This is more towards the people who have been playing games for a good couple of years now, but have any of you felt yourself slowly pull away from games? Been playing games for 10 years now and I just feel despair every time I look forward to that next game to pull myself out of this slump. With each new title that comes out I find myself even more bored of games overall, even with games like L4D and Mass Effect which I played both for about an hour before being bored, seem just to be pulling me out of the gaming world faster than I try coming back in.

Ive posted this before on another forum, but I want to see what you guys here think about your overall gaming experience. Is it diminishing like mine or better than ever?

It's kind of true, I was going to buy a new xbox 360 game, finally after owning the system for over a year and only having two games, but I was in a gamestop and I couldn't find a single title that looked worthwhile. My nephew lent me FableII and that was boring, I bought Madden 06 cuz it was $3 and that is the worst translation of Madden I have ever played, I won't buy another football game on 360 for fear it will have this level of suckage. Soooo I am back to playing WoW. Some of the newer MMOs interest me but I don't have the money to upgrade my comp every six months to try them. WoW still works great on my laptop so I keep playing it.

I started a thread awhile back "Why do all new games suck?". Been feeling the same way for a few years now.

Trying to find a reason to go quadcore, but can't. I have HUGE hopes for Operation Flashpoint 2. If it blows, you will all read about my dev-suckage induced suicide on the net.

(I have been playing the chess game that came with Vista more than anything else.)

I concur to what was stated above. It's called apathy.

There have been so many disappointments in the past few years. I have the lowest expectations for MMOs. You never know what's going to be an evil system hog, while offering nothing new and exciting to experience or if your game will last more than a year. Another major source of disappointment is games becoming vaporware for the PS3. The most recent case is Last Remnant. I had followed this game for at least a year. It was constantly being promoted as a simultaneous release for 360/PS3 in US/Japan. That date came and went and it's still TBA, while the PC version is due in March. It's crap like this that makes it difficult to stay remotely interested in most of the big games coming out. About the only thing to catch my attention is the little games they put on PlayStation Network. FF XIII, Supreme Commander 2 and Jumpgate: Evolution also grabbed my attention, but I'm not going to be checking anything until they're actually out or I get a beta invite for the last one.

My personal gaming experience has been getting better. I know its only personal taste but i loved Left 4 Dead. While there are some disappointments along the road the positives defiantly outweigh the negative.

I find that achievements have ruined my gaming somewhat. I would hire games and just play them for the achievements. Then I thought "fuck this", sold my 360 and got a new PC. While it's a strong gaming beast, I find that Fallout 2 is more fun then Crysis or most current gen games. Nostalgia is a odd thing.

I think that my problem is that I am expecting more and more from games, and am therefore more disappointed when they don't live up to my expectations.

I have been feeling the same decline of interest in gaming that you have. It might partially be because my life has changed, and I've entered adult life, and it might be because I've slowly descended into the world-weary twenties. For world-weary I am, and I am quite certain I will pick up my passion for gaming when I change my life for the better. That being said, there are a select few games that can still inflame me with the passion. I played Resident Evil 4 to death, and Mass Effect had me glued to the screen.

A temporary cure might be to take out those old games you loved. It actually helped me somewhat.

I'm playing more now than I ever have before, actually. HD gaming's been good to me, what can I say.

I kinda have slowed down. There isn't much that's interesting me right now save Diablo III which is still far off. That's about it actually. I kinds slowed after finishing GOW2. Also all these new games with only two colours (Black and grey) are starting to annoy me. There never seem to be a balance with games these days. Only a handful offer story depth, gameplay and character development.

I made a topic on my blog about this issue. I'm a 30 years old gamer and my first video game was space invader on the attari. I remember what I was saying at that age while playing that game called "adventure" on the atari "This game is boring, they should have used better graphics I dont understand anything... can't wait for those video game people to make games with good pixels and more colors." time went by and I got what I was asking for with the sega genesis; Shining force - Phantasy star - Beyond Oasis - Landstalker - Comix Zone - Contra - Hard Corps - Blades of Vengence... All great games that really marked me deeply as a teeneger for their quality of execution and entertainment value.

Back then I was too poor to actually buy every games so I rented them instead and the guy from the rental store made a deal with me so that I come often, rent one and if you dont like the game just come back and rent another. Not long after he told me this his offer became a two for the price of one deal. Still, I wasted every penny I ever earned in renting those games. Today I wish I would have bought those games instead but I digress...

Today, I buy games for my ps2 on ebay at bargain price. I could spend over $200 for a used copy of street fighter vs capcom but I just dont feel like it's worth it. I would rather spend money on a overly used cartridge of those genesis games I mentioned up there and plug my old genesis on that old TV that lie dormant in the wardrobe next to me... that would make my day.

What's wrong with the pîcture here? How come the new games dont get me excited like before? It's not because I dont like video games anymore, I love lots of games on my PS2; God of war - Fatal frame - Ratchet and clank - Beyond good and evil - Psychonaut - Sly cooper - Jax & Daxter - Alien Hominid - Destroy All Humans! - The Red Star - Final Fantasy XII - Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde - Okami - GUN - Lego Star Wars - The Mark of Kri - Odin Sphere - Resident Evil 4 - Atelier Iris... but I just dont play them like I used to play my genesis games.

Maybe it's because I dont have time to play games anymore, I feel that i'm needed elsewhere, that I have to watch the news, that I got work to do... too much things in my mind at the same time prevents me from enjoying video games like I used to enjoy them and the memories are all that really keep me tied to my couch and play those games all the way through without any worries from the outside world at all.

Or maybe it's the game developers who lost it with everything that has happened to them in the last decade...

Edit: Here's the topic from my blog if you want to read it.
http://aramax.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/the-inevitable-future-of-video-games/

Nice article aramax, was a good read for me at 3am - kept the brain moving.

I just think those of us who've been playing for a long time have a sort of "been there, done that" attitude to it all. No companies want to risk putting original IP out there (now especially) so they go with safe bets they know will make them x amount of money.

As such we're just flooded with the same old stuff again and again. Games these days just lack a unique selling point. I remember back on the mega drive every game was a new experience. Shining force was one of the first real RPGs I played, it blew me away. The sonic series retained its freshness with every new installment. It just seems like the games of today are all carbon copies.

There are some exceptions - Bioshock, portal, half life 2, etc, but still they're the same old thing. They shine because they take what we know and love and either add a compelling story to it, an interesting new mechanic or just do it all the same, but do it to near perfection. I long for a day when I can get that excitement back about games, the excitement I felt plugging a new game into my mega drive and not knowing what it would throw at me - but unless companies are willing to risk developing something fresh and new we're just going to get bogged down in mediocre FPS and RTS games hunting around for the one that does it slightly better.

EcksTeaSea:
This is more towards the people who have been playing games for a good couple of years now, but have any of you felt yourself slowly pull away from games? Been playing games for 10 years now and I just feel despair every time I look forward to that next game to pull myself out of this slump. With each new title that comes out I find myself even more bored of games overall, even with games like L4D and Mass Effect which I played both for about an hour before being bored, seem just to be pulling me out of the gaming world faster than I try coming back in.

Ive posted this before on another forum, but I want to see what you guys here think about your overall gaming experience. Is it diminishing like mine or better than ever?

All my favourite games are older titles, like System Shock 2, Deus Ex, or Psychonauts, etc. I know what you mean. I've started to play a few games recently only to get about half way through and not really care anymore.

Compare that to when I was like, 8, and I swear I played through the original Doom about 30 times at least.

For me, it's an issue of time management. I simply don't have the time to invest in games like I used to in high school. I had well over 130 hours in Star Ocean: The Second Story, but never completed Star Ocean: 'Til the End of Time, FFXII, or any of the other RPGs that I thoroughly enjoy. It's difficult for me to put more than about 30 hours into a given title these days. It's nigh impossible for me to find a 3-4 chunk of time where I can sit down and let myself get absorbed in the experience. For this reason, I no longer play MMOs, RPGs, or RTS titles. I still get in the occasional game of Starcraft or Warcraft, but I can't devote myself to learning an entirely new game/system like I did when those titles first launched.

Now I find myself playing mostly FPS games or fighting games. Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 are about the only two games I play on the PC anymore. On the 360, I've had a good bit of luck over the last year or so with good titles: Dead Space, Resident Evil 5, Gears of War 2, Street Fighter IV, and a few others. I can pick up these games, play for an hour or two, and have a checkpoint or savepoint readily available.

I don't think it's an issue of games becoming worse, I think it's an issue of evolving tastes and priorities that we refuse to admit to ourselves.

Lately I feel like games have been losing that "something special" I used to love. That doesn't stop me from getting excited about new titles coming up that revitalize my hope in gaming. Also...

MoonPenguin:
I don't think it's an issue of games becoming worse, I think it's an issue of evolving tastes and priorities that we refuse to admit to ourselves.

Amen.

No, not really, it's the same as always.

MoonPenguin:

I can pick up these games, play for an hour or two, and have a checkpoint or savepoint readily available.

I agree with this, and like this about games. But it doesn't stop the fact that games're too short these days. I pay 50+ for a game and can beat it in 4 hours. It's either a game is too long and they forget what it means to have a convient save spot, or it's too short and there's tons of convient save spots. Atleast from most I've played.

I have a very short-term memory when it comes to playing games, so if I ever feel like I'm in a "slump", I'll just dig up an old game I haven't played in a while and give it a whirl. For example, I played a lot of Halo 3 and Gears of War in January and February, but when I got tired of that, I dug up Oblivion and Street Fighter III (Kind of a weird combination, but just go with it). It pays to be a pack rat, sometimes.

<( ' . ' )>

Well, yeah, I have felt like this of late. I imagine that a number of people I know would put it down to anything from work-related stress, the massive increase in band practices I've been having, what with gigs coming up, or maybe it's just that new games really aren't as good as the oldies I grew up with.

I'm inclined to say the latter, although that's not to say some new games haven't been good. They just haven't been enough to hold my attention, I suppose.

I think it's a combination of the games and the gamers that makes these new games feel somewhat less than the older titles. Sometimes I impulse buy games, and I regret it, or I lose the game(seriously, I have a copy of Mass Effect here somewhere), or I have something else to do. Sometimes a game will underwhelm me after it has been overhyped(GTAIV), and sometimes I'll just do nothing.

Either we have refined tastes in what we want in our games, or they really are getting worse. I hope it's the former, after all I enjoyed fallout 3.

I've slightly pulled away from games over the years.
Maybe it's the relinquish of my childhood.
Maybe it's because we have an xbox 360 with no xbox live.
Maybe it's just because there are no fantastic games anymore.

Only the future will tell, once starcraft 2 gets here. SC2 is the only game I've been looking forward to since Halo 2. Yeah, it's been that long...

I miss those halcyon days where you bought a game and KNEW it'd be good fun. 99% of SNES and Mega Drive (Genesis) were just awesome, even the ones that looking back sound awful (like rocket knight adventures - you're a mouse with a sword - sounds abysmal, plays awesomely).

These days it really is a gamble when you purchase a game.

This is true. Anyone who bought Alone in the Dark can tell you that.

Games just don't seem to have the same appeal as when you were younger.

Ganado_Headshot:
Games just don't seem to have the same appeal as when you were younger.

Far from true!
I still love to play all my old Genisis games, NES, SNES, 64, PSX, DC, and Arcade games. This newer generation just isn't as fun. Infact Monster Maddness(new game) I LOVE TO PLAY IT. When my brother comes home I whore the crap out of his laptop because I don't have a good enough videocard to play it.
Also, I can whore out Rockband like no other.

Yes, I do feel a little less excited about games these days. Maybe I'm just getting bored faster... =/

i dont really feel like playing as many games anymore alot like other people here

Yeah i know how that feels. I buy new games and it takes me an hour before i get bored with them i'm really hoping brutal legends changes that.

Strangely enough I actually feel more inclined to play right now. I had hit a slump a while back but to me gaming seems to be looking up thankfully. For that reason my wallet doesn't seem to be safe.

I used too play a lot. After a relationship where she practically banned me from my beloved Xbox (wasnt a wise move) and then a change of jobs i had more free time, and i kind of burnt myself out, I played all of my games & got bored very quickly (i have quite a short attention sp...oooh shiny!)

Then my cat died and it made me realise life is short. I still play a lot of games, More than a casual gamer, but i no longer loose weeks too games anymore.

I have been a devoted gamer for about 10 years now(yes, since i was 4), and I have not pulled away from games, i just havnt had enough money to get new games as much as i used to.

I've been playing games since I was seven years old. And luckily it hasn't started to wear on me, not like other things have anyways. Hopefully i'll be a gamer for a long time, no matter where I go or what I do in life.

Yeah I used to play games tons, but recently I haven't been playing much at all. Occasionally I play the odd game, or I play with my friends when we're bored but I just find myself doing other stuff, like playing in a band or just going out with friends.