Gaming as a life-long hobby - Thoughts from the 25+ crowd

[Tempest]

Thanks for the honesty and openness in this thread. It’s made for some interesting reading and I can relate to many accounts.

I'm 31 and have been gaming since my childhood. My Dad had a Commodore 64 when I was little and I still remember waiting half-an-hour for the tapes to load the games! This loading time put me off games for a while until 1991 when I played Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and later, Sonic the Hedgehog, on a Master System II at my friend's place. I convinced my parents to buy me my own Master System II and loved that system and its games for several years, eventually trading it in for a Mega Drive II a few years later. By 1995, I had tired of videogames and got into other hobbies, like drawing, writing, and camping. In 1997, I started hanging around with people who were gamers, and being a staunch SEGA fan, eventually purchased a Saturn on 20 June 1997. I’ve been an enthusiastic gamer ever since, picking up a Dreamcast six months after the Australian launch, and reliving some Saturn classics thanks to the availability of games on eBay. Once new Dreamcast games dried up, I picked up a PS2 and then eventually traded it for a Gamecube. Around 2006 I got heavily into the retro scene and picked up a Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, and Japanese Saturn, while enjoying a few games on my housemate’s Xbox. Eventually, I picked up my own Xbox, Wii, Mega CD, and recently brought another PS2. I’ve amassed a decent collection of games over the years.

In the last two years, I’ve become more of a collector than a gamer, as I’ve spent more time and money seeking out rare and cheap games than playing games. I’ve not even played some games past checking that they work. This has made me reconsider my gaming habits. I’ve banned myself from buying any games this year, except big name games that I really want to play, like Diablo III and Zelda: Skyward Sword if I can find them cheaply. The temptation to pawn shops and pick up games I’m curious about is there, but so far I have kept my oath. This has made me appreciate some of the games I’ve got, and realise how uninteresting I am in others. I’ve recently been replaying Perfect Dark on the harder difficulties and have really enjoyed it.

After a recent holiday that I really enjoyed, I found my interest in games, even good ones, waning, and stopped playing them for a couple of months. But I’ve recently got back into them, but no longer feel the urge to make them the centre of my life.

My girlfriend of four years has no interest in games. She loves tennis, so I convinced her to play Wii Tennis with me a few years ago, and while she really got into it, she’s not expressed any interest in playing games since. She doesn’t bug me about my gaming. On the other hand, my family view gaming as a childish pursuit, constantly making comments like “grow up”. When they see my gaming collection, some are surprised, while most tell me to stop wasting my money on what they view as a worthless hobby (if it was so worthless, I wouldn’t have made a tidy profit on eBay after thinning out my collection, but I digress). I find this attitude odd, because I don’t go into another person’s house and tell them their possessions or hobbies are worthless and that they should stop wasting their money on such things. Instead, I respect that everyone is unique and has their own personalities, hobbies, and tastes, and I hope other will treat me with the same respect.

I generally stay away from conversing about games with other people unless they bring it up because it has always had a certain stigma, especially given I’m still a staunch SEGA supporter and enjoy “childish” games like platformers (as well as more mature titles). Several years ago a group of friends constantly ridiculed me for this (when they like rubbish such as Battlefield and Call of Duty) which is one of many reasons I no longer associate with them.

I have a few gaming friends, who, like me, enjoy old games, and one has even just brought a slew of retro consoles, which I’ve been helping him out with. We go way back and used to enjoy long nights of Goldeneye, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and much more besides. However, these days our gaming tastes vary considerably, so we rarely find something we’re willing to play for long periods of time like we used to.

I’ve recently finished a Bachelor of Arts and want to use my skills to finish some of the stories I’ve been developing and have them published. So, this, along with other life commitments, means there is less time to play games and I feel more inclined to live a balanced life these days, unlike my early twenties when I was an obsessive gamer. Gaming has always been part of my life and while I’ve had brief periods where other responsibilities or hobbies have taken priority, I’ve always returned to gaming, so I believe gaming will always be part of my life.

[mjmjr25]

On the other hand, my family view gaming as a childish pursuit, constantly making comments like “grow up”. When they see my gaming collection, some are surprised, while most tell me to stop wasting my money on what they view as a worthless hobby (if it was so worthless, I wouldn’t have made a tidy profit on eBay after thinning out my collection, but I digress). I find this attitude odd, because I don’t go into another person’s house and tell them their possessions or hobbies are worthless and that they should stop wasting their money on such things. Instead, I respect that everyone is unique and has their own personalities, hobbies, and tastes, and I hope other will treat me with the same respect.

I'm glad you wrote this - something I needed to see. On the occasion a brother-in-law or mother-in-law make a comment about this hobby or my collection, I get a bit defensive and assure them it brings me enjoyment nor is it a waste of money. However, after reading the above, it occurs to me, I have enjoyed a double standard. I have numerous times told my father his "Vintage Metal Sign", and "Gasoline Memorabilia" is a silly hobby and the he wastes money. Additionally, I have teased my brother-in-law about his Sealed Star Wars collection.

[greg]

Additionally, I have teased my brother-in-law about his Sealed Star Wars collection.

If it's sealed '70s and '80s Star Wars stuff, don't tease him. If he has a bunch of sealed action figures and such from the prequels, go ahead and tease him because nobody wants to buy any stupid Episode 1 action figures. I know because I tried. The stuff is worth less now than what it originally sold for. If he thinks that the prequels were decent Star Wars movies, go ahead and tease him for that, too.

Heck, I'm being facetious because I am a broken-hearted Star Wars fan.

[TEKTORO]

I dont have any thoughts cause gaming has kept me under 16 my entire life, with that said Mjmjr lets grab our Zimas,Tommy Hilfiger polos,1xtreme and party like its 1995!

[mjmjr25]

My sophomore year in high school - I wore orange/white, orange/blue, or blue/white Zubaz and a form fitting football jersey...everyday. No joke. Every single day. Somewhat because jeans were "uncomfortable", but mainly because I was the shit.

[Gunstar Green]

Heck, I'm being facetious because I am a broken-hearted Star Wars fan.

Aren't we all my good man? Aren't we all?

[bretthorror]

I'm 27 and I don't see many people hating on games these days, everyone seems to be a gamer. I can't find anyone around that likes classic games like I do, but aside from that, I don't know a single guy who doesn't game in some capacity even as an adult.

Everyone needs a hobby, if you don't have one you'll go mad and be bored out of your head all day long. The same people that say you're blowing thousands of dollars on video games every year are probably blowing thousands of dollars on the golf course or for sports tickets or whatever their kick is. As long as you enjoy it, it's not a bad thing. I make fun of Star Wars/sci-fi/etc. nerds all the time, but I don't mean it. Usually, unless it's a big time defensive/ignorant nerd, then I mean it because they're usually total idiots. But you get that in any walks of life.

Really, who cares what anyone else thinks? They're not paying your bills or seeing that you have a good time, do they?

[CodeWhite29]

Wow what a cool topic. I've been a long time lurker and this is the first topic I've felt compelled to respond to.

A little background: Im 34 years old, married to a wife that isn't really interested in videogames and have two kids. I have a collection of around 500 games for various systems and also own three arcade games and a pinball
machine.

I grew up gaming on a 2600 but my obsession (yes obsession) with gaming really took off when I got an NES for my birthday. Nothing has come close to giving me the joy of playing videogames. My parents knew this and to punish me when I screwed up instead of sending me to my room, or not letting me go outside they would take my NES away. . Let me tell you it worked!

I started collecting a couple of years ago. At first I accumulated games very quick as there was so much to pick from, but now that I have alot of the games I wanted to play my collectiing has slowed down. What does my wife think of this? She actually doesn't mind! She knows my passion with gaming and the only thing she complains about is the room my collection takes up.

As far as mentioning my hobby to other people, I tend to keep it to myself unless Im talking to someone interested in gaming. Its funny when people come over and see the pinball/ arcade cabs they seem uncomfortable with asking me to play them. I can actually see the look on theirnface and usually turn them on and give them a "have at it.". They are meant to be played and I actually like when someone shows interest. Im not embarassed about my hobby at all and if someone wants to look down on me or call me a "man child" screw them. Videogames were a major part of my life and I like to collect them just like some other guys collect cars or sports memorabilia.

Im hoping to pass on my love of gaming to my children, we will see how that goes.

On a side note if any retro gamers/ pinheads in the NH northern MA area want to shoot the crap give me a shout.

[c0wb0y]

Wow what a cool topic. I've been a long time lurker and this is the first topic I've felt compelled to respond to.

A little background: Im 34 years old, married to a wife that isn't really interested in videogames and have two kids. I have a collection of around 500 games for various systems and also own three arcade games and a pinball machine.

Happy to see you've chimed in! I was a long time lurker, too. I still don't post as often as a lot of the Racket members, but it's a great community. Your story sounds pretty similar to mine. It's somewhere earlier in this thread.

What pinball table do you own? That's my biggest passion right now - but retro gaming led me to it.

[mjmjr25]

I'm slowly building interest in a getting a pin. The permanent footprint is the concern, taking up the space of 2 cabs.

What (3) cabs do you have, Cody?