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Nicktendo

Why do we game?

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I am 22 currently just starting the 2nd year of my degree. I'm seriously considering giving up gaming. I recently got an xbox 360 (my 8th and not through failures) in anticipation of FIFA 09, Fable 2 and Banjo Kazooie. Yet strangely I've found myself buying a lot of back catalogue games that I KNOW I'm not keen on, just because everyone else has them. i.e. Halo 3, GTAIV.

 

I got FIFA last night and it's boring, I don't find it at all fun to play more of a chore, yet something always makes me have "one more go" even though I know I'm not having fun. Same on Halo online, I constantly come in the bottom 3 and don't find it fun yet I keep trying, despite eventually getting angry. All of these reasons lead me to want to sell my xbox, and have been ever since I first got one. Nothing on the xbox is fresh or new, except for online, which I quite evidently hate. But for some reason I'm always compelled to buy one when I don't have one because I'm blatantly dissatisfied with my Wii.

 

I'm bloody fed up and confused about this... I buy an Xbox or PS3, play it religiously for 1 or 2 months and then get so fed up/bored so I decide to sell it at a huge loss because I would rather have cash than "a distraction from life." See, in a funny way that's how I see both the PS3 and Xbox360. A huge distraction from life, when I own one I want all the games, spend HUGE amounts of money I don't really have and then get bored when I realise that there is little new "ideas" in these games by way of gameplay and I'm sat playing the game constantly thinking, "this is boring, this is boring..."

 

Don't get me wrong I think in terms of A.I, graphichs, physics etc. there have been improvements but not enough to warrent separation from the previous gen, of which I switched constantly between a Gamecube and an Xbox. I seem to bee incapable of owning more than one home console. I have always been a DIE HARD Nintendo fan-boy right from the age of 5. But I was hugely annoyed at the gamecube, only now have I discovered how great it actually was, and in reality I think being a "teenager" took over and I didn't see the gamecube as "cool." Which is why I was so reluctant not to play it.

 

So now I have had the Wii and have since launch, but oddly nintendo's direction, while I fully applaud it has huge cracks in it, for me personally. The fact that all of my gaming friends don't own one and constantly discuss other consoles makes me feel like I'm missing out. I know it sounds stupid but if you've experienced it you'll understand. I think the gaming press has a huge part to blame, particularly with the way reviews seem hugely biased in favour of big money games, sequals and yearly franchised. I will always support the little guy, yet I can't seem to work out who that is. Is it Nintendo, who generally are ripped to shreds by the hardcore gaming media but are highly respected amoungst the MAJORITY of people, non-gamers.

 

I don't even know what I'm trying to say here, just trying to make sense of it all. In essecne I feel nintendo are the only ones innovating, but clearly ripping off the consumers with ridiculous amounts of add-ons and new updated versions of consoles (DS). I know gaming is a business but when you hold strong anti-capitolism views it's hard not to be immensly unimpressed. Nintendo seem to be milking gaming for all it's worth and are losing my respect. A couple of things at the conference highlighted this. (Gamecube for wii etc...)

 

However they damn sure know how to make a good game! It just doesn't hold my attention like it once used too, don't get me wrong I love Twilight princess, Mario Galaxy, metroid and SSBB but I haven't finished any of them and I've owned all of them since release (US release for SSBB). I just don't have the drive to finish them, in fact the only Wii games I have finished are Red Steel and Monkey Ball and I own 20, and 30 VC/WiiWare games. When I own a 360 my Wii remains off for the duration of the time I own it. Which to me is wierd and not something I have ever been aware of until now.

 

In summery I guess the thing I "like best" about gaming now, is reading about them online for hours, buying them (sometimes more than once a year), thinking about buying and selling them BUT not actually putting them in the machine for more than a day. Im confused, someone share some light on my situation...or tell me to get over it... lol.

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Sounds like you enjoy the anticipation more than the actual thing. Try buying fewer games and concentrate on the ones you have

 

Maybe you are like this in life too? Let's use relationships as an example - do you prefer the chase, or the relationship? When you are in a relationship, do you long to be single, and vice versa?

 

Maybe we should get a couch to lie on for this?

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Apologies in advance; I just skim-read your post.

 

I encountered gamer dissatisfaction pretty much when I started college, what, five years ago now? I used to be hooked on games. I used to hang around with gamers all the time and we used to go over each others houses solely for epic marathon gaming sessions.

 

Then I just got bored. By then I'd experienced roughly 9 years of computer games and certain things were starting to annoy me; the ceaseless hype and expectation about the future of the market, the high prices that we were/are/will be expected to pay all because something is new... Metroid Prime was probably the last game I bought on release date for my 'Cube (therefore the last game for any console on its debut).

 

I just had less and less time for games. I had already stopped watching TV because I could never guarentee I'd be free enough to watch a show on the same day the following week, so it's logical to start seeing gaming time drop when you leave a game for long periods of time and you come back to it and forget where you are, what you're doing or what's going on; all that you know is it'd take you ages to go back through the game again, so you just don't bother.

 

So I stopped caring. I didn't stop being informed about gaming, though; I stayed on this forum and still to this day subscribe to gamesTM. I started to pay less attention to the Next Nintendo Blockbuster, or whatever, and more on the quirky titles that offered something new. Instead of spending £40 on a new title I'd go find a game that hadn't been deemed as perfect by anyone for a fiver or a tenner and have my way with it. I found pleasure in being purveyor of my own entertainment and pride in following my own hysteria rather than the manufactured buzz you get within the community.

 

But also with university came the joy of multiplayer games! Nowadays the only games i truly enjoy are the cooperative bashes at games like rainbow 6 vegas, gears of war, rock band. Party games like wii sports, wario ware, raving rabbids. That affected the types of games I'd be interested in, and the lengths of time I'd look at spending with them.

 

You mention that the xbox only has the live shizzle - well it has to be said that the arcade has provided at least a trio of excellent games. I wouldn't say there's too many others... But if gaming is getting you down, go grab some GC games! There's a great catalogue of games there that'll be dirt cheap.

 

Now, I'll pretend you never mentioned FIFA... But I know what you mean. Gaming doesn't have to be the ruler of your life. It's another option, another choice you pick when you want to waste a few hours alongside reading a book, watching tv or a movie, going to the pub, or whatever. Don't feel like you gotta game in a certain way or else your consoles will invalidate themselves. Get past the perception that only the future holds great games.

 

... This reply has gotten stupid-long. I'll stop now and watch the flow of tl;dr :P

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hell, if you wanna sell yopur 360, i might be able to buy. serious offer btw.

 

 

i turn 22 tommorow, yet im playing games as much as when i was 10.

 

i find i only play games when i have nothing else to do. currently, i graduated from uni, have no job, and my only real distractions are the gym or hanging around with friends. when i have more to do, i only play games a coupld of hours a week, when ive got nothing else, i can play for like 8 hours a day, its somthing i really enjoy, and it keeps me from the "where did it all go wrong?" thoughts

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I started playing video games when I was about 4 or something. As I got older, I started to play more but recently I've been playing less and less, although I've wanted to play more. Everyone has their reason for playing games. Mine has changed over the years from fun to a getaway from the horrible things I went through at high school. If I'm playing games now, it's mainly just to pass the time or for enjoyment. There are still times when I play to hide away form things, people, life. Urgh.... sounds so depressing thinking about it like that but it's all to do with things that have happened in my past.

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I've gamed for many different reasons since I got into it, nowadays for me its mainly for escapism purposes.

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It's another option, another choice you pick when you want to waste a few hours alongside reading a book, watching tv or a movie, going to the pub, or whatever.

 

I don't understand why people think of doing those things as wasting a few hours, or passing time. What are you passing the time until you get TO then? The next day? Work? For me, reading gaming and watching films etc, are what i WAIT on doing rather than the other way around. It's work that seems like the chore. To me games, etc are an escape from the routine and mundane. I'm not sure life would even be worth it without those things.

 

You could cite friends/lovers as the worthwhile part of life, but humans aren't reliable. I've had friends and boyfriends come and go over the years, the only thing that's been there the entire time has been a machine. Or my fave book.

 

I suppose my conclusion is, when humans screw you over, you're left with a machine for comfort - so don't sell the machine!

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I thought Ganepark made some good points (and he did!), but Pancake has got even closer to the deep, dark, depressing truth of the matter.

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but Pancake has got even closer to the deep, dark, depressing truth of the matter.

 

Yay! So remember...

 

NEVER SELL YOUR NINTENDO.

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It sounds like you just haven't played the kind of game you're looking for yet.

 

Plus, I'd stop selling your consoles. Just keep them and then when something comes out you want, you can just buy it, rather than a new console.

 

You say you're dissatisfied with the Wii, What games do you have for it?

 

The reason I game is because I find it fun and satisfying.

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when i was younger, id stay in to play games rather then go out, nowerdays im so glad i dont. as pancake says, games are always there for you, but time with friends is far more precious.

 

i suppose a game is like a book, or film, or show to me. i engage in it, its just anouther way of presenting a message, or more specificaly, telling a story.

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Sounds like you enjoy the anticipation more than the actual thing. Try buying fewer games and concentrate on the ones you have

 

Maybe you are like this in life too? Let's use relationships as an example - do you prefer the chase, or the relationship? When you are in a relationship, do you long to be single, and vice versa?

 

Maybe we should get a couch to lie on for this?

 

LOL.. maybe...

 

Why the fuck have you had 8 Xbox 360s?

 

This is a good question, and one with many possible answers. The most obvious and likely one being that he's a fool. And he doesn't know when to quit! (my girlfriend wrote this... Funnily, I agree.)

 

Yeah, so that was quite a strange rant but thanks for all your points and I'll take them all on board. Time to dig out the classics I thinks.

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Achievements and gamerscore. I play the game exhaustively until I do everything regardless of how boring and crappy it is, then I throw out the game.

 

I play for entertainment and fun, what this means varies for everyone and varies even from game to game, but I play for the joy I get when playing, it's pretty simple. RPG, big, short, hard, easy, epic, good graphics, bad, doesn't really matter. Am I enjoying my time? Thumbs up.

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*after finally google-defining "tl;dr" having spent months not knowing what it meant...*

ooh i learned something new (and fairly useless!)

 

god i can hardly call myself a gamer ~ all i have is my DS lite and my phoenix wright obsession... i definitely play to distract myself and pass the time on the train on the way to work...

sometimes i really wish i had a way of getting online with my ds from here (have mac, won't work) so i could kick jamba's ass at tetris tho... :hmm:

 

i think you're thinking about it too much tho ~ if you dont like it... don't do it. think about what games you really love ~ and read some reviews with "if you liked that - you'll love THIS!" kind of advice. or rent games?

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I think much of the reason for the disillusionment is that gaming is such a shallow form of entertainment. Outside of a handful of games there just isn't the same kind of artistry and depth that is to be found in a lot of film and literature, and I think it's exactly that kind of thought-provoking, challenging edge that most people begin to crave in their art/entertainment once they've reached adulthood.

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I don't understand why people think of doing those things as wasting a few hours, or passing time. What are you passing the time until you get TO then? The next day? Work? For me, reading gaming and watching films etc, are what i WAIT on doing rather than the other way around. It's work that seems like the chore. To me games, etc are an escape from the routine and mundane. I'm not sure life would even be worth it without those things.

 

You could cite friends/lovers as the worthwhile part of life, but humans aren't reliable. I've had friends and boyfriends come and go over the years, the only thing that's been there the entire time has been a machine. Or my fave book.

 

I suppose my conclusion is, when humans screw you over, you're left with a machine for comfort - so don't sell the machine!

haha... well I think you focused too much on the whole "waste" part there ;) Life is just about wasting hour upon hour, and when I can actually choose how my life slips away, then I take it as a good thing. Be it games, books, tv, movies, drugs, sleep, drink, friends, family... all falls under that category. Other people call it such misnomers as "free time" and the like. But time is never free.

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I've been disiullusioned with gaming for quite some time now, my Xbox 360 has been broken for months and I haven't been bothered to do anything about it. I play my Wii and DS occasionally, mainly for the purpose of reviewing games though. The only time I really game for my own personal pleasure is when something really special comes along, BRawl, Mario Kart and Galaxy had me playing for fun, but even then their appeal only last for so long, I haven't hardly bought a game in ages, I recently ordered house of the dead 2&3, but only because it only cost me £7, before that last game I bought was Brawl.

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I game for fun. I rarely finish a game, I just play it til its too hard or I get bored. So softcore its unreal :P

 

I like games like AOE, or the sims, where you can endlessly play. They've (in particular AOE1 and AOM) eaten up a LOT of hours of my life :D

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Like most in here, I game for fun. But fun can come in many forms, for example trying to achieve something special and hard in a game.

 

Unfortunately, my amount of gaming time has decreased severely recently, which means it has been necessary for me to reduce my interest to a few selection of games. :(

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I'm another one of the "game for fun" lot and also I still game quite often, I probably don't do it as much as before though (my N64 days were my prime!). This generation I've only got a Wii as I just can't afford another console and even though 360's are dead cheap now, buying all the extra games and stuff is not, so I don't see much point in investing in one considering the fact that a new Xbox could be on its way very soon.

 

Lately, I've gotten great pleasure from replaying older titles from my collection. I'm currently playing Body Harvest for N64 and am getting pretty hooked on it at the moment - never completed it before (this is the furthest I've ever got as I always got fed up and gave up early on the three times I tried before before) - and if I do manage to get to the end - it'll be the most well-spent and longest-lasting 6 pounds I ever spent on a game, seeing as I picked this up back in about 2001 from Gamestation.

 

I think, as stated by someone else above, give your games a chance and try and get as far as you can, play them as much as you can before moving onto the next. Playing a variety of games at a time is good but I find just picking up loads in one go usually means you play one or two and leave the others and the excitement factor wears off or you just try playing everything at the same time and it's not as immersive. My buddy seems to pick up games almost weekly yet he never really seems to get very far into them as he just starts the next one and forgets all about it!

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My baby ruined the chances of me really being into games like I used to be, but, my enjoyment started to fade way before. Personally I think it's down to the internet. With a game I have to make an investment into a game of a certain amount of time. Without that time I can't even start playing. I need a guarentee. With the internet I can just sit down and do whatever for any time period. Basically I find myself constantly on the internet now because it's easier to justify even if I spend hours sitting there doing nothing. :(

 

With a baby though it's pretty hard to escape. You know you're going to be interupted apart from when she's asleep, but, when she is asleep it's too noisy. I can only play PC games now because headphones are convenient with a pc. lol

 

 

I should probably just stop using the internet altogether though, it gets in the way of everything and I hardly enjoy talking to people on forums anymore either. That's probably why I decided I'd start to post here again, because everywhere else has been infected with 4chan meme crap and I haven't noticed it here as much. :-/

 

Anyway, went off on a different rant just then, but my point is that it's hard to justify time to gaming anymore so I don't play much. :(

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I think the belief that one games for fun is stupid. I mean... it's true, we do it because it's fun, but ultimately we do it because we have absolutely nothing constructive to do with our free time, and so we just follow the easy path. That's how interesting our lives are. :heh: I think admitting is an important part of comfort.

 

I still love gaming, though, don't get me wrong.

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I think the belief that one games for fun is stupid. I mean... it's true, we do it because it's fun, but ultimately we do it because we have absolutely nothing constructive to do with our free time, and so we just follow the easy path. That's how interesting our lives are. :heh: I think admitting is an important part of comfort.

 

I still love gaming, though, don't get me wrong.

 

Good point there, it is basically just killing time.

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