Has this gen changed your gaming habits and views?

[Sasha_Blue]

Somewhat, I don't really buy games on launch anymore. I usually wait until the price goes down. Also since I get bigger into PC gaming I been playing a lot of indie games. I rarely buy AAA games anymore until they are either really really cheap or if I really want it.

[ApolloBoy]

I never bought into this gen so I can't say it's changed anything.

[Xeogred]

Good stuff so far and yeah you guys are probably right, it's moreso just where I'm at in life. Perhaps my tastes really have changed much, but I just had too much money working a lot while still living with my parents over the last few years before I got out... so I just threw my money out on games easily, sometimes good sometimes not lol. Now it's easy to say that gaming is and will always remain to be my #1 hobby, but when it comes to money I've got other priorities. Either way yeah, I like how this works out and I'm not cluttering up my shelves with poopware!

I have stopped preordering games and rarely buy at launch.

Randomly made me think of special edition / bonuses and such. Remember when they were... well, special? I only got a few "special edition" releases back on the PS2, but yeah I never really got too into this phases unless it was gold cartridge Zelda or something. Nowadays every game everywhere has some kind of upgraded edition and I don't know why some bother with them lol.

My gaming has stayed the same for at least a decade. I *wow* at the graphics in new games, but I'm still an Atari, 8, and 16-bitter at heart. Just last night I beat Sonic The Hedgehog (all chaos emeralds of course) for the umpteenth time while my backlog of 360 games continues to grow.

I've split my (limited) gaming time into current gen (PS3) and retro gaming. My retro gaming mainly consists of revisiting old favorites and checking out games that I missed back in the day growing up.

I just wish I knew some of you guys or people with the same tastes that have a similar balance. I like keeping track of what I beat by the year now in notepad files, and it does usually end up being half and half. Half old games, either replays or stuff I've wanted to hit up, then half new games. But there's really nobody out there I know personally that is that into retro gaming, beyond the really obvious choices like Mario or whatever. I get in phases for buying and building up my collections. But yeah, I'm always adding to those old libraries all the time as well.

I guess it's just safe to say I'm a bit more back to "how it used to be" when I was younger. Then, I was limited in a financial / no car / super young kind of case, and now it's just best to limit myself to save my wallet and make sure what I pickup counts! It's not like my options are ever going to dry up, for both old and new games.

[graffix_13]

. But there's really nobody out there I know personally that is that into retro gaming, beyond the really obvious choices like Mario or whatever. I get in phases for buying and building up my collections.

Yeah, I can understand how that can be frustrating. I'm lucky in that sense because my best friend of 25+ years and my younger brother kept their SNES/NES collection of games (I sold mine) or rebuilt it years ago before prices went through the roof. So I get to borrow games from them without having to pay crazy prices. On the flip side though, they aren't really into the current gen. So in that regard it sucks because I can't discuss any of the newest hits. It's like they are stuck in a 1994 gaming loop, lol.

My love for video games includes all the eras and all the genres.

[indecks]

I'm a very different gamer compared to my past gaming habits.

I grew up in the Atari/NES era so I remember getting a new game was a big deal. And sometimes you lucked out like Mega Man III (personal favorite of the series) or Castlevania III, but sometimes you ended up with something terrible like Wolverine. But either way, you kept playing your awesome or shitty game because that was $50 that you either earned by mowing the lawn for a couple months, or your mom/dad bought it for you and it was either 'the new game' or you run through your previous (possibly shitty) game again.

I'm an adult now so acquiring a game is a matter of driving down to the game store at payday or in some cases, torrenting one. But games just don't hold my attention as much anymore. I get easily frustrated with games now. I don't think its because of difficulty, or that I suck as a gamer (though that could be the case). I'll walk away from a game pretty easily. Just recently I was playing Deadpool. It's a funny, decent game and it's voiced by one of my favorite VO actors, Nolan North. I got to a point in the game that was just frustrating. I dont even know if it was difficult, or just difficult for me. But I'm the type of person that just wants to get to the next level to hear/see what funny things DP has to say, or do. I get irritated when something gets in my way. I had to restart a check point like 5 times and on the 6th, I said "fuck it." and stopped playing. I have no interest in going through the checkpoint again.

There are some high profile games that I want to or did play, like Arkham City. I didn't hate the game, but I was severely disappointed in the lack of actual "game" in it. They tried to 'add' to the game by including Catwoman DLC and what not but that still wasn't a full game. I paid $60 for a game, and half of that 'game' was finding Riddler trophies and Catwoman or whatever. THAT'S NOT GAME. That's extra content. I was playing for what seemed like a week and I kept seeing my game completion percentage climbing. Like a week of playing an hour or so a day had gone by and my progress was like 35%. I was thinking wow! This is a huge game! Awesome! And then the credits rolled. SERIOUSLY? maybe 10 hours?

WHAT THE HELL? I found out later that the designers figured in trophy hunting as part of the percentage of the game. I know this isn't really a new practice (Metroid, etc) but with such a huge scope of game world presented, you'd think I'd actually get $60 worth of game. But I didn't, it was a waste.

But there are some games out there that can still hold my attention. BioShock Infinite was a great, enjoyable trek and the ending was (to me) pretty satisfactory for the journey undertaken. Its just not as common to happen anymore.

I'm not interested in the Xbox 1 or PS4 and definitely uninterested in the Wii 1.5. I'm gonna stick with my phone, iPad, cabs and emulators. I'd rather just go through Chrono Trigger or FFVI again.

[J T]

To me, this gen has been all about the PC and digital deals. I've bought WAAAAY more games because of Steam/GoG/Desura/Gamers Gate/Direct2Drive/Impulse and various indie bundles. I've hardly touched my consoles because I just can't get as many diverse experiences for my dollar as I can via PC downloads. Now, I know a lot of the PC games I play didn't come out this generation, but they became readily available and affordable this generation, so it has led to an explosion of games added to my library. I play all across PC gaming history now. This has really become the generation of the backlog.

This generation has also seen the rise of the indie game, which has changed my gaming habits substantially. I play lots of short and sweet games now, and quite a lot of them are actually free. This has also led me to things like the Japanese doujin scene, where I'm playing imported games for the first time. I never did that with consoles unless it was a translated rom.

This gen has also made me unable to play FPS games that aren't on the WASD layout. I remember when I used to play Wolfenstein and DOOM without a mouse and it just feels horrible to me now. WASD + mouse is just so much better, it's hard to go back.

Also, with the advances in graphics and the ease at which you can capture screen shots, I've become as much a virtual photographer as a gamer. I like to roam and explore and appreciate the visually artistry of my games, which has always been true, but now I devote more time to it and I keep looking for that perfect screen grab.

This gen has also helped me to recognize that I play different games for different reasons. If I want to wander aimlessly in a beautiful virtual world, I play something like Skyrim. If I want cinematic choose your own adventure, then I play something like Walking Dead or Mass Effect. If I want to challenge my skills of dexterity, then I play a game like Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV. I could go on, but I think I appreciate each game for what it is good at, and if there is some other kind of experience I want out of my game time, I'm sure I have a game that can scratch the itch, because like I said, I bought a ton of games this generation.

[ZeroAX]

I stopped being a Nintendo fanboy. Which is funny cause Nintendo started this gen at its best and at its most creative (DS and first 2 years of the Wii) only to turn into a company that takes almost zero risk.

I also stopped gaming on PC (2006-2010) other than online games, only to return to it cause of the renaissance of pc gaming caused by digital distribution, small budget games and indie games.

Lastly I found out which genres I really like and stopped bothering with the ones I don't. I used to push myself to play and finish every big name game out there (I don't mean the blockbusters by that, but all the "must have classics", even if I hated playing them)/

[Boaradoor]

I've slowly lost interest in FPS games, and have leaned more toward RPG and Action Adventure games. This gen seems to have a lot rehashed FPS games, or at least extremely similar stuff. As always though, I mainly play retro games. Get a few new Saturn and Genesis games every month.

[marlowe221]

My habits have certainly changed but I also think it's more a function of age/life circumstances than the state of the industry.

I have moved more towards PC (gog/steam) and handhelds and away from consoles. I do want a Wii U though and plan to buy one this summer.

I tend to play more action/arcade oriented games. My gaming time is more limited than it used to be and I don't want to sit through MGS5-style cut scenes, I want to play the damned game!

When I do have extended gaming time, I have found myself favoring TBS games more and more. I have spent HOURS playing games like Civ 5, Battle for Wesnoth, HoMM2-3, and so on.

But other crap is going on too in life - good crap, don't get me wrong. Just in the past year, I got a new job, got married, and we are in the process of moving to a new town for said job. We've been talking about maybe having a spawn (read: kid) or two for pete's sake!

Plus I have other hobbies that require time and money, like the fact that I have been playing the acoustic guitar for 20 years now.

[Blu]

First off, thanks Xeogred for the great introduction to the topic and other remarks by members of the community. I think we all have some similar habits and views towards gaming.

I think circumstantially my habits and views have changed. I used to play tons of games in High School and College. I was fairly selective based on what my friends were playing, as games are a social experience for me. In high school it was the competitive games that put you in the same room, be it Bomberman, Smash Brothers, FPS or another party game. It also followed the formula of you die, you pass the controller a la Metal Gear Solid or Devil May Cry. Those were great, simpler times. This shifted when all of my friends moved after graduation (being a Marine Corps brat). College shifted me to PC and Xbox and the online experience, and in ways it kept me connected to those who are still important to me. Going through Doom 3, Halo 3, and other games with my father via online was something I'll always appreciate. I sunk probably thousands of hours into online games with friends, when my time was my most available resource.

Where I am now, life has shifted my priorities so I don't have as much time to pick up the controller. I have appreciated this current generation, though I don't know how many of those games I will want to go back and play through, or how long the hardware will work for some. There are so many quality games out there but like many have said it's hard to sift through what's so readily available and what's worth my time.

I think for games in the future I'm going to look at the names of the designers and programmers who are at the helm. I've loved Yuji Naka's initial games with Prope and other independent, smaller studios who put novel things out. I'll still go with a few big title games, because every new Zelda Game brings me much excitement and is worth experiencing. I'll most likely start with a Wii-U, and eventually get a PS3, but like a few members here I'll wait to purchase later into the consoles' lives and after a few price drops.

I think it's also changed my collecting habits. These days I'm looking for justification as to why a game must remain a part of my collection, whereas I used to be less selective. My fear is I don't want to have too large of a game collection that seldom gets played by me or guests. So thinning out has been a priority.

Great thread!