Losing interest in Gaming...my fault or games?

ever since i ve turned 21...have started going out more...making more friends..partying more etc etc.

over the past year...i have tremendously lost interest in gaming..is this just a phase of life or was i never meant to be a gamer?

before i used to play for 8 hours...

now i cant even play 15 mins.

the last game i actually enjoy was Batman AA..

and i have totally lost interest in multiplayer games...MW2 is lying unused in steam for over 3 months...played Crysis 2 demo for 15 mins..and its lying untouched

 

likely a combination of the two. Nothing much to do about it. If in the future, you start liking games again, you will start liking them again.


I mostly play games with my friends, since playing alone is rather boring for me.

 

Its probably because you need to learn how the criminal underworld works. So you should grab a bag, jump on a boat and head to china. Then learn how the chinese criminal underworld works and then you get caught on purpose so you can learn to withstand prison. Then a mentor comes to break you out and teaches you the art of how to be a Ninja. Then you make your way back to the United States to begin anew as a crime fighter. As you can tell this leaves very little time for Video games.

So... If you get started then it will completely explain why you no longer play games.

Good Luck,

StevenX

 

I went through the same thing right after college, and it's never really gone away. It'll get worse when you get a job and get married. Toss in a kid, and you won't even have time to think about video games, let alone play them. I've barely touched my PS3 in the last 18 months. I got rid of my all-powerful desktop PC last year in favor of the MSI GX740 notebook. Now I'm going to be getting rid of that in favor of an Alienware M11x. Honestly, most of the gaming I've done in the last 6 months has been on my iPod Touch.

 

I've had the opposite experience....but that's just because my significant other loves videogames just as much (we even double-date other videogamer couples).


Life is as much fun as you make it!

 

Start playing Battlefield Heroes ;-)

 

To sum it up... maybe you are maturing? (not saying that video games are immature) You know what I mean.

 

The exact same thing happened to me. I asked myself those same questions.
I had a period of my life where I had so much to study and work that I barely wanted to play. Then I realized that it was some games that I couldn't get into, but usually quick action games still appealed to me because I could spare 30-45 mins playing. There were exceptions to this, as in Mass Effect, because its universe, gameplay and music exuded good quality. Also, playing oldschool games (on my Sega Genesis, or PS1 games on my PSP) brought a nice feeling because of the memories they evoked.
I'd recommend that you don't worry about this, its just a phase and eventually you'll get back to gaming if there's a game that really appeals to you.

 

i got out of games after moving out with my Girlfriend now wife and 2yr old
i am more interested in how games are made and thing work, SDK, and console development kits, networking & server stuff etc
I have played Crisis2 demo & the odd PC game for 15mins max (more to see graphics etc)
My poor Alienware m17xR2 get a great workout mainly playing Snes emulation, MAME lol

 

i feel the same now too....but I was trying hard to balance between studies, Girlfriend and Games... I got tons of PC games i bought but yet to play.

Just bought a Nintendo Gamecube for $20 bucks and playing resident evil series over again.... my gamers friends ...no longer play as much as i do.. guess its a stage where everyone drops the controller and move on to other important aspect of life?

 

i go in and out of phases where i stop gaming, but now for me i get about an hour to an hour and a half during the week just to kinda "bug out" before i have to sleep.

i completely ditched my xbox and i never had a ps3; PC is the only medium that i have.

 

I've been gaming so little lately ._. I used to play it hours without end. Now, I barely even get over 3-4 hours a day :x I just lack the attention span for it. In fact, I lack the attention span for everything

 

I'm 38. I've gone through those phases several times. Don't game for a while, then get a few games I thoroughly enjoy and it gets me involved again for a while. Cyclical for the most part. Although I used to enjoy combat flight simulators more than anything (like Falcon 4). But eventually got into FPS and RTS games more only because less time involved and easier to get in and get out of since I had kids.

 

That sounds awesome.. I wish my girlfriend played tf2 with me .

 

we're in the same boat, but me im working and whenever i have break in work i just play some game here and then but not in a daily 2 hour basis, now is whenever i feel like playing maybe 5 hours in 1 week, specially if there's no activity outside or only raining.

 

To me, something is only fun with balance.

 

Isn't this what society considers "normal" these days?

I honestly see no problem with the fact that you are losing interest in gaming. I mean, if you still wanted to be a gamer, then you would still be interested in playing games.

 

I used to game A LOT, but then I changed my general POV of the world over 8 years ago and I seemingly stopped.

I still play from time to time, but only games that grab my attention.
Most games on the market today are are a total bore-fest.
Little to no mind-challenging games or ones with excellent stories.

These days it's shooters all over the place.
RPG's for example is something I tend to enjoy, but I'm sick of the medieval ones.
Scifi RPG's are better as far as my taste goes, but predominantly these include KOTOR 1&2, ME 1&2.

But generally speaking, these days I spend less than 10% of my time on games, and most cannot keep my attention long enough before I get bored and remove them if I start them.

Games I can actually sit through are some adventure games from the 90-ies, such as ST: 25th anniversary, Judgment Rites, A final Unity, The Dig....
These are OLD...

On the other hand Bioware did make Jade Empire for example, and I have to say I enjoyed that one.
They did manage to hit things right with ME... however, I felt the sequel was far weaker in RPG elements than the first part.
The sequel is strong due to it's variety and the side-missions aren't tedious repeats like in the first part, but the RPG part of the game was gutted, and I didn't like that too much.

Don't fret if you are losing interest in games.
These days most aren't really that interesting or worth your cash, and it's even more difficult if you are looking for a specific genre.
I don't do multiplayer myself as I tend to prefer single player games much more.
I would have considered ST: Online due to it being ST, however, I played the beta, and kept on top of the changes done to the game and I can tell you I don't find it worthwhile.
It got boring real fast because the underlying missions for example had no real substance to them, and most relied on shooting things all over the place.

 

Yeah, that is part of it. I hate to say it but gaming in general, not just PC, is on the decline. There's so few excellent games any more. I used to buy a LOT of games. And there were always a good dozen or more games every year that were fun and worth playing. These days, it's probably only 5-6 if you're lucky. I'm looking forward to Portal 2, Duke Nukem Forever (can't believe I'm saying that! ), and Battlefield 3 (which may not even release this year).

 

It happened for me as well.
I was a huge collector of retrogames,i had quite a collection,alot of rare things and prototypes.My gaming sessions where always full of retrogaming madness,nothing new.Small sessions,great fun but no immersion at all.

My interest slowed down to a point of non-interest,so i sold everything.
This lack of interest took over me on everything i was keeping, so i ended up selling new things as well (xbox360 and psp's as an example).
This ended up into not gaming at all.
I took my time, then out of nowhere gaming notebooks started to interest me and i ended up here.Ive switched 4 notebooks in 9 months only for achieving the best benchmarks, pushing the machine performance and upgradability to the max.
Then i realized that the reason i was having such a fake happiness was purely that: benchmarks. Yes i was addicted to benchmarking and upgrading so much that i shelled a truck of money for nothing. I was able to stay 5 hours infront of the screen benching the same crap thousand of times but i wasnt able to sustain a 20 minute of playing a game.
Something is wrong, i told to myself.
I sold my old desktop rig while leaving my xps m1730 aside, like disintoxicating.
Ive waited till january to fully upgrade my desktop, grabbing a few story immersive games that requires time and patience and that saved me.
Im doing small play sessions due to my job, 2hrs at max per day, but hell those are really quality hours!
Ive just realized that my tastes are evolved, they grown up like i did, so i just tried to understand better myself to know which type of things i like.
More like it happened long time ago,being a retrogaming collector and addict, then switching to next gen,then selling everything to reset my status,while switching views and interests.
And then,back to laptops first, desktop now. So far im ejonying it, but who knows what the future reserves.
The point is,like i did, live your life as it comes,feed your needs whitout bothering too much on Why or When. Eventually if you loose interesting in something you really like,it will come back to you.
Life is hard and our "pauses" are dictated from too much things, mood, problems, work, family and such.
This requires alot of focus that inevitably forces you to loose some strings, in this case gaming.
Dont think too much on whats happening to you, understand better yourself and your needs, you will find an answer.
Or simply give yourself time without forcing you too much, thats all.

 

There are few excellent games but as soon as you look back in time, you will probably find this is not the case. I spend much more time and have more enjoyment through playing all sorts of games released years ago along with their mods. Example are BattleZone 2 + mods, Tiberian Sun and Cnc3 + Mods. There is even this Cnc3 Mod that beats many of the new releases in my opinion that you can see below. Real fans of the original Tiberian Sun will appreciate this mod a lot!

Then you have the Cnc3 Forgotten Mod that is so polished it feels like a professional product and again, I found more enjoyable than many recent releases. Decent PC games may be on the decline but the games of yesterday with the Mods of today make for something extremely special and is why I know I will never give up on PC gaming.

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Completely agree. So many games today are utterly forgettable. Of all the ones in the last six years that I've played and either beaten or not finished, there have been only two that have had lasting appeal: Mirror's Edge and Portal. Aside from Portal 2 and maybe Bioshock: Infinite, there are basically zero games in the pipeline I'm excited about.

 

I go in short cyclical bursts of gaming. there will be a couple weeks where I'm interested and will get about 6-7 hours a week (yes, that's a lot for me) and then I go through bursts where I'd rather read or watch movies on netflix, or just not game. I still have 3 games I bought at Christmas that I haven't touched.

 

No doubt the PC has the ultimate edge with mods. I do play older games a lot more too. It's just too bad game developers don't see this and take advantage of it by offering high quality gaming specific to PC. But whatever, I have so many games that I still haven't completed and many that have lots of mods I could probably enjoy PC gaming for the next ten or more years if PC games stopped being made altogether.

 

It's most likely due to a crappy selection of games.

I too felt like this because I was buying games that I thought would be pleasing, but ended up having the reverse effect. You just got to find "that" game, and your love for gaming will return.

I noticed that these days, gaming companies are putting a lack of effort into their products, because they want you to buy the new refresh every year. That could be one of the causes.

 

This is pretty much me right here. They are just phases.

 

once battlefield 3 comes out, i'll most likely be back into more gaming. or perhaps after i finish school.

 

just dont start playing wow.

 

Kingpinzero - well said!

I agree. There was one point too where I was obsessed with buying the newest stuff, not necessarily the latest. I blew a lot of money doing something similar, just benching. I had fun while doing it but man, did it ever take a toll on the old credit card. Actually I used to enjoy the lengthy time involved games, mainly combat simulations like Falcon 4, Operation Flashpoint, etc, RTS, and some action RPG. Then I had kids and my likes changed to FPS games and action RTS games because it allowed me to game in shorter intervals. I got frustrated at first because I couldn't play the games I used to, but I found a whole new genre of games that surprised me.

 

Try mountain biking...you'll lose interest in gaming very very quick.

 

Mountain biking in Detroit? lol.

Trust me I'd love to be able to get involved in something like that. Used to do stuff like that all the time. But between kids, and having bad vericose veins in one leg, screwed up ankles, makes it hard to do anything too rigorous except swimming.

But like anything, balance is crucial. Even when I used to do a lot of outdoor activities (tennis, biking, jogging) I still loved to game. Actually I'm getting into the Xbox Kinect more. Excellent physical activity while being able to game.

 

This is why I never want to have kids.

Each time there's an activity that interests someone, everyone has the same reply ..."but I have kids". It sounds so depressing (no offense) that you have put a hold on everything, hehe

@Lieto:
Haha, very true. You'll start a WoW character in your teens, and by the time you finally quit, you'll have gray hair and a walking cane, wondering what just happened to your life.

 

Well it's all choices. The time they need this attention is short. Mine are 2 and 3 years old. But in a few years I'm sure I'll get some free time back, a little maybe, lol.

 

Here's my two cents.

Gaming (RPG's especially) were so much more interesting when I use to be stoned while playing them. I could go 10 hours and not get bored and was totally engrossed in them, DA Origins while blazed - Outstanding.

Since I gave up I have lost my concentration with games and I find myself only playing casually chopping and changing a lot and not finding myself getting into the game, this means that the game itself needs to be a LOT better than the first. Alas DA2 failed on this account but I still have hope that the Witcher 2 will be all that an RPG should be if its anything like the 1st.

P.s This was not an encourage to get high just saying it helps. A LoT!

 

Wow! Nothing to see here people, move along, move along...

 

LOL.

I am also not trying to encourage illegal drug use.

 

I've always been a big gamer and still am, all the way back since I was 5, super mario 3 holds a special place in my heart, right beside my mother because she showed me it. After High school I was 230 pounds and 6 foot, way over weight for my height. I started working full time while thinking of career paths I could follow. I cut down my gaming HUGELY and got into a health kick. I got down to a healthy 180 and was going to the bars every weekend.

I went to university for a couple of years to get a bachelor in kinesiology but I couldn't keep myself interested. I have since gotten a girlfriend that I've been with for 2 years and love her to bits, and over the last year I've been back gaming atleast 2 hours a night. I have realized games are an important part of my life and persuing a career in something I truly love doing, but I've learned some valuable things along the way. Being a gamer doesn't mean you have to be a social outcast like some of my friends have become. I also learned it wasn't healthy the amount of games I was playing a night, and eating the way I did. I also spend alot of time with my girlfriend, and make sure im devoting the time I have with her, to be spending it with her and not a zombie playing games infront of her. She has started showing an interest in gaming after playing heavy rain, so now im showing her games that I love that have great stories in them,

So I too went through something similar, and like a poster said above, a nice little high goes along way for watching movies and games alike, they definitely enhance your sensitivity to moods and themes in games and movies.
Like some great man said at some point in time, everything in commodity, too much of a good thing is never good, so keep everything balanced. I've been camping every year since I was born, I love wakeboarding, snowmobiling, going out to sports games, seeing movies, and long walks on the beach , but I still make time to get my game on!!!

 

It is and it isn't. Anything that takes some of your time comes at the expense of other things, be that a girlfriend or work. How depressing that is depends on how much enjoyment you're getting from the new things which took over your time. Probably the two things which take most of your free time are work and little kids. It's the combination of them that's the killer in terms of free time, IMO.

Don't write off kids. It's a rewarding experience even if it's also tough. Mine are very small, but I'm waiting for them to get the hang of games. The 2.5 year old drives backwards in Mario Cart Wii, but I'm sure she'll get the hang of it by 3. By 4 she'll be killing zombies like there's no tomorrow. (Just kidding.)