Has this gen changed your gaming habits and views?

[Xeogred]

More current nostalgia time. And I hope we (myself included) can keep this civil, as I know this can probably be bait for more moaning about modern trends and such, but let's try to get more personal here.

Just talking to others about this, reflecting on this gen, and noticing my habits over the recent years, and comparing them to someone like my roommate, I think it's safe to say that this gen has made me far far more selective in my gaming choices and spendings. And really I'm not complaining. We're 7 generations into the mainstream consoles, perhaps it's not so much this gen specifically, but that it was just "the right place in the wrong time" for me and was going to happen eventually (or maybe not really "wrong" there). But, there is just SO much out there with no sign of stopping, that I finally have to put the brakes on and stop to recognize, what games I truly think are worth my time, interesting, and will be fun for me personally.

My roommate is someone that still tends to buy at least one or sometimes more AAA games a month and I haven't done that in years now really. It'd be hard to even figure out what brand new games I bought last year outside of Mass Effect 3. This year it's been Dead Space 3, Bioinfinite, and I'll get GTA5 probably, and Dark Souls II if it's coming this year.

People have knocked on this since the NES so maybe it just finally hit me as well, but I've finally gotten pretty bored of the big major franchises. The yearly annual releases have not helped at all either. I apply my MMO argument to this (no offense), but I like gaming itself in its entirety and the options out there so much, that I don't have the time, interest, or patience to overly dedicate myself to select franchises. I can keep this going with stuff like Zelda, Metal Gear Solid, or whatnot, because it's usually 1-2 games an entire gen max, and that's fine. Trilogies were fine with me as well in this everlasting ~7 year gen, but anything more than that and my patience has finally dried up. If Zelda and Metal Gear Solid ended up seeing yearly releases, it'd be no different and they'd end up in that category as well. Doesn't matter what it is. Quality over quantity, make it count.

I guess that about sums it up. Early on in this gen I was doing Gamefly and would usually end up buying almost everything I rented. I regret most of them, hah. So I think to sum it up, I'm becoming more relaxed and slower with gaming and it's turning out to be better that way. I can generally tell what games I'm truly going to enjoy at a glance or knowing who's behind it, etc, so from here on I'll just probably continue to be more selective and picky.

I'll get a PS4, but all the more reason why I can hopefully wait it out for awhile now. There's still a ton this gen and before that I want to play, then giving the PS4 time will give me real options of stuff I know I'll probably enjoy. I guess my goal is to be somewhere in the middle, a little behind... not too caught and not behind enough to be at the point of no return, although it seems like some people here enjoy that zone haha. I'll always be keeping up with gaming till' the end, but yeah I'm enjoying my slowed down pace and will probably keep at it from here on. It could all relate to age as well to an extent I'm sure. Growing up, getting a new game, one game a year even, was a huge deal. I'd like to have that feeling again and make sure it really counts.

My wallet thanks me too.

I probably need to find a way to avoid gaming sites as well. It's really just the entire medium that suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks, I'm just like... wow, slow down. This is a bigger knock on the internet though, the biggest double edged sword in my mind. Knowledge is power, but information overload sucks. I can't imagine life without it nowadays but I also miss the days of magazines, and when most of the behind the scenes stuff in the market and community was... well, behind the curtain. It's becoming too much and this is something that probably won't ever change. So, I'll probably have to change? lol.

Any kind of revelation for you guys?

[dsheinem]

I think my gaming habits over time have coincided with larger changes in my life, so while my habits have changed this generation, I don't think it has as much to do with the games coming out as it does with things like income/time/responsibilities/other interests also shifting around a bit.

[Luke]

In short, no.

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.

Perhaps if I was younger I'd have the time to play games that take two hours of play to get anywhere. These days I have to schedule a "video game day".

[fastbilly1]

It has in that I am much more patient in waiting for a game price to drop. Last year I bought Borderlands 2 at launch and that was about it.

[Snatch1414]

I think a lot of this depends on how old you are and where you are in life, but regardless:

Yes I have definitely changed my habits. Before my system was to buy whatever new release I wanted and trade in the last one, essentially paying about $40 every time I wanted a new game. Not a bad deal, but I finally learned that if you slow down and go back to some older stuff you'll eventually get in a groove where you're picking up games that came out about a year ago, paying $10-20 instead of closer to full price. The cycle just keeps repeating after that, and you save money. Plus it's not like you can't make an exception and make a day one purchase if you really want to, which I still will two or three times a year.

[Ack]

I have stopped preordering games and rarely buy at launch. I am more than content to wait for years to play a current game now on a console. PC gaming on the other hand...I'm willing to purchase a game at launch if my friends are playing multiplayer. I haven't because my computer cannot handle modern games, but if that were not the case, I'd be more than happy to have another game to try with the guys.

Beyond that...no, not really. Ds gave an excellent description about reasons for other changes in my gaming habits.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Yeah. Pile me in with dsh as well. My gaming habits have mostly changed out of financial necessity. My taste has changed a bit for certain as well though. This generation I've found I don't really care for consoles that much anymore. Handhelds have become vastly more interesting in my opinion. I also don't play that many large releases at this point (again, mostly due to financial constraints).

[graffix_13]

Hmm good question and I'd say yes, my habits have changed. For the better? I dunno...but I find enjoyment out of it so I'd say that's a positive.

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.

For current gen, I almost hate to admit but I'm addicted to the trophies/achievements in games. It is an extra sense of accomplishment when that platinum trophy "dings". This adds an extra layer of entertainment for a game, but the downside is that I sometimes avoid games if I don't care for the trophy lists (multiplayer, extremely hard trophies, etc.). I've avoided good games because of that like the new Tomb Raider reboot, Ninja Gaiden 2, Shadow of the Colossus HD remake, etc. I shouldn't let that stop my from playing a good game, but it's better than obsessing about a trophy that could take me hours and hours of headache to obtain.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

I've been pretty much the same because of money. A new game is a rare treat for me. I've been buying more new now that I've got more money to throw around - like, three a year

But I spend way too much money on small games I might not like that much. I have a lot of 1.99 PC games from the thrift shop I ended up not being able to run, or not liking, despite their critical acclaim. I could have bought some more expensive ones I really wanted.

[Forlorn Drifter]

Part of mine is also due to age shift over the past 7 years, so a decent amount of it is that.

I, like many others, have become more selective with my games. I'm not too hot on multiplayer games, but I get giddy like a Japanese schoolgirl over coop games. I've also moved away from trying to get long games to just games I'll enjoy, and want to play over. My 10 year old self would have been appalled at me buying 6 hour Lollipop Chainsaw. (Honestly, a really shallow game game-play wise, but I still find it a ton of fun.)

Due to party chat on Xbox 360, I've become very sure about talking while gaming. Before, I hated it, but now I love it. Its bled through to the point I just love having people in the room with me. Woe is the day that my future wife (or dog, because I'm going to die alone. ) is forced to talk to me while I play video games.

I've also become a bit of an achievement whore, so I reallly hope they do away with achievements this next gen, or that PS4 doesn't have an equivalent.