Caleco said:
As I'm playing Skyrim punctuated by a few BF3 brakes I wondered "What would it take for me to completely give up gaming?" and I must say I was completely stumped. I seriously could not think of any real scenario's where I would truly give up my cherished games. Not for money, nor school, nor girlfriend. Sure maybe I would play more moderately but that would be it. Has this question occurred to any of you?
This hypothetical could actually become reaity for me. If the rumors are true and the new XBox prevents the use of used games, and if the other rumors about Sony throwing in the towel and not bothering with the next generation, then it looks like my days of gaming are over...at least as far as keeping up with the generations.
I just think that Microsoft would be doing something too stupid to be able to justify supporting by buying their product if they go through with the "no more used games" policy. Developers piss and moan about people buying used games and cutting into their profits...that's just ridiculous. Do they lose some profits? Yes. But not nearly enough to justify a war on used games (and consequently the game renting business gets shot in the face as an innocent bystander). It's the exact same argument that musical artists have against free downloads: "They're stealling our - *snorts another rail of cocaine off a stripper's ass - money and profits, man!" It's really hard to feel sympathy for those types. I get it, piracy is wrong and I'm not saying it's justified, what I'm saying is their complaints about piracy aren't justified. What bands apparently forget is that they don't make the majority of their money with CD sales, they make it by doing concert tours. The same goes true with game developers, but instead of "concert tours", the games industry has "release dates". The vast majority of all money made from a game comes from within the first week or two of its release when EVERYONE is buying it new. The profits gradually die off as the game gets older, and at that point why the hell should you care if someone that's 6 months late to the party picks up the game at a cheaper price from which you don't get a cut? Even if they do buy it new, at that point it'd literally be another drop in the bucket of the money you've already made with that game.

Wow, that turned into a bit of an impromptu rant on my part. But yeah, as I mentioned, my gaming career could end with this generation if the rumors about the next one prove to be true.
Edit: That said, I don't think anything would make me stop playing games altogether. I'll just stop keeping up with them and enjoy the one's I've already got.