Enjoying Games Less As I Get Older...

I don't know if it's just the period of my life that I'm in right now, or maybe it's something that will continue, but I feel that as time passes my love for video games fades a tiny bit. This year has been great for games, one of the best in recent memory maybe, but i still feel a little...underwhelmed.  Maybe that's not the right word, but with awesome games like Infamous, Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, Dragon Age and others, I think my younger self would have enjoyed them so much more. 
  
Then again I am currently in a hectic period of my life. I recently graduated from college, working but looking for a better job, and will soon be married to an amazing girl.  Now, I realize that all of these things are much more important than something like playing video games, but I can't help but be a little nostalgic for the days when I could become fully involved with a game.  I don't mean to complain or anything, it's just that games have been a hobby of mine practically my whole life. I would  hate to kind of lose that.  Anyways, just wondering if any of the older Giant Bombers  feel the same way.

I don't know if it's just the period of my life that I'm in right now, or maybe it's something that will continue, but I feel that as time passes my love for video games fades a tiny bit. This year has been great for games, one of the best in recent memory maybe, but i still feel a little...underwhelmed.  Maybe that's not the right word, but with awesome games like Infamous, Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, Dragon Age and others, I think my younger self would have enjoyed them so much more. 
  
Then again I am currently in a hectic period of my life. I recently graduated from college, working but looking for a better job, and will soon be married to an amazing girl.  Now, I realize that all of these things are much more important than something like playing video games, but I can't help but be a little nostalgic for the days when I could become fully involved with a game.  I don't mean to complain or anything, it's just that games have been a hobby of mine practically my whole life. I would  hate to kind of lose that.  Anyways, just wondering if any of the older Giant Bombers  feel the same way.

ageing sucks :(

Yeah, we all grow older and realize we have better things to spend our time and money on.

I went through a faze like that about 3 years ago...its not nice. You'll come out of it though, it'll just have to take an epic game to sort you out. I remember for me I saw Mafia for £3 and thought i might as well try it out as i missed it the first time round, and my god that sorted me out!

Dude theres one way to fix this and its called get out the snes and the super mario rpg that always makes me happy :D

I've taken breaks from video games because they have gotten boring to me, but I usually come back 4 months later or something when I find a game that I love.

" Yeah, we all grow older and realize we have better things to spend our time and money on. "

Dude it sucks.  Even when I want to play a game I just sit there wondering if I'm even going to have fun. Some days, like long work days I get in the mood to just chill and play though but games haven't really given me that feeling I had when I was younger for a while now.

I'm middle aged and I still love video games.  And, I'd be willing to bet that a few other guys in my age range on the site still love games, too.  But, it's important to experience lots of different things as we mature.  At this point in your life, the world is opening up for you.  New challenges will arise and great adventures more memorable than any game will present themselves.  You can play games sometimes, but it doesn't have to be right now.  Take sometime off to explore other pastimes.  You can always come back later.  Just drop into Giant Bomb from time to time to see what's new and popular. 
 
I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes:  "Enough is as good as a feast."  It means you don't need to have everything in order to enjoy an experience.  Relax, if you still want to game, the do it a couple of times a month and leave it at that.  I think, over time, you'll enjoy gaming more by playing less.

I went through a period of not liking games as much in the late 90's, and frustrating opinions of not enjoying games in the early 2000's.  It happens.  These last 2 weeks during and after my cold I've barely played any actual games at all, just not feeling it.
 
I don't think there's necessarily anything permanent about this kind of mood, even though I thought it was when I first really experienced it.
 
Don't force yourself to enjoy or play a game, do it when it feels right.  Also, don't expect games to be your only source or entertainment or enjoyment in life.

I'm 16, and I'm growing tired of games. Rarely do I find myself wishing to play a game when I'm not, and even while I'm playing, I'd usually much rather be on some forums or just watching TV. 
 
I'm thinking about either a.) taking a hiatus or b.) start playing better old games on my N64.

I went through something similar over the past two years.  I was in my first pretty serious relationship in awhile, and gaming really wasn't that important to me during it.  She didn't really game, and we spent most of our time together, so gaming wasn't a huge part of my life.  Since then we've broken up, I've tried to come back to gaming, but it isn't quite the same as when I was younger.  I used to play games for hours and hours at a time, now I can only play for about an hour or two before I stop.  Long games (Dragon Age, Fallout 3, Fable 2) either sit unplayed, or I put them off for long periods of time because the time investment is so steep.  It's not so much that I enjoy games less, I just enjoy other things more now and have more to do (work, college, freedom to see people whenever).  It's kind of a bummer knowing things won't be quite like they used to be, but in the long run that probably makes me a more well rounded person, which I shouldn't complain about.

Thanks for the replies, really.  It's nice to see people who can relate. It's funny though, while my interest in actually playing games has kind of dropped, I find myself still fascinated with what goes on in the industry and with sites like GiantBomb.

" Thanks for the replies, really.  It's nice to see people who can relate. It's funny though, while my interest in actually playing games has kind of dropped, I find myself still fascinated with what goes on in the industry and with sites like GiantBomb. "

Yeah, until a glut of recent games and unemployment hit me earlier, my time for playing games lessened, and I lost a bit of interest. I've been drawn in by a couple of games that have been sucking away my time, but besides that, a lot more of my time is spent keeping up with gaming news and what's going on in the industry rather than actually playing games. Most of my sessions would be under an hour, and I'd be flipping between games constantly. I can imagine it getting worse when I've got greater financial issues to deal with, like a home and/or kids. Although I'll never escape gaming's grasp entirely, and I wouldn't want to, either. 
 
I guess it would probably be different if I could land a job in the industry, which I'd love to do.

It sounds to me like your maybe just preoccupied with your other stuff. I'm sure gaming pales in comparison to the excitement of marriage and entering the work force. Maybe you'll be happy to fall back in to it when things calm down a bit for you. :)

Yeah me too, there is some parts of your life you are tired of gaming, i had a couple of periods like that.
My best tip would be to take a break, don't force yourself to play games just because you are a 'gamer', even if you hear about great games like Killzone, Infamous or whatever don't play them unless you really want to, If you really enjoy games there will be a day that a game will just compell you to play games again.

You'll grow up one day. Otherwise, you're pretty much my bitch. Take it... and take it hard, gamer.

" Thanks for the replies, really.  It's nice to see people who can relate. It's funny though, while my interest in actually playing games has kind of dropped, I find myself still fascinated with what goes on in the industry and with sites like GiantBomb. "

 
I feel that I've been heading in the opposite direction. I appreciate and enjoy games more than ever. They're more meaningful to me now and I can enjoy them in more ways than I could as a kid. As a kid it was just about fun, which is great, but that's not all that's there. There's artistry and storytelling and a whole 'nother level of quality and intrigue that I just didn't notice until I got older.
 
So yeah, I'm deeply interested in video games and the draw seems to only be getting stronger, especially towards the indie scene.

Its called "Playing the same Pretty Shit" syndrome.

Happens to all of us bro, but keep ya self focusing on what really matters, then the games can come afterwards :)))

I feel the same way mate. I enjoy watching other people play games way more than actually playing them myself. 

I am going to buck the trend here and say that I do not lose my interests in games at all as I am getting older. The only thing that changes is how much time I get to play them. But when I do get a chance to really get into a good game I still get into it in a big way. But basically responsibility sucks.

 I still feel the same way about videogames as I did as a kid, it has never changed for me and I doubt it ever will.  My love of videogames has never got in the way of my relationships or work,because I never allow them to.  I've thankfully been successful in both, so I'm entirely guilt free about my passion for games.      

I still love games, but I'm not as crazy about them as I was awhile ago. My interest peaked around 2000-2005, and it's been on a decline since then. Of course, there's still the occasional game that draws me in (like Demon's Souls... just bought it 2 days ago and I LOVE it) but nowadays I have a nasty habit of buying a game, playing it two or three times, and never going back. As time goes by, I find it harder and harder for games to impress me.

I'm on the other side of all of this. 
I actually enjoy games more and more as I got older. 
Especially since my English was so bad in the beginning, but now some of the great stories and stuff just sits right with me. 

Sometimes it just takes the right game to get back into it. For me, Demon's Souls was that game.

 I went through that phase in college, but then I was very focused on my academics. Now, I'm almost 30, married, and I have a hectic job (film and tv vfx). You know what? I play and enjoy video games as much as I did when I was younger.

 I am having a hard time having fun with games because II just want HALF LIFE 2 EPISODE THREE and ill be good all these other games coming out are great but I want more Half life dammit.

I think it happens to all of us. It's called growing up. I grew up, got married, have a baby on the way, on top of a full time job and a ton of other responsibilities. Never mind the drama nonsense that other people create that needlessly sucks up time. There just isn't enough time in a day for everything. 
 
My interests and tastes in games have changed a bit but I still, like always, have loved to play games whenever I can. These days I just have to *make* time for it.
  
I find I am often just to busy or tired to, say, play Modern Warfare multiplayer for hours on end or with out interruptions.  I need to play things I can pause. So I play more single player stuff. I never really used to be into RPGs because they can be a little slow but when I am so tired, I tend to play something like Borderlands or Fallout 3 or anything else that doesn't generally require constant knee jerk reactions. I really liked playing Dead Space sitting up late at night while everyone else is in bed... great action horror game!

I do however not really watch much TV, instead, I sit and play a video game for a few hours or so each night when I can. 
 
Don''t worry, there will be times when you are just to busy or tired to play, but there will also be plenty of time to keep on playing as well. Your passions will change but games are a form of entertainment... there will still be time for it (just less of it). And sometimes you will be in the mood for a game and sometime you won't. 

I thought for me that I was getting bored with games too. But I've been thinking on the subject for a good while now and I think it just might have something to do with having played every type of game out there. Sure the story may be different or they add say RPG elements to a shooter, but I find in the end I'm still playing Wolfenstein 3d. I know I've comepletely fallen out of love with MMORPG's which I thought would never happen.  
 
I feel like i'm the ghost in that story where the sailor goes out to see and his love waits on the cliff overlooking the sea, waiting for her love to return but never does.