A question for the older gamers?

Im not going to hide it, but I have been gaming since I was 12 years old and I am now 38. I still love to play games...sort of. I have found over the last few years that I no longer seem to have the time, skill or patience to play most games. I see very few game to their conclusion now and even games like Madden and CoD tend to bore me. I dont want to quit gaming all together as it is still a hobby for me, but was wondering if any of you out there who are close to my age have run into this same issue and if so, what games do you still play? Thanks!

I am hardly as much of a gamer as I use to be. Though, once a gamer, always a gamer. I'll always buy those must-have games, just because they're an experience you can't miss out on.

I probably buy about 2 to 3 games a year.

Im not going to hide it, but I have been gaming since I was 12 years old and I am now 38. I still love to play games...sort of. I have found over the last few years that I no longer seem to have the time, skill or patience to play most games. I see very few game to their conclusion now and even games like Madden and CoD tend to bore me. I dont want to quit gaming all together as it is still a hobby for me, but was wondering if any of you out there who are close to my age have run into this same issue and if so, what games do you still play? Thanks!

kungfuchaos

Dude...I just turned 37 and have been playing since 1980. I have many consoles and many games and 3 pcs "although outdated"...I too get tired of gaming once in a while, but you just need to have another hobby to fall back on. I workout 5 days a week. Plus I have every day life "2 boys, wife, bills ect ect"...Things tend to get a little nutty.

If over done ANYTHING can get boring..And yes...I mean ANYTHING.."wink wink LOL"...Just take some time off from gaming and find another passion. Soon the gaming bug will bite and you'll be back shooting people and getting touchdowns.

:lol: People, don't you remember this guy? His whole "In all honesty..." thread where he got owned?:lol:TAKE_IT_BACK

lol..Youre right i was gonna say something, but i wasn't sure if it was him:lol:

[QUOTE="TAKE_IT_BACK"]:lol: People, don't you remember this guy? His whole "In all honesty..." thread where he got owned?:lol:foreverflame890

lol..Youre right i was gonna say something, but i wasn't sure if it was him:lol:

[QUOTE="foreverflame890"]

[QUOTE="TAKE_IT_BACK"]:lol: People, don't you remember this guy? His whole "In all honesty..." thread where he got owned?:lol:Deiuos

lol..Youre right i was gonna say something, but i wasn't sure if it was him:lol:

This is true. But mostly I remembered him because of what Chaos_HL12 or whatever did too him:lol: It might have been staged or something but it was still hilarious.

[QUOTE="foreverflame890"]

[QUOTE="TAKE_IT_BACK"]:lol: People, don't you remember this guy? His whole "In all honesty..." thread where he got owned?:lol:Deiuos

lol..Youre right i was gonna say something, but i wasn't sure if it was him:lol:

Umm..Actually he's my brother man.

Yeah, I've lost my patience with a lot of new games too. I've found that a lot of handheld games seem to be more fun to play (and a LOT more creative!). Try checking out games like Phoenix Wright, Trauma Center, and Professor Layton.MarthRingman

Been gaming since I was 3. No longer are the days with no responsibilities coming home from school and gaming all the time. Now I'm 22 and I have a wealth of other interests, responsibiliites and things that I just like better then gaming. I still love gaming though and I always buy all the platforms I can. Blackbond

[QUOTE="Blackbond"]Been gaming since I was 3. No longer are the days with no responsibilities coming home from school and gaming all the time. Now I'm 22 and I have a wealth of other interests, responsibiliites and things that I just like better then gaming. I still love gaming though and I always buy all the platforms I can. carljohnson3456

I actually do a lot of my gaming with girls and it pisses me off. Girls play the DS and play the Wii. Then they want to play the NES/SNES/N64/GC/Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast/PS1/PS2/PS3/GBA/GBP

I mean crap when I'm with a chick I want to do thing that aren't about gaming. Gaming is what I'm do when I'm bored. But whenever a chick comes over she just seems overly fascinated with all my games, the arcade sticks, the DS, all my retro titles, ect.

So in my case. Girls means more gaming unfortunately.

[QUOTE="carljohnson3456"][QUOTE="Blackbond"]Been gaming since I was 3. No longer are the days with no responsibilities coming home from school and gaming all the time. Now I'm 22 and I have a wealth of other interests, responsibiliites and things that I just like better then gaming. I still love gaming though and I always buy all the platforms I can. Blackbond

I actually do a lot of my gaming with girls and it pisses me off. Girls play the DS and play the Wii. Then they want to play the NES/SNES/N64/GC/Genesis/Saturn/Dreamcast/PS1/PS2/PS3/GBA/GBP

I mean crap when I'm with a chick I want to do thing that aren't about gaming. Gaming is what I'm do when I'm bored. But whenever a chick comes over she just seems overly fascinated with all my games, the arcade sticks, the DS, all my retro titles, ect.

So in my case. Girls means more gaming unfortunately.

I am 26 have been gaming since the NES days and I too get easily bored of games these days. I am trying real hard to finish God of War II but just don't want to. Don't get me wrong the game is fun much better then the first one but for some reason I am tired of playing it. I also get bored of CoD 4. Hell I used to play the hell out of it for about a year straight. I think the only thing that made me really play though was because of my brother playing it. He used to always play and it made me want to play. When he's not around I don't care to play it.

I bought FarCry 2 thought it was fun as hell but didn't even come close to completing it and now I never will, I sold it.

I think what you may need to do is find some real life friends to game with they make gaming so much more fun. It's fun if your playing Call of Duty 4 online with people you know.... or maybe that is just the solution to my problem...

You guys made it pretty far with being able to play games.

I started gaming since I was 3, now 19 and I can't even finish the shortest games. I get bored of games easily, I got out of the vault in Fallout 3 and just stopped playing. I beat the Laughing Octopus in MGS4 and just couldn't play anymore (probably because of the 10 hour cutscene after)

started gaming when i was 8 yrs old and am now 28... i still have loads of fun gaming but my only problem is time... i dont have as much free time as i want and with so many commitments and things in mind I also take much longer to finish most of the games, sometimes even give up on them and never finish the games..

But I still enjoy gaming as much as I did when i was a kid/teenager, its my main hobby along watching/playing football (soccer)..

You guys made it pretty far with being able to play games.

I started gaming since I was 3, now 19 and I can't even finish the shortest games. I get bored of games easily, I got out of the vault in Fallout 3 and just stopped playing. I beat the Laughing Octopus in MGS4 and just couldn't play anymore (probably because of the 10 hour cutscene after)

BeyondSupreme

regarding Fallout3 i just moved around a bit more and went to the first city (wont name it or specify what i did there not to spoil the fun for others) and i got bored... will still play the game later on cause it looks fun but i dont know when i'll finish it :)

Im not going to hide it, but I have been gaming since I was 12 years old and I am now 38. I still love to play games...sort of. I have found over the last few years that I no longer seem to have the time, skill or patience to play most games. I see very few game to their conclusion now and even games like Madden and CoD tend to bore me. I dont want to quit gaming all together as it is still a hobby for me, but was wondering if any of you out there who are close to my age have run into this same issue and if so, what games do you still play? Thanks!

kungfuchaos

I'm 31. Married with 3 kids. I also get very bored of many games very fast. I found i don't have the time i used to to play as much as i'd like either.

I also found getting away from consoles this gen re-lit my gaming fire. I know i'll get abuse for this but i have almost every console made, bought so many games over the years. This gen i got the "been there, done that" feeling with so many games i almost quit. Then i got into PC gaming, RTS, TBS , FPS with a M/KB and Some anazing RPG's got me back into gaming. Now i mix PC with a little console. I play alot with my son, i got him his own steam account and get 2 copies of most games so we can play online together.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I find myself playing mostly nintendo games these days when I used to play Playstation and SNES RPGs all the time. I find myself moving away from big epic games or action games and more for stuff like mario kart or brain age, or puzzle games. I guess I'm more into simpler stuff that I can do in short bursts now.goblaa

My case as well. I'm 38, I have a wife and a daughter ... when I get a chance, I'm ready to dive into something for 30 minutes or so. Especially in summertime, I'd rather spend time in the park, biking, fishing, etc - while I often will play daily for a short bit, it's competing with having a beer with my wife, playing guitar, or any number of other fun activities.

Playing for hours at a time is quite rare, so I end up playing mario kart, boom blox, and games that I can drop when needed. Puzzle games, semi-brainless games that mellow me out. About the only thing that I've gone hardcore [time/completion] with in the last year is PES08 on the Wii ... As I've got a toddler around at times, FPS are often not an option [nevermind I burned out on them long ago] ... and I can get my gaming fix right now from my Wii where I don't have to be worried the little one is watching.

Gaming is a part of life for me ... will always be. The 2600 came out when I was in kindergarten, video games are something I expect to play when I'm 80. The type of game I prefer has varied through the decades - there have been times when the only gaming machine I had was a PC [when working/living at a startup tech firm or when I lived overseas for two years in Asia]. I've never left PC gaming, but having periods without owning a console has kept gaming fresh for me for the past 30 years.

If I had owned every generation of console, every variety ... I feel like I would have burned out before now. IMO, game development is incremental and keeping up with every iteration - over the period of decades - seems more boring than exciting to me. Game types become trendy, dominate the market, then slowly become less dominant [and once again creative]. I'm much happier if I range across the systems - leaving the `cutting edge' at times for something else [like now, with the wii].

When we move in a few years, and the next generation of consoles comes out ... I'll probably be back into more epic games and will have a better house layout to play violent games [TV room/den, not giant main room with TV].

Play different games really.

Try something like Crayon Physics or World of Goo.

Age wise I cant compare though, i'm much younger, and thus have not nearly as much commitments.

I'm 34 and I'm about in the same position as you. I rarely find a genuine enjoyment in playing today's games. I'm more hooked in the late 90's era. (Final Fantasy 7, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Tomb Raider, Civilization 2, ISS Pro Evolution, Gran Turismo Colin McRae Rally etc). When I'm in the mood for playing, I play a little with the PS games. I mostly buy new consoles and new games rather as a collector, than a player. I play them a couple of hours, but I'm too tired from my work, and I postpone it for the weekend, but practically I never play them. I think the reasons is that we have played too many games in our life, and nothing can really impress us, and we can no longer feel like we can put ourselves into a game's world, because we are cannot forget that they are merely some programmers creations.

The last time I really enjoyed playing a game was nearly 3 years ago with Metal Gear Solid 3 for the PS2.

Oh, I almost forgot, from the next generation games, I liked a lot Command & Conquer 3. Tiberium Wars, and Dead Rising, both for X360.

probably cause you grew up with a certain style of games. 8 bit ,16 bit and 32 bit. so newer games seem very different. im only 19 but I sometimes feel like that too.

I'm about to turn 32. My first "game system" if you can call it that, was pong. I really started gaming with the Atari 2600. I play games more now than ever. I dropped off for a little while during the SNES / Genesis years, but the PS1 started my addiction all over. I think the only thing that has changed is I'm more picky about what I play. I try not to by a new game until I'm done with another, that way I can finish it. I think it is just all about game choices. You look back on any console and there are those 4-5 games that made the system great. You don't have to play everything, it you do, you'll probably get burned out.

[QUOTE="Blackbond"]Been gaming since I was 3. No longer are the days with no responsibilities coming home from school and gaming all the time. Now I'm 22 and I have a wealth of other interests, responsibiliites and things that I just like better then gaming. I still love gaming though and I always buy all the platforms I can. carljohnson3456

I'm 20, I don't know if this qualifies as an old gamer to you but I've been gaming since I was 4.

Yes this does seem to happen to me sometimes with specific genres. Like for an example; people may really like a game that I would absolutely hate (Mass Effect is a good example of that).

But in the end it's a matter of taste so you're not aging don't worry :P.

Im not going to hide it, but I have been gaming since I was 12 years old and I am now 38. I still love to play games...sort of. I have found over the last few years that I no longer seem to have the time, skill or patience to play most games. I see very few game to their conclusion now and even games like Madden and CoD tend to bore me. I dont want to quit gaming all together as it is still a hobby for me, but was wondering if any of you out there who are close to my age have run into this same issue and if so, what games do you still play? Thanks!

kungfuchaos

I agree and disagree. I am 32 and recently had my first kid. I have been gaming since consoles first came out and my whole life has been assocaited with gaming in some way for as long as I can remember. I currently have a PS3/Wii and haven't the time to play games like I used to, which bugs me a bit but that is life. I am currently playing Burnout Paradise, Fallout 3, GTA4, Bioshock, Valkyrie, and Little Big PLanet. ANd considering I don't even have the time to properly play ONE of these games, trying to play them all is impossible. But I keep buying games anyway. I still want to buy Dead Space, RE5, Killzone 2, etc. even though I know there is no way I can play them all.

Meanwhile, I'm watching as my youngest brother quickly runs up his trophy count while mine barely budges most of the time. Even though I have other responsibilities, and I take those responsibilities seriously, it bothers me a bit seeing how many games he can go through while I'm EXTREMELY lucky if I can get an hour of gaming in a day. Most days it is zero.

However, I disagree with the idea that I am bored by games. I still love them as much as I always have but I am also more selective than I used to be. I find when you've been gaming as long as I have, you just get tired of seeing the same thing over and over. In the PS2 dayws, I used to love almost every RPG that came out...but then you get burned out and now I'm not that interested in most JRPGs unless they attempt something new. The same is probably true of you. Madden is still just football...the same football you've been playing digitally forever. And while I loved Call of Duty 4, I typically hate most FPS because again, I got sick of them a good 20 years ago and feel like they offer nothing new 99% of the time.

Im not going to hide it, but I have been gaming since I was 12 years old and I am now 38. I still love to play games...sort of. I have found over the last few years that I no longer seem to have the time, skill or patience to play most games. I see very few game to their conclusion now and even games like Madden and CoD tend to bore me. I dont want to quit gaming all together as it is still a hobby for me, but was wondering if any of you out there who are close to my age have run into this same issue and if so, what games do you still play? Thanks!

kungfuchaos

I think its a matter of gaming becoming standardized so experienced gamers become bored with the retreads. In the 80s and 90s almost everything being done wasn't done before, so a lot of what was going on was exciting.

I myself am an older gamer and I consider myself an enthusiast. I play anything I can get my hands on in hopes of finding the true gems. I find the younger generation and the gaming media that are driving the industry are trending to the more style over substance type game that experienced gamers are finding boring. This brings a conundrum of having a lot of AAA and AA games that are just not that exciting. The important thing to remember is that its not your fault its the industries fault that game development isn't that creative anymore.

I have to saw that the only game I have been truely pleased with this gen was Zack and Wiki, a game that was not critically acclaimed or very popular. But thats the reward I get for trying every possible game I can.

I'm glad I'm not the only geezer that still games.

Nowadays, I value a combination of meaty games for me, family-friendly and co-op gaming for my daughter and wife (who is also a gamer), and ease-of-use for everyone.

I have little time and even less tolerance for things that should be standardized, but aren't.... or situations where the developer didn't think things all the way through. In other words, give me compelling experience, but don't make me jump through hoops to get it. This is why my console of preference is what it is.

If these things were not in place, then yes, I would have gotten bored and eventually stopped. Luckily, that's not the case.

I'm 29, homeowner, live with my G/F...

I don't have the time for gaming. I couldn't imagine having kids. I get maybe 12 hours a week gametime. It sounds like a lot, but it really isn't. My GamerScore is an embarassment. It's tough for games like Mass Effect (Which I love) but if you're playing in 1-2 hour stretches, you forget the storyline and stuff and it just makes it hard to play.