Has anyone else quit gaming?

[GoldenLotus]

I'm trying to improve myself and I'm letting go of a lot of things that made me "happy". I quit smoking, drinking and I'm in the process of letting go of more vices, including gaming.

I last really enjoyed the hobby last when the OG Xbox, GameCube & Playstation 2 were out. I did get the 360, ps3 and wii but, they didn't have the same magic. I have yet to even care about the current consoles and while PC gaming looks like it's finally getting it's due respect, and while the steam sales look good, I don't see me wasting hours doing PC maintenance and troubleshooting to play a game.

I think it relates that in my mind, I haven't found a game since that captured the feel of both Shenmue and Shenmue 2. It steered me towards kung-fu movies and made me want to better myself. There's also the fact that to me, the DC/PS2/Xbox/GC Era was the last Gen in gaming that centered on the games and not just multimedia.

I see the coming (slow, very slow) end of console gaming with US download speeds not in line with downloadable multi-gigabyte games. Personally, I don't think you need more than 6 gigs to make a game (I mostly like 2D games anyways). I see mobile gaming gaining ground in the future and with VR, traditional gaming will be something for nostalgic nerds.

I apologize for the long winded post, I hope to have a good discussion.

[Thief]

I've pretty much all but quit gaming myself, to be honest. If I'm playing a game by myself, then I'm probably researching and improving my understanding of "out of bounds" travel or general mechanics behind Super Metroid or Link to the Past. But that to me is a hobby separate from actual gaming. Other than that, I just don't play them on my own.

I'll play something if I'm with someone else, like my brother, but otherwise I won't bother. I've kept certain games that I plan to occasionally use as escapism, like Shenmue, but that's merely for a nostalgia kick/sentimental reasons.

There are so many things I value more than video games, specifically music and poetry, and I'd rather focus my efforts towards those pursuits instead. Gaming was fun, but I've grown increasingly less and less interested in new titles as the years go on. Metal Gear was the last franchise (other than Shenmue... but let's be honest here) that was still on-going that I had interest in. I plan on playing Phantom Pain and then just calling it quits.

I don't imagine I'll ever stop having an interest in the industry itself, as I find game-development interesting (particularly in the late 80's early 90's), but I just don't want to spend my time playing games. Not that there's anything wrong with playing games if that's what you want to do, but at this point, I really don't want to spend my time this way.

[Kenny]

Nope.

Sure, alot of newer titles don't really get me excited as much as previous generations at first glance and I've gotten too busy for certain titles, but to me that's like saying "man, i'm getting tired of watching movies" or "you know what, TV shows don't do it for me anymore".

[Riku Rose]

I see the coming (slow, very slow) end of console gaming with US download speeds not in line with downloadable multi-gigabyte games. Personally, I don't think you need more than 6 gigs to make a game (I mostly like 2D games anyways). I see mobile gaming gaining ground in the future and with VR, traditional gaming will be something for nostalgic nerds.

The PS4 and Xbox One are smashing the previous generation in terms of sales, if anything console gaming has become more popular. Putting a limit on how big games should really be is silly as one of the most exciting things about video games is developers keep pushing to see what cool stuff they can make. People would be bored of games if we was still on the SNES/Mega Drive generation as nothing new would be coming out.

Mobile gaming is becoming more popular with people who never played games before. They already have a mobile phone so they don't have to buy a $300 machine to buy something they only may like. I doubt anyone who is really into video games is saying they won't buy a PS4 because they're playing Angry Birds on the train to work.

I see the VR stuff at best being a niche product. The fact you have to buy it on top of a console or PC just lowers how many consumers can afford it. The reason people didn't make games for Kinect or Move is because you have the option of funding a game 80 million people can buy or funding a game that only 10% of the 80 million can buy since they bought an add-on.

There will always be more games coming out then anyone can keep up with. People who say stuff about how not a good game has come out since the PS2 are clearly people who have either lost interest in gaming or are just nostalgic for that time period. To say that not at the very least a handful of games released year on year aren't any good is just silly since hundreds are released. When 500 games are released and a person can't find a single one that is good is there a problem with the games or with the person?

[GoldenLotus]

It's probably the fact that I lost much interest in it. I sold all my consoles and have pretty much been averse to anything new. I'm more conservative in thinking and I'm not a big fan of change.

[OL]

Personally, I don't think you need more than 6 gigs to make a game.

You know, in the late-80s people might have said the same kind of thing... except they would have put that cap at about two megabytes.
Times change, technology changes with it.

[Crimson Ryan]

I'm more of a part-timer these days..

[south carmain]

I probably complain more about games than I play them these days. When looking back on regrets about my life when I'm on my deathbed it will probably just be a long list of buyer's remorse.

[Kenny]

Having tried the Morpheus (and hopefully the Oculus Rift soon) I can tell you the Kinect, Move, Wiimote, ect has NOTHING on it.

Granted it's not perfected yet but HOLY FUCK, it's awesome. VR tech will destroy lives once it's reaches that point of affordability and accessibility.

[shengoro86]

I have pretty much given up myself.

[MiTT3NZ]

Nope. And I wouldn't ever say I've quit gaming at any point in my life. Right now, I could say I've quit drinking, but I haven't, I'm just not doing it at the moment. Predominantly because the season's finished and I'm skint, but still...

[Riku Rose]

Having tried the Morpheus (and hopefully the Oculus Rift soon) I can tell you the Kinect, Move, Wiimote, ect has NOTHING on it.

Granted it's not perfected yet but HOLY FUCK, it's awesome. VR tech will destroy lives once it's reaches that point of affordability and accessibility.

The problem is that if they aren't affordable for the average joe for 3-5 years then that's 3-5 years every developer will make games for anything but that. Then 3 years down the line when it's cheap will people just pick it up as it'll be a platform no one made a game on for 2 years. It's such a big leap to tell people to buy a PS4 and then buy the VR headset or a high end PC and Oculas. The Wii sold so well because in the box you got Wii Sports and the controller with the console. If the Wii came with a normal controller and then you had to buy the Wiimotes and games separate it would have been a shadow of what it actually turned out to be.

VR sounds awesome to me but I think that leap to get it into homes is just so big that 5 years down the line we won't still be getting games for it. The day Sony or Oculas bring out an Oculas that you can play straight out of the box without having to hook it up to a Playstation or PC will be a game changer.

[Peter]

Basically what Kenny said. If you haven't had a good solid working VR headset and headphones on, and a good game scenario setup, then no offence but you really don't have a clue.

VR I honestly believe will be the future of gaming. But as long as it's for visuals/looking around only. I still feel sitting on a couch with a controller is a necessity. Basically just as if you were playing Shenmue normally, but with a VR headset you see from ryo's point of view and can look 360 degrees around you.
or GTA V. Yes the first person mode was a good idea, but on a square screen it hadn't yet reached its full potential. Imagine looking over your shoulder to see who's beside or behind you before pulling out of the lane.

Honestly when you have your eyes fully in the world, and your hearing senses blasted by the environment around you, you honestly feel like you are IN a game. Not playing it. It's a fucking trippy experience.

YouTube the horror game the guys play on it. I just know it will give someone an actual heart attack.

[MiTT3NZ]

To be honest, I'd rather just those TV glasses. Not that I ain't against VR or reckon it's a gimmick. I just have preferences.

[Kenny]

It wouldn't surprise me if Oculus Rift is released as its own console. I think it kinda is anyway, with the dev kits already been out for awhile now.

That'd be amazing.