Ever felt like easing up on gaming?

[MonkeyJuggleDX]

Funny I should wake up and see this thread as just last night I was thinking 'Why bother' and considered just chucking the lot on ebay. Seriously, I just can't be arsed any more and the only thing that has stopped me is knowing I'll regret selling up in 6 months or so. Having said that, the pre-owned import PS2 market seems to be dead anyway

[DeathAdder]

I can understand people easing up on retro collections, especially with the Wii VC and XBLA available now, to say nothing of emulation.

But it would surprise me if many gamers had no interest in the current generation of consoles. With the innovation of the DS and the Wii, the excellent service of X-Box live, unprecedented portable power in the PSP and the unknown but potentially promising PS3, I think there's never been a better time to play games. I guess there's the "same games with slightly better graphics" argument, but I'm loving this hobby at the moment.

[Fireproofradiator]

One thing I did when I had my 'That's IT!' moment near the end of last year about gaming, was to identify those games that had (or I imagined would have) some kind of emotional tie ie.

Kung Fu Chaos - probably never laughed as much as when playing the swinging arm minigame with two mates on this.

Ico - only played it for about an hour but it's clearly special.

Rez - Synesthesia

PN03 - sexy ladee

etc... And just keep them. Then, going forward, only keep an eye out for stuff that you're confident will add something special - for me that means I'm pretty excited by Alan Wake but I'm gonna try and forget about The Darkness, for instance.

I've already started falling back from this position - spent half an hour yesterday just going through an all countries 'Resident Evil' search on ebay looking at stuff like Weskers Report when I really don't need any resi stuff whatsoever - but if I can identify when I'm going beyond hobby to a little bit obsessive and pull myself out of it then I'm doing alright.

It's a matter of quality over quantity, really, as other people have pointed out.

[Ish]

I definetly don't game as much as I used to though I still play around 8+ hours a week.

For me its down to a few things.

1) Getting older! Usual stuff: too much to do not enough time. Plus as I've got older I've developed other interests.

2) I don't play dross anymore. Really something has to be very very good to keep me playing. I think its a combination of the time thing I've already mentioned plus over familiarity after 25+ years of gaming.

3) Cynicism. I've no problem with gaming going "mainstream" and reaching a wider audience but as more and more money has got sunk into it and the dirty politics of the games industry have become more and more transparent I've just I don't know... been put off. I'm not sure I'm making sense. I'm finding it hard to express what I mean about this but there's negative baggage for me around games these days that maybe was always there but I never noticed in the 80s and early 90s.

[J0e Musashi]

I consider myself an anti-gamer now. I hate games. I hate how people ask me about games, how I'm known as a gamer. I still cannot make a true break from them though. Give it all up like. It's quite an addictive thing, and I've done it for so long that it's second nature to me.
The last game I actually enjoyed was SOTC. I cannot remember the one before that. I only played it about 4 weeks back and finished it in one sitting as it reminded me of gaming in the old days. I actually smiled. I never finish games nowadays. It is rare if I even get halfway through one. I buy 99% of my games just for the sake of it I think. I buy far too many too, then regret it as soon as I shelve them. At the last count I had 43 games that I have started and not finished. There is probably that amount still sealed, which I haven't even started yet too. I've got games I bought years ago still sealed up sitting on the shelf that I'll probably never get around to.

I intend to sell off everything barring my PS3, PSP and DS. I should probably keep only either the PSP or DS too, but I like both machines quite a lot. Also the PS3-PSP connectivity keeps the Sony's safe. DS I find great with games like Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk, games that are actually new to me, thought strangely still I only play for 2 days before replacing them.

Gaming is a vicious circle I am trying to shield my son from as I feel my life might be different if I hadn't spent so much time in front of a TV as a youngster.

[Concept]

I get apathetic at certain periods of the year, but there's generally always something to pull me back.

It's usually the promise of high concept games like Shenmue, Mass Effect, GTAIV (to use three quick examples) that end up making my mind wander, along with the smaller and extremely high polished stuff like Killer7, Katamari, Fahrenheit, Psychonauts etc.

Like Ish I'm more cynical of the hype that goes with the former bunch though. I still remember when Shenmue was announced 98/99 and the sheer excitement I had reading Edge's second preview, SegaWeb's coverage and Anoop Gantayat's IGN import review of the game. I don't get that now.

What I tend to find really recharges my battery are re-discovering classics I haven't played before. I remember getting around to playing Panzer Dragoon Saga years after its original release and it ended up sucking me in and being completely wowed by it.

Sometimes that helps. Sure sell off the stuff which you don't play, even take a break... but don't sever ties. You'll find at some point there will be an exciting title whose promise drags you back, or you'll stumble on a few games you've never played before that you're really impressed by.

I've never done it myself, but I remember reading of people on here who would wait until the end of a generation and then just pick up a load of highlights cheaply on a console. Perhaps that would help if you get disspirited enough to walk away. Return when there are a glut of classic games on all three systems and choose which holds your attention more.

[mattfabb]

i feel that being so much into games is not really different from being into other stuff, like books or movies or music. the difference is that if youre so much into literature, you could actually became a literary critic or something.
some people know an inordinate amount of stuff about football, and unless they go for a coaching course they probably will never use it in any real-life situation.
buying a lot of games and not playing them means we are still searching for what we like, kind of formative years. eventually well settle for some games we know we like.
there is a thread over at selectbutton with pics from sh2. the guy really found is cup of tea. hats off to him, i say.

[MattyD]

I can't really say I've seen my interest wane at all but there are times when I feel I should spend less time playing games and use the time more 'productively'. We inherit a societal bias towards games that says they are an idle and ultimately pointless past-time, and on top of that I have both a strong sense of ambition and a very stern habit of self-reflection that tends to make me feel like I'm wasting my time or that my gaming habit is the cause of all my faults.

Just recently for instance I finished Twilight Princess on the Wii, and notched up about 50-odd hours of play time. I couldn't help thinking that that was enough time to finish off part of one of my courses, or get back into gyming it again, or improve my martial arts skills or whatever.

But in a way I suppose it's a good thing to have such doubts because it tends to keep my habits in check - I tend to be disciplined enough to know when enough is enough and when I don't really have the time to game (which is all too often these days )

Gaming is a vicious circle I am trying to shield my son from as I feel my life might be different if I hadn't spent so much time in front of a TV as a youngster.

I often feel the same and I think it would definately influence my parenting habits if I ever have kids. I don't think I'd stop them playing games at all but I'd try my best to guide them into hobbies that would help them get on in life and be happier people; stuff like sports for instance.

[Junko]

Ive had a slight ease up this past few months but back in the game big time since Christmas

[fallenangle]

Giving up gaming? No chance - it's a great and rewarding past-time, hobby, interest you can enjoy at any level of commitment. That can even include those who don't play games that regularly. But I do think at the other end of the scale you can certainly overdose and get bored to the point of wanting a break from all things game related - for bit.

I've just done two of the PS2 GT4 24hrs endurance races back to back, 10 hrs+ each. Although doing it in B-Spec you can leave it run itself you do have to monitor whats going on and regularly switch it to x3 speed unless you want to keep your PS2 running for 48 hrs solid.

I can now say that if I don't play another racing game this year I won't mind - I've had my fill. Gaming should be fun, engaging, challenging and certainly not a chore - that task was just too much for me. Worse thing though, I mucked up the second race :-(

I need a break but give it 48 hrs and I'll back enjoying my gaming. But one thing I do know, whatever I'm playing it will not have a car in it.

[importaku]

Sometimes i think sites like this can damage your enjoyment of gaming. Sorry NTSC-UK i still love you (^_^)

What i mean is you sometimes end up reading & talking about games more than you seem to spend time playing them. But the internet in general is like that.

Before then you used to use mags to get info on the latest games & you would look forward to getting new info. But now you literally know the entire game inside & out before you even get chance to play.

Im still as addicted now as i ever was, i look at my shelves & feel a massive amount of pride in what i have managed to collect. However dont mistake me for someone who has masses of games still sealed (^_^) out of the 300+ games i have, i have played all of them & 95% have been completed.

I made the mistake of selling games when i was younger & fully regretted it later on. It took 11 years to track down one particular gameboy game i stupidly sold to get the latest must have but "ultimately ended up crap" game. When i got it again i vowed never to sell anything.

[englishbob]

I'm 36 years old (or young) and your right, gaming goes through phases in your life.

I started out on a Spectrum, then a C64, onto an Atari ST until the family got an Amiga, and it was so similar to the ST that it kind of killed it for me. I was about 13-14 at the time, and music and film took priority.

It wasn't until, drunk one afternoon after work, many years later, that I picked up a SNES with Street Fighter II and BOOM it started all over again. Gradually back up to a PS1, N64, Saturn, PS2, Dreamcast, Xbox, 360, Gamecube, PS3...

To be honest, the pinacle of the 2nd phase of gaming was the Dreamcast. It felt like something had died within me when the console was annouced as a failure and Sega was pulling the plug.

I always end up selling a lot of games that I buy, so historically my gaming collection that should be massive is quite small in comparision to what it should be. However, I did make the mistake of selling a few Dreamcast games, of which I regretted, and ended up buying some of them back again, and I am not going to part with them.

But all manner of hobbies, be it into music, films, books or gaming, goes through a **** patch. Switch to something else, but don't sell what you have, you never know you might get drawn back in sometime!

[cutmymilk]

I feel I have too much most of the time and, what's the point as they won't get played. I think in my current flat I have more unplayed than played games. Just haven't got the time. So I'm focusing on the wii, hoping that I can keep up with that and it's more relaxed release schedule.

At my parents I have tonnes of retro stuff that I may just hawk for some cash one day. But knowing how much I'll get for it and what I spent is abit of a turnoff. But when I eventually buy my own place something will have to give, if only to save space.

I reckon a wii, DS and an Xbox 360 is currently the best way to enjoy games. Can't see many people needing much more than that tbh. Not that I have a 360 - the other 2 are plenty for me!

[Number45]

i only play one (maybe two) games at a time

This has been absolutely the key to my current enthusiasm for games. I took a decision last year to play a game until I'd completed it (Which means seeing the story through) or played it to such a point that I know there's no chance of me completing it. It makes all the difference when you 'live' a game from start to finish I find, although I often have an arcade companion to a proper single player game (Gradius V at the moment, for instance).

I also decided last month that I couldn't justify owning all three consoles. I knew I couldn't live without the Nintendo stuff (When, you know, it eventually arrives) so it was a choice between the 360 and the PS3 - the PS3 won because of the first party stuff. But the reason for this was primarily because of that 'only playing one game at a time' ethos that I decided to get shot of the 360, I knew with all three platforms I'd buy too much and feel that I had to play all of it... the end result of which being I'd play virtually none of it.

So no, don't feel bad about it. Just don't make any rash decisions (I haven't sold any old stuff despite knowing I'll almost certainly never touch it again - though I'm by no means a collector).

[fallenangle]

That's how I've always played and why I probably only get through 12 games a year. I'm constantly surprised by the number of self admitted 'butterfly' gamers I meet in forums like this. I have some spare time regulars but I always concentrate on one game at at time before moving onto another and always of a different type from the previous one. That's how I keep any 'boredom' from creeping in - variety.