I think I'm getting too old for videogames...

Going on 32 here.  I have been playing video games since I got my grubby little hands on the Atari 2600 Joystick, and I have never gotten tired of games.  I got board with consoles for awhile and moved to PC games.  Then, I went on a retro-thing for while playing lots of old games that I "missed" the first time around.  Over time tastes change.  I definitely have a lower tolerance for "crap" in any media that I did when I was a kid (man is there a lot of sh*t on TV!)

Also you might not want to be so down on multiplayer games.  As I get older any have more and more friends that live all over the country (and world), it is great to be able to link up with them ingame and have some fun.

But, if you truely can't find any games you like, then quit.  Find a new hobbie.  Do what you enjoy.

I know exactly how you feel. I'm 24, and my gaming passion peaked when the Dreamcast released (I was 14). Now I spend more time reading about games than I do playing them.

I think part of the problem comes from spreading yourself too thin. When I was a kid, there were usually a handful of games I would keep playing through a whole generation. On SNES, it was Super Mario World, Turtles in Time, Prince of Persia, and Out of This World; N64 was Pilotwings 64, Mario 64, and Wrestling games. When it got to the PS2/Xbox/GC era, I had a job which meant I would buy almost any game I wanted. If EGM have it a Gold Medal, I would probably buy it.

There wasn't that exciting feeling when you see a game in the store, and think about how awesome it is for 4 months until your birthday rolled around. Now if you see a game you want, you can buy it, and that takes away from the excitement of playing.

Then, of course, there are other factors. Getting older means being busy, finding other interests, and having more problems. it's hard to train your mind to get into a long game or book when you're trying to solve a list of problems constantly sitting in the back of your head.

kl

"We don't stop playing because we grow oldwe grow old because we stop playing. "

I have been a gamer since the tender age of 4 when my parents bought me Sesame Street: Countdown on the NES.  Here I am now at the ripe old age of 21, and I am still a die hard gamer.  I no longer play games for the reasons that I use to (I use to play because it was fun pushing buttons and seeing a little man on the TV do what I wanted), But I play games for new reasons altogether.  No I play games for engrossing stories and multiplayer.  Being able to shoot a buddy in the head is an amazing form of stress relief and can be considered as a form of personal theropy in that reguard.  All in all, you have to think about what made you play games when you were younger, and what interests you now.  If you can find that happy medium, then my friend, you will be a gamer until you can't remember where the bathroom is.

" The final answer:

  

"

A person is never too old for gaming.  As long as it is a HOBBY and that hobby does not become something that takes away from the rest of your life, you can have a happy co-existance with it.

you should be playing more games now than when your a kid because you have money and no parent telling you to stop playing and do your homework.
I mean when I was a kid I got like 3 games a year but now I buy like 3 games a week and I don't have tv because I have lots of games to play.

If Resident Evil "4" is the last game you thought was good, then you don't play video games.  That game came out, like, 6-7 years ago!

It seems that you were the most casual of the bunch. To start with, you dont seem to be a gamer, so, quit, and do whatever you want to do.

They're games. A hobby. If you're wonderng why they're not giving you all you want and need in life, you're looking at them way too hard. If you find absolutely no joy whatsoever playing them, and they bore you, then don't play them.

(gunshot)

And the world will never know...

" Well, you should never play something just for the sake of playing. You really should play for fun or not play at all. Some people enjoy a good story, some a challenge, and others enjoy taking on a challenge with a group of friends, maybe even against other people. I've seen people that get their kicks from endless grinding to reach the top of a scoreboard. What interests you most in games? What, to you, was it that made you play games in the first place? Maybe you should explore that aspect of it a little instead of trying out games and genres other people find interesting. We are, after all, different.It could also be that maybe you need that break from it, to appreciate your hobby of playing games more. You're seventeen, and there's a lot of things you could be doing besides playing games that's for sure =) After a while, you may miss playing games, come back to it, and discover something new!If you're interested in entering the RPG genre, Fallout 3 is a good place to start since it will remind you of a shooter although  it most definetely isnt! If it's MMO's you want to explore, get the free World of Warcraft trial. That game is popular for a reason, and it doesn't have to take over your life like so many people let it. The game is fairly casual friendly at this point.Best of luck to you! "

I'm pretty young myself. But I've been a gamer thick and through for quite some years now. It's like I played the SNES only a few years ago.

But you know what? My parents aren't really gamers. My mom could beat any Mario game on a retro system, but she thinks the new 3D ones are confusing. My dad like's playing the Wii, but all he ever plays is Animal Crossing.

That's where the problem is for me. My parents think that a Wii is enough, and won't get any other system, even when the next line of systems come out. They won't even buy a graphics card for our computer, which can barely handle to show low quality games. They won't even let me buy one. It's annoying. I can't even pay to buy a new system.

So what am I supposed to do? Well I've decided to keep on gaming. I will game for a long time. And when I get a job and stuff, and get my own house, I will still game. And I will spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars on gaming. On a computer which can handle high quality graphics. On the line of systems (maybe except Nintendo's). And I will game. Gaming is my thing. I'm good at it. And I won't give up the thought of it for years to come.

i wonder what the average age for this site is at . I'M guessing 16

I'd say it's higher than 16. Gotta be a lot of people in their 20s as well. at least I hope so!

" I'd say it's higher than 16. Gotta be a lot of people in their 20s as well. at least I hope so! "

" @TheSovereign: you are growing up. time  to start thinking about college and what you are going to do with your life beyond planning the "next night out." 

dude, you're never too old to play videogames. I'm turning 18 in a few days and I love playing all type of video games. I'm hoping to enter the industry someday.  Anyways, saying that you're too old for video games is a bit silly. While I was waiting for the DMV to open last saturday, I seen a woman (probably in her 50s) playing a DS. At first I assumed she was playing a causal game, then she reached into purse and she pulled out Dragon Quest IV. I just saying, there plenty of games to fulfill your need. Why not try out some independent games, Zeno Clash was pretty cool. Like what many have said, playing video games is a hobby, unless you have a true passion for it. Video games shouldn't depress you, or separate you from the real world (believe me I know someone like that). Just make the right choice for yourself. Best Of Luck!

NEVER!

Well, I honestly don't know if your enthusiasm towards video games was ever high enough to keep you hooked for life. And you know what? That is fine. There are other things to do in life, and you are welcome to explore them. I, myself, have come close to quitting video games only to be sucked back in by a huge title that keeps me in without question. I am probably going to continue playing games for the rest of my life, but only in different quantities than how much I play today.

I have felt like this before, and the best way out of it is to wait for that one game that you are really looking forward to (for me it's FFXIII) and let yourself get really excited for it. If you didn't "feel" games like GTA4 and Gears then it was probably because you only got them because of the reviews, not because you were interested in the setting or gameplay or graphics or whatever. Just be on the lookout for one game that makes you think "holy crap, thats gonna be awesome when it comes out!"

Dude, I'm 29 and I game more than I did five or six years ago. But, there is nothing wrong with taking less time to game and focusing more time on school. Its actually the smart move. When I was in college I would go months without turning on my game cube (insert nintendo joke). Not because there weren't games I wanted to play, but because I had more important things to focus on. I agree with out that the wow factor in games is somewhat dull today. I went through the golden era of the early to mid 90's with console and PC. Back then, the wow factor got better and better each year. Especially on PC due to hardware. Sometimes I wish I could re-build an old time machine just to play all those old games again. Dos shell and wndows 3.0 anyone?

Take a break. Games are a hobby thus they shouldnt be the primary activity in your life. I pour all my time into my work ( I'm an 3D artist), friends and family and play games when I have the spare time and I find that I enjoy them so much more. So just take it for what it is and dont worry about it so much.

Yeah dude, I hardly ever play games nowadays, but I'll try to get into Mass Effect 2.. possibly.

Don't stop playing video games because you think you're too old. Stop playing because you don't have fun playing them anymore.  Video games get the "kiddie" rep from the mainstream media which is totally bogus. As long as your priories are in order, game away.

No, there are definitely peaks & valleys. I'm in a valley myself. I'm bored with gaming.  What will happen is you'll go off & find something else to do & after a period of time, days, weeks, months or years, the interest will return.

I think one thing that has killed my interest in games is trying to get goddamn difficult achievements.  When you have to spend 4 hours dying & repeating the same part in a game, just because you want that achievement, it turns something that was once a leisure activity for fun in your spare time into a chore! And once it becomes a chore, it's not something you look forward too.  I hate it when it starts feeling like work...

Get off for the weekend & then say to myself, "Goddammit. I gotta go work on Gears of War 2 or Fracture on hardcore difficulty settings. *GROAN* "

Another problem is having too much money.  I can get any damn game I want.  There is nothing for me to work for to get the game.  So I can't have those happy thoughts you get prior to finally reaching the goal of getting the game to play it.  After you buy up 10-20 games in a short period of time, buying another game doesn't help you work on that Backlog, pushes the Backlog further out, etc.

I think I might look at doing some game design instead. Such as playing with Neverwinter Nights module designer instead.  Or something a bit more mindless, like Spore on my Mac (I just got the latest expansion, I should probably install it & try it).

" @Lind_L_Taylor:  Yes, I had a similar phase a few years back. Went away after a while, and I came back with an interest in a far greater range of genres. Perhaps you could try some new genres, or go back to some you thought you didn't like. "