well, I'm giving up hardcore gaming

[dsau]

Yep, you heard me. I'm no longer going to be playing games like the rest of you fine folk anymore.

Let me explain. A few days ago, my PS3 died on me - you might have seen me rant about it on the forums a little bit. Well, I've been thinking about the options available to me since then - do I simply replace it for a hefty £140 and deal with it? Do I instead buy a 360 for a much bigger price tag? Or, as I've decided, do I simply quit gaming all together?

There is infact logic behind my madness. I am what one might call a videogame addict; I do indeed waste way too much of my time and money on something that infact gives me very little pleasure, and often find myself almost uncontrollably going for the controller. To be honest, its been disturbing me for quite a long time. But now with my sole hardcore gaming platform gone (I use a Macbook, so PC gaming is pretty limited)I've decided this is a chance for me to finally tackle my addiction without any insentives to distract me (I have very poor self discipline, I'm afraid, so trying to stop gaming before prooved extremely difficult).

Without gaming, I hope to be able to focus more on what matters and gives me a sense of satisfaction in life - my education, which I do infact enjoy but am often distracted away from it due to gaming; circus skills, my greatest hobby which has been neglected for the same reasons; and socialising more with people I care about.

Thats not to say that I'm going to say farewell to The Escapist though - I've decided that its just a waste to stop visiting one of the final safe havens of mature discussion in the troll-filled wasteland that is the internet. The 'off-topic' discussions have often given me much to think about, and I'm still interested in the gaming industry - it is fascinating for me to see it change and adapt at such a swift pace, and it is entirely different from any other industry for many many reasons (for example, no other industry is really as reliant on customer satisfaction than gaming).

So, heres the jist of things - I'm going to be (possibly the first...and only) non-gamer Escapist - I will continue to happily contribute to discussions in any way that I see fit, and also continue to observe the industry from an outsider's standpoint (I do not believe this will become an insentive to start gaming again, as re-starting this hobby of mine would involve a lot of money that I don't have)

Thanks for listening, and I hope I haven't wasted too much of your time

i suffer from this addiction too. and 6 months ago my 360 died. but unfortunatly i just turned back to morrowind on my regular xbox, i quit gaiming for awhile after hours played of morrowind(a game in which iv virtually 100% completed already, before the 360 was even out), but i just got a new 360. i wanna get rid of it so bad, but yeah i cant. i envy you. good for you. follow your creativity

 

[Ranis]

So, heres the jist of things - I'm going to be (possibly the first...and only) non-gamer Escapist

Funny ever since joining the escapist i always felt alone in that category
I don't play games at all really (maybe 30 minutes a week on average) I just like to see whats new in the world i used to care so much for when i was little

 

[MiracleOfSound]

"hardcore gaming", "PS3"

DOES NOT COMPUTE

Now, now... no kindling posts please.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

circus skills, my greatest hobby

This has me curious like a child. Please explain. I HAVE TO KNOW.

well, I like to do a lot of circus-based stuff, mainly diabolo (as well as devil sticks, juggling balls, clubs, and a little poi/staff). I like to think I'm not bad at it ^^

a website called diabolo.ca (another forum safe-haven like The Escapist, except EVERYTHING is about diabolo... no off-topic stuff!) does a collaboration video of diaboloists from across the world every year... I'm hoping to contribute to that video this year with some of my own diaboloing If you want add me as a friend on here and I'll send you a link to the video once it is complete around November-ish (just incase you don't know what a diabolo is, here is the 2007 version [http://juggling.tv/video/682/diaboloca-collaboration-video-2007] and 2008 version [http://juggling.tv/video/1619/diaboloca-collaboration-video-2008] of the collaboration video's ^^)

diaboloists ... if your really into that stuff, then dropping videogames is a good idea.

 

[Taerdin]

"hardcore gaming", "PS3"

DOES NOT COMPUTE

If PS3 owners want to play anything worth playing on the xbox they can just wait for the eventual pc money grab port. It almost makes more sense to get a PS3... plus its a blu ray player...

I mean I'm obviously not going to change your mind or anything, but I generally think of the PS3 and xbox being like, near equals, and the wii is the annoying little brother who pips up every once and a while for a rousing game of mario kart wii.

 

[Deleted]

Welcome to the dark side. Here's your "I <3 the Dark Side" T-shirt, and your copy of Katamari Damacy.

 

[Florion]

snip

Congratulations, you manage to do what I wish I was able to do. Good luck with all your real life endeavors!

As a really, really casual gamer who frequents the Escapist (I spend way more time looking up articles about games than actually playing them), I can tell you that it's no problem.

 

[Panzer_God]

I only game because it's more interesting then my life is, I can't imagine why someone who could have an interesting life would game. Good job man, I envy you.

 

[Vimbert]

Good luck, and hope all goes well. We'll be here if you need us, and remember: if it stops being fun, drop it and find something else. I applaud your decision.

...But I'll game for now, personally.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Welcome to casual gamer status. Please step to the left to recieve your mandatory copy of Bejeweled and the line to buy The SiMS 3 is to your right. Enjoy your stay, we'll keep your hardcore seat warm while you're away.

(i.e. no one leaves forever)

Kidding aside, have fun with whatever new ways you find to fill your time.

 

[L24z13L]

Well, good luck in the real world. I'm glad that you were able to break away from your gaming addicition. You sound like you have plenty of other stuff to take it's place, which is a good thing. It's hard to get away from an addiction without something to replace it with. Just make sure you stick to what you have committed to do, don't be afraid to tell people about your decision or ask for help if you need it.

My list
1.Learn Harmonica
2.Learn Juggling
3.SOLVE THE FREIKING RUBIKS CUBE!

Oh boy, I remember all the hours I wasted on rubik's cubes. It's horribly frustrating while you're figuring it out but once you do you can't stop.

 

[Haydyn]

As long as you don't get a Wii, you have made a good decision.

Don't Listen to this guy. Get a Wii, as there aren't any hardcore games on it and you would only play it when you have absolutely nothing else left to do. Also, you won't be able to spend countless hours on it cause you will get boredom-seizures if you do.

Wow, somebody's pulling no punches. And it was ment as a joke as most people associate casual gamers with the Wii. And after rereading your psot, I'm assuming you were joking too. But if you want to get into detail:

He's giving up hardcore gaming, but that doesn't mean he's the kind of casual gamer who goes "Hmm, the Wii looks interesting..." I wouldn't tell anyone to get a Wii. 100% of the people I know who own a Wii either rarely use it, or are little kids. In fact, the only time I see that the Wii could be useful is if a hardcore gamer ever gets tired of shooting people and wants to so something else, like cooking, or running, or anything else you don't need a game to do, yet is on the Wii.

 

[Simalacrum]

Yep, you heard me. I'm no longer going to be playing games like the rest of you fine folk anymore.

Let me explain. A few days ago, my PS3 died on me - you might have seen me rant about it on the forums a little bit. Well, I've been thinking about the options available to me since then - do I simply replace it for a hefty £140 and deal with it? Do I instead buy a 360 for a much bigger price tag? Or, as I've decided, do I simply quit gaming all together?
*snip*

Wait, since when is the PS3 less expensive than the 360?

Did I miss the news about a gigantic price drop or something?

Its costs less to get a console repaired than to buy a whole new one I hear...

Also, I dont really buy the whole 'this is the last safe haven from trolls' bs about this forum. I have seen trolls, been trolled, and even trolled maybe once or twice out of rage. This forum is also horribly biased and occasionally ignorant, with a dash of elitism. Oh shit... people who run this forum might read this and get pissed umm... ahh...

I love this place!

Ehm.......you think i'm a troll?

They were honest questions, but I suppose it could be mistaken for sarcasm to be fair.
That was bad wording on my part I suppose. =]

But in my defence he never actually said anything about repairs....he used the word 'replace', which to me means throw out the old one and get a new one.

aha, yes, you see, in the costs of the 360 there are also the costs of replacing ALL my PS3 games for 360 equivalents (including a full band set of Guitar Hero: WT), and hidden costs such as wireless internet and HD readiness... all of which sums up to a substantially higher price point than just another PS3 (which costs less than buying a new one anyway, because Sony take the broken one too)

 

[Biosophilogical]

As long as you don't get a Wii, you have made a good decision.

Don't Listen to this guy. Get a Wii, as there aren't any hardcore games on it and you would only play it when you have absolutely nothing else left to do. Also, you won't be able to spend countless hours on it cause you will get boredom-seizures if you do.

Wow, somebody's pulling no punches. And it was ment as a joke as most people associate casual gamers with the Wii. And after rereading your psot, I'm assuming you were joking too. But if you want to get into detail:

He's giving up hardcore gaming, but that doesn't mean he's the kind of casual gamer who goes "Hmm, the Wii looks interesting..." I wouldn't tell anyone to get a Wii. 100% of the people I know who own a Wii either rarely use it, or are little kids. In fact, the only time I see that the Wii could be useful is if a hardcore gamer ever gets tired of shooting people and wants to so something else, like cooking, or running, or anything else you don't need a game to do, yet is on the Wii.

yeah i felt it sounded too serious after i typed it so i included boredom seizures just to clarify my joking jokingness with which i jokingly joke using joke-worthy material...joke