Have your gaming habits changed?

[gIzzE]

I rarely play anything now.

I have a quick dabble on the PS+ games when they hit the store and I'll play MK8 or SM3DW for 30 minutes every now and again but looking at my list of games coming out soon there's Splatoon, Yoshi Wooly World and...well...that's about it.

The games I was really looking forward to this year (Uncharted 4, Zelda and Quantum Break) have all been delayed.

Pretty much sums my gaming up perfectly.

I would love some Sega Arcade games to get released, something I can have a blat on for 20 minutes. I think I might just be bored of most games, times move on, tastes change, but I still like my old skool platformers, arcade racers and action rpgs, but they don't seem to exist.

Can't find anything that interests me for more than a couple of goes and makes me want to play again the next day. Zelda used to get me leaving work early to play the next day, same with the early Resi games, the last time that happened was Last Of Us, finished that in a couple of nights and loved it, but nothing on its way that really excites me...that hasn't been delayed.

[Darwock]

My habits have changed, for sure, but I feel it wouldn't have happened if the industry wasn't going in directions I don't gel with.

I was still staying on top of new releases and good new games to get into, up until the launch of the PS4 I guess. I didn't want to upgrade, and major PS3 releases dried up. After that, I was really into the F2P Ace Combat and persisted with it for 8 or 9 months, until the time restricted play began to take it's toll on my life (unable to go out in the evening because I would miss a fuel slot? Ridiculous) and I gave it up.

I am still really into skill based games of old that I have yet to master, things like Lumines, After Burner Climax, and Guitar Freaks/Drummania... in fact the latter is what I dedicate all my gaming time to these days (it's a bit more family friendly as my daughter likes to dance to a lot of the music). My PS3 got relegated to the back room a few months ago and the PS2 is back under the telly.

I think that means my days of being 'hardcore' are over.

[Digfox]

2 kids and new job mean I have far, far less time these days. Between 2005 & 2012 were my last golden age of gaming. Wasn't rare to play 20-40 hours some weeks. All a thing of the past now.

[randombs]

The fact that I find it a chore just to plug in my USB Saturn pad into my laptop and play some retro stuff tells me a lot. Or tells me I'm very lazy.

Don't even get me started on hooking it up to the telly and hi-fi - that requires me to clear my diary for at least a few hours.

Mind you, fiddling with RetroArch was fun and brought back memories of wrestling with emulators.

On my PS3 the game I play the most is Hotline Miami and that's once a week, probably for ten minutes. And that's not for high-scores - I haven't even completed it yet!

Come to think of it, I think it's just that OSX is crap for emulators compared with Windows and PS3 is crap for most games I want to play compared with 360.

I do enjoy the odd gaming session with the gf. We play things like Puyo Puyo Tetris and Dr. Mario which are great fun but super stressful so we try co-op/one-life-each with games like Mario World.

I'd like to think I'll always be playing games in some capacity until my fingers don't work but who knows how that will play out.

[beecee]

my gaming habits are dwindling, at the peak when i was 18-25 (snes/md/psone/n64) and i was playing 2/3hrs a night sometimes more.
playing until they were completed.

but my last "current gen" purchase was an xbox, even then it was to get it modded for emulation purposes, i have a Wii/Ps3 but those were purchased as Christmas presents from my other half. i probably will never buy another new console again (for myself) my daughter might want one, but i wont push her into getting one, she is perfectly happy with her galaxy tab and the odd play of sonic on her PS2.

i'm now over 40, and spend 2/3 now a week if i'm lucky gaming, mainly on the consoles of my peak era of gaming. i ahave each console boxed away, but easy to get to and set up for a quick go.

i'm trying to set up a retro corner in the spare room, but who knows when I'll get that done, got a garden to do first, then a new bathroom, then i'm sure the other half will think of something else to do before i can get it done.

i have been picking up the odd game for the Wii and PS3 (cheap) just in case i find the urge for some next gen.

[Wools]

When I was 15 it took off with a a part time job and the Dreamcast. I played that thing any chance I got inbetween school and friends. My "lowest" eb was from 18 - 20 as I got into the games industry and got full-time employment. I was into importing for the sake of it and collecting. Although I had some a fun time with games I was spending far to much money on it and not really playing anything. I was 20 when I realised I had too much and spent last year and this downsizing and now feel like a reformed addict! I have a Dreamcast & Gamecube in the loft and a PS2 under my telly and I've never felt happier about gaming! I play my PS2 for a few hours every weekend and during the week me and my brother will play either Pro Evo or Halo on his Xbox.

Probally the times in my life where I played the most was GoldenEye with friends, my Dreamccast years or Halo. I certaintly play a lot less now but I've found my niche. I love adventure games mixed with a good racer and tend to prefer Co-Op multiplayer over other deathmatch varients. I certaintly play less games than when I was a teenager but surely we all do?

Wow, nearly 10 years ago!

What I did not know was the Xbox 360 turned out to be a brilliant era for games along with my playtime and enjoyment of them. Played thousands of hours with brilliant AAA games like Halo 3, Portal, The Last of us, Gran Turismo 5, Call of Duty and Xbox Live Arcade turned into one of the most beautiful and nostalgic ways of delivering past glories. It re-awakened my love of games.

Now in 2015 it's a different place I find myself in. I got out of the games industry so I no longer felt like I was wading in games at home and at work. I enjoy working out, I'm engaged to my beautiful Fianc? and own a house so free time and money is less easily accessible, also games are less important to me as other hobbies and social pursuits take up time where I used to just play games. Along with those changes, AAA games are no longer what they were, Japan is almost dead as game makers and small Indie games are seemingly flourishing with brave and exciting ideas.

I like to think I found my happy medium in 2015. I don't collect, my PSone is tucked away safe for retro, my PS4 plays everything I want and I only buy what I like. Generally that's racing games, adventure games and the odd shooter or bat **** crazy Japanese game. I no longer spend 80% of my time collecting, buying, talking about or playing games. Some may say it's sad I'm not as passionate about games as I used to be but I'll argue I'm just as passionate, but other fun and adult stuff has filled a void I did not know I had when I was just 20 years old.

Overall, I'll say I play games for enjoyment and to chill out nowadays whereas 10 years ago, they seemed to be my only purpose in life. I've become a better human being. I still listen to the Ridge Racer Type 4 soundtrack most nights though.

[Zen Monkey]

My taste in games has reverted back to my teenage taste, as has the way I play them too. These days I play a few carefully chosen titles, and delve into them as deeply as I can. I've had my fill of FPSs, cinematic experiences, 'cool' games, and so-called emotional journeys (all of which I quite enjoyed a few years ago). These days entertaining alone won't cut the mustard. It has to be fun and rewarding.

[Pikate]

I've only been gaming for about 4 or 5 years but my gaming seems to be cyclular:

Saw Wii... Bought one... Treasured it... Started to think it was crap... Bought a 360 even though I didn't really love the games as much...

Saw Wii U... Bought one... Treasured it... Started to think Nintendo were crap (E3)... Now thinking of buying an XB1 or PS4 even though games don't really wow me...

Will probably see NX... Will probably buy one...

[Brad]

I'm in easy gaming mode right now. Tell me a story and let me do a.puzzle or 2 with the odd bit of easy shooting and I'm happy. Hoping that I'll want to get back to bloodborne and dark souls 2 at some point though.