Losing interest in games? HELP!

[Oobgarm]

Seriously. What is going on here? Perhaps someone can shed some light on this. I’ve been a gamer for a good long while now, and I’ve never, EVER been in a situation like this. I find it to be rather frightening. O_O

I was content there for a while, just moving along like everyone else. I picked up stuff for my gaming collection, and played my games quite a bit. That was up until a couple months ago, when it seems that my interest in the hobby waned to the dangerously low level it's at right now. Now, it seems that I really don’t have the desire to sit down and enjoy videogames. I don’t feel much like collecting at this point. I’ve been posting more in the Off-Topic forums.( LOL ) Even working at Gamestop seems to lave lost its “luster” to me. I don’t know what the hell is going on but it scares the SHIT out of me. Am I really losing interest? Am I in a phase? Is this all going to stop? WTF?

Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been rather blasé by what games I’ve seen/played in recent months. Maybe I’m actually *gasp* growing up. Maybe I’m just worrying about something that I needn’t worry about. Whatever it is, I would really like to know what’s going on. Does anyone else feel this way, or has gone through a similar event? Please, do tell.

[Starcade]

I am going through it right now, to fix it, I tried to play an RPG, I picked the PS1 version of Lunar 2, well, I have been playing about 20 hours, and it got boring, hell, every game nowadays is boring.

I hope this can change when some of the blockbuster titles hit this winter!

[anagrama]

I've found that for the last 4 years or so I've been going through roughtly 6-12 month phases of losing/regaining interest in gaming and collecting.
For the last year or so my collection has been expanding rapidly, but in the last couple of months I've barely bought any games, but have instead been indulging one of my other obsessions, record collecting, and have been compulsively picking up lots of lp's that I've been after for a while.
It occasionally reaches the point where I consider selling off a bunch of stuff, but then I remember how much I was kicking myself a few years back for selling a bunch of rare Nirvana/SubPop records and CDs for a pittance of their true value.
I'd suggest taking a break, not selling anything you may regret, and pursueing other interests for a while. Chances are, at somepoint you'll get the urge to play/collect again, and will be able to freshly re-enjoy everything that's been sat there waiting.
But mebbe that just me :)

[Atari and Beer]

Sometimes its good to step away from collecting for a few months. If you dont return to it, then maybe you are done with the hobby. But chances are good, you'll jump right back into it. Its just good to step away sometimes for a little bit

[Pop Culture Portal]

You know, this really happens in every "hobby" and I think it's happened to everyone. It's happened to me. I have nearly 10,000 comics at last count, and I get bored with them easily. Read that one, tried to draw this hero, write my own story, blah, blah, blah. It gets monotonous. That's why I think the best thing to do is walk away from that hobby and do something else for awhile. I've gone as long as 2 years without even reading a comic. Of course when I do start reading again, the X-men, for example, makes no sense (who is this Cable fellow, for example ;) ).

I did the same with games, although not by my own choice. An ex- of mine stole my entire game collection about 10 years ago (had nearly all the PS1 and SNES games at the time and tons of 2600 stuff) and my entire Beatles collection...sold it all to buy her other boyfriend some birthday gift (yeah, she was bad news). Well, I dumped her, obviously, and tried to get back into it, but couldn't (probably too many bad memories). I tried again while I was in grad school about 5 years ago, but couldn't (games seemed so boring or just plain crappy). Just last summer, I was at my parents home and brought out my old Atari 2600, for some reason, and played Yar's Revenge, Superman, and Pac-Man 'til about 4am. And the bug was back. I went out the next day with my wife and bought an X-Box and a copy of Buffy (to appease my wife). We both enjoyed it. Now I have all the latest and greatest systems and feel like I'm back in it again.

So the moral of the story....just walk away for awhile, do something else, and come back to it later when it seems more fresh. Oh, and stay away from psycho girls. They may be fun in the sack, but they'll take your toys when you're not looking! LOL

[Keir]

The fact that you're actually stressing out about not being interested in games means that these guys are right. Take a break. Games are fun. You can't force fun.

[RetroYoungen]

The fact that you're actually stressing out about not being interested in games means that these guys are right. Take a break. Games are fun. You can't force fun.

Of course I can! My parents forced fun to have me!

Anyway, walk away for a bit. I've been in the same situation that I've been losing a little interest in the hobby, but it always comes roaring back at CGE. So if you don't really want to wait, go to an event like CGE which is always fun, even if you don't want to spend all your time playing. But that's just my two cents.

[swlovinist]

Your situation reminds me of when I got married and decided to merge my two obsessions into one hobby. I had a serious Star Wars Figure Colleciton(well over 700 pieces) and decided to sell it for something I was into. My desire to collect it had waned, but I did give it about a 6 month wait. The real question is to ask yourself if you will miss it, and remember that once it is sold, pending on what you have, you may never get it back. I sold my Star Wars collection and never looked back. It went to a good home and I used the decent cash I got for it to invest it into something that I really like. Are you willing to do that and not regret it???? If not I recommend a video game fast.........try going 30 days without playing anything. That will be a test, however if you pass it with flying colors, then you may think about selling your games off!

[Dirty Tiger]

I suggest taking up an additional physical hobby: Bicycling or Bodybuilding/Strength training. Both those sports can be pursued fairly easy and at your on pace. your restlesness may be your body's way of telling you it craves your attention.

Being intensely physically active for brief intervals makes leisure pursuits so much sweeter.

[1bigmig]

My main advice is NOT to sell your games. My interests tend to fluctuate, but they always seem seem to come back to the same things. I tend to want to sell stuff as soon as my interest starts to wane, but then later I really regret losing what I had :angry:

Likely, if you were really into video games you will come back. I was hard core NES and then I more or less skipped the SNES generation. Back hardcore for the N64, then a slight lapse. Now Im back and I will not sell my stuff unless a LONG time passes and I am sure my video game days are over, but I dont see that happening ;) I'd rather end up with a dusty rarely used collection, then selling it all and wanting to start over again

[MarioAllStar2600]

Happened to me during teh school year. I started getting a little bored cause I mean reallt you can only learn oh so much about a hobby that is from the past. Well when I came back I started getting back into modern gaming also. Now the hobby has more knowledge for me to learn, and its still fun. If you ask me just take a break, and then get into modern and classic

[zmeston]

Even working at Gamestop seems to lave lost its “luster” to me.

You turned your hobby into a job, so of course you're going to lose interest in games. I know a few folks who've managed to do both (my buddy John, for example), but they're rare beasts. The best and most centered game journalists I've known are those who DON'T play games 24/7, but make time for other pursuits. Could you perhaps find a job elsewhere?

-- Z.

[odysseyzine]

Here's a different twist. Video games are just as fun as ever for me, but I've kind of lost the enthusiasm for collecting. I have a ton of stuff now. Most of the common systems, and lots of games for each. I find that I'm really happy playing stuff that I already have. I still play a lot of games, but I haven't really craved a new game (or a new old game) for a long time. If I ran into something really cool at a thrift store, I'd probably pick it up, but I haven't actively searched for anything game-related in a long time.

I totally agree that most of the current games out there have left me unimpressed. Although I DID get pretty into the Soul Calibur XBox demo while I was at the mall last week.

To Oobgarm, I say this: Enjoy not caring about video games for a while. You'd be surprised at how much you can get done without a controller in your hand!

[badinsults]

I don't play games nearly as much as I used to, but I have found that collecting and working on my website is a very interesting hobby, so that is what I do.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

* powers Oobgarm down*

* reboots Oobgram *

Ah, there, game appreciation subroutine is initiating. See? All better. ;)

[WiseSalesman]

I haven't played a video game alone for about 2 months now (that's why I haven't been around if anyone was wondering). I think the fact that I'm posting here means I'm slowing regaining interest. I wouldn't worry. Do what you feel like doing, and thing will work out in the end.

[NE146]

I got a pretty good library of modern games and try playing them a lot.. but you're right in that they DO many times strike me as boring for sure.

But I'll tell you what it's all about for me and it's why I post in these boards. I hate the term "retrogaming".. but to me, that's what I like! Instead of retrogaming.. it's just plain old videogaming to me.. the games were never retro, I just always liked playing them since they were "modern" and they have just endured. For example I can't get 100% tired of Robotron.. even though I may tire of it temporarily for a period of a couple of months, or even years, I WILL always come back to it and it'll be fresh. This has been proven time and time again over the past 20 years. Ditto for a lot of other bona-fide classics such as MsPac (I like playing it at fast-speed), and yes, Donkey Kong. etc.

So it's funny how I'd kind of force myself to sit down and try to get further in a game like Zelda Wind Walker, Metroid Prime, or Halo.. but then for a recreational "break" I'll play a round of Zookeeper. :P Or it's ironic how there I am with my 59+ games for the Xbox, but I end up playing emulated classics mainly on it. LOL

I don't know what it means.. or if I'm just a sucker for my childhood preferences.. but bottom line is I just can't tire of the classics :)

[chevy_chase]

I've lost my real fanatic interest in games a couple of years ago, use to play a lot, more than 4 hours a day at least, now i'm impressed if i play 4 a week, but it also seems that non of the new games really exite me, i've played hundreds (maybe thousands) of games over the years and all of the new games seem to be more of the same, i get sort of game-periods now, once in a while i play games a lot, sometimes i don't really play for months.
But i don't care , there are other things in life too, like living, so i do that a lot :hmm: well anyway it'l probably pass, or not...

[xertcev]

I suggest building your own arcade controls. Start by taking apart all those joysticks/controllers/systems you have...Figure out how they work and how they are wired up.

Take your favorite system...Open up a controller and hook up a real arcade joystick and buttons to it. Build a small mame/emulator control panel or build your own arcade cabinet.

I spend more time mucking around with the controls and interfaces than I do playing the actual games I think.

I experiment with sound, graphics & electronics, all in the name of video games.

Here's a good link:
www.arcadecontrols.com

[zektor]

Hobbies such as video game playing/collecting can easily become a job rather than a past time. This goes for pretty much any hobby you may be into. Just relax, take some time off if you feel you are not interested in it at the moment. Sometimes die hard collectors will collect games, and never play them. I don't know if this is you, but this can cause the feelings you are having as well. Play to play the game as I always say. This hobby is a past time, just as fishing or what have you. It is not about getting as many games as you can. It is not about building shelves of games that you only play every few years, it is about having fun playing the games you want to play while you are on this earth. Life is good, and this all of this entertainment is there to make it a bit more fun! Hence, game ON!

[Tetsu]

You'll be baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Ahnuld Style! But don't force it, it'll come to you. In the meantime, learn something new, game related or no, that will rekindle your interest. Take an art appreciation class, for example.

[Oobgarm]

Many thanks to everyone for offering their ideas.

I have been playing around a bit with a website, which can be viewed here (http://www.dustincarter.com), and I've been considering returning to school for further my edumacation.

What do I plan on going to school for? Video Game design or some derivative thereof. Imagine that.

My comments from my post above are not to say that my passion for this hobby has died out, nor do I want to sell off my collection. I guess I'm just "in a rut", so to speak. I'll pull out soon. Plus, that reboot from PDF helped. :D