Losing interest in playing games but not gaming...?

[Cerulean]

Yeah its once you hit a certain age for sure. Now that I have a kid on the way. everything has changed priority wise. Tho I do play my wii for brawl, I dont really touch anything else. which is why its being sold.

I have a kid on the way to, thats why im going back to retro, its cheaper then all the newer stuff and their are many games that I havent played.

I also have a child due in August... I play retro because I need quick fixes and new games rarely can be picked up and played for 10 minutes or less.

Mines due august 1st. or sometime around then.

[RadarScope1]

Agreed -- it's just part of having more to do in life. I wouldn't worry about it, it happens with everything you used to do back when you had all the time in the world to do it. Riding a bike, skateboarding, reading, catching up with a tv show every single week, rolling around town in your car aimlessly listening to music and smoking cigarettes. Wait, maybe that last one was just me growing up in a small town...

Anyway, I find I play more pick-up-and-play games. I was just telling a friend this weekend that I have been surprised at how much time I spend playing XBL Arcade games on my 360, vs. disc-based games. Probably spend 60 percent of my time on the DL stuff. That's because it's so much easier to just pop on for 45 or an hour and turn it off. I haven't tried to play a real RPG since I tried FF10 like fives years ago and couldn't find the motivation/continuous time to beat it.

[ott0bot]

I'm in agreeance with ya'll. I can't seem to fininsh an RPG to save my life. I've got 10 different saves bewteen 5 systems and when I try to go back and play them I just don't care. Okami brought me out of this funk for a bit, but once I finished the onset was immediate. I think thats why I stick to shmups mostly. You can pick it up and play it and win or lose and thats that. Now there are a few exceptions with building up points and unlocking stuff, but for the most part it's a genre thats quick and fun (or extemely frustrating) that you can walk away from and not feel like you still have the whole damn world to save.

Alternate theory:
We all have reverse-adult ADD. You see games know are trying harder to apeal to older gamers as well, instead of the 12-18 year old crowd, which makes us like them less. Our lack of enthusiam makes us regress back to our "childhood." (ie retro gaming) where we feel nice and nostalgic. I think thats where I plan on staying.

[HoboJoe]

I never finish games. I can count how many games I've finished on one hand.

[DCAllAmerican]

if I have an hour or two to spare, it just doesn't feel right to spend it walking around a grassy hill killing the same monster 30 times to level up.

Dragon Quest was the LAST RPG I touched.....

[executioner]

In any case, I find myself a 22 year old college student trying to finish his degree with very little time to play games. The thing is though, I don't think it's just the lack of time that's led to my current gaming trend. I still enjoy reading about/writing about/discussing games (hence, why I'm here) so now I pose this question.

Am I getting 'old' or outgrowing games? Or is it just a time/priority issue? Pullmyfinger touched on this in the other topic and I agree that a lot of us at this point in our lives may just enjoy discussing gaming more than playing the actual games.

You hit the nail when you say you enjoy reading, writing, discussing and all about games. I've been doing that since reading magazine years ago and now finally having those games and not having the time to play them. Even now I could be playing something not reading and writing in the forum!!! Don't know how this change started even though gaming or gaming related stuff is 80% of my free time and been neglecting some other stuff like playing guitar (now i got guitar hero...damn video games).

Most of the time for me trying to beat a regular action game that takes 10 hours takes me a whole month or maybe more. I like to finish every game I start playing, its an obsession and now I forget character names, plots, endings and all. I was talking with a friend a few months ago that maybe both of us may not be able to finish more rpgs again as we used to. Just last year I was playing final fantasy XII on PS2 and I accidentally erased my 15 hour save file and since then I don't have the slightest motivation to start over again and continue with my adventure, even telling you that I was enjoying it greatly and having a lot of fun. Thats why I thank my PSP for keeping me on my toes cause it has helped me keep playing almost every day since I spend about 30-40 minutes on my daily commute to work.

Always thought that they should have made more games where you could play home on PS2 then save you're stuff to keep playing it on the go with you're PSP. Well maybe the tv-out for the slim owners has improved things in that direction now.