Shocker: my buddy just dropped gaming, altogether

[Steven]

Found out tonight a buddy of mine just decided to quit the gaming scene. He doesn't blame games for anything, as it made him a lot of friends that otherwise he might end his life he said. Hell, just last month I remember him talking about Saturn Bomberman get togethers.

Anyway, he said he made the sad realization that it's time to do other things with his life. He hasn't had a girlfriend in forever, blah blah.

Got me thinking... how long will YOU be involved with games? Life can change in a split second. I mean, all these games we own and games on our want list... one day they can all go from "sweet" to "bleh".

5 years from now I'll be 27... I honestly know there will come a point in my life where I too will make that "change" in my life. Family... girlfriend/wife... things will soon take over... and I'm not sure I'll feel the same way about gaming at 28 as I do at 22.

Anyway, didn't mean to get anyone down... but it just came to me as a shocker that my bud quit gaming tonight.

[RegSNES]

Wow. Just up and quit, eh? That's gotta come as a shock. Well I'll be 25 in July but I honestly don't think I'll ever give up gaming. It's my favorite hobby. Sure, I don't play as much as I did when I was a kid, but it is something I make time for, as I make time for other things as well. But if your buddy is happy with his decision, then that's good for him. And you should see if you can get him to sell you some of his games for cheap. :P

[Cryomancer]

The only things I can remember from my childhood are game-related. So I'll guess I will likely never drop the hobby. 20~ years running and I see no sign of stopping. I'll be bitching that the old folks home doesn't have enough outlets or input plugs on the TV.

[hydr0x]

i'll never stop, why should i? i already have found the girl i'm going to marry some day and already live together with her and i still find the time. Yeah, a full-time job and children will demand time, but i'm pretty sure i'll be able to arrange things so i can game enough

[smokehouse]

Pacing.

Yep, that’s what keeps me in gaming. I’m married, have a full time job and have a large social life (no, I’m not kidding). I game from time to time. The rest of the time I keep my stuff on display so I can visually enjoy it every day. It brings back memories. When I feel like playing a classic I pull it out. After that it goes back in the case for another 4-6 months.

Thruth be told I don’t play many current games. The last marathon gaming session was when Paper Mario 2 came out. I no longer have the time to devote the better part of a week or 2 to playing a game. Simply put, I rarely play any of the current consoles. I find myself playing Columns on the Game Gear more than anything (go figure).

At this pace I will never quit retro gaming, there’s no need to. It doesn’t interfere with my social life nor does it consume massive amounts of my time.

[theMot]

Up untill the age of about 17 i was a hardcore gamer then one day i just suddenlly stopped. Did the whole social scene getting blind drunk every weekend thing for a few years before i met my gf which settled me down somewhat. Then sometime through the middle of last year (i was 23 at the time) I had this sudden urge to brake out my SNES and start doing hot laps in Mario Kart LOL .

Ive been back into it full on ever since, ive started collected SNES games, mind you just the ones i really want as well as old retro magazines from back in the day - thank god i didn't throw any of them out!

At christmas i was given a DS and now im heavily into that too! I also plan on purchasing a Wii when it's released later this year. I dont see myself ever going col turkey on gaming again. Now that im back into it i remember how much i missed it.

Like it says on the home page... Let us ALL game on!!!

[MachineGex]

My father told me when I became a teen that, "Moderation is a key to happiness". I never really knew what what that meant until years later. The older I get, the more true that advice becomes. I never have gotten out of gaming since we got our first "Pong" for Christmas, but I have taken extended breaks(6-12 months) several times. If gaming consumes your time, a break is needed. I strongly believe playing games shouldn't monopolize your time. If it does, another part of your life will likely suffer(work, relationships, your children, wife, chores, yard work, etc.).
Just my 2 cents, I'll bill you-

[Felixthegamer]

I may have my moments where I don't play games for a while or buy new games, but I think that is just a down time. I don't think there will be a time where I stop. Slow down? Sure, but probably not stopping

[heybtbm]

Found out tonight a buddy of mine just decided to quit the gaming scene.

What the hell is, "the gaming scene"?

Anyway...

Playing games is just another thing to do to have fun. As you get older, you realize that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to spend your free time. No one is keeping score...so to speak.

I may be reading too much into your post, but your friend sounds he's going through a rough time. To immediately stop doing something that is a big part of his life seems like a symptom of a larger issue. I'd keep an eye on him.

[crazyjackcsa]

I'm out after this generation. It's something I've been thinking about for a long long time. I may stay one generation behind, IE Pick up the next generation console when it becomes a last generation console, but I've found I don't have the time anymore. So I have to move on.

[Snapple]

I don't think it's a big deal if he doesn't want to play games anymore. If he has better things to do, good for him.

Shocking as it may seem, some people who don't play video games have in the past become productive members of society anyway.

I mean, it's not like you guys won't hang out anymore. You'll find other stuff to do. Maybe even get out of the house. Don't worry about it.

[anagrama]

Quick! Buy up all his cool shit before he changes his mind!

[jajaja]

Its fully possible to have a career and a family and still have gaming as a hobby. Its not like your "hey, now im going out to find me a job where im going to work until i retire and after that im going to find me a girl thats going to be my wife". All this happends naturaly and automaticly over time. It might require you to cut down alot on the gaming for a while tho.

People also get tired of stuff. Before i used to like football (soccer), but i just got tired of it during the years. The interesset might come back or its being replaced by something else. As long as your happy with what you do thats what matters

[Happy_Dude]

I'v contemplated selling some of my less used collections and focusing on
1 system but really I don't think I'll ever quit.
And if I did for some reason I'd just put time into my other collections
like Maps, Banknotes, coins.... I have a few rare Notes and early
1900's coins (still looking for roman coins if anyone has some )

Basically gaming is a byproduct of the hunt. I love finding games in the wild.
Nothing beats that rush of knowing what somthing is worth ...... and getting it dirt cheap

[Blitzwing256]

when something becomes a little too large in your life, it never hurts to set it aside for awile and do other things, and if down the road you want to come back to it, wonderfull, if not well then you can fill that space with something else.

I quit modern gaming for awile (maybe forever) but instead of selling all my pee-s-too xbawks and lamecube stuff, I shoved them all in a box till a later date where I might want to play them again (or at all).

but yeah, you might want to keep an eye on your friend, large changes like that sometimes are a sign of depression.

[dcescott]

The guy seems to live in absolutes. Either play video games or not, no middle ground. Very black and white. I know folks like that. Some people don't know how to balance their lives or prioritize so they start tossing out the electives. I remember someone at college go through a break up and he shaved his head and distanced himself from a number of people. Weird way of dealing with it, but different strokes different folks.
I got rid of some of my collection last year, mainly because I needed a serious upgrade on my computer at home. I needed to raise up some dough, big deal. Do I miss my Vectrex?, sure do, but it's not a heroin addiction. I can do without. I kept my nes, snes, and xbox. But I also added two arcade cabs. That's another thread...

[Jumpman Jr.]

Found out tonight a buddy of mine just decided to quit the gaming scene.

What the hell is, "the gaming scene"?

I think it would be stuff like going out and buying games, talking about games on the internet, playing games, going to gaming meets and stuff like that. There is a gaming scene, the way I see it.
As for quiting the hobby, I don't know. I can't see myself ever leaving the hobby. There's just too much out there to get.

[FullCircle]

I go through periods where I don't want anything to do with videogames, but i never get rid of my collection. I actually keep buying games and systems throughout that period, but I just don't play them. I've been playing video games for most of my life and collecting them for about 10 years, but I've always collected different things. All of my collections so far have stuck with me since they started, so I doubt the games would be sold off at any point.

[ShinobiMan]

Yeah, there was a thread I made many years ago that was similar to this.

If you want to read what people had to say on that one: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=373

What I can say is that we all have different priorities at different times in our lives. I myself go in and out of the gaming scene many times a year. I'm certain your friend is feeling the same way I felt for a while, but he'll be back, craving that Saturn Bomberman love.

Keep the faith!

[Nebagram]

I dunno where I'm gonna be in five years' time but I picked up my first joystick in 1986 and have been doing so every year since so I think it's safe to assume I'll be doing so every year hence. Well, slightly more frequently, obviously.