Am I the only one...

[WickedLiquid]

I think the problem lies with an overabundance of technology that has left most of us feeling jaded when it comes to video games (which also gave birth to the hipster generation).

In the early-mid 90's you were either on team Nintendo or team Sega. Nobody had both unless their parents were filthy rich. Today there are many many people who own two consoles or are apart of the PSWii 60 club. The internet has played a large role in bringing content to us instantaneously and with it our desire for gaming has become more and more spoiled.

Ever hear your grandparents complain about how spoiled kids are? That's because it's true. I could play TMNT IV: Turtles in Time on my SNES again and again and again and never get bored. Now I can't even collect 100% of my trophies without feeling the need to move onto something else.

As we get access to more and more content faster and faster with our own money, we no longer feel as passionate as we did 10-15 years ago. Because back then all we had were a couple games untill your parents bought you a new one around your birthday and Christmas. We were more fortunate with what we had because it would take much longer before moving onto something else. Today we have so much! A console provides us with so much more than simply running the game you inserted into the top. And it's turned us into spoiled, jaded gamers.

 

[NickKmet]

I've started to notice a waning interest in playing games, though I've just chalked that up to being older and having less time to invest in them. What really gets it for me though is the community you're playing with. Single player games are just not as gratifying as they used to be for me, unless the story is really intriguing (and there are games that do that for me). I really get the most enjoyment though out of playing with friends, either through couch split screen, or online.

It'll be interesting to see how much gaming I do this summer when I don't have to worry about mountains of homework. Maybe I'll get back into it with a bit more vigor. Maybe not.

 

[intoTheRain]

I think there is some truth to what you said Liquid.

But at the same time that's also an age thing. There are lots of kids out there who can't afford to move onto a next game when they aren't finished with the current one.

Like if I was an adult 10 years ago I'd be going out and buying new games before i finished others too, I'm an adult now, so I have that luxury of buying lots of games and not finishing others.

But it is indeed definitely easier to obtain new games these days, if you have the funds. I guess the joy of HAVING to go to the store and pick a game and come home and open it and throw it in is gone. Now you just have any game you want right when you want it. So in that regard I do agree, a little of that magic might be gone.

But I still ultimately think it boils down to just age, and not being as amazed by simple things anymore.

I`m pretty sure if I was a kid and had the ability to download a brand new game with some money i earned for cutting lawns, over steam, or Xbox live, or the PS Store or whatever without needing to ask mom to drive us to the store, I`d be pretty pumped by that.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

That or you're growing out of them. Kids who are playing games at the age we were when it was the so called "golden age", definitely think these days are the golden age.

There is no answer for it, except you're a lot easier amused when you're younger, and therefore everything seems better and more exciting.

If it was simply nostalgia, it would mean that it would be hard to play games from that time that I hadn't played when I was young and still find them amazing. But I've been finding myself playing games like Morrowind, Deus Ex, Fallout 1 & 2, Castlevania: SotN, Roller Coaster Tycoon, and other games like that, games which I never played when I was
younger, and I'm still enjoying them a lot more than a lot of recent games.

I'm just as passionate about games as I've ever been. Hell, the only reason I haven't been playing as many is because I've been too busy with school and shit like that. Over summer, I plan to become a recluse and play all of the games I didn't get a chance to when I was way too busy to.

Besides, most of my problems with gaming are with the industry as a whole. Publishers control far too much of what goes into a game, and it's becoming constraining on the developers. And shit like DRM and the seedy DLC practices are becoming far too commonplace, especially when it comes to content being cut to be released as DLC, or even worse, on disc DLC. Players are treated like cattle with wallets by most of the big companies, and developers are treated like trash. Hell, just look at Obsidian with New Vegas. Bethesda refused to allow them any time or money for a lot of bug testing or to get patches out to fix problems. And since the game was buggy, the scores were too low. Low enough, in fact, that Bethesda was allowed to follow a clause in their agreement to make it so that Obsidian received NO royalties for the game whatsoever. This lead to a slew of problems in Obsidian, a sad fact considering New Vegas is one of the best RPGs of the last few years.

There's also a great amount of stagnation in the market. When was the last time a new genre/subgenre was pioneered? When was the last time a genre was completely redefined? Hell, when was the last time a new gameplay mechanic in general was instituted? Call of Duty 4 and Gears of War, maybe, but even then both of what they used were introduced first in games previously.

While I'm not saying nostalgia doesn't play a part, because it does a small bit, it's one of many, many issues at hand here. And getting older and looking back at the good old days only burns you out as much as you let it. Hell, look at Used and Bret. They're old men with jobs, lives, and families and they still love games. And like I said, I still love games. That's why I don't want things to keep going how they are. Because the direction games are going in now, things are only going to get worse for the consumer. And I would hate to see gaming become nothing more than an industry to get more cash from the mindless public.

And exactly what innovations happened between 1995-2005 that can compare with 3D, Kinect, motion control period, the online community, achievements, ease of access, customization, etc. etc. etc. that we have today?

Let's see...
3D perspective in action games, online gaming for both games and consoles, use of full-rendered cutscenes, cover-based shooting, over the shoulder camera, quick-time events, and much more in terms of gameplay. During this time there were complete redefinitions of genres which had been introduced only a few years earlier, such as first person shooters and real time strategy games. Whole new genres were introduced as well, including stuff like tactical shooters. And early renditions of just about every form of motion gaming in existence today, as well as the online community, saw their first appearances in this time. And that's just hitting the technical stuff.

 

[danielrbischoff]

De-Ting, how old are you? When I turned 16 I got so bored of games. I only played video games when I was socializing with friends. You'll be back in a few years.

 

[Gunner37]

That or you're growing out of them. Kids who are playing games at the age we were when it was the so called "golden age", definitely think these days are the golden age.

There is no answer for it, except you're a lot easier amused when you're younger, and therefore everything seems better and more exciting.

Roller Coaster Tycoon.

YES, i remember playing this as a kid and making the roller coasters go at top speed off a unfinished roller coaster and watch the people go to a fiery demise...

good times gooood times.

 

[WickedLiquid]

I wanna point out I agree with the age thing. But you gotta admit we are pretty spoiled nowadays. If you weren't a kid when Arcades were money grabbing scams and the internet was only used for e-mails and pictures of boobs that took 4 minutes to load then you wouldn't understand.

 

[Green_Lantern]

I wanna point out I agree with the age thing. But you gotta admit we are pretty spoiled nowadays. If you weren't a kid when Arcades were money grabbing scams and the internet was only used for e-mails and pictures of boobs that took 4 minutes to load then you wouldn't understand.

Meh...I never went to arcades and had both Nintendo and Sega consoles growing up...Not like it was that special of an achievement.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

Arcade gaming was the most frustrating type of gaming. I remember getting $3 from my dad and just wandering around. What would I spend it on? Fifty cents on a new game, or twenty-five on an older one. One I could get a lot of playtime with or a new experience that would fly by. Five feet over, my little brother pumps three bucks into skeeball in 10 minutes.

 

[intoTheRain]

Arcade gaming was the most frustrating type of gaming. I remember getting $3 from my dad and just wandering around. What would I spend it on? Fifty cents on a new game, or twenty-five on an older one. One I could get a lot of playtime with or a new experience that would fly by. Five feet over, my little brother pumps three bucks into skeeball in 10 minutes.

Damn id rather take an arrow to the knee than be in that situation.

First world problems.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

First world problems is done. Get that shit out of my forums.

 

[Longo_2_guns]

Seconded

 

[used44]

Says the guy using the Get Out meme daily.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

 

[WickedLiquid]

I wanna point out I agree with the age thing. But you gotta admit we are pretty spoiled nowadays. If you weren't a kid when Arcades were money grabbing scams and the internet was only used for e-mails and pictures of boobs that took 4 minutes to load then you wouldn't understand.

Meh...I never went to arcades and had both Nintendo and Sega consoles growing up...Not like it was that special of an achievement.

Time to go back to your MANSION and eat your LOBSTER.

 

[De-Ting]

De-Ting, how old are you? When I turned 16 I got so bored of games. I only played video games when I was socializing with friends. You'll be back in a few years.

I'm 20. I've lived with console gaming my entire life, and PC gaming most of it. I played lots of arcades growing up, but I quickly figured out on my own that buying a game to take home was more cost effective.

I also rented games very frequently, starting with the SNES up into the PS2 era. There wasn't many games I wanted that I never got my hands on. I didn't own every console, and I shared with two brothers and our dad, but I always had something that was very fun to play.

I received my very own Gameboy Color around 2000 or so, and I loved it long time. Those were probably my happiest days, when I could go anywhere (with a lamp and spare outlet) and be content playing nothing other than Pokemon. Forever.

 

[danielrbischoff]

I'd recommend revisiting that experience as faithfully as you can. Grab the GBC and Pokemon and curl up with it like your favorite book.

 

[intoTheRain]

First world problems is done. Get that s*** out of my forums.

I typically hate memes. But i love first world problems, puts things in perspective. I just threw in arrow to the knee to be over the top annoying.

 

[Bretimus_v2]

We all have our meme. I have ten or so. That one just ru s me wrong for some reason. But no biggie, carry on. Use it knowing its effect on me.

 

[WickedLiquid]

Fun fact: I always called it Me Me until I heard a friend pronunce it correctly.