@PorkChopExpress@BookhouseBoy Enough room for three in a boat? I have lost interest in many upcoming games so my backlog is fairly limited, limited to the games already on my Wishlist and then those coming out in 2026 or potentially even later are the only ones that vaguely excite me, planning to take around a year off from 2025-26 and then after those few games maybe just leave it indefinitely. I am also interested in guitar, movies, art (my latest and freshest new interest) books and comics etc. So maybe put some more time into those things going forwards. I'm at a similar age in life to you guys.
@BookhouseBoy Completely relate friend, the last few months I’ve been convinced I hate gaming now but kept pushing that rock up the hill. I’m trying to break my habit of being hyper focused and spreading my energies around other things I really like but have neglected in service of video games. I’m not sure if it’s age, though it is definitely a contributing factor along with raising kids and also being very jaded with most things. It ebs and flows.
Massive, massive quantities and a glass of water, sweetheart. My socks are on fire!
This seemingly simple question really did get me thinking!
Why did I start gaming? Those under 40 may not relate, but as a kid I had so much fun playing arcade games, and they were everywhere. In the pub on holiday (Wonderboy!), in the leisure centre each week (Rastan Saga), at the Swindon Oasis when it was a friend's birthday (Quartet), at the local takeaway (Super Pang!). And then the Sega Master System arrived and I could play these games at home, in COLOUR (as opposed to my Spectrum 48k and it's monochrome graphics)!
Gaming has never been an escape for me, it has been a fun hobby! But it's changed over the years. For a long time I owned consoles without really playing much, with Uni, work, band, the pub, etc all getting in the way. But a couple of years ago I got an Xbox series X and started playing all the games I'd missed out on over the last 10 years or so. And last week I got a PS5 to play all the PS exclusives I've missed out on... Different, experiences, I now like action RPG's instead of quick arcade games, but it's always been about FUN!
Probably an age thing... I've spent 20 years working all over the place, home and abroad, playing in bands, 15 years doing lots of sports, but now I'm pushing 50, gaming is becoming my main hobby. I've probably played more the last 2 years than any previous point in my life! Maybe it'll change in a few years when I've "caught up" on everything I've missed (I'm already in deep with the backlog haha)...
My OCD makes games like Skyrim, Witcher 3, Breath of the Wild, Starfield, etc a nightmare, I can't finish playing and move on until til I've left my character in a happy place with all the best gear, etc etc... it got really bad with BOTW haha... OCD and RPG's can be a dangerous mix!
@Dimey took me back to where all the various arcade games were situated around my town as a boy. We had a great independent video shop with all the classics (Street Fighter 2, Final Fight, Golden Axe, R-Type, Shadow Dancer, Bubble Bobble, WWF Superstars)… and then we had a few chippys with a couple of coin-ops each too. One had P.o.W and 1942, another one had Gradius and Double Dragon and the last one had Altered Beast and Moonwalker. Good times.
It is interesting reading the thoughts and experiences of those who have fallen away from gaming. I completely respect anyone who feels they have lost their love of the pastime. Over the years I’ve waxed and waned in my engagement with the hobby, but I always came back and have never completely abandoned it for very long. Usually it was social things that would keep me away, or divert my interest. It still occurs now, but much of the time that I am at a social gathering, with friends, or busy at work, I’m wishing I could be at home with my PS5.
The way some of you have reported how you feel about gaming is how I currently feel about TV, movies, and books. I used to really enjoy watching hours and hours of movies, at the theater and on my TV, but now I barely can manufacture an ounce of interest. I try to get pumped about movies and shows people talk about with such great enthusiasm, but it ends up feeling like a chore. I’d rather be grinding levels in an rpg. Or watching sports, or running around outside doing something.
My free time has dwindled and I wish I could spend it all gaming. But I purposefully do other things to keep me from turning into a zombie.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@colonelkilgore@Dimey I remember playing arcade machines, my favourite were the ones when the cabinet moved. I think Outrun, Star Wars and Afterburner spring to mind. My first full time job there was a ten pin bowling alley opposite, so I used to spend most lunch times playing Street Fighter 2, Mortal Kombat and Time Crisis.
Also had the old Commodore and Speccy machines. Think I started with a +4 then gradully upgraded to later models and the Speccy's. Anyone remembeer the game Head Over Heels? Probably one of my earliest gaming memory.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder haha yes, I had head over heels for my 48k+... made by Ocean, had lots of their games... baffled by it, don't think I got more than a screen or two into it. Most of those old spectrum era games were absolutely baffling to me haha
@JohnnyShoulder yeah I had a Spectrum and C64, don’t think I had Head over Heels though. Journey’s End and Jet Set Willy are two of my earliest memories on those… but I do have a vague recollection of my uncle pulling out a dusty Magnavox Odyssey one evening that he was baby-sitting for me and playing Pong. I must’ve barely been 3.
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Topic: Why do you play Video Games?
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