[comments] When hobby ends and obsession begins

[charlesr]

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?featuretype=edi&fea=FromHobbyToObsession

Thanks to Blair for the words.

[kernow]

Saw the graphs and 'SKU' term and stopped scanning through it. (I would say reading, but that would imply I was .. reading it)

[dotoko]

Saw the graphs and 'SKU' term and stopped scanning through it. (I would say reading, but that would imply I was .. reading it)

Same here, it is very wordy...

I think the point is they cram all these releases into one six week period?

Which is perfectly reasonable since the industry's assumption is that "most" gamers are kids/students/no-hopers and logically those people will usually be buying/receiving games around xmas. Plus in the summer months the days are longer and people want to be out in the sun rather than sat in playing video games?

Is the £315 you mention even that much for a hobby/passion anyway? Speak to a boy racer/car modifier person or even my girlfriend... at least once a month she "treats herself" to a new designer handbag or a pair of shoes that often costs more than £315. That's not even her passion, her horse costs a small fortune to stable and feed... then there's vets bills...

Maybe we just need to think of gaming as a seasonal hobby... like skiing?

And returning to the subject of expense, let's not forget a substantial proportion of those games will be traded in at Game/Gamestation...

[donpepperoni]

Nice feature. I think this is the first year though where Publishers have started to twig that releasing 10 AAA titles within 3 months of each other is bad for everyone - though no doubt the hype machine of Modern Warfare 2 had something to do with it.

Last year was ridiculous, there were so many great games released in the run up to Xmas that I still haven't got around to playing most of them, such as Fallout 3, Fable II, Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Valkyria Chronicles etc.

Although we have a few "must have" titles like Assassin's Creed II and Uncharted 2 this year, at least some of them (Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, etc) have been held back until Q1/2 of next year to give us all a bit of breathing space.

Having said that I think that outside the more hardcore audience, games are only really bought either for birthday or Christmas presents. Where once parents/grand parents would buy toys, action figures, dolls, board games etc, they are now buying video games instead. This means you'll always get a big jump in sales figures during November/December regardless of the quality of games released during that time.

Not that it will bother me much, I'll still be about a year behind in the games I'm playing!

[Darwock]

The title and the content don't seem to match up. It seemed to be mostly about the Christmas rush.

There was a brief mention of the compulsion people feel to buy every game that gets released, but it didn't really go anywhere. Anyway I've never understood that behaviour (in terms of gaming) and don't have a problem with stuff going unplayed after buying it.

Could it possibly be connected to that type of social addiction people have where they never want to feel they've been missing out on something...? like the same reason people get addicted to going to the same nightclubs week after week and stuff. This is a type of social group and I guess some people don't want to feel excluded from the hot topics of the day (i.e the latest games).

I dunno, just speculating because I'd guess a lot of members here spend more time talking about games than playing them.

[Hawkeye]

It's the same every year, and it'll only ever change when the majority of gamers don't feel the need to rush out and buy the latest release at launch.

I broke that habit a while back. There is still the occasional must have at launch title, but the majority I'm happy to wait until the price drops and I've cleared what I'm playing. I got fed up with buying lots of titles and playing some a little and a fair few not at all. It was a waste of money. These days I'm happier playing through games until I tire or complete them and then trade them in/sell them and move on to the next game.

I guess the biggest change for me was no longer 'collecting' games and the fear that something may be missing from the collection. I've pretty much sold all my retro gear and keep my current games limited to a small amount. It took me years to finally admit it, but I never go back to the older games either that I did or didn't play no matter how well they are viewed.

I don't think gaming forums help the gamers mentality either. You see a dozen threads on the current popular games and feel you should be playing, enjoying them all and getting involved in the discussions. It's just not realistic. Playing a game months after the initial forum buzz you loose the big thread hype, and your posts at times can feel like a random bump.

I have to admit as well as saving a small fortune, I'm enjoying my gaming now more that I don't feel the need to have the big name titles right away.

[wakka]

Oh no too many good games are coming out what will we do

[spinpug666]

I totally agree with Dotokos' point about boy racers and his girlfriends 'treats'.
I have a very large collection of games, systems etc. Which my mates call ott, but it's nothing like what I've spent on cars over the years. The engine in one of my cars cost more in parts than what the car cost new lol!

[prinnysquad]

My quote makes me sound like some kind of vacuous dunderhead, surrounded by average games still in their wrapping.

...

[Spatial]

I'm going to get an almighty telling off for posting in here but:-

My quote makes me sound like some kind of vacuous dunderhead, surrounded by average games still in their wrapping.

...

I wouldn't say vacuous dunderhead, but the rest is totally true.

[prinnysquad]

Harumph.

My problem is manyfold -

1. I play demos and want to buy the full game.
2. I read reviews and note titles of interest.
3. I put games on my birthday and Christmas lists.
4. I quite like an easy pointer every so often.
5. I keep an eye on sales - if there's a game I've noted, either through demo play or review, and I see it at £17.99 on play.com, then sometimes I'll get it to play later. It's a good price and may rise again, so I seize the opportunity.
6. No matter how much try to convince myself otherwise, I simply don't have the time to play every game I buy.

I wouldn't say I ever get sucked in by marketing, and I wouldn't buy a **** game because of a cheap price, but if a game fulfils any of the criteria of points 1, 2 or 4, then I find it difficult to resist a buy, especially if it's associated with points 3 and 5.

[moonwhistle]

I must say I don't really see the point of the piece. Who would really want to buy all the games on that xmas list? I'm sure the vast majority would buy one or two and just skip the rest or buy them later 2nd hand for peanuts. That's even assuming you like all the game in a given release period. I see very little in the way of AAA or unmissables in that particular line up. Almost of them are sequels, re-releases or spin-offs.

Unless you're 15 years old or there abouts I think the notion that people feel pressurised to play all the new releases is fairly redundant.

Personally I don't give a hoot if all the so called best releases are crammed into a small period. Just excercise a bit discretion and or discipline.