As I get older, the time needed to play games gets shorter and shorter. With "Life" issues getting in the way of gaming time, how do we as older gamers (Over 30) find the time necessary to fill the need to play games.  From the age of 6, I have never been without a game system and up until 5-10 years ago, I have had a copious amount time to play them.  
 
But even in the most busy times up to and including my early and late 20s, I made the time to buy and play the latest games that came out at that time.
But for some reason, now as I get older... I seem to be lazy, bored or the games today have not quite captured my attention the way they had in my memories.
 
Is it time to let go of the "Hardcore Gamer" in me and pass the torch over to the next crop of young gamers take over the hobby? 
Or do I become the enemy, the "Casual Gamer", the Wii or IPod gamer, let go of my trusted controller and pick up a "waggle-wand" of some sort? 
 
These are the thoughts of an over-worked, time strapped gamer in his mid 30's, looking for the excuse to game again.
Any Thoughts?

I have less time to game than I used to but I still play the same games, the same way, just less.

@Malachi: I often feel like I'm in the same boat.  Between work, a new daughter and life in general my gaming time is less and less these days.  Ultimately it comes down to how gaming fits into the hierarchy of your other priorities - if you're not enjoying games any more stop playing, if you still find games you love to play keep at it.  I'm personally just more selective in what I play given my limited time - it may take me a month of more for a single playthrough, but it's not a hobby I want to give up.

I haven't been a hardcore gamer since around the time I got married. Since then, I just have far far less time for games. I still play quite a bit, but don't have time for PC gaming (and the hardware upgrade obsession that goes with it). I tend to like games that don't put a lot of time pressure on me. For instance, I can't do: games with 45-60 minute levels without checkpoints; games with strict time requirements and/or limited save points; etc. I need to be able to play a game for twenty minutes and put it down.
 
Thus games that I was primed to like, such as Dead Rising, just completely pissed me off. I can't play them. I don't have time to make it through a level and to a save point in the amount of time I have. It becomes frustrating. Other games such as Mass Effect, though, have allowed me to keep playing relatively "hardcore" games, even though I'm nowhere near "in-shape" gaming wise. And yeah, I do find myself playing more casual games. Like Guitar Hero, for instance. It was so easy to just play one or two songs, then turn it off.
 
Most games are flexible enough to allow you to play and still fit it into your schedule. Just not all of them. And games like Modern Warfare that require you to put large number of hours into them to get all the benefits of online play will probably frustrate you. But there's no reason to think you need to move completely to casual games. God forbid. I tend to expect more out of games now than I used to, and am more easily disappointed when they don't meet expectations in one way or another. And I'm quicker to put things aside than I used to be. But I always find something to keep my attention. I've been bored by some games, but never by games in general.

I've noticed that with post-secondary education and work, I really have to limit my gaming time to a few hours a week. My friends were all in college without part time jobs and had time to play games. The perfect example was when Halo 3 was released. They beat the single player in about a day a half and it took me about a week to beat. One of these same friends is now on his ninth prestige on Modern Warfare 2. Seems unattainable with our schedules right?
 
@haggis said:

Most games are flexible enough to allow you to play and still fit it into your schedule. Just not all of them. 

You cannot give up on gaming until you have played SotC, SH2, Portal, World of Goo, HL2 and have given the Wii and DS a fair chance.

I find myself going through phases, I won't feel like playing anything for weeks or months, but then either a big new release will get me interested in picking up a controller again or I'll get some free time and I'll end up burning through a few games in my backlog. Just recently I've finished inFAMOUS, went back to Pixeljunk Shooter and am about to start on The Force Unleashed. I hadn't really played anything since April when I went through Ghostbusters, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time and most of God of War before it kept freezing up on me.     
 
When I don't have time to play myself, I enjoy hearing about what others are playing. I live sort of vicariously through the dudes that run this site. The podcast and all the video content here does a great job of keeping me interest in the hobby even if I don't have as much time anymore to actually do it. 

It's really good to see the passion for our hobby and the inspiring reasons why we game. 
I am hoping my apathy towards my once loved (if not worshiped) hobby is just a passing thought and I haven't lost the love for the game.
 
It is true that as an older gamer, I have grown up with the hobby and have seen the hobby evolve into what it is today. I remember playing pong when it actually came out and just being blown away by what I saw on the TV screen. Maybe it is, a bit of being "bored" for the most part by the game developers today and tired of seeing the same type of game being peddled over and over again.
 
Maybe it's time to stop playing "everything" that comes out and pick and choose the genre or meme that best suits my style. 

shit yourself and call the nurse.
Now that is a good time.

My parents didn't allow videogames consoles or pc's into the house when I was younger, they thought it was too expensive and not necessary.  So I missed the whole Atari 2600, Commodore 64, NES, SNES, etc. Too bad...
When I start working I bought a PC and started enjoying first person shooters.  After that the consoles came. And now in my 30's I still enjoy gaming. I just make time for it. I have a stressfull and hectic job and gaming is just to relax.

" As I get older, the time needed to play games gets shorter and shorter. With "Life" issues getting in the way of gaming time, how do we as older gamers (Over 30) find the time necessary to fill the need to play games.  From the age of 6, I have never been without a game system and up until 5-10 years ago, I have had a copious amount time to play them.    But even in the most busy times up to and including my early and late 20s, I made the time to buy and play the latest games that came out at that time.But for some reason, now as I get older... I seem to be lazy, bored or the games today have not quite captured my attention the way they had in my memories.  Is it time to let go of the "Hardcore Gamer" in me and pass the torch over to the next crop of young gamers take over the hobby?  Or do I become the enemy, the "Casual Gamer", the Wii or IPod gamer, let go of my trusted controller and pick up a "waggle-wand" of some sort?   These are the thoughts of an over-worked, time strapped gamer in his mid 30's, looking for the excuse to game again. Any Thoughts? "
 

You're old enough to decide without our input. Do what you feel is necessary.

My father is 41 and he's still gaming plus working 7am to 6pm everyday, often even later than that. He works on one game at time, currently Fable II.

Stop trying to keep up with all the latest games. I've been doing that ever since I started gaming, and lately it's begun to ruin my enjoyment of it. I realize that I get nothing more out of the game by getting it on day one, especially since I'm not big on multiplayer. I'm not going to buy the new Halo on day one either. I'll probably get it at the end of the month. 

Same boat... but you can try to move on.... gaming will call you back.
 @Meowayne:  
I tried and got them all but  i just can't figure what SH2 is...

Gaming till I die.  
 
Just not as much when I get arthritis.

Gaming has changed a lot since the 80s and 90s. Nowadays everything is quicker and more complex. I guess this is just the natural evolution of games. I used to be happy for hours controlling a plumber who breaks blocks, gets into pipes for coins and saves princesses. I can't see the same younger gamer getting so excited about something as simple as that anymore. They demand more and more just to get the same amount of satisfaction. I miss the old days.