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Thread: When & why did you lose interest in modern or current-gen gaming?

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    Default When & why did you lose interest in modern or current-gen gaming?

    At Christmas of 2014 my stepson was wanting one of the new consoles but wasn't sure which one he wanted. When he asked me which one I was interested in, I honestly didn't have any opinion because at the time neither appealed to me at all. After the big digital push I was really taken back that neither was backwards compatible and I still had a ton of 360/PS3 games in my library I hadn't even touched.

    Fast forward to December of 2015 and I'm searching through online stores trying to find games on his wish-list and flipping through the latest issues of Game Informer and it dawned on me: I have absolutely zero interest in current-gen machines. Although I had jumped into the last few previous generations a year or two after they launched, I still had a few games on my mind that held my interest and I looked forward to experiencing. Got into the Xbox/PS2 era after about two years but was definitely interested in GTAIII, War of the Monsters, Halo, and a few others. Picked up a used 360 and both Crackdown and Dead Rising looked cool, plus all the new SNK XBLA titles like NGBC & KoF '98:UM were reasons to plunk down the cash.

    This gen.... not so much. I can't think of one single title I'm even slightly interested in, and definitely nothing worth the $300 entry fee. The wife bought me a Wii U about two years ago and although everyone complains about it, I can think of at least a dozen solid system-exclusive games for it I own plus I'm picking up a few forgotten Wii games I passed up on. If the Wii U went belly up today I'd still be perfectly content with it.

    Hell, I picked up a 3DO a few months ago for the sole purpose of playing Way of the Warrior, so it's not like a console has to have two dozen must-own titles before it appeals to me. Maybe it's that my collection has finally reached critical mass, maybe it's that so much of current-gen is Internet and social-centric, maybe it's the lack of software in genres that appeal to me; whatever the reason I can honestly say that I have reached my threshold and have no need to adopt a new system. PC gaming is not an option on my antiquated 1.3ghz XP desktop, even if my hardware is up to par PC gaming holds no allure to me for a variety of reasons. IMO mobile/tablet gaming is truly pathetic... like designing a system with the U-Force as it's sole input. Games/genres that appeal to me could never be enjoyed due to the rubbish control mechanics.

    For those that have also completely bowed out of modern gaming, what generation did you make that decision and what were the factors behind it? Did you find yourself skipping a few years then picking it up later, or strickly sticking to the stuff you already know and love?

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    Kirby (Level 13) Tanooki's Avatar
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    While I have not bowed out entirely, the stuff you're writing hits home fairly well in spots.

    I got the PS4 a year after it came out, why? I was able to weasel a deal on ebay for $300 that had 5 pack in sealed games (costco bundle) and sold the lousy games and got it down to $200. That's it, that's why I have it because there wasn't much (anything) unique I wanted then, but future sure. I could have skipped PS4 up until Uncharted 4 came out and looked back. The problem is there's just no incentive to pay retail unless you're part of certain gaming cliques and circles. The biggest being the yearly rehash of Call of Duty and their ilk including sports, you can't be left out when they stop making them for the old box as you're cut off from as you noted the internet social circle garbage I have zero interest in. I keep my internet damn near exclusive to my tablet/phone/laptop as I don't want it on my game box of choice as it's an escape, not another window for bs annoyances and interruptions so I refuse to unhide my account on there or share my ID code either with anyone, even if someone found me I don't authorize their account.

    I'm as far as consoles going pushing the edge of just not giving a crap anymore. It's not just the fact this generation has little to offer, but I also have a lack of time (have a 4 year old+job), or willpower to bother. I won't pay $60 for almost any game because I know I will almost never finish it or get close so it would be wasting money. Over the last year on PS4 I only picked up like 4 games, every single one was largely discounted (Godzilla $40 from $60, FFX/X2+GOW3 Remaster for $15 from $60, and Uncharted Collection for $30 from $60.) The only one I paid full for was the already $30 Wolfenstein sequel. Notice another pattern? 3 games are remasters and 1 of them is also on PC too...only Godzilla is unique to PS4. Again I could have waited until Uncharted 4 and a few things after.

    The stuff I can tolerate mostly now seem to be pinball simulators of real tables (PB Arcade and Zaccaria Pinball), random 3DS stuff even split 1st/3rd party, using my laptop mostly for old GoG releases, and some random tablet/phone bs.
    Last edited by Tanooki; 01-15-2016 at 10:51 AM.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) calgon's Avatar
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    After the dreamcast died. Combo of going off to college, falling out of touch with new releases and just not having the interest. After a year or so with no console I got back into NES almost exclusively for a few years, then Genesis and snes, later down the line dabbled with psx and dreamcast again and I only really mess with those consoles. I do need to get a Saturn one day

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    I've basically lost interest in modern home console gaming, focusing almost entirely on the handhelds to fill my modern gaming needs. I'm just not into big, bloated AAA-style gaming, so the handhelds better serve my tastes. I plan to get a PS4 for Star Ocean 5, but I could do without otherwise. I also would've been just as happy if Star Ocean 5 had been a handheld game. My shift to handhelds started with the previous generation. I do have some good stuff for Wii, 360, and PS3, but I was way more interested in what was coming out on DS and PSP. Now I'm kinda mildly obsessed with the Vita, haha. I got a little bit into PC gaming these last couple years, but almost entirely for visual novels. If a game has any kind of action gameplay or would benefit from using a controller, I probably don't want to play it on PC. PC gaming for me is for when I want something mellow and to just read for the most part, clicking my mouse occasionally as needed.

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    Default Stopped with the Wii

    In the '90s I was entirely into PC games, although very early in that decade I got an NES with some of the last games produced for the system. Also had (and still have) an original Game Boy. Otherwise, it was all MS-DOS and Windows 95 / 98.

    In 2001, I got a PlayStation 2 - primarily so that I could play all the PS1 games I never played, as I never had that console (or an N64). Also got a Game Boy Advance. For a few years I was into console games, and also picked up the Nintendo DS and the Wii.

    Then I stopped. I had a bunch of console games I hadn't even played yet - still haven't gotten around to all of them. There were just too many great games released during the 2000-2006(ish) timeframe. Pokemon games were at the height of awesomeness, there were loads of innovative new ideas and titles in almost all genres. New Metroid games. New Mario games. New Zelda games. Consoles were finally becoming what PC games always were - involved, deep.

    Part of the reason I stopped was because of my backlog of games. I had a ton of games that I hadn't ever really finished. Getting about 10-15 hours into a game wasn't too hard, but pushing through past that point often felt repetitive. I think a lot of games should be a lot shorter - in the last 25-50% (or more) of many games you're not getting much more story, you're not exploring new and different types of gameplay, you're just doing repetitive things.

    These days the only games I buy are for Steam. Because I have so many unfinished game, the marginal value of an additional title is very low, because the likelihood that I'll get around to it is low. My standards are also much higher - I have less free time and I want to play only excellent games, and there aren't that many of them. Steam also has a lot of indie titles that are trying fresh, new ideas rather than rehashing the same old thing that's been done before - and the price is oh so right. I've also sold some of the console games I'd collected over the past decade or so, resigning myself to the fact that a) the games haven't been taken out of the shrinkwrap, b) some of them aren't that great, and c) people will pay a pretty decent price on eBay for them - more than I paid for them, oftentimes. Long-winded, eighty-plus-hour JRPGs in particular that aren't top flight games are going on the Bay.

    Fez, Bastion, FTL: Faster Than Light, Minecraft, Braid, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Costume Quest, Bioshock, and the Shadowrun Returns series have all been some of the best gaming I've had in the last few years. Some of those are on consoles, but there's no real reason to get one when the games are also out on Steam. The XBox controller works great on a home PC, and I have a gaming PC hooked up to my TV. For portable stuff I still have my GBA and DS, although the DS has a broken hinge I have been meaning to fix. Cheaper games, no steep hardware costs...what's not to like?
    Last edited by calthaer; 01-15-2016 at 11:55 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    I've basically lost interest in modern home console gaming, focusing almost entirely on the handhelds to fill my modern gaming needs. I'm just not into big, bloated AAA-style gaming, so the handhelds better serve my tastes.
    Pretty much my feelings. I've been completely satisfied with the 3DS and Vita libraries. I've also gotten alot of use out of the PSTV, even with all of its faults.

    Red rings threw me off of that entire generation. Known faulty consoles being lauched and being stocked on shelves. I guess people didn't care because it was a success. M$ taking a page out of the NES handbook. I may get a PS3 eventually.

    There's literally nothing on these new consoles that even remotely interests me. Being broken and requiring system updates all the time with an internet connection is the last straw.

    All these giant open-world games intimidate me. I don't have time to explore all that shit with no sense of direction. All the character upgrade stats and all that is getting out of hand. There is such a thing as TOO MUCH customization and freedom in a videogame.
    Last edited by FieryReign; 01-15-2016 at 01:54 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by calgon View Post
    After the dreamcast died
    Consoles haven't been the same since.

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    Modern games just got to large and time consuming for me, plus my backlog is such that I could game regularly everyday and never even get to everything before I died if I lived 40 more years.

    I haven't purchased a console new since the Dreamcast. Actually, I think my first Dreamcast was a gift now that I think about it. I know that every console since were all gifts besides my PS3s, both of which I got for insane deals. I like to stay a bit behind what's current because I don't play anything online but Mario Kart and there's zero reason to be up to date if you're not gaming socially, IMO. Everything will be just as shiny and a hell of a lot cheaper months and years down the line.

    I'll get a PS4 and XBONE...eventually, when someone gifts me one or I get one for a ridiculous deal, and I'm sure I'll support it with lots of games, but not nearly as many as generations past.


    I will say though that last generation had the most stand out titles and franchises (to me) since the 8 and 16-bit era. Especially action and horror.

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    Giganticus breathalizer Mr Mort's Avatar
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    I haven't lost interest entirely, but I have grown more frustrated than ever with this console generation.

    One of my chief complaints is with updates and online connectivity. Whether it's the constant hardware or software updates, online connectivity requirements, or mandatory profile sign-ins, there are too many obstacles between me & the game. I just want to turn the system on and play without any hassles.

    That being said, there is some fun to be had with the new platforms, you may just have to be more patient.
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    It's tough to say when it started, as many trends over time have been chipping away at me. The rise of western PC-style games over japanese arcade-style games, 3D games almost completely supplanding 2D pixel games outside of indies, online replacing couch gaming, simulation replacing more concise mechanics, and all the patching, DRM, season passes, fees, etc. have all dug varying depths of my interest's grave.

    The biggest things, though, have been the push toward digital-only releases, games requiring online patching and DRM to be played or servers they'll drop in two years, games being so massive that they can't help but be filled with filler space to traverse and tedious tasks, and the sameness of new games. Developers make games that all shoot for the same level of realism it seems. Flip through a magazine and everything just kind of looks like it could be in the same game at a glance. It doesn't help that sequels, remakes, and licensed games make up a big part of the scene. I know it's always been that way, but it's one thing to make a sequel to, say Castlevania two years after it's released or when there are two games. It's another to be on the 30th sequel in as many years.

    Take all that stuff and stand it up next to the fact that for the cost of a new system, I can get a couple more arcade cabinets and/or some pcbs to play classic games in the style I love, and I really drift away.

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    Strawberry (Level 2) ccovell's Avatar
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    My older brother first got a Playstation and N64, and my friend first got a Saturn and then a Dreamcast, so I played those at their houses and didn't feel the need to buy any of these new systems. At home, I was quite happy with my old NES, SNES, and new(ish) TurboDuo.

    I think that was the beginning of the end.... really early! ;-)

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    Cherry (Level 1)
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    The Dreamcast and GameCube are pretty much my cut-off point; I don't have anything later, though I wouldn't be averse to buying a PS2 or XBox. The reasons are much the same as what others have said: gameplay style, emphasis on Internet connectivity and online multiplayer, aesthetics, etc.

    I'm sure there are great indie games out there, but there's so much I still haven't played in prior gens, and I pretty much missed the 5th and 6th gens when they were happening anyway.

    FWIW that's about my cutoff point for film, too -- outside of certain indie flicks, that is. I don't find anything that resonates with me in most mainstream films after about 2005.

    To be honest the dominant aesthetics in all art forms have turned me off since the mid-2000s. But again, there's so much media I haven't heard/seen yet from before the last 10 years, it's not as if I'm short on stuff to check out.

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    Sometime around the end of the PS2 era, I think. Had lots of fun with the PS2, then it started throwing disc read errors, then it quit. Fortunately, we were able to get it replaced under warranty, but its replacement eventually started having drive issues of its own a year or two later, and then conked out as well.

    Around this time, I ended up with an XBox thanks to a friend of mine. Bought a few games for it, and had a decent amount of fun. Then, maybe a month or two after we got it, the hard drive started making nasty clicking noises, and died. I got a used replacement machine, but it just wasn't the same. I guess you could say that I decided to avoid consoles which relied heavily on moving parts in order to work.
    Last edited by AdamAnt316; 01-15-2016 at 07:02 PM.

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    I don't entirely blame the consoles or games themselves. Just my life has gotten a LOT busier in the last 10 years, so I don't have as much time to play them. The DLC, DRM, stuff has turned me off for sure. As has the move towards online gaming and away from single player/story mode. Yes the graphics are astounding, but I've found the games are either too complicated, or worse, way too simple. Filmmakers are making games, not game makers. I would like to reacquaint with 360/PS3 era, I think I've missed a lot.
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    Cherry (Level 1) retro junkie's Avatar
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    I have always loved cart based gaming. The last time I was interested in a modern system was PS2 and GameCube. There was a lot of games that perked my interest on both consoles. When the PS3 and XBOX 360 generation hit the shelves, I was drawn more into retro gaming, it seemed more exciting and appealing. I love the simple addictive gameplay. The evolution of gaming has moved it away from the arcade influence it had during the cartridge gaming era. As the arcades declined in our culture gaming took on more complexity. I didn't like the changes. The old simple gaming is where I began to feel more and more drawn. I do have a PS3 and a XBOX 360, but I spend more money and time on the retro gaming of the late 80s and early 90s. My favorite console is the PC Engine/Turbo Grafx 16. I like the old GameBoy Pocket, NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, GameBoy Advance, etc. The gaming of that era is where I find the most enjoyment.

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    Cherry (Level 1) gameofyou's Avatar
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    I lost interest after Dreamcast. I mainly play Saturn & N64 these days.
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    I am mostly too lazy to invest myself in console games after the PS2 era, though recently I spent about 400 hours (mostly online) goofing around with GTA V and about 80 hours in Skyrim. I do play a good amount on 3DS games, however.

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    I got heavily into the Dreamcast/PS2/GameCube/Xbox era but I didn't have much enthusiasm for moving forward, mainly because developers seem to emphasize online multiplayer over single-player modes, and I don't have the slightest amount of interest in playing anybody online (due to the fact that I've worked in the retail industry my entire adult life and have grown to despise humanity).

    Also the fact that more modern machines have become so fragile. Look at all the issues with the Xbox 360. I loaned my 360 to my nephew while he was in town and he red-ringed it, and I never bothered getting another one. I have bought a couple of second-hand Wii consoles and they've both crapped out due to the kids who previously owned them dropping the damn things and screwing up the disc drive. Which is a shame, Nintendo built the GameCube like a freakin' Sherman Tank, I've never seen a non-working GameCube ever. Too bad they couldn't build that kind of reliability into the Wii.

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    Haven't got sick of modern gaming the latest i have is the PS4&Wii-U and that's all i need period.Still that's not to say i don't approve of today practices such as updates and DLC.DLC being the worst since it's a way for said developer to nickle&dime the consumer,unless handle right.Still,whatever i'm in the mood far as video games go.If i want it simple it's retro and if i want more then it's modern.

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    Quote Originally Posted by celerystalker View Post
    It's tough to say when it started, as many trends over time have been chipping away at me. The rise of western PC-style games over japanese arcade-style games, 3D games almost completely supplanding 2D pixel games outside of indies, online replacing couch gaming, simulation replacing more concise mechanics, and all the patching, DRM, season passes, fees, etc. have all dug varying depths of my interest's grave.
    You took the words completely out of my mouth. The dominant style of gameplay completely changed 10 years ago... now it's almost all generic FPSes.

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