Are you in a gaming slump?

[Wil]

I`m in a slump, but thats because I`m sick of killing people. Yes, the endless waves of violence that our industry is famed for has made me a bit sick of it all. Am looking for something a bit more cerebral to get me back in the swing of things. I only fear that I`ll be sucked back in due to the rash of army and soldier games making there way onto each format which means, hey ho, more killing. Oh Dear...

Hurrah! I feel exactly the same way. Had a look a Riddick the other day and it really made me feel sick. Just a celebration of violence and profanity. Take it away! Probably why I'll always be a Nintendo boy, although, even there I'm not as excited as I used to be (but 4 Swords and Mario vs DK are great).

Wil

[007]

Hell no. Gaming has never been better for me right now, and i've been playing more games than ever. I used to have the odd game on live now and again, but now i've started playing alot of one player games.

Just got myself ICO, Onimusha 3 and Paper Mario. So 1 player gaming has never been better. Also the Live! Experiance is getting better all the time, I think it actually got me back into gaming .

[112]

I went through a period when i jus wanted as much games as i could get my hands on. This was due to the fact that i could not afford the prices indie shops were charging and as such cherished what i had. Now that ive joined the revolution that in internet shopping i have horded them. I have noticed that i have not as much time and even less inclination to play the games. Infact sometimes id rather dream about playing them; or even jus look at them all piled up ontop of one another than play the games themselves.

However, i now seem to be getting back into gaming with recent game which ive jus banged on for a bash. Fight night 2k4 and some wierd obscure jap games have really got my juices flowing and i really enjoy the wackyness of them all.

Im currently playing Fight noght 2k4, Broken sword 3, and silent hill 4. I have found that if i limit my options of what to play i can enjoy the ones im playing more as im devoting more time and effort to them.

One thingive found helps is if i pack the actual console away as opposed to the software i can deter myself from wanting to play everything, as ive found wanting to play everything makes me want to play nothing. Strange i know but the human mind is a fickle thing.

I will no doubt continue to waste more money on games but i know at least i willplay and 'enjoy' 90% of them by limiting my self to a few at a time.

112

[-Lionhart-]

Got to complete Freedom Fighters, but the last mission's too hard and I've just got Tales Of Symphonia !

[bangaio]

Where do i start. Yes - and no. I love reading about games, alwayts have done but I have a cupboard with 5 consoles in it with at least 100 games that i never get a chance to play - and somne maybe never will properly. Every N64 game is uncompleted, every DC game is uncompleted, every SNES game bar SMW is uncompleted, Every GC game is uncompoleted Etc Etc Etc. It is a sorry state of affairs. However, my ps2 is plugged in and I do still play WE7i, Ace Combat 4 and indycar series.

I really believe this has a lot to do with......Growing up! Shock horror but having a busy job (juggling work with reading about games), commuting, sport, seeing friends, doing things to my house, sorting out my wedding etc, i just do not have time for playing games. I can go and watch a film or listen to a cd but that doesnt take up huge chunks of time like settling down to play FFXII will.

I would dearly love to enjoy these games but i just cant bring myself to do it. I want to love them and play them till i passs out but dont. I find myself playing games like i played when i was much younger....

Indy car series > indycar racing circa 1993/4 > indycar 500

Ace combat 4 > wing comander / strike fighter / tie fighter / > falcon 3 > apache gunbship

WE7i > FIFA (md) > Sensi > microprose soccer > kick off

and so on.

I play SCUMM VM ometimes but ultimatly to sum up: I read about disgea and get exitied, i scrutinise screen shots, i read people views - I am going to LOVE this game - I buy it dont like it want to but dont, dont have the time, dont have the will power to love it, I sell it .... then comes the pangs of wanting to buy it again - I want to try to love the game but i know deep down that when i get it again it will be the same, a few goes desperatloy tring to get "into" the game but i can't. The amount of games where this has happened defies belief.

IS that enough?

[delb3k]

Hurrah! I feel exactly the same way. Had a look a Riddick the other day and it really made me feel sick. Just a celebration of violence and profanity. Take it away! Probably why I'll always be a Nintendo boy, although, even there I'm not as excited as I used to be (but 4 Swords and Mario vs DK are great).

Wil

dont get me wrong, its not like I want violence stoipped, its just turned into a rash. It appears I must destroy everything, anywhere at anytime. There just seems no imagination anymore with regard to game design and trying new things. Its all just death death death. am becoming very bored of it now.

[SharkAttack]

I go through occasional slumps. Beyond good and evil stopped motivating me, metroid prime and timesplitters 2 weren't my cup of tea. So I'm flogging the latter 2 and will start on BG&E when I can be bothered. In the meantime I decided to start playing Beach Spikers which I had practically ignored. What a great game! That got me the buzz back. Good old arcade action.

[razu]

Yeah, playing proven good games will get you back in the swing of things. It'll keep you good at them too. All those billions of hours playing street fighter should be respected by not allowing yourself to get rusty.

[Shin_Iori]

I haven't bought a new game in ages due to exam induced gaming hiatus. However this has resulted in a tidy sum of notes to be built up which has allowed me finally to splash out on a modded XBOX.

After streamlining and getting rid of everything other than my Dreamcast and Gamecube, a modded XBOX will allow me to play the classics of yesteryear on my telly (playing on the PC just isn't the same), which should hopefully re-alight my passion.

In fact ignoring my obligatory daily play of Winning Eleven 6: Final Evolution the last game I properly got stuck into was Shenmue 2 almost 2 and a half months ago, which as an avid gamer for near 13 years is quite a large amount of time.

Thinking back the last new game I bought was Super Monkey Ball almost 4 months ago, which I am quite proud of seeing as one of my new years resolution was to spend less money on games.

However browsing the release dates for the coming months it's becoming increasingly likely that my discipline so far this year is going to go out the window as I splash out on the slew of top draw titles.

[Kubrick]

I still play games as much as ever, but I'm also in a bit of a "slump". I've got loads of recent games I've barely touched or never played, including stuff like Katamri Damashii, Zelda TWW, Pikmin 2, Zelda: 4 Swords, Metroid Prime, Psyvariar 2, F-Zero GX, ICO etc...so it's nothing to do with the quality. I've just got too many of them, and can't seem to stay focused on a single title long enough to complete it/get the most out of it before loading something else... Christ, I've still not even completed Luigi's Mansion yet! The last time I saved my game, I was very close to the end, and that was like ages ago...I just haven't bothered to go back to it. Madness >_<

These days, I only seem to be interested in playing "repeat play" games where you develop your skills to become a better player over time. Stuff like racers, shooters & Winning Eleven.
I can play these type of games whenever I want, for any length of time, but with "story" games, I have to focus my attention fully on the game for the entire evening/weekend/week...however long it takes to complete, and I find it hard to do that today with so many outside interests.

The crux of the problem for me though, is simply having too many games and not enough time to play them. I'll be ignoring the next bunch of systems so I can catch up with what I've already got.

[Captain Olimar]

As I've grown up and more "real life" issues start creeping into my life I've probably played games less and less. It's been like a gradual slump from my high school years up through to what is now approaching my 18th birthday. In high school the biggest distraction was girls. Out of school it is money. I need to work to keep the folks happy and I need to work to buy the luxury items I like in my life. Beer and games don't pay for themselves. But my money problem isn't about shortage, more excess. I have so much money and thanks to living at home little expense. I buy too many games and don't play enough. I get tempting by updates to my favourite childhood franchises. I reead and see previews of games on the net and whip out the switch card without really thinking a purchase through.

When I was younger and how to rely on my parents to give me money to buy games Christmas time was a magical experience. As games were limited I'd be forced to get the most out of a game. These days I can discard a game that doesn't instantly hook me. I can get bored of a game and move onto another at a drop of a hat. The ratio of completed games to half or even a third finished is growing in favour of the latter. I do believe quality is somewhat an issue, but I think my problem and possibly the problem of quite a few others is time and effort. It's always dangerous for me to go a few days without playing a game as it's harder to get back into them now. When I was younger my main source of entertainment was my Super Nintendo and Sega MegaDrive - now I go out and socialise more often.

Recently I've started playing a few of my old classics and maybe my interest in playing games will be re-ignited.

[JammyD]

I was in a pretty bad gaming slump recently.

Not only did I not want to play anything, but I suddenly felt that I had wasted a **** load of time playing games over the last few years. Felt really crap for a bit because of that.

I don't see myself going back to playing 5-6 games at the one time and buying lots of games on a regular basis, I just don't think that there are many games worth my time any more.

I think the internet is a problem in my case, reading about games seems to put me of playing them because the games I'm reading about always seem so much better than the ones which I'm playing. I mostly just read GameCentral and Edge for my gaming news these days.


Anyway, gaming breaks work, I took one for the last month and I'm enjoying Silent Hill 3 atm and nothing else, which I couldn't look at a few months ago with all the other stuff I had. I'm going to take another break until September/October when all the big games are coming out. I've started reading books again and I'm spending the money that went on games on CDs instead.

[Zed]

I think i am actually in a slump - i didnt think i was, just busy from real-life crap-o-la, but now i have a bit more time to play i glance over my (mostly finished) collection and dont feel enthused. So i jump onto Play/Amazon/Play-asia and look for something to inspire.... and shutdown being dissapointed. Too much tat for ?30-?40 and anything good is 2+ months away or due next year.

Partly its my fault for being "fussy", i dont want to play "generic sequel update", and games dont seem particularly innovative. Might get Red Dead Revolver, and Psi-Ops, then await Tetsujin 28, Front Mission: Online and Phantom Crash 2050. Though the online Star Wars games coming out could be interesting. Ninebreaker online? that could end my slump also...

[Sprite Machine]

When I was younger and how to rely on my parents to give me money to buy games Christmas time was a magical experience. As games were limited I'd be forced to get the most out of a game. These days I can discard a game that doesn't instantly hook me. I can get bored of a game and move onto another at a drop of a hat. The ratio of completed games to half or even a third finished is growing in favour of the latter.

Ditto that ^.

These days I find myself drawn to anything that's even remotely 'gimmicky' or conceptually interesting. In My Day(tm), I'd spend hours going through RPGs and playing the same platform games over and over and over again... literally spending hours - months - on the same game(s).
Nowadays I'm far more likely to pick up something that's quick and easy, and different.
There's no way I'd buy a 20+ hour sequel of anything today, because it'd be something I'd already experienced and it'd be too long. Whereas a conceptually exciting (or just short and sweet, pick-up-and-play) title like Outrun 2 has me eager in anticipation. Similarly something like Spider-man 2 had me hooked and enjoying myself like I used to simply because of the fun concept. I won't play it for months, but for a short burst of something fresh, it delivered just fine.
Of course, I'm mainly playing handheld games now, because I have more time for them.


*slumps*

[KingDedede]

For the record (sorry for the somewhat old bump), my editorial that quoted some of you guys can be found here:

http://www.nintendofrost.com/editorials.php?e=43

(Think of it as a "j00 got punk'd!!1!" thing.) Thanks for all the replies, you guys helped me out a LOT. Keep up the good work.