'Quitting' computer games as a whole?

[Quom]

I go through periods. I dunno about quitting, but my tastes have definitely changed and I find myself enjoying a lot of games less and less. I dunno if more games are being made, if they're different to how they used to be or if I just care less about games as a whole but I'd be lucky to get hyped about more than 2 games a year and feel like I need to buy them. Likewise when I do play a lot of games after 5 minutes I'm bored and can't be bothered. The hardest part is that I can't really tell which games I'll like nowadays. I'll play a game like Skyrim and love it to death, then play Farcry which should basically be the same thing but with guns and hate it. 

I also get a lot more enjoyment out of watching Let's Plays than playing a lot of games. I'd rather watch Quill18 play EU4, Civ 5 or Rimworld than actually play it myself (as weird as that sounds) and I get far more enjoyment from that than playing 99% of games.   

But sometimes I do still get crazy into games. I'm loving Binding of Isaac: Rebirth and am hyped for Afterbirth. Likewise earlier this year I was loving Cities Skylines. 

Are you talking like - computer gaming specifically? I've tried to get into the PC stuff but I just can't do it for anything past the niche stuff that you can only find an audience for on PC. I've pretty much accepted that I am going to be console until I die or until something can copy the straight up ease, aesthetic and support that something like the Xbox One gets in all aspects.

I have my PC hooked up to my TV. Steam background downloads all of the patches and keeps all my games in one spot. I never have to get up to change discs, 90%+ of games work with a wireless Xbox 360 controller (full support with correct button prompts and the like). I actually find it easier and more appealing than console gaming. Whilst I've not used any of this gens consoles I can't really see how they'd do things in a way that would be so superior that I was blown away.  

[apsham]

I have just never in my life been able to sit down at the computer and think about booting up a game like Grand Theft Auto V or Max Max - and I've tried again and again. Steam tried to do the whole 'Big Picture' thing but my computer is still in my mind for other things. Nothing about the process really seems all that much easier to be honest - I can get automatic updates and everything of the sort on the console without the complications that I have had with the computer (hot swapping drivers to make certain games work, messing with settings to find what works optimally, in earlier times hoping that my 360 controller was even going to work properly with the games) all with more access to friends.

I still love sitting down to play anything that primarily needs mouse control (like Crusader Kings II or Civ5) or simpler games like Rouge Legacy but ultimately, my console is going to be my go to and I think I'm likely going to keep up with them as they roll out until the two eventually converge.

[Quom]

I have just never in my life been able to sit down at the computer and think about booting up a game like Grand Theft Auto V or Max Max - and I've tried again and again. Steam tried to do the whole 'Big Picture' thing but my computer is still in my mind for other things. Nothing about the process really seems all that much easier to be honest - I can get automatic updates and everything of the sort on the console without the complications that I have had with the computer (hot swapping drivers to make certain games work, messing with settings to find what works optimally, in earlier times hoping that my 360 controller was even going to work properly with the games) all with more access to friends.

I still love sitting down to play anything that primarily needs mouse control (like Crusader Kings II or Civ5) or simpler games like Rouge Legacy but ultimately, my console is going to be my go to and I think I'm likely going to keep up with them as they roll out until the two eventually converge.

That's likely the thing then. I have two HDMI ports on my PC, one goes to my AV receiver which is hooked up to my tv and speakers, the other goes to my monitor. I wouldn't want to play those games on my monitor either if the tv is an option. I don't really get why you'd use Big Picture on a monitor since chances are a keyboard and mouse are right there anyway. 

I think the driver thing is largely a thing of the past, I've never done it, I mean I do need to update my drivers like once a month, but a thing pops up asking me to do it. Same with settings, if you have a Nvidia card you can set it to use the optimal settings they'd recommend. You can still fiddle with stuff if you're into it but it isn't super necessary plus I see it as a net positive since you can tailor the game to run as smooth and as pretty as you want. I have a Nvidia 670 (released 2012) and am playing games at higher settings than the PS4 can handle, sure it might take me a couple of minutes in the settings, but setting it up isn't really a pain in the arse.

So I wouldn't say it's easier, it's more that the things you've struggled with in the past don't really seem to exist any more. Or if they do they aren't really major (spending a couple of minutes altering settings if you don't want to use what Nvidia recommends). 

[Ruki]

One of my earliest memories is of playing a video game, so I don't see me stopping anytime soon.

[Draevyn]

I've never been a huge gamer. I tend to buy a lot of games and only really have a chance to play a couple hours a week but I enjoy the time I do, even at my age. I don't think I could ever completely give it up. It's a fun thing to pass the time even if I don't have as much to put into them anymore.

[VerbalPuke]

Not sure. I definitely have scaled way back in the last few years. I probably own....seven games? And most don't even work because of baby fingers on the discs. I don't buy games new anymore, I usually just wait two years or whatever for when they're like 20 dollars used. I admit there is some really cool looking shit on the PS4 (Mad Max, Fallout 4, and Metal Gear) but I don't have four hundred dollars for a PS4, and I can't imagine paying that much for a console right now.

I imagine with having two boys I'll always play video games here and there with them.

[JasonM]

NEVER~!

I have switched to PC gaming as I've got older.

This. I sold my consoles earlier this year and I'm quite content with PC gaming from now on. The fact is most current gen games are also on PC but cheaper and that last-gen emulation has come so far so soon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09ZSwrdsHzQ

I've got 2 kids and my son is just starting to properly get into gaming, it's fun teaching him stuff and I'm excited for some multiplayer sessions with him.

"Gameplay does not work as of this build and the menu music does not work however the rest of the game is running flawlessly."

Menu Simulator 2016

How did I not even know about this, a god-damned X360 emulator. I'm so hype right now despite proper workign builds being a few years away still...
I will assume it's infinitely easier than PS2 emulating, because that generation used A LOT of loopholes and design tricks to get to make them work on said consoles. If you look at a game like Snake Eater on PCSX2 it will be an unplayable mess because the game wasn't made for the infrastructure and they were magicians in just getting it to work, let alone be the finest game of it's generation.

360/PS3 emulation is a whole lot more cut and dry compared to it's preceding generation. Most games are built on a recognisable engine and because the tech surrounding it was better (and more closely relating to PC hardware) the games themselves have been made a whole lot less ''tricky''. The only exceptions could probably be made for games like GTA5 and Last of Us, games that managed to push the system to it's limits long after people even expected advancements in said systems...

---

Anyways, that was my tangent about emulation, now to talk about the actual topic...

Personally I think I will never stop playing games completely. I will dial down the amount of gaming I do depending on the situation (during holiday I played no games for 3 weeks), and with me doing a 40h/w internship (and all those awesome TV Series to watch) I got much less time to invest in playing games. But if I have a moment of boredom, I will pick up a game and will play it for a good time.

I'm still trying to get through Witcher 3, and it's epic fun because the game is amazing. After that I will probably pick up MGS5 or Mad Max depending on what i'm fancying.
On the side I also play some other games when I don't feel like playing through the Witcher; like Project CARS or Eastside Hockey Manager. And when FM16/NBA 2k16 comes out I'll no doubt pick those up too.

I'm 25 years old now, and I've been surrounded with videogames since I was a kid. First on the NES, then the gameboy, PS2, 360, and always the PC too. I can imagine a life with less games, but I can't imagine it without any because it's part of me. I can live without them, but why would I want to?

Edited September 9, 2015 by Jasonmufc

[Gazz]

I think I'm getting there. Almost no new games pique my interest anymore, everything's been done, everything is a copy of a copy of a copy. Only Fallout 4 so far this year has me interested and that's because I already love the franchise. I probably won't play it for a few years since I don't own a next gen console and I'm not interested in updating my graphics card. The only games I play with any regularity lately is Crusader Kings and dicking about on GTA:Online.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Gazz
Holy run on sentence Batman!

[Benji]

Not even slightly. When I'm old and in a nursing home, I'ma spend my days playing games.

[Liam]

I think I'm getting there. Almost no new games pique my interest anymore, everything's been done, everything is a copy of a copy of a copy, only Fallout 4 so far this year has me interested and that's only because I already love the franchise and I probably won't play it for a few years since I don't own a next gen console and aren't interested in updating my graphics card for. The only games I play with any regularity lately is Crusader Kings and dicking about on GTA:Online.

I think I'm beginning to get towards where you are. I do play games a little bit, but ten minute bursts and I'm done.

Even when I buy a new game, I feel that the thrill is in the purchase more than the play at times - I like the idea of having this new game, but I don't necessarily enjoy playing it as much as all that in the long run.

Saying that, I have enjoyed my time spent with Citizens of Earth on the PS4. Every so often, a game does grab me and make me excited again. Bastion and Rogue Legacy were probably the last two.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I don't play as much now and can go weeks without unless I get into a game. I haven't bought a game on release in a couple of years and don't have a PS4 (family life priorities don't allow it) whereas I got the PS1, 2 and 3 within a month of launch for each. 

I don't mind. Loads of great PS3 games still to complete. Got Farcry 4 to play after Black Flag and then back to another half dozen I never completed but love.

[King Ellis]

I thought for sure Gazz was going to finally overcome his 4 year injury to return for the Dragons on Xbox One so he can also play Fallout.

[lanky316]

I never see a "quitting" time. I've played games for 28 years, still enjoy the release they give and some of that is the games from my childhood I'll still run on an emulator (had the room it'd be on the old systems in storage!). It's just the nature of what games I play that may periodically change, current example being I don't get much time to get on anything that requires a lot of time to play so a lot of deeper strategy games are out of the window. I can still however jump on a game for a little while and have a couple of games of Rocket League, a game of Blood Bowl on FUMBBL (though actually remembered Cyanide is quite good for timing "on the fly") and even MGS5's mission structure isn't too bad for me which is a pleasant surprise even if I'm not far into it at all.

 

Whether I'll be moving to the next generation of consoles in a few years time or not is up for debate but I expect I'll be still playing something.

[Your Mom]

Yeah I mean I'll probably still play something. The grandkids will be laughing at grandma playing on her phone while they inject the games straight into their brains or whatever