Am I the only one here who no longer plays video games?

So today I sold off all of my video game related stuff. I haven't played for a couple of months between university and a general change of direction in my life and it turned out games weren't the best use of my time.

Despite these changes I still follow video games almost daily and have no intention to not do so. I just renewed my premium membership for the site too. So my question is....... anyone else in the same boat?

Yup. I still have everything, but it's certainly not getting much use. Though I never bought a 360 or PS3 (as well as any of the current gen consoles), so maybe I've been on the way out for awhile. But I still love reading what Patrick, Maddy Myers, Danielle Riendeau and several others write!

Playing less maybe. Or more starting a bunch of games and never finishing them. a case of more money but less time/energy, i suppose.

I think it's safe to assume that you're in the minority.

Actually, since getting a job and getting my life busy again after college, video games have been one of the hobbies that I decided to stick to. I slowed down on the forum posting, I never write particularly long ones anymore, and I don't even start most Giantbomb videos these days, much less finish them. I have also stuck to reading books.

I can relate, sure. Other than a single 20-year-old game (TIE Fighter), I haven't played much of anything in the last few months, in part because I've been busy, and in part because nothing's really been grabbing me. Hell, I had a three-year patch in my early 20's where I'd more or less put video games behind me, it took a friend giving away his PS2 to lure me back. I definitely went game-crazy for a few years trying to catch up on what I'd missed, but now at 35 I find it impossible to play any video game entirely guilt-free. You reach an age where you start to realize you only have so much life to live, and the criteria by which a game can justify any amount of your time only gets steeper and steeper.

Only way I would ever stop is if some, probably really bad, things happen that force me to stop. Things could happen, obviously, that would make me have less free time to play, but it would have to be something very drastic to make me stop completely.

I'm not in the exact same boat as you, but I don't play games as much as I used to. I used to play games like 5 hours a day. Now that I'm in college, I'm a bit busier, and I'm branching out, trying new things. Well I do have a month long break now and no job, so I will probably be gaming a lot, but I definitely do want to leave the house and hang out with friends. I can't live without my friends for a month. Not anymore. I can't be the recluse who just stays on the computer all day anymore.

Also, I actually watch more let's plays of games than I play these days. The only game I really play anymore is Binding of Isaac Rebirth(currently at 66 hours). I probably should stop playing so much so I don't get carpel tunnel. I like being able to do things like sports without my hands wrists killing me. In general I do feel like I'm slowly drifting away from games as well. College will do that to you. I feel the need to do things besides video games while I'm still youthful and active. I want to travel the world and go on awesome hikes and play fun sports while I still can. I also need to go to the gym so I don't look like a toothpick anymore, and can attract girls easier. Yea I guess one of the biggest factors pulling me away from games is romance. I want a girlfriend, and not some crappy one. One who I can share my feelings with and will do the same with me. Sorry if this got kind of off topic, but I just couldn't stop writing once I started.

As I get older I've actually had more time to play than ever but I've sacrificed a lot of other hobbies/activities to do so, not a bad trade in my books

certainly completing fewer games than I used to, though; just bouncing around the backlog like mad

I took a break for about a month and a half. Wasn't interested in playing anything, got super busy, got back into tabletop games. I'm back into them now but and it's actually been a super refreshing experience.

I don't play games anymore. I find them all incredibly boring.

As you can see,I rarely post but I really wanted to chime in!

What you are describing has been my situation too. Playing video games has slowly reduced to a bare minimum in my life thanks to lack of time and other priorities for my money. I still enjoy following a lot of video game industry news, GB being one of the few sites I visit. It just happens that GB ends up being my main outlet because their personalities are so entertaining as well. I do try playing through much older, classic games and that I know I missed out on before- playing Planscape Torment right now after a dry spell of nothing for half a year and it's still amazing!

I actually started ramping up my video game playing as the weather has gotten cold while I just got a new console. I don't know whether I'll play video games forever but there's no stopping me right now!

I've gone on breaks for months at a time from playing video games, but usually come back eventually

I play something when it looks like something Id like to play,I watch something when it looks like something I'd like to watch. I listen to, read, go to, experience, blah blah blah. Just do whatever you want whenever you want in that regard. It sounds so cliche,but people really are too worked up about labels/labeling themselves/other people. Just do whatever brings you some amount of enjoyment (as long as it doesn't involve hurting others/yourself/other obvious bad things)

No, actually I play more games then I used to now. Even revisiting my back log is kinda refreshing. I am going to play as much as I can the coming year since I'll be doing my internship in the hospital for a two full years soon. With everything delayed to 2015, 2015 is going to be one hell of a year for gaming.

I'm playing less which is certain but the only thing I can assume is the cause of my disinterest is a lack of narrative focused games. I'm sure there are a few out there but I lately feel like most are shallow or not a focus of the game.

I'm getting there to be honest. Now I just play occasionally whenever I really have nothing else to do. I'll start up diablo 3 or maybe play some heroes of the storm when I'm sitting bored at night. When it comes down to it other things just have a higher priority now. I bought a bunch of games I thought I'd like in the last month or two, but only played for a few hours then felt a "meh" feeling about them and had no motivation to continue with any particular one. I still watch a lot of games. I'll watch a quicklook of anything that sounds interesting to me, and I'm still very much into watching competitive starcraft and hearthstone even if I rarely play them anymore. This sounds like something I never would have wanted to happen as a kid, but I'm perfectly fine waiting for a few select games (Starcraft Legacy of the Void, for one) and ignoring everything else in favor of other activities and responsibilities.

I've been buying games all year, but I don't know why since I never finish them. Everything feels so bland.

I finally got away from playing the games I was playing just because my friends were playing them, basically Destiny drove me over that cliff.

This is like the most confusing post I've read on the site. I keep reading it over and over and I don't understand.

I've totally taken long breaks, but I don't think I'll ever just drop them. They're fun.

As an adult, I've not been able to play all the time, which leads to me enjoying each hour I get to lose my time to games more than when I was a kid playing garbage 10 hours straight.

I get it. I keep buying games, and hearing news and information about games is enjoyable, but I can't play anything for more than fifteen minutes before I become completely bored and shut it off. It's really disappointing, actually, since I've gained back about three hours every day in which I used to play and I haven't found anything to fill the void and relax me the way video games used to.

I haven't very much at all this past year. I feel like 2014 was really bad for games.

I was in my first semester of college. Took the max amount of classes and decided to stop playing games.

Then MGS3: Snake Eater came out and I decided to sleep less. This was a fantastic decision, as I would've missed out on Mass Effect, Uncharted, and countless other amazing games.

If you think games are a waste of time or something, remember that time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Although I'll occasionally take long breaks. We're talking weeks, maybe even months of bigger titles. Can't stop with daily Spelunky challenges, though.

I'm actually playing quite a bit. There were certainly times when I couldn't play as much...early in my career, when my children were very young, etc. Everyone's situation changes, over and over. Gaming is a hobby, and there are going to be times you need to put it aside. There are also times that having that same hobby to fall back on is a real blessing.

It's good to take a break, so that when you come back you have a renewed interest in video games. You can burn out on movies and TV as well, but then something comes along. I only play indie games though, Telltale Games, Pinball FX 2 and such, I don't know if I would still be playing games if they were all AAA titles.

If you want a video game forum full of people that don't actually play video games might I recommend 4chan's /v/ board?

As an observation, would you say thats like being into golf, but not playing and hanging out in the clubhouse? To me that's weird, but whatever you want to do it's YOUR life. I NEVER tell others, no matter how obscure, how to LIVE THEIR lives. Its YOUR LIFE and time do as you want. Its all good, enjoy.

"Am I the only one here who no longer plays video games?"

You're on a video game website, so I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark, and say that you're probably in the minority. And by the way, the answer to a question that starts with "am I the only one" is always no.

I play a lot less than I would like to now, but that's mostly due to other parts of life getting in the way. The past couple of months have only allowed me a few hours a week to play. I just finished Alien: Isolation last week after buying it day one, and I'm still not even half-way through Far Cry 4. I appreciate that games can last me that long now, rather than blowing through them in a week like I used to.

I don't think I would ever stop playing completely, unless like, I lost my hands or something. I just enjoy gaming too much to stay away forever. I've cut out TV almost completely now, sans a few shows that have seasons far apart from each other. Guitar playing and gaming are my primary hobbies and I'd happily give up doing anything else to keep those two.

I gave them up around 1998-2004 in pursuit of education, booze, chicks and rock and roll. Then I came back with a real job and thus disposable income and a vengeance. Though I'm not exactly rolling in time to play, so I'm perpetually catching up. It's awesome!

Nothing to be ashamed of, though I've found that when push has come to shove for my free time, I've been more than happy to take Video Games over almost everything else. I used to read books! I used to occasionally watch television! Now I study for finals and decompress by playing stuff and occasionally writing on these forums. I don't even watch as many Quick Looks as I used to.

Am I the only one here that has a fleet of yachts all named after and airbrushed with the faces of one hit wonders? The S.S Chesney Hawkes is my favourite but most people gravitate to the S.S Vanilla Ice.

Oh man! I thought I was the only one with a fleet of yachts all airbrushed with the faces of one hit wonders! I'm not alone!

When you're that far deep into videogames that you have an account for a website that you regularly check, just seems like you have fallen into the ebb and flow of the hobby. Most people have gone through phases where they just don't play video games, but they still are interested in the medium. I've gone through a couple different stretches of time where I've unplugged all my consoles (barring ones I used for home media) for months at a time, but was still spending a lot of my free time checking forums and such. If hording wasn't such a recurrent theme in my family, all my shit probably would've been sold.

So yeah this is normal. Revisit this topic in a year and then we'll actually be able to talk about whether or not you may be done with video games.

I understand the sentiment as well. In the past year or even more I haven't played many games that really grabbed me. Gaming is still one of my biggest hobbies so I continue to play but I can't remember the last time a game has really got me excited where I couldn't stop playing it.

It's ok to take a break. In a couple of years or so you might be in a different situation and your interest in playing games might return. Then you can play the 4k remake of Uncharted 4 on PS5 or something.

I play games a whole lot less these days, namely due to a much bigger work schedule and I'm now living with a partner who's not really in to video games. I actually probably spend as much time on here as I do playing games nowadays.

@kevin_cogneto said:

I don't know. It's a hobby. If done in moderation it's the same as watching movies/series or reading books (if not better). I live my life to be happy and videogames are part of that. I feel that if it's hard to justify any amount of time spent on videogames, then it should be hard to justify any amount of time spent on other leisure activities. Sometimes you simply need to relax, your life doesn't have to be interesting or amazing all the time. It doesn't even have to be interesting and amazing at all. As long as you're happy. But hey, I'm not 35 yet. Maybe I'll totally agree with you a few years down the road.

I am curious to know, though, what are these criteria, if I may ask?

I have periods when I play little to no games, but I always come back to them sooner or later. For me it's one of the best ways to unwind and break away from my otherwise pretty hectic workweek. During those sacred 1-2 hours per day I don't want to do anything better with my time.

But I guess it's healthy to change up your hobbies ever now and then.

Outside of Dota 2 I don't play much these days. Every once in a while something else will grab my attention for a bit but I usually lose interest after about 12 hours of playing. I have not touched my 360 much in years. GTA V was the last game I played on it when it came out. I have no reason to buy a new console. I will live off of my PC and 3DS for the foreseeable future. I keep buying games even though I don't play them, that is a big problem.

Yeah I have now replaced gaming with sleeping.......man I love sleeping

Since trying to take university a bit more seriously I have really stopped playing all that many games. Except league of legends/the binding of isaac because they really boil everything I love about gaming down into a 45 minute package I can play once every couple of days and feel satisfied with. The rest of the industry seems to have gone up its own ass a bit and I don't really feel a need to follow it. I do still follow gaming personalities that I enjoy though, ie: giantbomb, northernlion and totalbiscuit (on occasion...sometimes he's just too much :p).

Oddly enough though I have gotten hugely back into board games and actively seek to schedule time for them in my life with friends.

Funny you should ask... :)

I play less games than I used to, and I get excited when I hear a game is on the shorter side of things time-wise. Means I have a better chance of finishing it!

Video games are still awesome and I still love playing them.

I definitely don't play everything that comes out anymore. In fact I went from buying a couple games a month to a few a year. Life goes on and changes. Strangely I still follow the industry really closely and a lot of the content on Giant Bomb. I think this site is super friendly to people with a wide variety of interests, just look at the premium content. Anyway, you aren't alone in life changes affecting your videogame habits. It comes and goes for me as lifes busy times comes in waves.

I still enjoy video games, but nothing has really grabbed me and refused to let go like X-COM, Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, etc. have done in recent years. It's pretty common for me to go days or weeks at a time without touching any games this year.