Why gaming has become more of a chore, than a hobby.

Hello all I just have a quick rant I wanted to get out real quick just so I feel like it has been said. I have been a gamer since I was 7 years old playing Dragon Warrior on my NES. I am now 32 and I can't help but feel being a gamer today is added stress for no apparant reason. I first felt this stress the other day when I was looking at the upcoming releases from Jan - May and I must say their is a freaking ton of crap coming out. While this is a good thing, the problem I am having is most of the releases are series I really like. That being said with publishers today judging the continuation of a series on "units sold" I feel like I have to go out and purchase everything coming out, allowing me to feel I have contributed to the survival of a franchise. Then when I get home it goes in a dusty corner because I already have a massive back-log of games I am just now getting into X-COM 2 and Uncharted 4 to name two.

I know this is a stupid problem but I know I can't be the only one feeling added stress being a gamer today, compared to 25 years ago. Maybe it's just me... I just feel the solution is spacing games out on the game calendar more throughout the year, so every game get a little bit of lime light. Vikings: Wolves of Midgard a smaller game that looks like a lot of fun is going to get sunk coming out a week after ghost recon, and the same week as Mass Effect! Complete insanity...

That's all I got. Thanks for Reading!

Yeah, while there are a ton of AAA games coming out lately there are also a lot of really similar games that keep coming out. One way to break up the monotony is to try playing some games that are truly different that you might not otherwise play. True for some of the games that are deliberately shorter experiences like Firewatch or Rogue-likes where replayability is the key.

-Byshop

The older we get the more responsibilities and chores we get that take up our time, compared to when we were kids and had very little of the same. It's very likely that is why you feel like you need to be selective and space out games. Cause while you had time when you were young, you now have to make time when you can.

Know the feeling with the backlog , i have a massive backlog but it´s no different than when i was a kid, i had chores and friends then and i have "chores" , friends & familiy now.

But you just gotta live with it, i have to admit at some point i did feel a bit annoyed over the fact that i had so many unplayed games , but you learn to live with it and the shift in priorities and to be fair no game is worth getting stressed over.

I know what you're talking about...i think it's the result of combination between grown man life (Job, family and other commitments) and the high frequency of great games coming out now days.

you want to be part of of the buzz, you want to experience what's everybody is talking about, you want to try the new game right as it coming out, and this is what's rushing you to finish your current "old" game and this stress, this rush make it feel like a chore.

you shouldn't surrender to this race because you won't finish it! breath...finish your games at your own time, new games will become old, and cheaper, you don't have to try everything first...delayed gratification is the key to the solution.

^ Nailed it!

Unless you've got like zero responsibilities then staying current on all the latest and greatest in the gaming world is pretty much impossible.

And in my experience it isn't necessarily more fun to play a new release game than a game that is, say, 3 or 4 years old.

at least this isn't a post about how there's no good games any more. your problem is that there's too many good games. not a bad problem to have really

I haven't played a game for the past 3 weeks and seriously don't feel like I miss it. Trophies, stamps and acheivement kinda killed the fun of a game for me also having to download stupidly huge patch that eat my internet becomes a problem.

I still haven't played Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV that I bought ... I'm still playing World Of Final Fantasy. So I'll play what I have if I feel like it and maybe I'll try South Park and Persona 5 but I doubt I'll buy/play anything else.

yeah, I hear that. Especially on the back log. I mean, my heart is still into gaming so I buy all these games because they look good and I know I will enjoy them, but my body is not so willing; I've got work, social obligations, and general "adult" stuff to do.

More importantly, I just don't have time to work for my games. Back in the day I used to love playing traditional RPGs and as of late, there has been a really awesome resurgence of great RPGs: Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin 1 (and now 2), Tyranny, and so forth. But when I start playing them I just get...sleepy.

Maybe I am reading too much into it, maybe my tastes have just changed. But I need a better fun:work ratio in my games. I can't spend an hour reading, walking around a game world, and doing random stuff for 10 minutes of simple fun.

And it's a damn shame because there are a lot of amazing games out there right now I want to enjoy.

it's the adult gamer paradox

OP made me laugh that is the most ridiculous thing I ever read

I guess I am an inferior fan even games I've been anticipating for a long time on I don't go out and buy a new copy of, I usually wait for a good deal.

And I mean I will wait a LONG time.

@Dustyn-Barlow: The issue is less about gaming and more personal mentality. And it's not something I'm sharing with some gamers here. From what I'm reading many here view games like a check list and maybe I'm the odd one out but that's not how I believe games should be seen. You play what you enjoy.

If it's a case of 'keeping up' or playing 'new experiences'- Yes we adults have responsibilities, and that's something to keep in mind, but why not play less games? Become more selective; compromise_

I'm always happy to jump into almost any game. However, >I< have to make choices when it comes to purchase and investment. Time is key and what's enjoyable is essential. Most games I love are something I'll stick with based on its replayability; and if >I< like it enough for the long-haul.

Did it in 2016 with Dark Souls III, and still play it in 2017.

So perhaps you just need to step back from how you are perceiving games. You don't have to keep buying new games. Go at your own pace. Even buy older games when you like too.

@Macutchi said:

it's the adult gamer paradox

Yep and I have a 9yr daughter and a baby mama to care for. I still play games, I still buy them, I have a lot of backlog of games on Steam and yet, my true enemy of it all is Time. Father of Time has no mercy on my soul :(

Don't buys games unless:

1. You desperately want to play it the instant you get it home/download it.2. It's a relatively obscure title/likely had a limited run and, as such, needs to be bought while you can or you'll pay through to the nose to some eBay scumbag later.
3. It's so stupidly cheap it's worth picking up even if you never play it.

That's been my policy and, while I still have a pretty extensive backlog, I continue to enjoy my time with video games. I play the games I want to play when I want to play them. If I don't find the time or interest to play the others? Well, I didn't spend much and, more importantly, I didn't force myself to rush through the ones I did enjoy only to slog through something I wasn't really into, so I don't feel bad about it.

It's a hobby; it's supposed to be fun. The instant you aren't having fun you need to consider changing the way you approach it or changing hobbies altogether.

@davillain- said:

@Macutchi said:

it's the adult gamer paradox

Yep and I have a 9yr daughter and a baby mama to care for. I still play games, I still buy them, I have a lot of backlog of games on Steam and yet, my true enemy of it all is Time. Father of Time has no mercy on my soul :(

Well your family is in good hands b/c of the fact you are "loyal, dependable..."

^_^

I would never buy loads of games at release at full price. If you're going to do that, wait for a price decrease and then play them as much as you want. Or just buy a Nintendo system and settle for a smaller list of VERY HIGH QUALITY AAAEEEEEIEIEIEO exclusives! ^_^

Personally, I feel like gaming doesn't have to be a chore. And it's all perspective. Sometimes gaming becomes a chore if you make it a goal to do something in game, and so forth. My advice is to just enjoy the game and play. When you can.

Don't rush out and buy a ton of games at once. No one is forcing you to buy the games. If it comes out you will be able to buy it eventually. A reason you are probably feeling bad is because you are spending $60 a pop for new games and they just sit there. Then you see it in a store a few months later, and you still haven't played it, and it's $30 or something lower. That stuff messes with your head because you feel like you are getting ripped off.

That's why people buy so many games on steam during their sales. They get these games for cheap and don't feel ripped off when they don't play them.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/37-percent-of-steam-games-have-never-been-played-report/1100-6419022/

37 percent of steam games go unplayed, even more go unfinished I would imagine. Once again you are setting yourself up to feel bad.

And for me, I hate it when I get games and I don't finish them. But I've taught myself if I'm not wanting to finish them I probably don't like them very much, and I am finding that to be more and more true.

For example I just got KOTOR and Republic Commando for my original xbox. I had never played either before (I know shame on me) and when I started playing both I couldn't get into KOTOR at all. The game was just a bore and a slog to get through, I'm still not off the first planet and I don't know if I ever will.

But Republic Commando I had a blast with! I was wanting to play that game when I got off work and on the weekends. I actually ended up beating it and was left wanting more. I'll probably play it again all the way through soon.

You just have to find the good games that make you want to play. I have Oddworld Stranger's Wrath waiting for me in my mailbox, and I'm hoping it has the same impression as Republic Commando.

(I just got and Original Xbox and I am catching up on some console exclusives. I know those games are on PC, but I tried PC gaming and didn't like it. I have Republic Commando for PC and couldn't finish it because of the Keyboard controls, I could not figure out the keyboard bindings from third party software to get a controller to work for that game.)

You don't own them anything, and unless we're dealing with a game that needs every sold copy it can get just to break even, they don't need you to stay afloat.

Buy the games on your own terms.

Market saturation in games, and too much connectivity in all games. It used to be that the developers would shape the product more than they do now. It's the Hollywood-ization of the games industry.

You don't owe these developers anything. Do you buy food you'll never eat at the grocery store so that those food companies are supported? You are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, sorry (so am I).

It sounds like you may have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in some capacity perhaps and may want to consult a specialist. Just a thought. Some day you may be one of the hoarders buried alive you see on T.V.

It is you. Exercise some self-discipline. You don't have to buy every game out there. Buy only what you intend to play. By the time you finish one game, other games may have dropped in price.