Games fatigue?

[TheLegendOfMart]

I don't know what the problem is but over the past 18 months or so I haven't been bothered with games. E3 comes around and I am really excited for games that are coming and when they eventually come out I rent them and end up returning them the same day the disc arrives in the post.

I'm not sure whether its the quality of games that has declined as of late, or whether I'm just burned out on certain types or settings of games, maybe I'm just growing out of playing games which is sad as I've seen it happen to a number of friends and thought that it would never happen to me.

I got really excited about the Vita, had it for 2 months then got bored and sold it.

Is it just me or does anyone else have the same problem?

I want to like games but they never hold my interest for more than 5-10 minutes.

[Jub]

I always get excited about games, just like before, but I end up getting and playing them for about 30 minutes before I get bored and forget about it. This has been going on for several years now, and it's really annoying because I do like games.

However, on the good side of things, I have a renewed interest in World of Warcraft of all games. I've been playing it a lot lately, which I haven't since the old days. Surprising, even to myself, because I rarely do enjoy MMO games on my own, but now I can play it fine just on my own.

[Lingwo]

I am in a similar situation. I have all these games to play but never get round to playing them.

I think it might be the fact most games nowadays are not exactly exciting or do anything different. Most are just action shooters or an FPS. I find myself re-playing older games that i haven't played in a while. Also like to go on gog.com and get some classics.

I still get the odd few games that i will stick at and get sucked in to, like, Assassin's Creed (cannot stress how much i love this series). Mass Effect, Skyrim, Yakuza, Final Fantasy, Batman, Borderlands.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

It depends on the game.

I got Skyrim a few months ago and am still playing it today. There's so much to do, and it feels like a living, breathing world.

I also got Prototype 2 a couple of days after it launched, and I've not really made any progress with it. I played it for the first day, then went back to Skyrim. In comparison, Prototype 2 just feels like mindless fun (much the same as Just Cause 2, which I also got recently and it has suffered in the same way as Prototype).

I've taken a break from the FPS genre for a while now, and I do find myself with an itchy trigger finger, so I may jump back to the singleplayer of Battlefield 3 sometime soon. But all FPS games seem to suffer from the same problem - they could all be one-and-the-same game. Point A to Point B, shoot anything that moves.

EDIT: Assassin's Creed is a great series in my opinion, but once I get done with the storyline there is very little that makes me continue to run over rooftops, I just put it down and move on to a different game.

[FiB3R]

Sadly, I'm the same at the moment :(

I keep telling myself it's just a phase I'm going through, but it's just getting worse really. I think my internet addiction has taken over my gaming addiction, plus my sleeping pattern is all over the place, so I feel pretty drained, so don't have the motivation to put in the effort.

This seriously needs to be addressed, before it's too late. I shall go forth and game immediately.

*starts planning how to get another screen closer to desktop* :rofl:

[simplezz]

I want to like games but they never hold my interest for more than 5-10 minutes.

If you get bored of Skyrim within 5-10 minutes, then gaming isn't for you my friend.

I've noticed many gamers try to over-optimise their game play like rush leveling etc. That kind of thing will ruin any game. Play it naturally and don't over do it. Let it immerse you. Especially with beautiful worlds like Skyrim. I'm still playing it after two months.

I can't wait for the Dawnguard DLC ;)

[TheLegendOfMart]

Skyrim was good but even Dawnguard doesn't interest me in the slightest even though I really enjoyed Skyrim.

[bjoswald]

Thank God you posted this, because I was starting to think I was the only one. I use to spend entire weekends and many hours during the week playing games, but now I can't be bothered. I just don't care anymore. Actually, it's so bad that my GF won't let me buy any more because I just waste money. I read somewhere the average gamer is 35 or so. I'm not even 30 and I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep if gaming stopped.

[Glassed Silver]

I think lots has to do with these types of games:

• me too's
  
• Graphics rock, heart and soul of the game bombs
  
• Game is good, but takes too long to get into it to enjoy it fully (think FF XIII for example. It's an extreme example, but the actual game starts after 13 hours lol)
  

Glassed Silver:mac

[PyX]

Same. I don?t get excitement as a feeling like I did before when playing new video games I anticipated. :(

My theory about it is because I became more and more of a tech guy, thus a little bit dissociated from my emotions. It?s safe to say we?re all like this on Neowin, unfortunately.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

My theory about it is because I became more and more of a tech guy, thus a little bit dissociated from my emotions. It?s safe to say we?re all like this on Neowin, unfortunately.

Error 837: The word "emotion" is not recognised as an internal or external command.

[BGM]

you're probably growing up, i don't get excited about them any more either.

they are just things i do to pass the time when i'm not cooking, cleaning, washing up, working, driving, sleeping or out

it happens to us all :)

[bjoswald]

Same. I don?t get excitement as a feeling like I did before when playing new video games I anticipated. :(

My theory about it is because I became more and more of a tech guy, thus a little bit dissociated from my emotions. It?s safe to say we?re all like this on Neowin, unfortunately.

Agreed. I love technology and I'm addicted to the web. It's constantly evolving. Games, however, have been more or less the same machine with a new coat of paint.

[Detection]

I think age has been the winning factor in killing my passion for a lot of things, I used to be excited for everything computer related, even a flash player update would be like "Wooo"

Now I couldn't care less about new windows being released, new games coming out, new hardware... I find myself becoming the boring adult I used to laugh at when I was younger and find myself just wanting "Something that works"

I used to run the cutting edge everything with all its faults and bugs and love spending hours finding workarounds to problems, now I cba !

[theyarecomingforyou]

I think age has been the winning factor in killing my passion for a lot of things, I used to be excited for everything computer related, even a flash player update would be like "Wooo"

Now I couldn't care less about new windows being released, new games coming out, new hardware... I find myself becoming the boring adult I used to laugh at when I was younger and find myself just wanting "Something that works"

I think this is the common factor. For instance, I used to love playing the original Counter-Strike but now I'm barely interested in the new one that's due out (though I'll probably grab it anyway as it's going to be cheap). I can go a week without playing games and not even notice. Still, when I find the right game I still find myself getting sucked in. I put over 85hrs into Skyrim, 80hrs into Diablo III, over 120hrs into Civilization V and about 100hrs into Borderlands, and I got really into The Witcher 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The problem is that I just don't get as much excitement from the average games that I used to - I'm much more interested in games that involve strategy and thinking, rather than the twitch shooters that used to be my mainstay.

The only positive thing is that I still find myself getting excited about some games. For instance, Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 both look great and WatchDogs has the potential to be epic.

[Detection]

I think this is the common factor. For instance, I used to love playing the original Counter-Strike but now I'm barely interested in the new one that's due out (though I'll probably grab it anyway as it's going to be cheap). I can go a week without playing games and not even notice. Still, when I find the right game I still find myself getting sucked in. I put over 85hrs into Skyrim, 80hrs into Diablo III, over 120hrs into Civilization V and about 100hrs into Borderlands, and I got really into The Witcher 2 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The problem is that I just don't get as much excitement from the average games that I used to - I'm much more interested in games that involve strategy and thinking, rather than the twitch shooters that used to be my mainstay.

The only positive thing is that I still find myself getting excited about some games. For instance, Far Cry 3 and Borderlands 2 both look great and WatchDogs has the potential to be epic.

Yea might find 1 game every 6 months to a year that I enjoy, last one was RAGE and before that was Singularity

These days if I spend my day gaming I feel like I have wasted a day, but if I spend it talking on forums / helping repair problems / learning something new, I don't get that guilty wasted a day feeling

[Charisma Veteran]

I'm kind of the same. Sometimes, once I get going, I am interested for a while--but the thought of turning on my Xbox now is like, eh...

That being said, Borderlands was completely amazing, I played the **** out of that game, maxed out my character, all DLC, etc. Borderlands 2 might be the one to suck me back in, or maybe I need to get Skyrim. None of the others seem to interest me anymore--I get on the internet or derp around with my tablet, rarely even look at the Xbox. It's sad :(

[Arceles]

That's true enough for most of games... but once you find a really nice game you stick with it, for example, Max Payne 3 really made me fell the joy of playing again sich a fine game (and the Ys series from falcom did it too like a year before) but nowadays games are all too mainstream to excite me...

[Nagisan]

Pretty sure age/maturity is the cause if it.

Played D2 for 5 years, Natural Selection for 4 years, Guild Wars for 4 years (some of the time overlapping each other) many years ago (like from when they released), now the longest I have played any one game was about 4 months on World of Warcraft before I got tired of the gear grind at 85. I've played Fallout NV on and off a couple times, same with Skyrim, but never more than a month at a time....currently playing D3 and it is keeping me occupied but probably not for much longer......already have a lvl 60 monk and wizard, gave up on my monk (spent as much money on his gear as I did my wizard and he has less armor, less resists, less damage, and about the same health.....only advantage he has is higher dodge and 30% damage reduction that melee gets.....but much lower damage).....wizard is definitely leagues above monk overall.....but I don't know how long I can be occupied grinding enemies for gold/occasional decent drop to try to get more gear for my characters.

Even the Assassins creed games only keep my occupied for a week or two until I beat the main storyline.....same with Mass Effect. It just seems that I don't find games as fun as I used to....though Path of Exile is the true D2 successor IMHO, in terms of gameplay it feels much more like D2 than D3 does.....just waiting for it to go out of "closed" beta so my characters aren't wiped once I get them geared and everything.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Yeah, as a 37 year old male who loves gaming overall, I can tell you it does not get much better. I still enjoy playing games, but it takes a whole lot of mental effort to actually start playing them. Takes way more to keep playing them. There are some exceptions to the rule, like Max Payne 3 I totally got into and played until I beat it, but that was a rarity. I cannot count how many games I have purchased over the past two years I planned on playing them and beating them that I either just totally got bored with, or even worse, never even touched. And I purchased the full retail game (Dues Ex, Dead Island are two I remember for sure).

The next few days are actually a big test for me. My wife is going away to England, so in theory I have more time to play games then I have in years actually. I have Spec Ops The Line from Gamefly, also have Lollypop Chearleader coming which I am interested in just because it is supposed to be so far out. But yeah, will see how much I actually play. I prefer watching movies these days and just taking it easy so to speak. Crazy how it works out.

I would say ultimately it comes down to the fact that I have been there, done that. I have literally been playing games since they have been available to play pretty much. So not much excites me as I have already played it. So yeah, not sure if it will ever get better.

I can say though, I have had the exact opposite experience with the Vita. It is pretty much solely responsible for the majority of my gaming time since it was released. That is why I have it in my signature, as it is the reason I am gaming these days basically.

[FiB3R]

omg, I'm growing up! Please tell me it isn't so. :cry:

Must... battle... the... progress... of... time

[Detection]

I think the whole "I have responsibilities" feeling gets in the way now, when I was in my teens / early 20's I didn't care about anything, if I lost my house I stayed at my friends, if I had no food I would eat at a friends and they would vice versa, we lived in each others pockets for years and never cared what happened because we always had somewhere to go

Now Im in my 30's, I have a house I have to pay for, dogs to keep alive, a fianc?e to give attention to, and if I mess up on any of those things, there are big consequences that are not easily fixed by "going to a mates house"

So gaming / getting really into a game for days / weeks is nearly impossible to concentrate on without worrying I`m forgetting about this or that so can't give it 100% subsequently not enjoying games as much anymore

[compl3x]

I think I spend more time reading about games, the culture, the industry and stuff like that than I do actually paying games.

For me it ebbs and flows. I went a few years without ever picking up a game, and then on a whim I bought a PS3, upgraded my PC, and started playing a lot. Unfortunately, gaming is a pretty time intensive hobby/interest. If you have a family, career etc. that takes up a lot of your time, then you'll find yourself playing less and less.

Then you'll start to get fat and bald. You wife no longer sleeps with you. You kids don't listen to you. No one at work respects you. You endure all this for a few decades, then you die. Enjoy!

[Grinch]

omg, I'm growing up! Please tell me it isn't so. :cry:

Must... battle... the... progress... of... time

You can do it! Stay with us!

I can safely say that right this moment I've not lost interest in gaming. The worst thing I can think of is I'll prepare myself to play a game and then get bored with the idea of playing it (Fallout New Vegas is something I installed and modded to death recently and then didn't bother playing it). Intending to play some Deus Ex: HR soon though.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I think the whole "I have responsibilities" feeling gets in the way now, when I was in my teens / early 20's I didn't care about anything, if I lost my house I stayed at my friends, if I had no food I would eat at a friends and they would vice versa, we lived in each others pockets for years and never cared what happened because we always had somewhere to go

Now Im in my 30's, I have a house I have to pay for, dogs to keep alive, a fianc?e to give attention to, and if I mess up on any of those things, there are big consequences that are not easily fixed by "going to a mates house"

So gaming / getting really into a game for days / weeks is nearly impossible to concentrate on without worrying I`m forgetting about this or that so can't give it 100% subsequently not enjoying games as much anymore

Well said. Between being married, having a house with a mortgage that also has a yard which combined both supply endless amounts of work to be done, and the best job so far of my career which fortunately I am well paid but that also means earning my pay, my time for gaming us unfortunately slim to none.

Luckily my wife is cool, and if it is a game I really want to play, she is fine with going to watch TV upstairs, but I do not really make her do that all that much. As corny as it sounds, I do not mind spending time with her.

Then you'll start to get fat and bald. You wife no longer sleeps with you. You kids don't listen to you. No one at work respects you. You endure all this for a few decades, then you die. Enjoy!

I hear you on all counts except the kids. Been working on that part, and no rush at all from my end. :laugh: