just had the switch, with ff7 on it. Went to the shopping. Closed it after that. Didn't even get a chance to play it.
Ay bro, sorry to read that.

By the way you put it, yeah I guess a break could be nice. Just don't force yourself to play/don't play because of it, and remember that games are for fun, so if there's no fun, fuck games.

Could be a nice moment to, I dunno, hit the gym? I did that at some point and it made me appreciate my free time even more.

Anyway, whatever you do I hope you keep visiting this place.
 

Krathoon

Member
Really, when you come down to it, games are just bullshit machines that sometimes tell a story to manipulate your emotions.
What is really great is when one really breaks and shows you it is all a facade.
The Stanley Parable plays around with that.
All entertainment is like that. Sometimes you get sick of being jerked around.
Think about it. We have entire industries based around making up bullshit.
 

Krathoon

Member
Sometimes games are just too damn big. I find they expect a little too much time from the player. It is amusing to see speedrunners murder a game in front of the developers.
 

Krathoon

Member
Every once in a while, I come across a cool indie game. Remember, Hyperlight Drifter was made in Gamemaker. Not in some fancy ass engine.
 

MayauMiao

Member
Not playing as much as I used too since my old addiction of reading mangas and watching anime made a comeback thanks to Covid lockdown. I could barely find the time to even go watch movies in cinemas.

I think part of it is also because of my old PC performance not up to part to play some of the games I recently purchase, so I'm holding out playing until I do full upgrade by end of the year.

Also been busy restoring good old consoles like the PS2, Wii, DS Lite, Xbox which I find to be more fun activity than playing games.
 

Krathoon

Member
I feel one thing that can lead to burn out is alot of games especially open world are becoming way too long, homogenized and bloated. Instead of trying to create memorable experiences, fun gameplay with tighter smaller level design, everyone is trying to pack their games full of content, busy work, bloat, huge size and length.
Yeah. They start turning into single player MMOs. Where it starts to feel like work to play them.
There are not enough hooks to pull you through the game. It happened to Zelda.
 

Krathoon

Member
I notice how really obnoxious games, like the From Software games, really try my patience. They are good, but in that old school kind of way.
I find games like Shadow of the Colossus and any Zelda game to be more playful.
 

Wildebeest

Member
Really, when you come down to it, games are just bullshit machines that sometimes tell a story to manipulate your emotions.
What is really great is when one really breaks and shows you it is all a facade.
The Stanley Parable plays around with that.
All entertainment is like that. Sometimes you get sick of being jerked around.
Think about it. We have entire industries based around making up bullshit.
I want a good bullshit escapist game. Stanley Parable was the most boring low hanging fruit to me. As Tolkien said the only person who has a problem with escapism is a prison warden and I have no interest in a prison game no matter how "reforming" it is supposed to be.
 
There is a physiological aspect to picking games too. I'm too lazy to Google the name but there is a thing where, say you have to choose between 3 different flavours of Jam. Studies have shown people can make a choice easy. When you increase the jams to 30 different flavours people show a harder time to pick one.

Same for Netflix and GamePass. World of choice but not sure what to play half the time ha.
 

John Bilbo

Member


Maybe this channel can help. The reviewer doesn't like modern convensions of videogames, but instead appreciates games for he complexity and enjoyment of the gameplay itself.

I don't always agree with this reviewer, but have still found some gaming gems I would have otherwise missed.

Also I enjoy his humour.
 

Sakura

Member
I been playing Saturn and PS1 games all week, so not me.
I am less interested in new games than ever before though. They aren't doing anything particularly interesting or new any more, it's all just better graphics. That's how I feel at least.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Thinking about this thread...and I may finally play my Switch in portable mode. My first Switch was the OLED, so I'm new to the platform. Strictly a dock user for now.

At work its really slow right now. And its hard finding things to do and not be bored to death, watching YouTube and playing mobile games aint doing it anymore. . Might get me a backpack and start taking it to work with me.

Did this with the Vita years ago...that got dropped in a toilet, then Sony bowed out the portable market....never replaced it.

Its time for me to do the portable gaming again, thats not on a phone.

No, though I have barely played in a month or so. Just been too busy. One thing I noticed about your topics you post, you seem heavily into the drama of gaming. It might help you to enjoy gaming more if you stepped back from the drama generators some.

kingfey kingfey you're on GAF 18 hours a day. If you're burnt our on gaming, why? You're still a teenager, go do something with it.
This I agree with.

Lately...I decided to play more and post less...and its been amazing. Its also been many months since I've checked notifications for threads I post in. Sometimes, its not worth it and best to just...let it go.
 

Humdinger

Member
Yes, me, too. I've been losing interest for the past 4 years or so. It's been slowly dropping off, and it seems to have dropped off a cliff lately. I haven't played a game for a year. I have pretty much stopped reading gaming forums and gaming news. It's only by chance that I checked GAF and stumbled on this thread.

Many of the reasons have already been mentioned -- the homogenization of the AAA space, the corporatization of gaming, the sense that you could've been doing something better with your time, and the "been there, done that" feeling you get with so many games.

I have tried various solutions -- different genres, indies, buying different consoles, playing old games. None of it has worked. Not for long, anyhow.

I'm not sad about it. It's not as if the absence of gaming has left a sorrowful, gaping hole in my life. No; I've just found other things -- things I enjoy more and find more interesting and fulfilling. Those activities have pushed gaming aside.

I might return to the hobby in the future. Who knows. But for now, I just can't see myself dedicating 20-40 hours of my life to a game. I'd rather spend that time in other ways.
 
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