How Does Your Wife/Girlfriend Feel About Your Retro Gaming?

[alexis524]

wife hates it. She's quiet about it, but underneath her passive veneer, she loathes it. She feels it is a time waster and for kids, so needless to say, I only game late at night or after finishing up some work in the home office since she thinks i'm still working.

[Jmustang1968]

wife hates it. She's quiet about it, but underneath her passive veneer, she loathes it. She feels it is a time waster and for kids, so needless to say, I only game late at night or after finishing up some work in the home office since she thinks i'm still working.

Ouch, I have always disliked that line of thinking and believe it to be selfish. Especially more so with those who think this way and like to watch tv. Basically it is only my entertainment hobbies are worthy, any others are a waste of time.

[samsonlonghair]

My ex-girlfriend didn't like my video game collection much.

I see you made the right decision.

[prfsnl_gmr]

wife hates it. She's quiet about it, but underneath her passive veneer, she loathes it. She feels it is a time waster and for kids, so needless to say, I only game late at night or after finishing up some work in the home office since she thinks i'm still working.

I agree with JMustang that her line of thinking is very narrow-minded. Unless your wife spends every minute of her spare time building things, exercising relentlessly, volunteering, or writing, then I don't think she has the right to consider your hobby a "time waster"...

(I also assume that, like most people, she spend her spare time watching American Idol, The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, or whatever else counts as "adult" entertainment these days. )

[cha cha]

Happy to report my wife totally respects my gaming hobby and collecting hobby, has gotten into a lot of boardgaming and vidyagamez because of exposure to my hobby and happily engages in her hobbies aside from mine (drawing/playing facebook games/watching korean dramas) without so much as an eyebrow raised from me. She also acknowledges and respects the fact that we have met a ton of cool people, made a lot of lifelong friends and had a bunch of amazing experiences through my gaming adventures etc.

One time, early-ish in our relationship (we've been together 14 yrs), she did question how much I spent on a few treasured collectibles and traveling to tournaments... But was quickly put at a loss when I brought up and calculated how much she spent on starbucks and haircare products a week/month, on the spot. We've rarely had a disagreement about such things since.

Just to be safe though, I always make sure that I don't prioritize gaming over her needs and when bored always ask if she would like to do things with me before I engage in inane gaming activities. This helps avoid a build of of negative emotions going unspoken about gaming until it boils over.
She recently started going to Evo/PAX with me the past few years and has had a blast, where as before she was skeptical about how much fun she'd have, now she regrets not joining me sooner, alas

[Exhuminator]

When I first started dating my now fiance, she thought video games were stupid and had no interest in them. Over time I slowly got her into playing them with me, and now we often finish co-op games together (currently working on Samurai Warriors 3 for Wii). She went from thinking games were stupid to actually really enjoying them. The key was finding just the right game that would catch her attention for giving co-op a try. Turned out ObsCure II was the key for her. We have beaten many co-op games since then. And she gives me zero whining about gaming being a big hobby of mine. Then again, I don't actually start gaming solo until after she goes to bed.

[BoneSnapDeez]

But was quickly put at a loss when I brought up and calculated how much she spent on starbucks and haircare products a week/month, on the spot. We've rarely had a disagreement about such things since.

Yeah I have these conversations quite a bit too.

"Wow $40 for that game seems like a lot."
"How much was it to get your hair dyed last week?"
".............................."

[alienjesus]

But was quickly put at a loss when I brought up and calculated how much she spent on starbucks and haircare products a week/month, on the spot. We've rarely had a disagreement about such things since.

Yeah I have these conversations quite a bit too.

"Wow $40 for that game seems like a lot."
"How much was it to get your hair dyed last week?"
".............................."

My girlfriend smokes, so that makes that whole conversation a lot easier XD

[BoneSnapDeez]

God, imagine someone who smokes and collects video games. Like, say, Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket Color games.

[Hazerd]

For you guys that have significant others that dont care for your video game hobby, what other interests do you share or not share