My View on Gaming

[RCBH928]

Hello

So I am not hardcore gamer(I don't have 12 systems, and 50 games for each and I play 5 hours daily)
My last console was ps1, and other than the usual videogaming at friends' places, I stopped playing around 99 and I only bought 360 by the end of 2006.

I missed so much on gaming I decided to get back at it all So I bought a wii, and N64 the console i wanted most in my life(free from friend) , and a dreamcast.
You see my 360 and wii can give me ability to play a lot of retro games through the online stores, The 360 give me the option of original xbox and the wii give me the option to play gamecube games. So basically in a way or another I have the following system:
Wii-360-Original Xbox-Gamecube-Dreamcast-N64
Snes-Genesis-NeoGeo-turbograffix and more Virtually through XBL and VC

At first I was looking to play , how i say this as English is not my first language, the cream of the crop? So I haunted for all the games that scored 9's or above making me buy 3 GTA's something i kind of regret since all of them are the same. I am stuck with games I have not played for like past year and a half. I tried to play all the great games I missed on during my childhood(I still didnt get anything from VC and XBL) . Then I come to realize that videogames were more like a chore to me.

With nothing really to do(i dont study or work currently) I still dont feel like playing everyday. Some games make things frustrating and not challenging and when you are stuck somewhere you just don't feel like continuing. Great games like OoT and others can be found for great prices like $20 , but when you are haunting for 6 or more games per system You can see its eating out of your wallet something you could use for something better to enhance your life other than facing a tv screen , which you already do watching tv channels and DVD's, add to that the internet. I find that games eat out more of your life than you can imagine.

I came to realize that there are simply more games that you can enjoy, and there is so little time to enjoy them. At this age with stuff like XBL, amazon, and ebay you can buy old system and their games to enjoy. Something would be hard to do in earlier days( can you imagine looking for a decent reliable seller of retro games and enjoying them without internet? now you just type it in google) . I have played N64 , dreamcast, xbox, and 360 games all at the same time and given each system and its different era I still found all the games amusing and fun to play more or less. Its not like newer game is more fun. In fact I am sure I would get a lot more joy playing banjo kazooie and mario on 64 than playing something like kameo on 360 , even if it is light years ahead technology wise.
So good games are Simply a lot and some of them give you some real good hours of playing (rpg's and so) not to mention online play, bonus levels, achievements, and playing with friends and family.

Another point is that, to be honest most games ARE fun and decent enough. Yes some games are most exciting but lets take this for example. GTA4, assassin creed, fallout are all like Triple A titles but its not like you are going to have bad time playing games like Saint Row, Smackdown vs Raw, and Dead Rising. Even games with lower scores are fun to play. Given CURRENT 360 library its enough to keep you busy to play for good couple of years. Now add WiiWare and Xbox Arcade and see the explosive amount of gaming you can do today. Also developers are making more games than we can actually go through them really. Can you count how many COD there is? Add to that stuff like downloaded content and expansion packs, now to mention never ending games like World of Warcraft that I would love to get a taste of what is MMORPG is like but I don't think I will ever get to it.

This all comes to thinking, is it simply worth it? Games are fun and enjoyable, but its impossible to get all the good games out there, they are like enough for couple life times(I have not yet spoken about hand helds) and i am not sure if enough people are out there to buy all those games(how many games can you buy given price and quality of games out there). They are all interesting, prince of persia, peggle, Banjo Kazooie 360, resident evil, Gears, but I do not think you can ever get around playing them. Shall I stop my pursuit for gaming?

I still would play, but there are simply too many good games out there and so little time and limited money. I have been like over a year looking to play bioshock and half life 2 for 360 , wanting to check what portal is and is team fortress fun enough? I just cant get around it, there are simply too many games. I have still not started on gamecube games I wanted to play and starting to cancel some I wanted to play like Killler 7 and and Prince of Persia series.

Or do you think I just should take my time and believe that my systems would still work 6-7 years ahead, and I would still be able to get around playing games like Fable 2 and Fallout, just like I am able today to purchase dreamcast and N64 games>?

But the catch in that option is, by then more games got pumped out for current generation, and new systems are out with new great titles just like this generation and past generations.

I am starting to think, stop getting all these goods, because there is more out there than you can consume. Its like you have your regular human stomach and only 3 meals a day, but you are in a court full of delicious foods that you want to get your hands on , but you can only eat so much, Sea food, italian, mexican, deserts, finger food, fast food, grills, its just endless

[RyaNtheSlayA]

meh. I dont play games everyday, im good at them, and i like to take a long time when i do play them, but I do agree w/ alot of your points but the fact you feel its a chore is kinda an odd thing to say, especially since your part of a gaming community.

[lordofduct]

Slow down on the getting the goods.

I own to many games now a days that I'll never play them. I'm not interested in playing them. I don't have the time to play them all. Never will.

What you should do is find out WHAT you like. You name several different genres, and really you're going to make your list far to large.

Personally i'm at point in my gaming lifestyle that I KNOW what I like before even buying the game... before the game is even dreamt up. I like puzzle driven games with cool music, especially if there is interaction with the music. This puzzleyness sometimes slides into other genres as well. I also like side scrolling platform titles. So I stick to those... I'm usually not disapointed and a single game lasts me a while.

It reminds me of when I was a kid. When I was 10 I couldn't afford a new Genesis game every week. I got one for X-mas and MAYBE one for my birthday... maybe. That was 2 new titles a year. So I made sure to refine my choice in a game and I stuck to it, I enjoyed it to its fullest as much as possible.

I've basically returned to this mantra. In the last 2 years I downloaded Rez, Lumines, Ikaruga, Braid and Space Giraffe (2 of which I already owned on DC), and that's what I play... I don't need another game for a while.

[kewlrabbit]

You're simply trying to do too much. You will not be able to play through every good game made. It's just not possible. Don't try it. I think it's starting to feel like a chore to you because every time you start up a new game you can't really focus on playing and enjoying that one because you're trying to finish it and jump into the next one. Play the games you enjoy, and don't worry about what you're not playing.

[blue_veilvet]

Hi there,

I can understand many of your points. I have around 8 systems and 49 games that I have not finished yet. I think the chore with this situation is that you can't devote yourself fully to one game, since you want to finish it quickly to get around playing the others. It's also difficult after beating a game to choose the next one, since there is so much choice (I recently read that too much choice is difficult for a customer, since it gets more probable that you chose wrong).

It is strange talking about games that way, since games are supposed to be fun. But it always gets difficult if you feed yourself too much with something, I guess. And with ebay, flea markets and gamestop shops it's way too tempting not to get as much as you can.

So it's a good idea to have some limits or constraints. I only like a handful of genres, buy only PAL games and do not import stuff, and I'll avoid getting any current gen consoles until I'm really through with the games I already have. And I also try to avoid getting new games and systems.

I think it would be best if you only had a couple of games for each system. This way, you can focus better on the individual games.

I guess we all should buy ourselves a new game only on our birthday and on christmas

[Curlypaul]

Buying fewer games certainly worked for me. I was experience the same kind of stress trying to play too many games simultaneously. I was playing each game 2 or 3 games in a row and then switching to one of the others. I tried concentrating on fewer but I found that as I was still buying them I was still pretty swamped out.

Recently I decided to stop buyings games altogether and just play the ones that I have and save my money for a 360/PS3. Its been far more enjoyable - I've still been playing a few games at the same time but I've been able to take my time and get my teeth into them. I've even been playing Zelda: TP and I've been putting off RPG's for ages because they take up too much of life.

I've had chance to play NMH on bitter, do some side quests in Bully and even play some of the games that I've had kicking around for ages and never even put in a console. I have a whole bunch of gems lying around that I have still yet to play - I think Perfect Dark will be next one in my list. There are at least 20 games in my house that I would love to play before I'm bored and HAVE to buy another one.

You just need to give the idea of playing all the greatest games ever, thats not really possible. Pick a type of game that you like, pick one of the most highly revered games in that genre and enjoy.

[Anayo]

I'll just add that for me, gaming is more enjoyable when it can be contrasted with something else. For instance, during winter break I wasn't so busy, but now school and personal goals have me pretty wrapped up, so after studying my butt off it's just nice and relaxing to play a game for a little while. I suppose what I mean to say is, do gaming only if it's going to be fun and relaxing for you, cause if it's not you're doing something wrong.

[RCBH928]

its kind of hard since I missed on a lot of gaming
and there is game ICONS that I still didn't play

Like I never played a japanese RPG, in fact the closest thing I played to an rpg is jade empire.
Metal Gear is another icon I would like to check out. Its simply too tempting.

Also if you concentrate on playing games you already own, I think I am missing on living this generation. You know what I mean, its great feeling getting and playing the latest game out there , you just feel you are with the crowd. I guess the game loses its shine after it becomes old(Like OoT that I played 10 years later).

You just want to check the greatest graphics out there, the online community, the motion sensing technology, its just too tempting.

ill take your advice on just forgetting the idea of playing all the good games, I am canceling games I wanted to play like viewtful Joe , prince of perisa, maybe assassin's creed, ninja gaiden 2, and I guess all sport games.

I guess you just had to enjoy each console in its era, and time to enjoying consoles was really school years when all you are worried about is to wake up in the morning and doing your homework. There is always more time when you "Grow Up".
When you grow up, you just starting to worry you are getting old and you need to invest your life in something useful taking care of family and building a future, than worrying about the next COOL gaming hitting the market. If you remember, when we were younger like 12, getting new console with great game was a fantasy like feeling , Imagine like having Mario back in its time or lion King on snes, or metal gear or final fantasy 7 on the ps1. Heck the console that run games on CD was fascinating enough, I recall playing that WCW vs the world game with a little bit of video intro was SUPER DUPER amazing, its like that effect they make when some one is looking into a TV and his hair is blown up in amazement. I recall looking at the console and wonder, how can a console play an Audio CD!! You can listen to music on it!

oh well...
Ill try to manage , but one thing I learned, getting more Good games meaning less gaming enjoyed. If you get all the good games you can for sure miss on playing online with games, like once you finish Halo 3, you just want to move to COD and can't enjoy that online community. I am all for getting one game and playing the hell out of it, you get your money's worth for sure and its really enjoyable, it will even get its special delicious taste as it will mean more to you.

[General Chaos]

I'll resonate what others have stated: focus on the games you'll absolutely play and absolutely enjoy playing. That said, it is tempting to try to buy everything, particularly for a console you are collecting. I've done this with a few consoles and then realized "wait a second; why am I buying these games?" I've gone through my "to buy" list and purged it of titles that just simply don't interest me or that I know won't get any play time.

There will always be people who tell you "WHAT! You don't have such and such game in your collection? Well then it isn't complete," but gaming is about personal enjoyment, and really, to a large extent so is collecting.

Now to be a hypocrite and go search out a copy of Evolution for the NGPC, because it is just such a damned good game...

[RCBH928]

I might take a turn and just buy current generation games
I came to realize, at this era, where internet, things like ebay exist and online communities
there is no such thing as not enough games, and there is no such thing as games are too expensive. Back then like in the days of N64, you can only play n64 games because no snes titles are out there to be sold, and n64 games are expensive AND no wiiware or VC...you can complain of game drought. Now its simply impossible, if you have current generation console then if games out there are not enough sure arcade and retro games in its online network are there to keep you busy, PLUS online gamig keeps you busy long time (people played gears and cod4 for months).
If you got older console, then games are a lot out there and cheap enough, or you can sell it and buy another last generation game

I put a theory today in gaming, In this generation and beyond, there is no such thing as game drought or too few games.