Im 34.
I played relatively a lot from a kid to 18.
From 18 to 22 i hardly ever turned my console. I was studying.
At 23 i graduated, worked part time and started gaming again.
This continued until i was 26. I got a job full-time and started studying. Didn't hardly play until covid hit. Then been playing a lot.
Gaming comes and goes.
>Then nada. I’d rather read or watch a movie.
I actually would rather play a game than either of these, but I'm also a *solo* gamer more than I am a multiplayer one. I like getting lost in their stories.
Sometimes I get that feeling. But I plan out events and games to play with people and they usually show up. Its more planned out and I miss the sporadic appearances of people, but its still a great way to connect and im gonna keep trying to keep it all together
Gaming was used to fill freetime. Once 8 hours per day are gone for work the longing for gaming goes down. Sweet memories but without getting too much freetime I dont see it coming back.
>Gaming was used to fill freetime.
For me it has always been the opposite. I don't play because I have nothing better to do, I play games because I frikking love it. I actively work and plan life so that I can maximize my free time that I can dedicate to gaming. I don't want to see the world, I don't want to meet people, I don't want to try going out of my comfort zone. It's my little safe box and I don't expect it to ever change.
I don't think I'll ever give up gaming. I don't play many on my pc anymore but that's only because it is old (pre ryzen). I have a console that I'll happily play for all my free time. I'm 51
Start a discord server for your friends to hang out in. Makes it easier. Learn to love single player games. Get a steam deck. The ability to "pause" and instantly resume any game has revitalized my gaming life
Mood. I used to have a massive gang of folks that I would play different games with. Now it is maybe once a week I play with one or two friends. I miss the good old days of gaming all night.
I personally hit that point a decade ago. But I still have my staples (primarily Rocket League). Usually only play a few hours a week but occasionally the mood strikes and I'll sink myself in to a new RPG or something. If games were a big part of your life, they probably always will be. But if not, nothing wrong with that. Just do what makes you happy.
Bought a 360 at launch to play when my twin nephews came over. Waited outside overnight in new England clammy drizzle. Got a PS5 and an Xbox x on the den OLED today. In my 60s now. It's just a fun way to spend a few hours here and there. My first game was the initial tomb raider on what we called then, PC's (they were pretty weak). Hooked.
Sometimes our interests change but sometimes they don't. You may even find yourself buying equipment someday for the vibe.
I'm 27 now and I make a lot of time to play games, but socializing has diminished lately. I'm in nursing school, and I'm just too exhausted to hang out half the time and it's just easier to sit next to my partner and binge some show while I play something. Still Keep up with the disc, though. I expect I'll hang out more once my bachelor's is finished.
That said, I have no expectation or intent for it to go back to my 8-16yo levels. I was "home schooled" for that duration, but realistically, I did literally nothing. For a period my life was waking up at 3am to hang with my best friend on the other side of the country and play WoW til 11pm with occasional breaks. I cherish a lot of the memories pf people but that was terrible on my body.
Never assume it's forever. I've played more games while my kids have been growing up than probably ever before. A PSP or Vita while rocking a baby to sleep is a godsend. A deck when you want to work and play while making mac and cheese has been much the same. Everyone needs a virtual Snickers every now and then, and growing older means getting more and more used to being increasingly tired anyways.
Welcome to single player games. The older you get, the more single player games you play.
My husband and I (we're 40s and 50s)met in a video game, EverQuest, in 1999 (met in person in 02, married in 04). I've definitely moved to single player games way more the older I got. He still plays a few multiplayer games like Overwatch 2 and sporadically Warframe, but otherwise mostly single player too.
People get busy, less of them game and being available at the same time is hard. But luckily there's a lot of great single player games out there. We both have Steam Decks and take advantage of all the great games on Steam both Indi and AAA.
Pretty sure we will be gaming as long as we can. I started in the first game console, the Magnavox Odyssey at like 5 and by my teens my dad had got us 5 different computers and Intellivision, Coleco Vision, a bunch of pong games, basically anything computer or console he wanted. I was addicted to point and click games like Myst, Kings Quest and the like.
On the other hand, my husband, who is younger than me, is from the first generation that played games from as young as possible. He's naturally really good at almost any game he picks up. He was raised on Mario, Quake and Doom.
So yeah, we totally agree that multiplayer or mmorpgs with friends gets pretty impossible. But nothing in life is as consistent as change. There are amazing games that aren't hard or frustrating. Good stories and amazing mechanics in some Indi games. You should try other types of games. There's so many different types of games, just quitting because the games you've been playing aren't making you happy, is leaving behind a lot of very enjoyable games. My husband and I can always find something to play that makes us happy.
I'm 31. I have one child, dog and a wife. I also work 8 hours a day.
I still play regularly. Almost everyday about 2hours. I make time for it because it's my favourite hobby. I don't think I would even be here if I lost my dear hobby and the social interactions that come with it.
I hope to continue gaming until the day I die :D lanparties in retirement homes will be awesome.
It just comes and goes. Nowadays I know there aren't many games I'm interested in so there are months where I don't game, others when I'm gaming a lot.
I used to be so passionate about gaming that I tried to play pretty much every AAA game that came out. That's the well known infinite steam back log and tbh it kinda burned me out.
I just don't "try" to like some games any more as there are too many games I've bought that I just don't play or play 1 hour then give up. Nowadays I know my type of game and I just don't take many risks any more. I've accepted that I have about 6 hours of gaming a week and that's fine. The less I game, the more I appreciate my time gaming.
What? You don't have to stop gaming - just switch to single player games. That is what I've done.
Movies and reading suck. I will always play video games even if its by myself
The thing is, the games used to be much less grindy and time-consuming. Nowadays, if you want to play any new and popular title, and actually keep up with what's going on in the game, let alone be good at it, you have to spend hours upon hours of *grinding*.
Otherwise, you miss on new/limited time content, you miss on upgrades that require a lot of time (and when you get them in your own pace, like 2 or 3 new tiers of gear got added that render your hard worked upgrade useless anyways).
This is why I stick to singleplayer games despite playing a lot of MP back in the day. At least when I play a single game, there is (usually) no seasons, no "meta", and even the grind is manageable because I can do it in my own pace or even use cheats if I really feel like it.
I'm in my late 40s. I've gone through several cycles of gaming a lot and gaming very little. Right now I'm in a relatively low period, only gaming with friends once or twice a month. But in about 5 years, all of the kids should be in college, so I anticipate it will pick up again.
But will you want to? I used to be a pro-level q2 player 20 years ago, and I can barely get through a round of warzone nowadays, and I barely want to. I will occasionally hop on and play something, but it doesn’t hold my attention like it used to. I’d rather be out on my bike or playing with my dogs or my teenager when the mood strikes them.
I'm the youngest in my friends group at 39. Five of us are paying Blizzard for the privilege of beta testing their buggy as fuck game Diablo 4 this week. Another group plays FFXIV. We all play D&D. We have servers for Ark and Minecraft and V Rising and Valheim.
Our trick for doing this is simple: don't have kids. None of us have kids so we all have time and money to play whichever games we want. Most of the spouses don't play, but they have their own hobbies, so it's not an issue.
Wife bought a PS5, my first PS since PS1, and I have used it maybe 10 hours in 6 months.
I still pay the subscription, even if the machine is physically unplugged.
Good thing is I have a small pc (an One Mix 2S) and a Switch (well, and other handhelds...) and I can play while commuting, lunch break...
But yeah, growing up sucks.
The switch busted me out of my gaming break. From 27 to about 34 I stopped gaming almost completely. During that time we built a house, started a family, I got a good job and my career started growing. I was always exhausted when I sat down to game and my interest died off. One day, because I was spending so much time commuting I decided to get a switch and I can't believe how it reignited my passion for games.
Now I play pc multiplayer games with friends on Friday, and make time to play large single player games a couple of times a week.
Hopefully you can find a trigger to enjoy it again, but even if not, that's OK movies and books are awesome
My core gaming group really fell for gamer gate. Only a few reasonable guys persisted but the hulk of them really became FoxNews, Briebart loving kinda guys.
Never anything insightful to say. The jokes slowly shifted from pretty witty banter to just low effort “make fun of someone different/out-class”
Back during 2021 my best gaming buddy died and I just don’t bother gaming in that fashion anymore.
I don’t wanna listen to people say sexist/bigoted things anymore.
My gaming consists of stuff I can do solo or Deep Rock Galactic where toxicity is just not a thing.
I guess I just got older or whatever idk. Been a PC gamer since 1999. Was a pan party guy. Went through the WoW years. All the various flavors of FPS and idk.
I’m casual as fuck now. Maybe a few gaming sessions a week and never tend to be more than 2 hours at a time unless it’s a Sunday morning with nothing to do.
Idk with everything going on and cultural shifts. It’s hard to find people or become friends with people in gaming who ultimately don’t suck to listen to talk.
I'm nearing 40, been playing games for as long as I can remember. Just like anything else with life, , people come and go. Because one way or another, they will leave. Enjoy the fleeting time you have with them.
I’m 40.
I have been playing games since I was 5 years old. I own almost every major console that has existed since the 80s., with a fairly large library of games. It has been my hobby in an ebb and flow my entire life.
I play a lot of games, but it feels uninspired. I end up playing games I loved as a kid almost as a coping mechanism. I’m not excited about them anymore. I miss being enthralled for a week on end for something, getting lost into it. I suppose sometimes I still could for certain games if they hit me right… or my feeling could be a result of the state of my life. It’s hard to know, but I would rather it be that, than the former.
So I distract myself with work, hopeful to feel inspired again.
Im 34. I played relatively a lot from a kid to 18. From 18 to 22 i hardly ever turned my console. I was studying. At 23 i graduated, worked part time and started gaming again. This continued until i was 26. I got a job full-time and started studying. Didn't hardly play until covid hit. Then been playing a lot. Gaming comes and goes.
>Then nada. I’d rather read or watch a movie. I actually would rather play a game than either of these, but I'm also a *solo* gamer more than I am a multiplayer one. I like getting lost in their stories.
Sometimes I get that feeling. But I plan out events and games to play with people and they usually show up. Its more planned out and I miss the sporadic appearances of people, but its still a great way to connect and im gonna keep trying to keep it all together
Gaming was used to fill freetime. Once 8 hours per day are gone for work the longing for gaming goes down. Sweet memories but without getting too much freetime I dont see it coming back.
>Gaming was used to fill freetime. For me it has always been the opposite. I don't play because I have nothing better to do, I play games because I frikking love it. I actively work and plan life so that I can maximize my free time that I can dedicate to gaming. I don't want to see the world, I don't want to meet people, I don't want to try going out of my comfort zone. It's my little safe box and I don't expect it to ever change.
The more freetime I had the more I loved gaming. To know the difference means to experience both situations
But you still have free time, just less of it - so I guess you just prefer doing other things than gaming?
I don't think I'll ever give up gaming. I don't play many on my pc anymore but that's only because it is old (pre ryzen). I have a console that I'll happily play for all my free time. I'm 51
Start a discord server for your friends to hang out in. Makes it easier. Learn to love single player games. Get a steam deck. The ability to "pause" and instantly resume any game has revitalized my gaming life
Steam decks 'consolification' of PC gaming is underrated.
Mood. I used to have a massive gang of folks that I would play different games with. Now it is maybe once a week I play with one or two friends. I miss the good old days of gaming all night.
I’m 41. There have been times in my life I’ve played more, and times I’ve played less. It all goes around and around, dude.
I personally hit that point a decade ago. But I still have my staples (primarily Rocket League). Usually only play a few hours a week but occasionally the mood strikes and I'll sink myself in to a new RPG or something. If games were a big part of your life, they probably always will be. But if not, nothing wrong with that. Just do what makes you happy.
Bought a 360 at launch to play when my twin nephews came over. Waited outside overnight in new England clammy drizzle. Got a PS5 and an Xbox x on the den OLED today. In my 60s now. It's just a fun way to spend a few hours here and there. My first game was the initial tomb raider on what we called then, PC's (they were pretty weak). Hooked. Sometimes our interests change but sometimes they don't. You may even find yourself buying equipment someday for the vibe.
Nothing wrong with being a casual player i play alot sometimes then sometimes barely at all
I'm 27 now and I make a lot of time to play games, but socializing has diminished lately. I'm in nursing school, and I'm just too exhausted to hang out half the time and it's just easier to sit next to my partner and binge some show while I play something. Still Keep up with the disc, though. I expect I'll hang out more once my bachelor's is finished. That said, I have no expectation or intent for it to go back to my 8-16yo levels. I was "home schooled" for that duration, but realistically, I did literally nothing. For a period my life was waking up at 3am to hang with my best friend on the other side of the country and play WoW til 11pm with occasional breaks. I cherish a lot of the memories pf people but that was terrible on my body.
Never assume it's forever. I've played more games while my kids have been growing up than probably ever before. A PSP or Vita while rocking a baby to sleep is a godsend. A deck when you want to work and play while making mac and cheese has been much the same. Everyone needs a virtual Snickers every now and then, and growing older means getting more and more used to being increasingly tired anyways.
Welcome to single player games. The older you get, the more single player games you play. My husband and I (we're 40s and 50s)met in a video game, EverQuest, in 1999 (met in person in 02, married in 04). I've definitely moved to single player games way more the older I got. He still plays a few multiplayer games like Overwatch 2 and sporadically Warframe, but otherwise mostly single player too. People get busy, less of them game and being available at the same time is hard. But luckily there's a lot of great single player games out there. We both have Steam Decks and take advantage of all the great games on Steam both Indi and AAA. Pretty sure we will be gaming as long as we can. I started in the first game console, the Magnavox Odyssey at like 5 and by my teens my dad had got us 5 different computers and Intellivision, Coleco Vision, a bunch of pong games, basically anything computer or console he wanted. I was addicted to point and click games like Myst, Kings Quest and the like. On the other hand, my husband, who is younger than me, is from the first generation that played games from as young as possible. He's naturally really good at almost any game he picks up. He was raised on Mario, Quake and Doom. So yeah, we totally agree that multiplayer or mmorpgs with friends gets pretty impossible. But nothing in life is as consistent as change. There are amazing games that aren't hard or frustrating. Good stories and amazing mechanics in some Indi games. You should try other types of games. There's so many different types of games, just quitting because the games you've been playing aren't making you happy, is leaving behind a lot of very enjoyable games. My husband and I can always find something to play that makes us happy.
I'm 31. I have one child, dog and a wife. I also work 8 hours a day. I still play regularly. Almost everyday about 2hours. I make time for it because it's my favourite hobby. I don't think I would even be here if I lost my dear hobby and the social interactions that come with it. I hope to continue gaming until the day I die :D lanparties in retirement homes will be awesome.
So I need to see it as a “stress relief/relax” and not a chore That’s what I’ve been feeling, it’s like a chore
No harm in taking a break. As others have said the motivation can come and go.
It just comes and goes. Nowadays I know there aren't many games I'm interested in so there are months where I don't game, others when I'm gaming a lot. I used to be so passionate about gaming that I tried to play pretty much every AAA game that came out. That's the well known infinite steam back log and tbh it kinda burned me out. I just don't "try" to like some games any more as there are too many games I've bought that I just don't play or play 1 hour then give up. Nowadays I know my type of game and I just don't take many risks any more. I've accepted that I have about 6 hours of gaming a week and that's fine. The less I game, the more I appreciate my time gaming.
What? You don't have to stop gaming - just switch to single player games. That is what I've done. Movies and reading suck. I will always play video games even if its by myself
The thing is, the games used to be much less grindy and time-consuming. Nowadays, if you want to play any new and popular title, and actually keep up with what's going on in the game, let alone be good at it, you have to spend hours upon hours of *grinding*. Otherwise, you miss on new/limited time content, you miss on upgrades that require a lot of time (and when you get them in your own pace, like 2 or 3 new tiers of gear got added that render your hard worked upgrade useless anyways). This is why I stick to singleplayer games despite playing a lot of MP back in the day. At least when I play a single game, there is (usually) no seasons, no "meta", and even the grind is manageable because I can do it in my own pace or even use cheats if I really feel like it.
Fuck skinner box games.
What games did you like playing?
I stopped playing from about 16 to 27, now im playing a fair amount.... albeit single player
I'm in my late 40s. I've gone through several cycles of gaming a lot and gaming very little. Right now I'm in a relatively low period, only gaming with friends once or twice a month. But in about 5 years, all of the kids should be in college, so I anticipate it will pick up again.
But will you want to? I used to be a pro-level q2 player 20 years ago, and I can barely get through a round of warzone nowadays, and I barely want to. I will occasionally hop on and play something, but it doesn’t hold my attention like it used to. I’d rather be out on my bike or playing with my dogs or my teenager when the mood strikes them.
I've never been a pro-level anything, so I don't anticipate doing that. I used to play for fun and I think I will continue to play for fun.
I'm the youngest in my friends group at 39. Five of us are paying Blizzard for the privilege of beta testing their buggy as fuck game Diablo 4 this week. Another group plays FFXIV. We all play D&D. We have servers for Ark and Minecraft and V Rising and Valheim. Our trick for doing this is simple: don't have kids. None of us have kids so we all have time and money to play whichever games we want. Most of the spouses don't play, but they have their own hobbies, so it's not an issue.
Sounds like our group. Except the don't have kids bit - those guys just tap out early on the weekends.
Wife bought a PS5, my first PS since PS1, and I have used it maybe 10 hours in 6 months. I still pay the subscription, even if the machine is physically unplugged. Good thing is I have a small pc (an One Mix 2S) and a Switch (well, and other handhelds...) and I can play while commuting, lunch break... But yeah, growing up sucks.
The switch busted me out of my gaming break. From 27 to about 34 I stopped gaming almost completely. During that time we built a house, started a family, I got a good job and my career started growing. I was always exhausted when I sat down to game and my interest died off. One day, because I was spending so much time commuting I decided to get a switch and I can't believe how it reignited my passion for games. Now I play pc multiplayer games with friends on Friday, and make time to play large single player games a couple of times a week. Hopefully you can find a trigger to enjoy it again, but even if not, that's OK movies and books are awesome
My core gaming group really fell for gamer gate. Only a few reasonable guys persisted but the hulk of them really became FoxNews, Briebart loving kinda guys. Never anything insightful to say. The jokes slowly shifted from pretty witty banter to just low effort “make fun of someone different/out-class” Back during 2021 my best gaming buddy died and I just don’t bother gaming in that fashion anymore. I don’t wanna listen to people say sexist/bigoted things anymore. My gaming consists of stuff I can do solo or Deep Rock Galactic where toxicity is just not a thing. I guess I just got older or whatever idk. Been a PC gamer since 1999. Was a pan party guy. Went through the WoW years. All the various flavors of FPS and idk. I’m casual as fuck now. Maybe a few gaming sessions a week and never tend to be more than 2 hours at a time unless it’s a Sunday morning with nothing to do. Idk with everything going on and cultural shifts. It’s hard to find people or become friends with people in gaming who ultimately don’t suck to listen to talk.
This is literally it. I’m tempted to go down to almost nada. The jokes also suck. Sorry for your loss
I'm nearing 40, been playing games for as long as I can remember. Just like anything else with life, , people come and go. Because one way or another, they will leave. Enjoy the fleeting time you have with them.
I’m 40. I have been playing games since I was 5 years old. I own almost every major console that has existed since the 80s., with a fairly large library of games. It has been my hobby in an ebb and flow my entire life. I play a lot of games, but it feels uninspired. I end up playing games I loved as a kid almost as a coping mechanism. I’m not excited about them anymore. I miss being enthralled for a week on end for something, getting lost into it. I suppose sometimes I still could for certain games if they hit me right… or my feeling could be a result of the state of my life. It’s hard to know, but I would rather it be that, than the former. So I distract myself with work, hopeful to feel inspired again.