Anyone else losing their taste for TV/videogames because of life?

[Ottonomous]

Can't enjoy them without the spectre of career/education problems looming

 

[deadlyapp]

I lost interest in video games years ago. I realized I was wasting my life playing them where I could occupy my hands and mind with things much more beneficial to me. TV I will watch a couple hours a week, mostly mindless food because the wife enjoys it, however it's generally more background noise for me than anything else.

 

[nakedfrog]

I lost interest in video games years ago. I realized I was wasting my life playing them where I could occupy my hands and mind with things much more beneficial to me. TV I will watch a couple hours a week, mostly mindless food because the wife enjoys it, however it's generally more background noise for me than anything else.

Kinda funny, I play video games because they engage my mind more than TV.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I play video games because life is stressful and games are a good stress reducer sometimes.

 

[pmv]

Kinda funny, I play video games because they engage my mind more than TV.

I felt I was running out of time for video games a long time ago, but I gave up TV even earlier.

I don't mean that to disparage video games as childish or a 'waste of time', I just played them a lot and then went off them, nothing more complicated than that.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I can do without them!! Use to play Quake2 all day and all night and still hold down a full time job!!

 

[nakedfrog]

I felt I was running out of time for video games a long time ago, but I gave up TV even earlier.

I don't mean that to disparage video games as childish or a 'waste of time', I just played them a lot and then went off them, nothing more complicated than that.

I suppose it's all about balance, on a typical weekday I'll game for 30-90 minutes after dinner and whatever else needs to be done for the day, but before reading to unwind before bed.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I play video games because life is stressful and games are a good stress reducer sometimes.

Exactly.

For me, the best stress reducer is heading out the door for a run. That gets my blood pumping and lets me disconnect from everything for a while... That's great if I feel like working out...otherwise, I pick up a controller and usually go for a game of Madden or something mindless. I like games that I can just turn off. I'm the same way with TV...I like Seinfeld because you can watch one episode or part of an episode and walk away from watching it for a long time. I hate things that require constant attention, which is the way a lot of games and TV program are written these days. I do like some of the offline FPS games that follow a storyline, are easy, and have lots of save points...

I really stopped my gaming addiction around 2006 when I got married. Prior to that, I really enjoyed BF2, its mods, and a bunch of other online games.

 

[pmv]

Exactly.

For me, the best stress reducer is heading out the door for a run. That gets my blood pumping and lets me disconnect from everything for a while... That's great if I feel like working out...otherwise, I pick up a controller and usually go for a game of Madden or something mindless. I like games that I can just turn off. I'm the same way with TV...I like Seinfeld because you can watch one episode or part of an episode and walk away from watching it for a long time. I hate things that require constant attention, which is the way a lot of games and TV program are written these days. I do like some of the offline FPS games that follow a storyline, are easy, and have lots of save points...

I think part of it might be that video games over the years, or decades even, got more-and-more elaborate and demanding. I still, to be honest, play solitaire occasionally. But I just can't motivate myself to fire up any of my steam library, just lost interest. Sometimes I look at it and then decide to go for a walk or cycle instead.

 

[IBMJunkman]

Well, I used to play Quake 2, Hexen, Heretic 2, Doom 2, Duke, etc back in the 90s. Then I got busy.

Now I am retired and have a 65” 4K TV and would like to play them again.
What console would be good to buy that has those types of games available?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I find I'm less interested in video games than I used to be as a kid. It kinda sucks in a way, because now I can actually afford them, and also have way more time than I did when I had school. No homework means my evenings and days off are actually mine. I don't watch a lot of TV or movies either but part of that is my living room setup sucks. It's just not comfortable. I recently removed the fireplace so I can put the couch there and that will change everything. Removing the fireplace also removed a large heat loss so I won't be freezing down there anymore. Or at least I'll know for sure this winter. It's still not that cold out yet, only slightly below zero.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm less interested in games cause of drm, and proprietary distribution platforms. I don't feel like playing corporate games before I play the game I'm interested in. But on that note, I think I'll checkout GoG, and see what's available. Haven't looked in awhile.

 

[nakedfrog]

Well, I used to play Quake 2, Hexen, Heretic 2, Doom 2, Duke, etc back in the 90s. Then I got busy.

Now I am retired and have a 65” 4K TV and would like to play them again.
What console would be good to buy that has those types of games available?

The Xbox 1 X or PS4 Pro would be fine... the complication getting used to playing those with a controller. I believe you can still use a keyboard/mouse on PS4, not sure if it's a standard thing on Xbox.

 

[BudAshes]

Well, I used to play Quake 2, Hexen, Heretic 2, Doom 2, Duke, etc back in the 90s. Then I got busy.

Now I am retired and have a 65” 4K TV and would like to play them again.
What console would be good to buy that has those types of games available?

I'd stick with a gaming PC as controllers suck for first person shooters.

I barely game anymore but I definitely enjoy it when I have down time. The new Wolfenstein games are a blast. Definitely feels like an old school FPS but with modern graphics.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

I never really lost interest, just mainly played the BF series. I guess when things got busier I would game less, but I've always played a bit here and there. Now I'm actually playing more frequently. The wife is currently in school, so after dinner when she's doing her homework, I'll play minecraft with my daughter, or else she'll play something else, and I'll log on an hour or so. For a while, I was into Apex, quick matches that I can hop in, play for a bit then quit after I got my fix. More recently, my bro got me into WoW Classic, which is kinda dangerous. I find myself playing this a lot more frequently. To the point that I'm taking my laptop to work and playing during lunch breaks. It's better than going out and spending money during lunch, but I'm also playing for an hour or so when I get home after dinner.

 

[snoopy7548]

I don't have much interest in videogames anymore, though I played them all the time when I was a kid. I started losing interest in college and it has gradually decreased, though on rare occasions I might force myself to play some older games (NES or SNES).

I still waste a lot of time, though, so I can't use the excuse that I could be doing better things with my time than play videogames.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Kinda funny, I play video games because they engage my mind more than TV.

- This exactly. While I enjoy cuddling with the family and watching a movie or skme Netflix from time to time, basically all my TV time has been replaced by video game time since I feel videogames are less mindless than television.

Granted, I might get about 5 hours of gaming into a week at best, with the rest of it dedicated to life/children/work etc, but gaming is a great way to do the opposite of the OP and just totally detach from life's stress and go into an alternative universe.

 

[Captante]

Can't enjoy them without the spectre of career/education problems looming

I lost what minimal taste I had for TV many years ago and although I do still game its not nearly as much anymore.

These days I tend to do a lot more "IRL" type stuff like work ... ... occasionally I've even been known to venture outdoors !!!

 

[BoomerD]

I play video games because life is stressful and games are a good stress reducer sometimes.

Exactly. There's nothing that's a better stress reducer, especially after a grueling commute, than blowing shit up...and killing some substitute electronic people instead of the live humans who pissed you off on the road.

I think part of it might be that video games over the years, or decades even, got more-and-more elaborate and demanding. I still, to be honest, play solitaire occasionally. But I just can't motivate myself to fire up any of my steam library, just lost interest. Sometimes I look at it and then decide to go for a walk or cycle instead.

True dat. Games have gotten so intricate. The newer graphics are great, but game play has gotten...complicated.

 

[himkhan]

I still like to play and have happy career and interests beyond the monitor. My interests in gaming has changed from years ago. No shooter games. I play simulation games now. Less exciting but more fun for my brain.

 

[Mai72]

It's going to be different for different people. My thoughts are this. If you're unhappy with your life. Maybe you have a job you dislike. You aren't making enough money. You are in a relationship that you dislike. You want to find another mate, start dating. Maybe you're in a rut. Then you probably shouldn't be playing video games. The one thing I've noticed about many of the people who I know that play hours and hours of gaming is they use it as a means to escape. To escape from their lives mostly. Yet, they'll get angry and say things like capitalism sucks. Why should I have to work. It's their attitude towards life. It sucks. But, I'm like where are you investing your time? We all have 24 hours in any given day. Use them wisely.

Every decision that we make will determine where we are 1, 5, 10 years from now. I don't have anything against playing video games. They are awesome because they can give great entertainment value for little money. I've played one game for a year w/ mods included. I paid $39 on Steam. But, I found myself playing 6,8,12 hours a day. And for me that is unacceptable and I have no one to blame for that but me. I'm to blame, and not the gaming idustry. Like Cam had stated in the video that gaming has very little ROI. Yes, it can provide SHORT TERM entertainment, but in the long term it can have some serious consequences if you're not careful. I've seen people lose decades of their life to gaming. You just have to be careful, and treat it like entertainment. Unless you can make a living from gaming. That's an entirely different subject. As for TV, I sold mine years ago. I dislike commercial TV viewing.

 

[NutBucket]

I wouldn't say I have a distaste for it but my tastes have certainly changed. I was never a hardcore gamer so that part doesn't apply to me.
Now that I'm a parent it's difficult to watch things like Law & Order SVU where kids are the victims.

 

[TXHokie]

I played a lot of games before we had kids mostly FPS that started with Doom/Quake/CS 1.6. That contributed to not doing exercise and bad eating and not resting well in my 20s and 30s. Even hauled my rig to local LAN meets back in the days. After the kids came, it was a choice of sleep or video games so I chose sleep more. Eventually that weaned me from playing games altogether. I tried to pick it up again to play with my kids when they grew up by find I don't have the reflex anymore without spending a lot of time practicing, time and patience I don't have.

Now I don't play games much at all. I've sat down and had a few sessions of BF but it usually go away after a week. I'm more into going to the gym, bike, or fishing now with my free time and being outdoorsy. My teenage boys are picking up the slack in the gaming department thought. I make them do competitive sport to get some physical activities in but after homework it's pretty much online time for them - and I can understand how addictive it can be. At least they are PC keyboard/mouse gamer and not into consoles.