So I'm going on a Gaming Hiatus

[TPiddy]

So, I've effectively stopped playing games as of last Friday.... I plan to continue on September 7th, with the release of NHL 11, and September 14th, when Halo: Reach is out. I figure I could use this downtime to do other stuff I've been meaning to get to, rather than force myself to play a sub-standard game or whatever while I wait for the gap in releases to close.

As for discussion, have any of you gone on a self-imposed gaming hiatus? If so, why?

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

Mmmm.....nope, can't say I have. Video games have always been there for me to play, whenever I have some time to kill. It's kind of their purpose, in a sense.

 

[Aggressor and Usurper]

A TWO WEEK gaming hiatus?
[HEADING=1]UNTHINKABLE[/HEADING]

I'm joking, 'course. I often have, I went 3 months without playing games once simply because I never got out of my room and I knew I needed to change. My ways, not my clothes.

 

[Dr. Octogonopus]

I would have to agree with the fact that a lot of games being released lately are pretty terrible...so many space-marine style clones with terrible "next-gen" filters (i.e. brown)

But there are still great classic games that are great to play over and over again. At the moment im replaying FFIX to kill the time until Infamous 2 comes out.

 

[StBishop]

Yeah, regularly.

I usually impose a rule of no gaming in the weeks leading up to any uncompleted assessment or any exams.

Easy way is to actually unplug the console/uninstall from the desktop (because no-one game son laptops - har har).

 

[Outright Villainy]

I... Hmm, no I pretty much always play games. Any self imposed ban would just make me play them more, and there's no point not doing what I enjoy. If team fortress disappeared tomorrow on the other hand, I'd probably find it a lot easier to stop.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

no, though i am the only person i know who has gone cold turkey on wow without falling off the bandwagon.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

If I'm not playing new games, I go back and play old games again.

In fact, I do that more often, since I don't really have the capital to burn on new games every time I finish one. I don't think I've ever gone on a gaming hiatus, except for about a week a month ago when my work had reached truly stupid levels, but then I wasn't even eating or doing anythign else, so it was kind of a life hiatus.

 

[Iffat Nur]

Yeah, I have lost interest in the new games lately. I only get up to attempt to finich Red Dead Redemption. So basically, im on a hiatus, atleast for my hopes in next years games.

 

[Meggiepants]

I've never forced myself into a hiatus. But I have gone two weeks without gaming. If nothing is out that I want to play, nothing is out. Not much to be done for it.

Sometimes I also pick up a television series that captures my attention for a couple of weeks. Then I also don't play.

 

[GonzoGamer]

As for discussion, have any of you gone on a self-imposed gaming hiatus? If so, why?

Sure. I didn't even ever get a PS1. I was in college at the time and just spent a lot of time running around the city. Mind you this was 15 years ago when you could still go see good free shows in NYC and not all the clubs were for hipster dbags.

Also, I wasn?t playing much between when the ps3 came out and when I actually bought one (after that first big price drop). The problem is that there was a large gap of time between a lot of great quality games coming out on the ps2 and great quality games coming out on the ps3. When the next gen consoles launched there was just a whole lot of crap being unloaded and even the games everyone called ?great? were either really short and/or had as about as much depth as a kiddie pool.

And then there was that big gap of time between Atari killing the industry and Nintendo reviving it.

So yes, go for it. You probably wont miss much.

 

[Littaly]

I cut myself off from gaming (including gaming news/media) during march this year. It was mostly to prove to myself that I was a person first and gamer second (the fact that I actually started questioning it in the first place goes to show how sad of a person I am -.-), but also because my studies were going into a critical period and I needed to force myself away from any distraction.

It went pretty well. I managed to go through it without getting abstinence, which shows I'm still sane and not (too) addicted ^^ Maybe I'll give it another go next year.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

I don't "schedule" hiatus..es....hiatii? What's the plural?

Anyway, they just happen. I'll be playing video games, then one day I won't, and then the next day I won't, and before I know it, it's been like two months since I've played a video game. Then I'll start up again for a few months. Just...moods, I guess.

 

[Mr Companion]

A TWO WEEK gaming hiatus?
[HEADING=1]UNTHINKABLE[/HEADING]

I'm joking, 'course. I often have, I went 3 months without playing games once simply because I never got out of my room and I knew I needed to change. My ways, not my clothes.

Well you should sometimes change your clothes too.

 

[MarsProbe]

I've never planned to go on a gaming hiatus, but there are times when I've gone a good while without gaming - usually because I have finished up whatever games I am currently playing and there is nothing else new out that interests me.

A lot like now in fact. Just finished up Red Dead Redemption and, due to not having any inclination to fire up MW2 again, I decided it was about time I picked up from where I left off with Bioshock 2 (don't like leaving a game unfinished). There's probably not going to be anything I'll be playing with any great urgency until Reach comes out, at the earliest.

 

[TPiddy]

As for discussion, have any of you gone on a self-imposed gaming hiatus? If so, why?

Sure. I didn't even ever get a PS1. I was in college at the time and just spent a lot of time running around the city. Mind you this was 15 years ago when you could still go see good free shows in NYC and not all the clubs were for hipster dbags.

Also, I wasn?t playing much between when the ps3 came out and when I actually bought one (after that first big price drop). The problem is that there was a large gap of time between a lot of great quality games coming out on the ps2 and great quality games coming out on the ps3. When the next gen consoles launched there was just a whole lot of crap being unloaded and even the games everyone called ?great? were either really short and/or had as about as much depth as a kiddie pool.

And then there was that big gap of time between Atari killing the industry and Nintendo reviving it.

So yes, go for it. You probably wont miss much.

Yeah, I have to agree with you on the stagnant launch titles for the PS3. Made my decision to get a 'Box so much easier. It wasn't until 2008 that PS3 started coming around.

 

[TPiddy]

I did, ages ago. I went off games for a year, before I went into school, around age 11. It was tough, and it...didn't really pay off to be honest. When I got off, I just went back to playing them like I always did.

What I'd suggest for you is, reduce your gaming hours, and get into classic games, don't go off games completely, you'll just be back again. Just play old greats for a while, and you'll find that you don't play them at nearly the same frequency. If you don't have any classic games or things to play them on, just get a cheap PS2 and play Shadow of the Colossus and all the other great old games there are for that console.

Yeah, I'm tempted to fire up Left 4 Dead 2 again and grab some of the MP achievements... I wonder how much of the community is left.