Results 1 to 20 of 71

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

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Pretzel (Level 4)
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    KY, USA
    Posts
    800
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    1
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    15
    Thanked in
    13 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    Azathoth1488
    PSN
    Azathoth_IKA
    3DS Friend
    4313-0753-9074

    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?

  2. #2
    Kirby (Level 13) Tanooki's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    5,964
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    2
    Thanked in
    2 Posts

    Default

    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.

  3. #3
    Strawberry (Level 2) calgon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    411
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    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

  4. #4
    Pear (Level 6) Daltone's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    The Wirral, UK
    Posts
    1,258
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

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

  5. #5
    Super Moderator Moderator
    Custom rank graphic
    Aussie2B's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    9,277
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    35
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    133
    Thanked in
    111 Posts

    Default

    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.

  6. #6
    ServBot (Level 11) Custom rank graphic
    calthaer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Turks and Caicos Islands
    Posts
    3,014
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    16
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    3
    Thanked in
    3 Posts
    Steam
    calthaer

    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.
    You are startled by a grim snarl. Before you, you see 1 Red dragon. Will your stalwart band choose to (F)ight or (R)un?

  7. #7
    Pac-Man (Level 10) Emperor Megas's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    The Dark World
    Posts
    2,272
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    2
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    6
    Thanked in
    5 Posts

    Default

    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.

  8. #8
    Giganticus breathalizer Mr Mort's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Posts
    503
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    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.
    Host of the Retro Game Squad Podcast - check it out at www.retrogamesquad.com

  9. #9
    Banned

    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Nowhere
    Posts
    755
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    0
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    0
    Thanked in
    0 Posts

    Default

    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.

  10. #10
    Strawberry (Level 2) ncman071's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    small town, north carolina
    Posts
    546
    Thanks Thanks Given 
    3
    Thanks Thanks Received 
    6
    Thanked in
    6 Posts
    Xbox LIVE
    ncman071

    Default

    While I do have new can consoles and plenty of games....i get really really frustrated with having to download all the games on Xbox series x...ps4...etc...i live in a rural area with very slow dal internet and the game patches take FOREVER to download...literally days sometimes...i have more fun with my retro stuff...been spending a lot more time with my snes mini and the turbo grafx 16 mini

Similar Threads

  1. Classic gaming over modern gaming? What's you're stance? Video included.....
    By TheRetroVideoGameAddict in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 75
    Last Post: 07-23-2016, 12:08 AM
  2. Has the Rise of Retro Gaming affected Current-Gen Gaming?
    By Arkanoid_Katamari in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 04-01-2014, 04:08 AM
  3. Replies: 22
    Last Post: 04-15-2012, 06:15 PM
  4. Anybody lose weight from gaming too much? Seriously!!!
    By Anthony1 in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 21
    Last Post: 09-20-2005, 12:28 PM
  5. Did you ever lose interest in gaming? When?
    By congobongo in forum Classic Gaming
    Replies: 15
    Last Post: 10-23-2002, 11:00 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •