I thought I was a PC gamer ?

[kreidel]

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?

 

[zerocool84]

I'm getting older and have bought the latest hardware to play the latest games but don't have the same interest and patience that I used to have when I was younger. I seem to get bored with games much faster than I used to.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Same here. I start far more games than I finish now. A good break from it helps to get some interest back.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I find myself less willing to play the shooter of the month but still like RPGs like Mass Effect 2 for the story and character development elements.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

A lot of recent games blow.

I usually stick with a few multiplayer games that I like and repeatedly play them. So far DoW2 has sort of justified my hardware, which I have apparently played a total of 250 hours now. Not too into BC2 but it makes use of the quad-core and I play it somewhat often.

 

[KeithTalent]

I'm getting older and have bought the latest hardware to play the latest games but don't have the same interest and patience that I used to have when I was younger. I seem to get bored with games much faster than I used to.

Definitely this, though I don't quite have the latest hardware. So many games I get bored with, the only one I can keep playing consistently is TF2 for some reason. :hmm:

KT

 

[shortylickens]

I was born in 79. I started gaming with a friends Commodore and another friends ColecoVision. Eventually got some more friends, and they got more systems, like a 2600.

MY first system was the classic NES, and same for all the rest of my friends. We went buck wild on those things for years. More often than not, we'd use them so much they'd actually burn out.
SNES was fun but looking back I dont think I spent quite as many hours on it as the NES. Had a gameboy and GBC for a while too, but was never terribly serious about either. They killed time nicely.

Started serious PC gaming with a 386 and Elvira 2: Jaws of Cerberus. Much more satisfying than Gorillas on an 8088.
By the time Doom came out I was already a game addict. TIE Fighter was another huge black hole of time in my life.
I still miss what I call the golden era of PC gaming. Homeworld, Deus Ex, Baldurs Gate 1 & 2.

What is the point of all this? I have been slowing down a lot in the past 8 years or so. Just passed 30 and I have too much work and school to be on the computer for very long at a time. And had too many disappointments in the game industry besides. I already made a decision long ago to end with Deus Ex 3, whether it rocks or sucks.

I know our generation was raised with video games, but even with all the technological advancements and wide variety of titles, they are still just games, and games are for kids. If you cant get excited its because you've probably seen it all, and it no longer impresses you. My brain works the same way.
Dont be too surprised when you get tired of the games and wanna do something real with your life. Eventually they just wont provide much entertainment. Nowadays I prefer to make free time and go off-roading or if I dont have much time, exercise. The only way I get on my slim PS2 is if I have batteries for the cordless controller, that way I can walk on the treadmill in front of the TV. Almost wish I'd got a stairmaster or bike instead. My head wouldnt bounce around so much and I could see what I was doing.

And if you've been watching the direction of the industry, its still basically trying to cater to the younger crowd. Those M rated games? They really arent for people over 17. They're for the kiddies, whose parents have no idea what they are looking at.

 

[kreidel]

Thanks for the responses. Makes me feel alittle better knowing it happens.

I am 38 and I started getting into it with Quake and Doom. Having kids slowed me down for sure but I still miss those days sometimes of getting wrapped up into gaming. I hear people complain about games are a waste of time but I would not change my past gaming memories for anything.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Some good posts here. I'm 27 and I agree with pretty much everything being mentioned here.

 

[KeithTalent]

I'm also much busier these days, so when I do get time to game, which seems to happen less and less every week, I end up going back to games I know I like, rather than trying out new things.

This is also why I pretty much never purchase games on release anymore, since my gaming time is so limited i am not willing to spend the extra cash and take a chance on an unproven commodity. Buying the cheap games on Steam is no big deal because if I hate it, I'm only out the price of a movie or so and we've all seen crappy movies!

KT

 

[SpunkyJones]

I'm in my mid 40's, but still enjoy playing games, just not as much or for as long as I use to. No more playing Civilization till the sun comes up, and then trying to sneak into bed only to have the wife call me an idiot. Also as others have mentioned, I haven't been keeping my hardware as up to date as I use to.

 

[tranceport]

29 here and agree with the whole thread so far.

 

[marmasatt]

Definitely this, though I don't quite have the latest hardware. So many games I get bored with, the only one I can keep playing consistently is TF2 for some reason. :hmm:

KT

This.

I'm getting older and have bought the latest hardware to play the latest games but don't have the same interest and patience that I used to have when I was younger. I seem to get bored with games much faster than I used to.

And this.

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

27. I can remember playing Super Mario Bros 3 until my hands hurt. Two and three hours sessions were common. My nine year old nephew is perfectly content to do nothing but play Wii, DS, and Flash games all day. I know if I'd had the same opportunity to play video games, I would have been the same way. Now, about an hour is all I can take. The only real exception to that has been Dragon Age. I wasted a couple of complete weekends on that one. Even BC2, which I'm having a blast with, loses it's appeal after about an hour.

 

[Maximilian]

I'm getting older and have bought the latest hardware to play the latest games but don't have the same interest and patience that I used to have when I was younger. I seem to get bored with games much faster than I used to.

I feel a bit like this, i just cant be bothered somtimes although i dont think its because im older now its because it just feels like gameplay and fun take a back seat to graphics and money most of the time so i just dont have the motivation to try new games.

Not to degenarate this into another pc gaming is dying bitchfest but i find myself mostly playing games that were designed with the pc in mind. I spend more time with CoH and left 4 dead 2 than modern warfare 2 or any other console port for example.

Also i think if EA didnt kill off my fav franchises i would have more to play right now.

 

[Nintendesert]

I know what you all are going through, I go through it too. The types of games that used to keep me interested, no longer do. I think a good part of it is growing older, priorities change. How much free time changes, all that good stuff.

I still find PC gaming the bulk of my past time though, I'd still rather game than go and watch TV all evening. But I do other things. I enjoy the beach and going to the movies or just going out to eat.

It also has a lot to do with my changing tastes, but the types of games made now have also changed.

I used to play Chuck Yeager flight sims, Privateer, SimAnt, Wing Commanders, Flight Sims galore. Descent, FreeSpace and the original Rainbow Six. Ultimas.

Nowadays most of those types of games aren't even made anymore. So the market changed too, the games we grew up with no longer exist.

There's still enjoyment to be found, but it's just harder to find it and I have to be more selective in what I buy and play.

 

[paperfist]

What is the point of all this? I have been slowing down a lot in the past 8 years or so. Just passed 30 and I have too much work and school to be on the computer for very long at a time. And had too many disappointments in the game industry besides. I already made a decision long ago to end with Deus Ex 3, whether it rocks or sucks.

I know our generation was raised with video games, but even with all the technological advancements and wide variety of titles, they are still just games, and games are for kids. If you cant get excited its because you've probably seen it all, and it no longer impresses you. My brain works the same way.
Dont be too surprised when you get tired of the games and wanna do something real with your life. Eventually they just wont provide much entertainment.

Why do you sound so bitter about gaming?

I have a similar story to yours though I'm a little older in my 30s and I went from a C-64 to Amiga and when those were no more on to the PC.

I'm self employed with a handful of employees, have a social life and work a lot so my gaming has gone from 40 hours a week from the days of Dark Age of Camelot to what, maybe 6 average a week. To me gaming is an experience not unlike a movie, but more personal with you at the center. It's a way to break from reality, work, politics

I also find myself not into the same games for similar reasons to another poster, the genre types I used to love were the city builders, tycoons, civilization, open-ended strategic games which are all but dead. Sure I'll pick up Civ V, but it's sad that it's really the only game of its type and worse is I won't be able to spend zillions of hours on it. The vast majority of games I buy I also start and don't finish because they loose their appeal.

 

[n7]

Man i'm getting old, but i'm still gaming.

Of course, the fact i don't have much of a life & have no woman might have something to do with that, but hey...

But yeah, i do LAN parties w/ friends still...we've done quite a few this winter, & are doing another in a couple nights.

I actually used to do console gaming when i was younger, but those days are long over.

Just PC now

 

[shortylickens]

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.

 

[CPA]

Nothings wrong with you, I'm going through the same exact thing right now.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I kind of feel the same way. I guess there are only so many types of games that you can play, and no game I play now quite compares to the excitement of playing a good RTS, shooter, or RPG for the first time.

The only games that I have really gotten into lately are Mass Effect 2 and Modern Warfare 1 (NOT MW2). So many games lately have disappointed me, but perhaps I am just getting old and jaded.

 

[techie81]

It's amazing, I feel like everyone in this thread. I thought I was the only one that had a hard time with PC Gaming ADD as I have gotten older.

 

[IcePickFreak]

You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woooOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooOOOOOOOOh.

 

[BD231]

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

 

[Lonbjerg]

IMHO it's because games have become boring (read consolized), way to easy and very little innovation in the gameplay.
A singleplayer part that I can beat in less of a day is a far cry from Tie-Figther, Unreal, Quake, Jedi Knight ect.

That is why I mostly play ARMA2 (online) and EVE- Online...I don't want to play dumbed down console games on my PC.