For those that limit your gaming scope, how and why?

[Forlorn Drifter]

I've been musing on this idea as of late, as some of you may have noticed in the "Random Gaming Thoughts" thread. Looking ahead, I imagine I will be limiting my gaming scope, with what I suggested there being PS4 back and Nintendo being where I wanted to sit.

After some thought, I'm starting to realize that may not be the way I want to limit it. As such, I thought I would see what others do and why, to get a feel for what might be the best option for me.

As of current, I'm thinking slightly more structured limitations for me would be better. As much as I love retro-gaming, I'm realizing that going to far back frustrates me for no apparent reason (looking at you, Atari) and has the same issue as modern gaming- picking the diamonds out of the crap pile. I feel like I'd be best served working from the 6th gen up (possibly stopping at 9th or 10th?) focusing on Sony and Nintendo. Why? Seeing as the large majority of games I'm interested in have been re-released on later iterations, or are easily emulated (and Nintendo consoles currently sit as good options for still-usable base system emulator boxes).

I'm just looking for general discussion of this, and maybe how it affects other parts of the gaming hobby for you. Personally, as I've put more thought in to things, the collection aspect seems continually less interesting to me, and the emulation scene continues to grow in a way that makes me think I will have little worry that anything from easily emulated eras will be lost unless it was extremely obscure to begin with.

[Stark]

In my opinion if you feel like you need to restrict the scope of what you play to maximize enjoyment from the time you spend gaming, restricting consoles and generations to choose from is not the way to go. Personally I would take a good look at what genres interested you most out of the games you've recently enjoyed and figure out what other games are similar in nature and try those out. I'm sure there are many people on here that can help with a "I liked X, what is another good game in this vein?" question.

[ElkinFencer10]

I'm going to half-way agree with Stark. Looking at specific genres I think is the better way to go about limiting your gaming, but I wouldn't rule out the idea of limiting by console or generation or manufacturer. More recent generations will give you a lot of overlap, but with older generations, picking a certain manufacturer (say, only Nintendo or only Sega) will give you drastically different experiences, and that might be worth considering, at least in the short term.

Another method to consider would be to pick a handful of specific developers and limit yourself to their games. If you're a big fan of RPGs, for example, sticking to games made by Bethesda, Square, Bioware, Idea Factory, and Black Isle might be something to consider.

I, of course, hate the idea of limiting since I'm an unabashed game hoarder, but if you're a more sensible chap than I, there a few different routes to ponder, each with their own pros and cons.

[Sarge]

I must admit that older games than the NES (Atari 2600, etc.) don't hold a ton of appeal for me these days. Just not enough depth there for my tastes.

[ElkinFencer10]

I must admit that older games than the NES (Atari 2600, etc.) don't hold a ton of appeal for me these days. Just not enough depth there for my tastes.

There are no games better to play when you're drunk with friends, though. Except maybe Shaq Fu.

[Forlorn Drifter]

In my opinion if you feel like you need to restrict the scope of what you play to maximize enjoyment from the time you spend gaming, restricting consoles and generations to choose from is not the way to go.

I'm not opposed to that line of thinking, but the clutter factor changes. I'd rather have a bunch of physical games for a handful of generations than a bunch of consoles for only a handful of games each. I mean, I'm currently having trouble justifying my N64 to myself, and I'm considering going full emulation just so I don't have the thing sitting around taking up space. Plus, I doubt I'll ever be willing to pony up and pay for Conker's Bad Fur Day.

I'm also, as mentioned, probably going to set something up as an emulator box at some point, so sticking with a smaller number of consoles+emulation will allow me to look through games as you have suggested, though with a different set of limitations. I like a wide enough variety of game genres that limiting to specific genres would hurt me more than limiting to certain consoles.

I must admit that older games than the NES (Atari 2600, etc.) don't hold a ton of appeal for me these days. Just not enough depth there for my tastes.

I agree, and I also find that looking at the NES/Genesis era, there are some great and timeless games, but for me personally, those are a lesser handful than most. That recently released Nintendo mini-NES thing has the large majority of what I would want from an NES, barring a number of games. SNES has a ton of interesting games, but I'd personally slash through a lot of that, seeing as JRPGs aren't of much interest to me.

[Xeogred]

Why?

In the mid 2000's I did Gamefly and basically "KEPT" everything so I bought most of my rentals. Now I regret about 80% of my 360 collection. This was when I was knee deep in the AAA buzz and kind of betrayed some of my other favorite genres and franchises. Was too influenced by friends and hype. I guess it was a process, but it was a wake up call one day when I realized it.

Nowadays I only buy about 1-5 new games at launch a year. Don't you and everyone else have a backlog? I know I do, so it's really not that hard to wait on a lot of titles. Plus, give it a year or so and you'll be able to score the Ultra Omega Super editions for a third of the price with all the DLC. This will save you a lot of money in the long run and you get more content for your buck than early adopters.

I think long story short, gaming is massive. It's a monster and will only continue to grow. Nowadays there are many different types of games, gamers, and so on. Some people can buy that one MMO and play that for years and nothing else. Some people don't replay games and favorites like I love to all the time. Some can't go back a gen or two because it's too ancient. I don't know what I'm getting at here, but reflect upon your childhood and think back to those games and genres that really spoke to you, start being selective with your money and purchases and only hit up games you've really been super interested in for awhile or are truly genuinely excited about. Personally for me all I really need thesedays are videos of something in action and I can basically tell if I'll like it or not. So there are plenty of resources available for research and such.

Good luck. It's all because of this thought process and maybe other things in life, that I honestly think this whole gen has been amazing, despite what most here and elsewhere try to say. I feel like not a single one of my PS4 purchases have been a waste and rediscovering my love for Nintendo was a big one. And is my PS4 collection huge or anything? No not at all, I've got like 12 games. But they rock. And who's to tell you what awesome stuff awaits in the years to come? Consoles are a long term investment. To write them off early on seems silly to me. Just try to willpower some patience and organization into the hobby.

[jmbarnes101]

I limit myself to Nintendo and Sega consoles and handhelds and have Everdrives where possible, very limited libraries for consoles and handhelds with Everdrive type devices. This covers the stuff that my kids and I will play and enjoy from NES to Wii U and Genesis to Dreamcast. I do have a PSP and an Atari Lynx as well but not much in games for either. I have a limited amount of time and other things I enjoy doing so I can't game as much as I used to and gaming with my kids is most important. Obviously I miss out on a lot of new stuff but I have so much to play anyway that I don't really miss anything. I wouldn't necessarily recommend anyone else stick to this though, just works for me.

I do collect Legend of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Fire Emblem games even if I have the Everdrive for them.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Atari all day every day.

[Xeogred]

And maybe this is just a thing with age, but I think you should come to peace with the idea that there's probably tons of games and consoles you'll never touch. As much as I love some of the Saturn arcade ports and stuff that I've played (sought out Technosoft!), I don't think I'll ever scratch the surface of that console in full and I'm totally okay with that. A few years ago I had these ideas to have some massive Saturn library of burned stuff for the modded one I got, but I never really get to it so I guess I'm kind of kidding myself, it's not a priority.

Some of this logic applies to rom torrents and such. I never touch those. Sure, I guess it's appealing to have thousands of games at your fingertips, but where do you even start? I'd rather systematically approach games case by case and get to them that way, when the mood and interest really strikes. People can talk up emulation/digital as a means to save space or money, but you really need to keep that fat trimmed there as well and keep it organized.

Not big on pre-NES stuff either so I never bother with those.