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

For older gamers, I think many of you have had this thought run through your mind at some point in your gaming life. There's probably peaks and depressions when it comes to how you feel about games in general. I feel rather young to have just come up with this thought, after all I'm only 17 and I do not seem to share the same kind of enthusiasm with my friends.  They'll play just ANYTHING! And I believe there was a time in my life where I was the same as them. I'm starting to question whether it's a good hobby or not. Games used to be fresh, new and exciting when I was younger. Now I've come to believe that, for the most part, games are just getting boring!

From your post its clear, at least to me, that you never liked video games to begin with. 

Dude I will only know I am too old for games when my arthritic hands are not longer capable of holding a controller. But lets face it I'll be dead before then anyway. So I'm good.

I'm 16 and had a bit of a crisis a few months ago suddenly realizing that I wouldn't be at home with mommy and daddy playing video games and going swimming for the rest of my life. Then I thought, ya know what, if I really am a gamer, and the games are worth playing, I'll still play them regardless.

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!

Yeah I went through a phase like this too.  You think hey look at me I'm practically adult, I can't be playing those damn video games no more!  Them's for kiddies!  Then you'll get a job  and realize how miserable life is and that video games are your only escape from this wretched existence and you'll be a gamer again.

It might just be that 2009 has been a pretty dry year as far as video games are concerned (especially following a year like 2008).  Don't force yourself to play games that you're not going to enjoy playing, wait until there is a game that your legitimately excited about.  Maybe you should consider checking out some of the older games that got you into gaming in the first place.  During the past year I've picked up a Genesis, a SNES, and an N64 and I've had a blast playing through some of the games of yesteryear.

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

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

Speaking as a mature gamer myself, I don't think age plays any role at all, my thoughts on videogames have remained firm from day one and have never wavered at any point during my life. Why should they?, I don't have a parent over may should filling my head with BS about videogames.. lol @ going "straight" (?), you make videogames, a form of entertainment like any other, sound like an evil. 

" @Vision said:

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

Wasn't that an old Gameboy commercial? "

The final answer:

" From your post its clear, at least to me, that you never liked video games to begin with.  "

IF YOU DON'T LIKE VIDEO GAMES THEN GTFO!!!

Well it sounds like ur an idiot, if ur looking for intellectuel elements in gaming, i although i must say i thot Bioshock had an amazing story that shuld be appreciated by everyone, ur looking in the wrong places, everything else uve named is the mindless bs most people without intellect play. 

I will never stop playing games.

If you call Bioshock, and GTA4 'failing to deliver' then I'm not sure what to say.

I think you are expecting to much of the industry, everyone said ifamous was amazing, I thought it was a good game, but not one of those with wich I get over-excited. Anyways, videogames don't have anything to do with your depression, they do no harm, and for gods sake, you are 17 not 47.

Longing for games that feel like games felt in the SNES days, huh? Well, those days are over.

Oh wait, no. They aren't.

" Yeah I went through a phase like this too.  You think hey look at me I'm practically adult, I can't be playing those damn video games no more!  Them's for kiddies!  Then you'll get a job  and realize how miserable life is and that video games are your only escape from this wretched existence and you'll be a gamer again. "

You're just getting pickyer (word?) as you get older.

I used to play everything under the sun when I was younger too.  When games switched to 3D I had a hard time adjusting and even skipped a generation of consoles.  Now I'm 32 and I still get the itch to play a good game when time allows.  You sound pretty normal to me dude.

After living the crazyness of being young I have just decided to extend my childhood till I get married, stay at my parents house, playing video games, studying a lot and spending a lot of money on stupid stuff, I don't care if a lot of people say that I just move on from this lifestyle, I live a peaceful life and take advantage of this shelter to finish college, I had an older girlfriend some time ago and it was very demanding and I was wasting a lot of money going out, I couldn't even buy any console for 3 years, then one day I realized I was too young to be on a serious relationship and I was having a lot of trouble watching this gen consoles games and not buying them, I just ditched the relationship and came back being my self. I read a couple of days ago  that Kevin Levine lost a girlfriend because of his Legend of Zelda addiction and I felt well about my choice, life gets complicated after you finish college, just enjoy what you like and don't think whether kids or adults are meant to play video games, you are on a stage of your life that you still have a lot of time to enjoy them, don't waste time.

I definitely had a higher tolerance for the range of quality of games I'd play when I was younger. Nowadays, the mere concept of a pile of shame that many gamers brag/lament about confuses me. At most, I may only have 2 games at once that I'm interested in but for the most part I could probably count on one hand how many games in a given year legitimately hold my attention. I gave up in my attempt to keep my interests broad when I reached a point in Tales of Vesperia during which I simply shut off my 360 and said out loud "I just don't give a s*** anymore." If a game doesn't grab my attention in the first hour or so, I turn it off (Prototype). If the only reason a game being previewed in the media interests me is because of hype I can't relate to, I ignore it (Heavy Rain). In the end, I save money and time but still am able to enjoy my hobby.

Market is over saturated, leaving you feeling dry

I thought that maybe I should move on, but then looked at my gigantic shelf full of old favorites and the joy I get from unwrapping a game from a few years ago delivered in the post for £5, and realise how much I love the hobby. Different people like different things however. But if you want to save your gaming, I would look for some recommendations of games that really feel like an experience. Half-Life 2 and its episodes are very much recommended for that - it's a series that a lot of console gamers have missed, and I'm not sure how good the port is on the 360, but you can pick up the Orange Box for a few bucks these days, worth ten times that just for HL2.

If you're losing your faith, maybe it's time to move on.  There were a lot of things I did as a kid which now feel to me like a waste of time and money.  But games in general...  I've been playing games for much longer than you've existed and I see no signs of me stopping, although the industry sometimes disappoints me with its trends enough that I don't pay much attention to the mainstream for a while. 

You may come back to it some day, but in the meantime you'll develop other aspects of yourself and save some money in the bargain, so why not take a break?  No shame in it at all.

"went out there are made a posse"

Word gangsta!

When are you too old to play videogames?

When it gets too loud.

Right around the age of 16 or 17 is when a lot of things change in a persons life.  You'll notice as you get older that stuff like christmas and birthdays don't feel as magical as they used to, and having a job probably has a lot to do about that.  Stuff like Christmas and birthdays are completely different after getting a job because if you want something you can just buy it for yourself, and it can have the same affect on video games.

Well, I am turning 26 in a couple of days and I am slowly starting to get sick of gaming. It's just not as rewarding as it once was, aside from the whole achievement deal that makes people exploiting instead of truly enjoying their games. Also, I miss the "epicness" of singleplayer games. The last one that truly felt epic to me was Biosock despite it's obvious flaws in the gameplay. Thanks to the age of LIVE and PSN, developers put all their effort and polish into mulitplayer modes that usually dry out after a couple of months, due to the increasingly short attention span of the "1337 haxx0r" generation.

" Speaking as a mature gamer myself, I don't think age plays any role at all, my thoughts on videogames have remained firm from day one and have never wavered at any point during my life. Why should they?, I dont have a parent over may should filling my head with BS about videogames.. lol @ going "straight" (?), you make videogames, a form of entertainment like any other, sound like an evil. 

I could not give a fuck about what others think, escpecially if they deem it childish in some illeducated manner'. There are experience to be found in videogames that are simply untouchable and unreplicable by other art forms."

I'll be 25 in a few months and I can say I have been where you are now and I am back to it again. I've run into it with all my hobbies from time to time. It's just a feeling of burnout. My advice is to take some time off of gaming, not a set amount of time just time in general, and pursue other interests. Then down the road if you feel the urge to pick up the controller again, do so and see what has come out in the time you've been gone. I lost interest in gaming when I was around 16 and didn't get back into it again until college, and when I got back in I was able to see things, new things, I wasn't able to see before, because I was more mature. These new insights allowed me to better see the hobby and what I like and dislike in it, which is a pretty positive thing I think.

So just take some time off and pursue other interests. Pick up fencing, or something and come back to gaming at a later point if you feel like it. That's really all you can do.

" From your post its clear, at least to me, that you never liked video games to begin with.  "

ive taken half to whole year breaks from video games before. you'll come back

ill never be too old for videogames, ill be a hardcore gamer until the day i die.... its just in my blood or something :D

Dude I am 27 and I play more now than when I was 17.

Hey I rekon i will be playing videogames until im 100 or something, I can never stop playing videogames cuz im literally addicted and i'll die if games get banned or stop being developed cuz they're practically my life!

Hobbies come and go. Gaming is my main one right now at 27, but I've been into other things too at various times. 

I have a full time job, will be going to school full time soon, I have a great social life, and an awesome girlfriend, but I still find time for gaming. Just think about your purchases more, only play games that really have you interested.

SELL OUT. 

Im also quite young and have gone through phases like this, especially when it seems like all the games coming out are a shit sandwich that costs me 60 dollars. But i always come back. the last few years especially have kept me entertained. Fallout 3, TF2, Gears 1 and 2, Portal, Bioshock, these last few years in gaming have been golden. Im just worried about the next years....

I will turn 30 and have a son next month, and I'm not too old to play video games.  It is something from which I gain a lot.  I have learned more about how cars handle, how the game of football is played, and what makes for a good, enduring story from video games than from any other entertainment source.

It sounds like, in your case, you need a break.  I suggest that you not buy any new games until after this Christmas.  Stop coming to Giant Bomb every day.  Look in to some other hobbies.  Date someone.  Video games do not have to define your whole life.