Are you in a gaming slump?

[KingDedede]

If you can't bring yourself to play a game that's been staring you in the face, then post about it here. I know the flow of games has been slow lately but I'm wondering, is it the game quality, the lack of any at all, or just that all of us have grown out of them, or what?

So, post about any lulls you've had going on here.

[Darwock]

Only Metroid Prime. It's just too dull.

[Square]

I solved this problem by decluttering my collection. Actually, I'm still in the process of doing so, but the results are already well evident. I have cut down my Dreamcast collection from 70-odd games to 18. And those 18 will get played again and again. Same thing goes for all the other consoles I own. Unless I absolutely love the game (and I don't mean love something about the game) then it goes.

It sounds harsh, but already I feel so much better about what videogames I own. I know I'll play those particular games a whole lot more, now that I've seperated the wheat from the chaff.

Plus I've made quite a bit of money so far

[Ginza]

Square how did you get your collection down from 70 to 18? Iv got a load of games but cant seem to part with them although i need to for financial reasons.... Seeking advice...

[Pikman]

I went through a gaming slump for years, it started when I sold my N64 and replaced it with a Japanese Cube only to realise the games were nowhere near as good.

Since then Nintendo has released many games - Mario Sunshine, Waverace:Bluestorm, Starfox, Zelda: Wind Waker, 1080 Avalanche, F-Zero GX - and none reach the dizzy heights their predecessors did. Third party titles too are a disappointment compared to those seen on the N64 and few and far between.

Indeed, the only games I consider classics on the Cube are Metroid Prime, Pikmin, Animal Crossing and F-Zero GX.

Having said that I'm beginning to enjoy my games a little more, and Zelda: 4 Swords recently rekindled fond memories and motivated me into buying an import SNES with a wealth of games from my childhood. After that I'm thinking of getting an import N64 as I still consider it home to the greatest, most imaginative games ever created.

If today's games don't do it, go back to games that do.

[Square]

It depends if you are holding onto them out of fear. Fear that you may want to play those games later down the line. You can get into the mindset of a collecter, whereby obtaining the game becomes more important than actually playing the game. I'm not saying that collecting is a bad thing, just that I am not a collector.

I have kept only the fighters and the shmups, since those are the games that I am passionate about. Pretty much everything else got the chop (notable exceptions being Space Channel 5, parts 1 & 2, and a couple of light gun games that I still get a real buzz off).

I used to keep hold of all my Japanese DC stuff for the cover art, but I never, ever look at them to appreciate them. They have been stored out of sight for almost 2 years, so I know that I'm not going to miss them.

I've also applied this philosophy to everything else I own (cds/dvds/clothes etc) and I feel so much lighter in the world, ready to accept new stuff that might come my way.

I know I sound like a New Age twat, but this approach has really worked wonders for me.

[KingDedede]

I know, a lot of new games can be disappointments if you set your standards as high as... well, competing against others games in the series. But hey, some worked, and others didn't. That's what the slump basically is, when you want to like a game but just don't touch it.

Let's take StarFox for example, I played it for a little while and got very close to the end and didn't touch it for weeks. It just didn't draw me in. I had to literally force myself to just finish it so I could sell it. :| Zelda had the same effect when it came to gathering a dozen things from across a sea.

I'd disagree with Pikmin being a classic, but whatever.

[MD]

I'm in a gaming slump, buts more to do with the fact that most of my games (99.2% of them in fact) (I have about 15 games with me, you do the math..) are in a friends house in England and I'm not in England. ^_^; That figure going to go closer to 100% by September I think. ^_^;

[Adam Stone]

It wasn?t until recently i started to put serious time back into my games tbh. I didnt touch my consoles for a few months. I kinda just stopped after i completed Mario and Luigi (which i must add was simply sublime) Admittedly, it was probably due to doing other things like going to the gym, training, drinking and spending time with my girlfriend (well, ex girlfriend now...) but when i had some free time i didnt have the urge to play anything...

But then i got a few new games on my GBA... i went back to Donkey Kong, Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World. Hours of quality game play to be had. Then i got Pikmin 2, which blew all my expectations out of the window and proved to be an immense, totally addictive and wonderfully crafted game. I put over 40hours into that and loved every moment...

Now im 'back into' my games. Now i MAKE the time. Playing through Ocarina Of Time, Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine again. And loving them. I've also got ToS coming soon... and am looking forward to a number of quality titles (Metroid Prime 2, Paper Mario, Resident Evil 4, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat etc).

It feels good getting back 'into' the games i enjoy...

My collection isnt huge. I tend to sell most of my games to buy others. But, like Square, the titles i keep will be played over and over again and are titles i consider to be slump cures

On a side note ? I agree the Gamecube hasn?t had as many ?classic? games as found on the N64, but I personally feel the overall quality of software on the cube is far far greater? It is my favorite Nintendo console for the sheer number of must have games? tho the N64 had the handful of undeniable classics

[Square]

On a side not, I just burnt all my Edge magazines (that's right all of them, from issue 13 to last months). I can't describe how good it felt

[Geoff D]

I'm in a slump & have been for a while.

Hoping Gradius V will change all of that.

[Paul3704]

Slumping here as well. Games just don't excite me any more. I've got rid of all my stuff since March, except three current machines, and i only have maybe three games for each.

Christ, 18 months later i'm STILL checking out animal crossing.

If nothing comes soon, i might get rid of these and get my life back.

[Daniel]

On a side not, I just burnt all my Edge magazines (that's right all of them, from issue 13 to last months). I can't describe how good it felt

I went thru a period of selling/burning/binning all the mediocre stuff i owned. Games, clothes, books, dvds (all of them in fact - i never watched them) music, software, photos etc. It was a very cathartic experience for a former hoarder like me. As if decluttering my house cleared out my head too. But not only that, without any junk around i find myself appreciating the good stuff even more because it survived the cull so it's wall to wall AAA stuff.

[mt50]

the only game for the past 3months i've played allmost everday id PGR2, don't play games asmuch as i used to(even though i've got more spare time now ) just got mario Vs donkey kong the other day and i'm loving that, pput a few hours into it allready. it's just such a simple idea that works really well infact quite a few nintendo gba games are really good, mario and luigi, mario golf ect. can't wait for the DS and halo 2 that will get me back into gameing

[Molloy]

All I can seem to get enthusiastic about is multiplayer games. I've got 3 modern consoles and all I seem to play is Half Life mods; Day of Defeat, The Battlegrounds and The Specialists.

I'm going to sell all my console games except for the pick up and play stuff soon. I'll just hang onto Monkey Ball, FZero GX, Gitaroo Man, Virtua Fighter 4: Evo and my shmups. Those are the kind of games that are satifying in 30 minute chunks. That's all too rare these days.

And I miss the arcades... . There's nothing like social gaming. It's like live music. Playing on your own (especially with VF4: Evo) just isn't the same.