I thought I was a PC gamer ?

[marmasatt]

I bet 90% off all people posting in this thread are 28 - 44 age.....38 here. Just a hunch.

All the highly anticipated games (mostly shooters) I have been waiting for within the last couple of years have pretty much sucked. Combine that w/ the fact that we can't trade games anymore because they are all DRM'd out or tied to Steam, etc. I mean you used to buy a game for $45 and you knew you could get $25 back in a month or two on the forums. It just doesn't work that way anymore. So I'm not paying $45 to roll the dice...Then the normal growing out of games and having priorities comes into play. It's like the perfect storm.

 

[Via]

We all experience a personal "golden age" in our gaming lives.

You have to enjoy it because it doesn't last forever.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Games have evolved tremendously in the graphics department but not so much in everything else.

I keep finding myself playing the same old games (and most of them online) - Guildwars, WC3 (DotA mod), Rome:TW mods, etc.

What do recent shooters improve over games like the original Half-Life or No one lives forever? Yes, better graphics, but the graphics of those games were already passable. A book isn't more entertainment just because it has a better cover.

27 here btw.

 

[gorcorps]

You're just older. Gaming seems less important as we get older so our brains naturally get less interested in them. I still enjoy some good games but really I can't play many for long before getting bored. People claim games are getting worse, but I think they've been getting steadily better overall and the gamers of old are just not as interested anymore.

 

[Jumpem]

Same. The games today are lackluster compared to those from say 1992-2001.

Maybe one or two games a year come out that interest me. Almost everything is an FPS. Those were beat to death by the late nineties.

 

[Aquila76]

Games have evolved tremendously in the graphics department but not so much in everything else.
...
What do recent shooters improve over games like the original Half-Life or No one lives forever? Yes, better graphics, but the graphics of those games were already passable. A book isn't more entertainment just because it has a better cover.

I'm 34 and completely agree. There seems to be too much priority on graphics and not enough on the actual game mechanics. I DOSBoxed Tomb Raider and have been playing Half-Life via Steam and I'm still as captivated now as I was a decade+ ago. Of course, Lara Croft's boobies do get better and better with each release.

 

[heat901]

Time.....as I got older I realized I have less of it to give to games.... I remember when I was a kid I basically played Starcraft for a whole summer straight. Almost ever waking hour.....10 hours a straight gaming...I couldn't do that anymore not only because games are most now fps and get boring easily but responsibilities are at an all time high. I also think when I was a kid I had a lot more free time and was bored alot so games filled the gap.

I would sell my first born child for another homeworld game though....Come on relic!!!

 

[frozentundra123456]

If you guys would start paying for your games you could play online

I pay for all my games, have never pirated one. I just dont play online much because I dont like MMOs and get my butt kicked in RTS games online.
The last game I really got into online was Modern Warfare 1. Hated MW2 online.

 

[Lonbjerg]

You're just older. Gaming seems less important as we get older so our brains naturally get less interested in them. I still enjoy some good games but really I can't play many for long before getting bored. People claim games are getting worse, but I think they've been getting steadily better overall and the gamers of old are just not as interested anymore.

You have never played X-Wing vs. Tie figther, correct?
I spent weeks trying to complete that game.
Some mission I had to try for several days before I nailed them.
Or "quake" at the hidden "Nightmare" difficulty?
Games are TOO easy and to consolized today.
Gameplay is gone and replaced with "achievements".

It's the fuzzy warm "Everyone is a winner" and it sucks.
But I think that if games are made harder today a bunch of kids will whine because the have to put an effort into it and their parents will sue, because their little crybabies couldn't /AFK through it and now are very sad.



I bet you that if ID software remade the old "Quake" with ID tech 5 Engine and released it a lot of kids would whine over "the game is too hard"...and "the game has no achivements".

Completing a game (that is sufficiently hard) is an achievment in it self.

34 Years here, been gaming since the C64.

@ OP:
You are a PC gamer, you are just no finding join in crappy consol ports or dumbed down games.
Welcome to the club.

 

[ronach]

You will be back...trust me on this one. I have been PC gaming since the late 70's and finally reached the age of 72. I still build my own systems ( getting harder tho..can't see as well..heh ). BC2 is my latest game..yaaa, FPS's are my favorite game type and I play most anything except MMO's..give me a break, will you ? My gamespan over the years has been like a sine wave, but I always come back to see if I can still hold my own with the young guys/gals ( they seem so much quicker these days ). Don't game your whole life away..but come back once in awhile and let me kick your butt..OK ?

 

[Schadenfroh]

Well, for the longest time, I played Infinity Engine (Baldurs Gate Engine) games on my Intel Q9450 + nVidia GTX260.

I sometimes think building / tweaking / customizing a rig takes precedence over actually gaming, occasionally. I guess it goes back to people liking to tinker with stuff.

 

[gorcorps]

You have never played X-Wing vs. Tie figther, correct?
I spent weeks trying to complete that game.
Some mission I had to try for several days before I nailed them.
Or "quake" at the hidden "Nightmare" difficulty?
Games are TOO easy and to consolized today.
Gameplay is gone and replaced with "achievements".

It's the fuzzy warm "Everyone is a winner" and it sucks.
But I think that if games are made harder today a bunch of kids will whine because the have to put an effort into it and their parents will sue, because their little crybabies couldn't /AFK through it and now are very sad.



I bet you that if ID software remade the old "Quake" with ID tech 5 Engine and released it a lot of kids would whine over "the game is too hard"...and "the game has no achivements".

Completing a game (that is sufficiently hard) is an achievment in it self.

34 Years here, been gaming since the C64.

@ OP:
You are a PC gamer, you are just no finding join in crappy consol ports or dumbed down games.
Welcome to the club.

Actually I did play X-wing Vs. Tie-fighter... quite a bit honestly. I tried to go back and play it again and I got bored. There are still plenty of harder games with different difficulty settings today, but I think I just know my time as an adult would be better spent doing something else which takes away from my enjoyment of them. Different thought processes I guess.

 

[BladeVenom]

I have always felt the need to build systems with top of the line stuff or more lately buy gaming laptops....

... I am not saying BC2 and Crysis don't look awesome but I feel if I buy something to play them I might lose interest and have wasted money on something I won't use to it's fullest. What is wrong with me? Anyone else go through something similar?

Don't buy top of the line, and then you won't feel you've wasted money if you don't play as much as you use to. Buy something that a good bang for the buck.

I think lots of people have gone through the same thing.

 

[coloumb]

I loved PC gaming many years ago and played many hours and went to LAN parties all the time. Over time I slowed down , played WoW for awhile but not much lately. I have always felt the need to build systems with top of the line stuff or more lately buy gaming laptops. I bought an iPhone and liked it so I thought I might try a Macbook out. I bought one a few months ago, I like OSx but now I have the urge to get something powerful again. Problem is I can't seem to get excited about gaming but I want to. I am not saying BC2 and Crysis don't look awesome but I feel if I buy something to play them I might lose interest and have wasted money on something I won't use to it's fullest. What is wrong with me? Anyone else go through something similar?

sort of. But back then, I'd upgrade because the latest game needed better hardware to run 30+ fps. However - there really hasn't been a need in the past few years to upgrade [at least not for me]. My current setup [which is about 2 years old] is capable of running games at an acceptable frame rate.

There is also the "lack of" time issue - recent additions to the family gene pool in the past few years just doesn't allow me the luxury to game as much as I use to.

And finally - the downturn has put a dent on luxury spending - no raises, no bonuses, company stock taking a nose dive due to insider trading a few years back [repriced options which caused them to become worthless] - all of that has put a dent on upgrading - which is ok - I don't need 3 more FPS if the game runs fine.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

Hey I am 24 and I feel the same way. Outside an MMO I can't really sit down and play something for 2-3 hours straight. I think I am putting more effort thinking about upgrading my gaming rig than playing actual games with it.

 

[NoSoup4You]

Nostalgia is for suckers. Games have never been better, we've simply grown out of that stage of our lives where great games can leave a huge impression on you. It's still possible though... I was blown away by Bioshock and Mass Effect, and more recently Dragon Age chewed up 80 hours of my life while I endeavored to beat it on the first playthrough.

It's still possible to get sucked in, it's just that we're older and not as impressionable as we once were. Hell, I pulled an "all-nighter" playing Defense Grid only a few months ago. Granted, that was the first time I'd done that in probably a decade or more, and I'd taken a four hour nap beforehand so I was well rested... but it can still happen!!

 

[shortylickens]

Nostalgia is for suckers. Games have never been better, we've simply grown out of that stage of our lives where great games can leave a huge impression on you. It's still possible though... I was blown away by Bioshock and Mass Effect, and more recently Dragon Age chewed up 80 hours of my life while I endeavored to beat it on the first playthrough.

It's still possible to get sucked in, it's just that we're older and not as impressionable as we once were. Hell, I pulled an "all-nighter" playing Defense Grid only a few months ago. Granted, that was the first time I'd done that in probably a decade or more, and I'd taken a four hour nap beforehand so I was well rested... but it can still happen!!

Thats a piss poor argument thats already been shot down multiple times. I do not have nostalgia. My father was a drunken thug and school sucked ass. There is no nostalgia. Games just suck, and we know the different because we used to have better games.
Neverwinter Nights was a huge step down in gameplay from Baldurs Gate. And Dragon Age is continuing the same path.

 

[Rilo]

For me, I don't think it's that games have necessarily become worse, but that I just don't get sucked up in them like I used to. I feel like I don't use my imagination to get into the game as much as I used to, because instead of feeling wrapped up in the imaginary world the game offers I just tend to see game mechanics and numbers... no living fantasy world. I still get excited about games, but when I start them my enthusiasm just doesn't last for that reason.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Games now seem to target ADD and OCD rewards more than giving a real experience.

 

[EnzoLT]

yeah i miss the good ole days but i guess im just growing up. 22 yrs old and still enjoying CS 1.6 and tf2

 

[ClipSet]

Games haven't got worse. It's just you've lost interest in them after years of playing. It's just part of life, you gain and lose interests as you go. The great think about gaming is you can always come back to it. I grew up playing PC games hardcore until I was about 19. Then I lost interest in games and got interested in girls. Well 7 years later, I'm married now, comfortable and have free time to do what I enjoy. I just built a top of the line rig and have been going back and playing all the games I missed and the new ones. If your bored with gaming right now, you might have out grown it or just need a break.

 

[StinkyPinky]

I'm 30 and still like gaming. Although I tend to play older games like Civ 4 and UT 2004. Not sure why I have a 5850...

 

[Karsten]

I'm bitter cuz 1: games are sucking more and 2: Even when they are good I dont seem to milk as much entertainment out of them. And 3: I used to really love them. Now, not much at all.

Its taken me forever to beat FFx-2. I like that they brought back the job system, but everything else sucks ass. Recently I cheated with a gameshark and gave myself every dressphere, garment grid, and accessory, just to make it go faster.

Computer games? For almost all shooters I eventually get bored grinding away and use whatever trainer gives me invincibility or infinite ammo so I dont have waste so much damn time.
Games focus more on the grind and less on actually game play. I hate it.

I think that might be old man complain syndrome
When you really think about it, "back in the day" you where looking forward to one... maybe two good hot awesome games a year. They usually didn't disappoint... Westwood or Mircoprose... now that was the days!
Now we actually have a WHOLE lot of games come out each year... some of them OK, some disappoint, but there is gems in there!
It depends what you like. Shooters, RTS, Role-play... there really is one for everyone. We talked about that in one of our recent podcasts. We are all over 30, heck I am over 40 but I don't think I will ever stop playing games. But after WOW there was a real sense of community crash. Noe it is coming back strong. Last Lan I hosted last month we had over 20 people in my basement... reminded me about the good old times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaIbuzWR38o
Listen to the podcast sometime, sure we will find something fun for your PC gaming goodness!

 

[RKS]

I'm 40 but have never really been into RPGs or RTS. I do like FPS and sports sims. Even though we have a Wii and Xbox360 I still prefer PC gaming. Now my excuse is that my kids be able to play newer games on the pc. Even though they are 4 and 6; they each commandeered their own 3007-HC from me.

 

[fffblackmage]

They don't make games like they used to. I miss things like Tie Fighter, Free Space, and Mechwarriors. Those were awesome genres...