Is there such a thing as "growing out" of gaming?

[Gunner 51]

I don't think I'm growing out of games, but I do seem to be getting rather cynical toward them. Not because of the game itself, but the sheer amount of corporism behind them.

As much as I like a Triple-A game, I just don't like the nickel and diming that the publishers seem to be getting away with.

 

[Amarok]

I don't think gaming is something one grows out of in terms of age or maturity, but you can grow out of them insofar as your life changes in such a way that you no longer have the time - such as work or children, for example.

 

[Nexxis]

I think people that "grow out" of gaming tend to do so because their time and responsibility changes to a point where they can't play video games for any length of time. Personally, I don't see myself giving up video games any time soon as it's my entertainment (since I don't watch TV).

 

[Dark Prophet]

I don't think I'll ever grow out of it, I may grow out of some genre like I did with racing games although I still play some of them (I still have 4 or 5 of them instead of 20) and sometimes I'll take a break from games just to read some books that have piled on my desk or watch movies and TV shows that I have missed, but I'll always go back to games.

 

[beniki]

No! Never! You're never too old!! I mean, I still play... video... g-g-games...

*sob*

I still love video games. Eve the crappy ones. Even the shooter-clones. I love playing them, and I relish the times when my students bring in little hand holds to play with during break time. I love the look on their faces when teacher teaches them some old school Tekken combos, or when I explain a tricky piece of grammar through Final Fantasy dialogue.

Buuuut... I've only played about three or four games in the past year. I'm trying to get though Mass Effect 1 and 2 now, so I can join the hordes of disappointed fans on 3, but I just don't have the time I used to have to play.

I get annoyed at things like travel time now, and side quests seem more like a chore than a way to add depth to a world... and I can barely go through a single conversation in game without checking my watch to make sure I'm not late for an appointment.

Games are big time sinks... much more so than a book which you can pick up and put down in a matter of seconds, or movies, where the whole experience is done in two hours or so.

It's not that you get too old. It's just that stuff has to get done.

 

[SirDeadly]

I'm 18 and games don't hold my interest for long amounts of time anymore. As a matter of fact, nothing does... Maybe I have ADD

 

[Dandark]

You don't "grow out" of it, your tastes just change. Eventully people get bored of all the mass market stuff and will love onto doing other things more. I still spend most of my free time gaming but I also spend it reading books and watching anime.

 

[Deadyawn]

People change and their tastes change. It happens. You can "grow out" of gaming just like you can any other past time you have. Personally, I feel as if thats unlikely to happen to me (much to the despair of my family) as it has been a large part of my life for a long time now and I'm quite passionate about it.
But it could, I'm not ruling it out. Life's unpredictable like that.

 

[karloss01]

like a few here i don't think you grow out of gaming, just that when you get oldered D) you find a lot more stuff you're interested in so more and more time gets deligated to other pursuits.

 

[Manji187]

Well, I sure as hell don't enjoy games as much as I used to. Plus there's just so much hype and crap.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

I will always be a gamer, I even plan to enter the industry if I can, but I have noticed a steep decline in the number of games I play. When I was 12-15 I would spend upwards of twelve hours a day gaming, now I clock it as less than six.
I'm not sure if I'm just tired of the tropes and idioms that riddle the gaming market, or if I just have less time.
But I do spend nearly that much time on the Internet, I feel I may suffering from an addiction, as I will stay on even when I've literally run out things I want to do.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Well, I sure as hell don't enjoy games as much as I used to. Plus there's just so much hype and crap.

There's always been hype and crap, it just gets less endearing and more noticeable as you get older.

 

[De_Roll_Le]

I've not grown out of gaming.
I used to be easily hooked by the final fantasy but the recent ones just don't have the exploration factor that you saw with all the ones that came before IX.
I like flying a big ol' ship around like a mad man...

I play a lot of flash games at the moment, currently acquiring a free mode of Starcraft 2. My work hours have shifted from 17 lessons to teach to only 15. Considering that 9 of which are 15 minute long lessons...time has suddenly become more accommodating for my gaming.

I'd say you grow out of it if the company you're with have...unless you are a solo gamer, perhaps your tastes just change.

 

[Triangulon]

I wouldn't say I'm growing out of gaming, but my tastes have changed considerably. I now only part with my hard-earned on games which deliver what I percieve to be good value. Inevitably this means I spend a lot more time playing older and indie titles nowadays.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

When I was 15 I was playing 8 hours on weekdays, 19 hours on weekends. (Around 78 hours a week) I was in a guild. I attended meetings, I was on call, I worked my butt off and become the best player in my guild and was known by name in the server. I would use mathematics to get an edge seeking out every stat every angle. I ate, slept, and did my homework at that computer desk. It was my life.

I'm 25 now, I graduated college, I work full time, and I'm married. I now spend 2 hours gaming on weekdays and 5 hours on weekends. (20 hours a week). I am no longer in a serious guild and anyone who calls me after 9pm has a death wish. In fact I wouldn't have even 20 hours if I hadn't married a gamer girl. So yes I would say I have "grown out" of gaming. I no longer can afford to allow myself to be so submerged into that fantasy land. I have responsibilities, people who rely on me, money to be made. I suspect that as I get older my gaming time will be even less.

It is more because of the tragedy of become an adult though more than age. I never really got into Counter Strike or any of those FPS multiplayers. So the fact that my reaction time isn't as good as it was at 17 (yes it changes THAT fast) doesn't really matter.

 

[Weaver]

There is a growing out but I don't think it is the same as in you grow to old for gaming. My interest in gaming has plummeted greatly last year from the mass monopolizing of video games. The AAA industry itself has changed demographics to make more money which I'm not mad at them for it, I'm just not in it. To say this is the same industry from even five years ago would be outright lying and I'm seeing my reasons for caring for it starting to disappear. It's not completely lost however, With Double Fine and inXile luck with kickstarter along with a few developers, I will be around for a bit longer.

To me it was really around 2000-2003 that I noticed all the big changes for money happening. I'd say this is the same industry as 5 years ago; but it's completely different from what we had in 1988-1995 when a team of like 6 people could make a best-selling AAA game.

We, of course, have the indie scene which I love dearly. So at least there's that.


on topic:
Yes, you can grow out of gaming. I didn't play anything from January to the beginning of March. This wasn't a concious decision, I just didn't feel like playing anything. I have a boatload of ways to spend my time and as much as I still do enjoy gaming, it's not a very constructive pass-time.

You'll have jobs to work, bills to pay and just shit to do in general. Need to get your oil changed and buy groceries? Better be ready to give up your whole night for that.

 

[Manji187]

Well, I sure as hell don't enjoy games as much as I used to. Plus there's just so much hype and crap.

There's always been hype and crap, it just gets less endearing and more noticeable as you get older.

On the face of it, sure, sounds about right.

But was there really hype in the past (90's) of the Skyrim/ Mass Effect 3 variety/ intensity? There may have been moderate excitement, but I don't believe there was this kind of batshit collective insanity.

As for crap, today's crap can be polished graphically and refined in gameplay, but still complete and utter crap in the writing department (narrative and characters). Still gets gulped down like it's chocolate though.

That's another thing that comes with age: higher standards.

Captcha: little bird told me

 

[SajuukKhar]

On the face of it, sure, sounds about right.

But was there really hype in the past (90's) of the Skyrim/ Mass Effect 3 variety/ intensity? There may have been moderate excitement, but I don't believe there was this kind of batshit collective insanity.

As for crap, today's crap can be polished graphically and refined in gameplay, but still complete and utter crap in the writing department (narrative and characters). Still gets gulped down like it's chocolate though.

That's another thing that comes with age: higher standards.

Captcha: little bird told me

the internet wasnt as big as it was back in the 90's, if it had been there would have been just as much hype as their was now.

 

[RickyRich]

I don't see myself moving from gaming anytime soon. I'm almost 20 and I still play Pokemon Gold on a near daily basis. If I can keep Pokemon going after 10 years or so, I think I'll keep going for a while.

Gamer from the womb to the tomb.