Do we grow out of it? Follow

Growing up, I would spend every waking minute of my free time playing video games. I couldn't wait to get out of school so I could get home and play the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis and after a while, the Playstation. I'd dream of the games I didn't have. I never got to play N64 until years later when I could download it on my PC. I'd spend days grinding through long and tedious RPGs, becoming completely absorbed by them.

These days, I feel like I'm forcing myself to play the games I used to love. I barely get passed the beginning of Final Fantasy VI before completely losing interest... same for Zelda OoT... freakin' ZELDA!

It's not just old games though. All of the games I've bought recently... Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Pokémon White-- all of them played through no further than halfway.

Part of it might be MMORPGs fault... there is something about playing with live people that single player games cannot deliver, and usually they are the only games me and my wife can play together. Though, even they are becoming dull and tiresome.

I am still only 25... some part of me still wants to do it, but I just don't have the patience anymore. Maybe I'll get over it... hopefully. There is nothing else to do and work only offers so many hours per week.

I went through a MMORPG "phase" around ages 17-23, I'd say. It's since passed. Now, they just don't hold my interest at all, no matter what they're about.

Now, I'm enjoying a mixed bag of everything else. I get a lot of mileage out of shooters in particular...COD, Battlefield, Killzone, I play them all. But almost any non-MMORPG fare has been doing it for me lately; my tastes have become more eclectic. If it's well-designed, then I'll probably check it out.

For example, the upcoming release that I'm most excited for it From Dust, a game that just a few years ago, I'd never have thought I'd even like. I'm also psyched for Limbo to be released on the PSN.

Our generation has an odd relationship with games: we're growing up alongside them. As a result, I think a lot of our tastes are in fairly rapid flux. Look at the reception that Duke Nukem Forever received: lauded in the past for its crudeness, loathed in the present for the same qualities by a more mature gaming populace.

Me, I've always been fickle with my tastes in anything from year to year, anyway (it's why I've never gotten a tattoo!). I'd say that my disinterest in MMORPG's is due to my career and girlfriend, and other interests. I can't devote the requisite amount of time to get much out of that genre anymore. When I enjoyed MMORPG's, it was because I had the time to delve into them deeply. Now I can only skim the surface intermittently, and it just doesn't do it for me.

Edited, Jul 1st 2011 11:19am by Eske

Edited, Jul 1st 2011 11:22am by Eske

I think it is a common thing with MMOs/online playing and Single player games with gamers. I actually talked about this today while at work on lunch with a co-worker who is the same age as me and is a big 360 Gamer. I've been replaying Zelda OOT on the 3DS, and I am enjoying it, but like I told him "I own a good 5-6 games that have came out over the last year or 2 that I have not even touched. I like to play games with people. My brothers may not be into the same games as I am, and if they are, they usually don't want to play co-op [if the game has co-op mode]. Playing online (and I had already told him I enjoyed MMOs) lets me have that interaction I want."

And this is true for me. I to have the newest Pokemon, LOVE pokemon (NSFW), have played maybe 3 hours of it. I also have Enslaved, Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta, FF XIII & 3D Dot Game Heroes I've yet to even play. I start them, and then I get this urge to play with people, and before I know it I'm logged back into my MMO (atm FFX).

Only since the remake of Zelda (so just a few weeks) have I played a game for hours and it not be online. I'm hoping I can keep this balance, for a while, as I would really like to play these other games I ha to had.

I complete games less often than I did back in high school, but I still enjoy them. I just have more stuff to do now that I end up not playing for a week or two, then forget where I am in the game and don't feel like continuing. For example, Assassin's Creed II, I played quite frequently when it came out, only to have a month where I didn't have time for it. When I tried to pick it back up, I had forgotten where I was with a lot of stuff, and it had lost its immersion factor. I still think it was worth buying.

I kinda feel this. One of the big issues is that I love stories; so playing through, say, Dragon Age was SO MUCH FUN the first time. And while I know there are several other routes and many other characters I never used the first time through, I recently tried to go through again... and just couldn't. I need to figure out the Fade puzzle AGAIN? Noooooo! So I do get the replaying part; I've never been a huge re-player (exception: Resident Evil 4. No idea why, but I must have replayed that game ten times).

As for MMOs, I'm the same as Eske. I was in love with MMOs from high school through college... and then it just kinda fell off. WoW was my big one, with me sinking a couple of all-nighters into it. I loved raiding with my terribad guilds, even if we never got too far. I wrote guides, offered advice, even led raids. Now I hardly ever play WoW, and while I might say Rift is my "new" MMO, I haven't even hit 50 yet (I mostly play it for achievements, artifact collecting, and the story). And when I do, I doubt I'll raid.

I also find myself with "videogame ADD" now. Take this weekend. I thought to myself "Huh, I have an afternoon free, what should I play?"
-Minecraft (Pistons just came out, woo!)
-Rift (World Event is going on, and I love the new artifacts!)
-Starcraft II (Been meaning to try it on any difficulty besides "Easy"!)
-World of Warcraft (Hmmm, should I check out Firelands?)
-Legend of Dragoon (my only PS1 game I never beat, let's finally do this!)
-Kingdom of Loathing (Bees Hate Me... but I want to finish the run!)
-Glitch (oooo, it's back up... let's nibble some piggies!)
-Mafia Wars (4th of July weekend event? Limited time items! Let's do it!)

Ended up Rifting for a bit, switching to WoW, switching to Glitch, switching to KoL, then just watching anime with my girlfriend The problem also is that a lot of these games never "end." I can accomplish tasks, but I can't just say "I won!" Maybe I should focus on Legend of Dragoon just to get the satisfaction from winning...

it was from age 24 to 32 where i thought i'd outgrown videogames and heavy metal. turns out working 12hrs a day with a 45min commute on both ends just doesn't leave a lot of time for hobbies though. i remember holding the boxes for planescape, baldur's gate, neverwinter nights, and a ton of others, looking inside the flap thinking, 'man this looks frickin awesome... if you still like videogames' and sheepishly putting them back on the shelf.

All of you are a shame to the title of Gamer; hand in your membership cards now.

The OP reads like some middle-aged woman agonising over why she and her husband never have sex any more.

The only games I find myself playing now are games on my iPhone, sad as that is (though I can't wait for Final Fantasy Tactics to come out for iOS).

Guess working and socializing have finally taken over my life.

Should be on iPhone/iPod Touch on the 20-something of July, and iPad a month after.

And yes, it's going to be amazing. They're redoing some of the graphics for the retina display, and fixing the slowdowns that the PSP version had.