Am I too old for gaming? Or do games just lack the intrigue any more for seasoned vets?

@ htwingnut

I just think you might be gaming too much. I checked out the games you own, from the link in your sig, and I think you probably play too many games. I have been "gaming" for years now, since my first NES, and I'm pretty sure i have never played, or even seen for that matter, 75% of the games on your list. Maybe you are just bored with gaming as a hobby?

 

Gaming has no age limit. I think sometimes people just become bored of gaming or start to expect far too much from them and then get disappointed when no game can live up to their expectations.

Too much of anything can be bad and there is no harm in giving gaming a break every now and then.

 

I'm 49 and have been gaming since pong came out. Most games today are just a rehash that only seem to worry about how pretty they are !

Only games that keep me interested any longer are "REAL" RPG's, i.e. The Witcher, Drankensang and hopefully DragonAge !

Yes, I've played through FO3. It's an O.K. game but, nothing like the originals, that seemed to hide a surprise around every corner and kept me playing just to see what happened next !

 

@ everyone

I guess I'm not alone, part of getting older I guess. And regarding what naticus stated, I do own a lot of games. I used to play most of them, and actually finish the decent ones. These days it's almost like I buy them in the hope that there's something fresh and fun. My time is really limited these days though, which kind of makes things harder / worse. I don't want to waste time with crap games, but don't really have the time to invest in some of the better more involved ones.

Either way, I think I'll stick with the games that I always enjoyed - modern military combat. Since America's Army 3 is out, and ArmA 2 out soon, I believe I'll just invest my time in that and have fun. I like Battlefield 2, but it's starting to grow long in the tooth.

Ah well, back to life, and gaming.

 

I've got both America's Army 3 and Armed Assault 2 (German version). Although good games, both are not ready in my opinion. Even with updates, I'm still stumbling across bugs in ArmA II while final release of America's Army 3 is more bugged than the beta was. Since you own a copy of BF2 I suggest you look into Project Reality as it's the best of the bunch.

 

All i can say about this thread is WOW!!!

i have been a NBR fan or some years now but its been over 1 year since i have read a entire thread (all 6 current pages) from start to finish. i want to thank you all for making me about 1 hour older, lol. anyways.

i am 28 years old and started with the NES (still have and play it). i didnt get into gaming on computer until 1999 when i bought my first PIII 450mhz desktop. now i have a gateway 6831 with t8300 (gaming) and HP 2510p (for work and travel). i am also finding the newer games are just too boring.

for the past few months i have been digging into my older games box and have found roller coaster tycoon and railroad tycoon 2. to my surprise my work on my HP Vista laptop. even though my gateway can run all the newest games i am gaming on my small HP baby laptop. i take it to the library with the new 9 cell battery i just got and be there for 5 hours playing some tycoon games with 30% battery still remaining. i havent really used my gateway that mush since i got it in jan. of this year but it was cheap ($600) and i had the money.

now i am laid off from the investment banking sector with all this free time on my hands but play all the retro games i have. i am trying to figure out how to play the original silent hunter game on Vista but dont know how too. i found age of empires 1 & 2. command and conquer 1 and tib war. all these games are from the 1997-2000 time frame when my desktop running windows 98SE had trouble running them. almost all of them still work on Vista on my HP on a tiny 12.1 inch screen. i am really loving it but i got to start school again in a few months to become a RN. i guess my BA in investment banking is worthless to me now.

But game-on, everyone.......

 

Well for the sake of it wanting to get back into playing PS1 games that I never played or beaten, I set up the ePSXe PS1 emulator on my lappy, and bought a copy of Final Fantasy Anthology containing FF5 and FF6. Funny how I'm using a relatively fast computer to run stuff made to run on a console designed and released by the mid 90s (Playstation 1). But it should be nice going back to those old memories of JRPGs on warm weekends in the spring with my window open and the cool breeze coming into my room. So relaxing and nice.......

I also set up a PCSX2e, a PS2 emulator made by the same guys as ePSXe. Should be fun to mess around with. I don't have a PS2 or a PS1 anymore, but if I can get these emulators to run properly (the PS1 can work almost flawlessly with the right set up, the PS2 one still tears even current computers a new one) it would be mighty convenient. Just to let you guys know, I'm not advocating piracy in this at all, I don't download or torrent ROMs, I buy and use the actual games because it's the proper thing to do. And shame on any of you for torrenting PC games instead of buying them to help support the devs who make the games you love to play so much! Arguably the emulators themselves containing the BIOSs of these consoles is considered "pirating" but as far as I'm concerned, I don't really care since it's just a program made to allow others to work, plus Sony has already made their butt loads of money with the PS1 and PS2 consoles. The devs are the ones who really need support. Sure we could also get into the used/new games market argument too, but only so many copies of many games are made in which case the dev has made it's money off the manufacturing run, and you would have to buy the game used from another party who has ownership of that particular copy, in which case we could also get into the who end user licensing argument of whether or not we have ownership over that copy of data...........lol philosophy and ethics.

 

That game was awesome. I used to play that when I was 9 with my dad on our Atari ST. Ahhhh, memories....

 

Pick up Silent Hunter 3 instead. It should run fine.

 

Almost 30 here. As I've gotten older, I've bought less and less. This really isn't because I don't like gaming; more about life in general. I have less time, perhaps a smaller attention span and my priorities are different today then they were 10 years ago.

On top of that - games are getting increasingly more complex. I use to be a huge Madden fan. Now you have to devote your life to the game or you're going to get frustrated playing online.

Why do you think the Wii has done so well? Because older folk can easily pick it up and play and get some enjoyment.

Today I play 1-3 games and that's really pushing it. I play when I feel the need to escape. My gaming session times have also become much, much shorter. I don't do hours of gaming at a time...maybe 1 at most.

But I still love gaming and will always be interested in some form. Whether it's me playing or someday (if/when) I have kids - watching them play.

 

I'm an old fart too. We had Pong as well, and also played Atari, Coleco Vision, Apple II, Kaypro II, Commodore 64, Amiga, NES, Sega, SNES, PS1, PS2, PC and Wii (I think that's all of em?). I usually have no problem finishing games unless they are:

RTS
Very buggy
Poor ports
Unimaginative

I love shooters, action games and platformers, all with good stories. I even play many games over again. I think you are just generally bored atm. Unemployed does not help this situation I am sure. Spend more time outdoors it's summer. Read some books, get away from the computer. I know you are busy with kids and such so it's not like you are always on the computer, but I think being unemployed is leaving you restless. I think you will find a renewed interest if you put gaming away for a while. Just my 2 cents. Good luck

 

Since I was talking about my arcade I went retro today.

Got some Metal Slug in, some Bubble Bobble, some Donkey Kong, Frogger, and I had to fire up Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

 

Also,
A lot of games start great, but they tend to decay after completing ~70%. Good exception is HL2 though: When is starting to get monotonous, things change completely. Any other exception?

 

I do spend lots of time away from the computer. I spend from 6am to 7pm with my two boys, a lot of it outside. I get an hour or two break while they nap in the afternoon, where I pick things up, study for school, browse the web, or get a nap myself. Come 7 or 8pm, I'm tired but want to have some fun too, but just can't get into a game too much. I'm also in school two nights a week (Tues & Thu).

Oh well, I think I'm just burned out from life. Need a recharge somehow. Used to get that from gaming, but perhaps I need something else atm.

 

This is basically how I am at 25. Although I do play some wii or guitar hero with my wife, I find myself doing other things rather then gaming. I have considered getting back into wow as I miss my friends and the fun we had raiding, but that will mean I have to devote 1-3hours a day to gaming at least and at this point is 100% unacceptable. I would love to get a job at a game developer coding and such to maybe get my fix before I head home, but with big huge games downsizing and such this doesnt look too good.

 

I read in a fact sheet the other day that, the average age for gamers is 35.
36 is right on the money

 

I would suggest moving on and allotting your free time for better use.

 

@htwingnut

Any possibility that it has anything to do with the Stanley Cup finals? I was pulling for the Wings just because my bro-in-law is a Pens fanatic...

Back to the issue at hand...

I pulled out my Ghost Bear Legacy CD...I'll DosBox it tonight onto my MW2 'installation'...

Meanwhile, while on my family trip, my wife showed me Flight Control on the iPhone...that will get you back into gaming full-swing...I was going to bust 100 or be fighting the sleep monster all day today...best 99 cents ever spent on gaming (except maybe the first couple of quarters into Star Castle)...

 

i have all the silent hunter minus some of the expansion packs. the first one still was and still is the best one to me.

 

I've read that too. It seems the average age of a gamer does go up each year, meaning as people get older they tend to stay with gaming, and more older people are getting involved. I'll have to try and find the statistics. I believe PC gamers average age is about six or seven years older than console gamers for obvious reasons.

Like what? And give up gaming?

@ Stanley Cup. It would have been a good motivator, definitely. Thanks for checking out the MechWarrior stuff though. I'll definitely have to revisit those if it works! I sure hope it makes its way onto gog.com though just to simplify things.

Ah yes. I never played the original, but loved 2 and 3.

 

Flash games are fun.

 

You mean Flash games like this?

 

MechWarrior 2 and Ghost Bear's Legacy work like a champ under DosBox...and thank you for making me go look...there's a new version (0.73) of DosBox out...who knows what it does, but I have to have the latest and greatest except for Microsoft's OS...then I just choose the greatest (98?)...

Here's a link that should help you...

http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/GAMES:MechWarrior_2

And if you can't find your DOS discs, let me know...

Those screenshots of the installation process crack me up...what??? A 163MB install??? The developers were crazy...that was my entire HDD for one game...what a crazy good game with a 163MB install...I think there are some games now that are in the neighborhood of a 16 GB install and not near as much fun...

And then's there's the 'Register' please...FAX??? MODEM??? Huh?

I almost took a screenshot of the 'Do you want to make a boot disk?' screen...but that would be lost on anyone who never used DOS...*sigh* Such nostalgia...back when I was young and smart and quick and could spend all day loading programs into little cubbyholes in high memory so I could play a game with sound and a mouse...

 

This thread has prompted me to give gaming another try. Lo and behold, I've stumbled onto The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Gotta say, I'm enjoying it. It's no Deus Ex, but still pretty fun.

BTW, Winnut, I had a good laugh at your daily schedule only because it mirrors mine almost completely. I totally understand the whole 8pm being tired thing...

 

Yeah, Riddick is great. I'm probably half way through Dark Athena. But absolutely be sure to play Butcher Bay when done with Dark Athena. Butcher Bay is part of the Dark Athena DVD. It's a remake of the original Butcher Bay which was great. Dark Athena is only ok, especially compared with Butcher Bay.

 

Play Day Of Defeat: Source...
It seems as if only older men play... lol

I swear, every other server is comprised of 30+ year old men and a couple of 20+ women
Then you have the usual 6 year old new generation n0life n00bz hahaha
And some teenagers like me

 

Good to know about DoD: Source.

 

Hi, I am 72, beeen playing since I was 6. Finishing Star Control 2, thinking to give Warcraft a try, anyone heard of it?

Seriously, influential thread here.

 

^^ Hey I had that avatar last year.

 

you've been gaming since you were 6? what video games were out in 1943?

 

I call shenanigans.

 

Shenanigans. Is that a new game?

 

There were so many WW2 games like you wouldn't believe.

 

haha yea and there were always tons of people online on the WW2 MMOs back then.

 

to the OP. i'm in the same boat as u. im 36 and over the past 4-5 yrs, i have completely lost my interst in games. and i think its a combo of age plus they don't make games the way they used to.
the most fun i had was from my early to mid 20's and i loved the games on the ps1 and ps2. silent hill 1, 2. res evil games, gta series, even platformers like spyro . on pc recently i wud say return to castle wolf., hl2. battlefied 1, CS 1.6.
i played through cod4 and cod WAW. but it was more like a 'lets get this over with' type of deal. i have all the recent games installed but just can't play them for more then 30 mins.
i think at our age, its more to unwind, also time is a factor and so 1st person shooters like cod etc are more to my liking.