Gaming ... Getting Boring?

J

Jimmy Carter

Member
I'm entirely certain I'm about to be swamped by trolls and the like, but that's alright. I don't want this to be the standard "now vs. then" thread, but a discussion as to where gaming, in general, is headed anymore.

I worked at a gameshop. And it came to discussion with myself and a couple of co-workers that games just aren't interesting anymore. As I said, if I could have something like Katamari pop up every year, then I think I'd be okay. But, as it is, the industry is flooded with sequels and such.

In fact, one of the co-workers and myself both entirely agreed that we may (and I for certain will) sell off almost our entire collections. I love to pay attention to the stuff, and I want to get into development, but I just can't shake this overarching sense of apathy that I feel toward modern gaming in general. EA is the Wal Mart of the industry and serves up platter after platter of steamy, boiled-cabbage average games. Sony's just a monolith. Microsoft is just annoying. And my favorite, Nintendo, are sell-outs on the lowest level.

Both said co-worker and myself are planning on selling our DS systems. As I am now fond of saying, the DS is a fraud. Nintendo has not delivered one game that makes this system worth owning. Mario 64 is fantastic fun, but I can play that on the N64. Not one game has done anything completely new and unable to be done on any other system.

My anticipation for Revolution is nil. The only thing I'm looking forward to this year is Zelda, and even then, I'm not entirely floored for it.

Again, not looking to start a flame war, or anything, but mostly just interested to see if anyone else is feeling this way about the industry, and getting some discussion going about it.
 
its been about a week since the last one of these

gaming isnt getting boring you are just playing all the wrong games. experiment... try something that you havent played before. it worked for me :)
 
Good Darien Response:
Working at a videogame store and/or writing reviews has the STRONG potential of dampening your interest in gaming.

I know this from firsthand experience and have talked to countless other store and industry folk who have often commented on the same thing.

Bad Darien Response:
THATY CUAZ YOU SUCKZZ.Z.Z.. YOU NEED TO STOP PLAYIN GAMEZ ANYWAY LOZER!!!!!
 
Pick the result that best suits your view of yourself:

1. You're simply getting older, and dealing with real-world issues as well as broadening tastes have relegated gaming to the place it SHOULD be for any practical, sane adult: a great hobby that can and does provide entertainment in the margins of life, but doesn't consume you. Games and game consoles are no longer must-haves, and each purchase gets weighed against real-world factors in your life. Consider joining the Drinky Crow ONE CONSOLE FUTURE cult. (We have great Kool-Aid.)

2. Nintendo's declining relevance in the industry has lent you the unshakable notion that gaming overall is in decline, although the real problem -- as yet unacknowledged -- is the fact as a child you wed your pride in the hobby, and hence your sense of nostalgia, to the Nintendo name brand, and you can't separate yourself from it long enough to truly enjoy the creativity and excellence that can be found in other console libraries, and yes, even in the occasional corporate monolith sponsored title.

3. You're going through a period of holistic anxiety in your life, and have incorrectly defined your interest in gaming as a symptom of the factors that are causing your anxiety. "Getting out of gaming" is an overreaction to external, possibly even unrelated forces and not a viable anodyne to your problems.

4. You're just playing the wrong shit, period. You don't really understand what you want from games, and you let name brands, review scores, and nostalgia guide you. Spot-check against Option 2, and then consider playing only PC games for awhile.

5. You work retail, and the endless unalloyed sequence of retarded fanboys, sports-only drones, detached parents, and gibbering greasy-fingered kids has driven you entirely fucking MAD. You want to hate games because you hate the fans of gaming, which is entirely understandable if completely reactionary.

6. Large chunks of all of the above.
 
Good Darien Response:
Working at a videogame and/or writing reviews has the STRONG potential of dampening your interest in gaming.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with this.

The surest way to ruin an enjoyable hobby is make it into work. It may not ALWAYS happen, but it has happened countless times to me.

There is nothing wrong with not playing a game for several months (NO, REALLY!) and holding out for the Katamari's that come along :)
 
Expirementing is definitely a good idea. I'm not sure if gaming really has gotten more boring or not, but I recently have been trying other types of games and am having a blast. Gaming was becoming boring for me until i decided to experiment.
 
Again, not looking to start a flame war, or anything, but mostly just interested to see if anyone else is feeling this way about the industry, and getting some discussion going about it.
Click to expand...

It isn't the industry, though. Your entire post makes it seem as if the companies responsible for this entertainment are the reason why your enjoyment is diminishing when it is in fact you, as an individual, who is at fault. Examine yourself first before blaming the industry (and I do not intend this to sound harsh either...).
 
Drinky Crow said:
1. You're simply getting older, and dealing with real-world issues as well as broadening tastes have relegated gaming to the place it SHOULD be for any practical, sane adult: a great hobby that can and does provide entertainment in the margins of life, but doesn't consume you.

4. You're just playing the wrong shit, period. You don't really understand what you want from games, and you let name brands and nostalgia guide you. Spot-check against Option 2, and then consider playing only PC games for awhile.
Click to expand...

Right there for me. :)
 
It sounds like you're burned out. I went through a similar phase during 1998-2000 - barely touched a game, took up modifying cars as a hobby. It was a nice break, but I missed out on a lot of quality games. I remember the Dreamcast launch helped get me "back in the game".

Put down the controller for a month or two, even half a year. Get some new hobbies, don't visit game blogs everyday. Take a break, and hopefully you won't become too jaded (if it's not too late already).
 
If gaming is boring, you'll probably buying the wrong games. Don't just buy games that reviewers give 10/10's to. Some of the games that most people hate end up being some of my favorite games. And never force yourself to beat a game because the game is hyped or perceived as best game ever by most people. I tend to replay my favorite games over and over, despite a huge backlog of games waiting to be played
 
Gaming is not becoming boring. Try to play Resident Evil 4, GTA or Metal Gear Solid 3. They worked for me.

The one point I agree is that DS is a fraud. Where are the good games?
 
I hear what the guy is say'n,

For me it's becoming boring because thier really not making my kind of games anymore outside of few a year.

Just look at the pure home arcade games? Not a whole out ther nor coming for that fact. Puzzle games are basically nill. I also LOVE F1 sim games, whare have they gone?

For me? Just a few games a year here and there, otherwise it looks pretty weak.
 
I once thought the same thing. I think it's a periodical burn-out symptom off and on for a lot of long-time gamers. I used to be pretty hardcore, but eversince DC's demise and around that time frame till recently, I lost interest in many games, almost completely to the point that I thought it might never recover. However, on-going league playing with my friends on Winning Eleven series, and recently MGS3, Halo2 and RE4, it's picking up.

For me it might never reach to the hardcore status back again - but my gaming interest is slowly rising again as the new machines are on the horizon. Keep the faith in human creativity. I accepted the fact that it's okay to be a casual gamer, myself - and what a relief it is. ;)

lachesis
 
Yep, gaming is boring. Well games you must complete sucks for me right now.

That's why PES4/WE8 is so wonderful :D
 
Deepthroat said:
Yep, gaming is boring. Well games you must complete sucks for me right now.

That's why PES4/WE8 is so wonderful :D
Click to expand...

Preach on, brother! :) 3/24 for Winning Eleven LE!

lachesis
 
Jimmy Carter said:
EA is the Wal Mart of the industry and serves up platter after platter of steamy, boiled-cabbage average games. Sony's just a monolith. Microsoft is just annoying. And my favorite, Nintendo, are sell-outs on the lowest level.
Click to expand...

there's your problem. Sony and Microsoft have provided far better gaming than Nintendo this generation. About EA, most of their games are certainly above average and some are really good(Sims 2, Freedom Fighters, Oddworld: Stranger).
 
I can understand the sentiment. There does seem to be little new innovation in games recently and so many of the games have a "been there, done that" feel to it. I think the developers who are really taking chances are releasing stuff on the PC right now, for obvious reasons. Give some PC games a crack. Otherwise, as others have said, take a break or try something that's off the radar.

Right now, I've been playing Mercenaries on the Xbox, and I'm loving it. While it has a GTA style of play to it, it is definetly it's own game and stands on it's own merits. It's actually been quite a surprise to me, as I kind of dismissed it until the reviews started coming in. If you can find some pleasant surprises like this one, you'll get that vibe back. :)
 
Wario64 said:
If gaming is boring, you'll probably buying the wrong games. Don't just buy games that reviewers give 10/10's to. Some of the games that most people hate end up being some of my favorite games. And never force yourself to beat a game because the game is hyped or perceived as best game ever by most people. I tend to replay my favorite games over and over, despite a huge backlog of games waiting to be played
Click to expand...

Thinks of KOTOR 2. Damn it that game is totally boring me to tears. I think I am going to turn it in for credit. When a game feels like work - it's no longer a game. Shenmue anyone?
 
Well, for me, I've been mostly busy.

While I was out of school I did mostly Halo 2. That got kinda eh...after while (where's the new downloadable content?).

Then there was RE4. I was all over this game for the last two weeks. Awesome game. Hopefully I can steal some time to play Metroid Prime 2 and Mercenaries. There's really nothing else that appealing until this summer really...(I'm not into the squad based first first shooter single player games or I'd get Rainbow 6 or that Star Wars game). I may decide to pick them up though if the online multiplayer aspect is good.
 
Maybe he's not doing enough mind bending drugs accompanied with his gaming or something :)

Resident Evil 4 is one sweet ass game. If you aren't playing it - you should be.
 
Dr_Cogent said:
Thinks of KOTOR 2. Damn it that game is totally boring me to tears. I think I am going to turn it in for credit. When a game feels like work - it's no longer a game. Shenmue anyone?
Click to expand...

Amen to that! I felt that way about Doom 3 after awile, and finally I gave up on it. I get so locked into finishing a game, but finally I figured out that if it's repetitive, boring, and just plain not fun, it's ok to not force yourself through it.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Amen to that! I felt that way about Doom 3 after awile, and finally I gave up on it. I get so locked into finishing a game, but finally I figured out that if it's repetitive, boring, and just plain not fun, it's ok to not force yourself through it.
Click to expand...

Holy shit! Same here as well dude! I started cheating in Doom 3 just to finish it, and even then I gave up. I think I was one or two levels away from finishing the game too. And I usually NEVER cheat in games. Cheating is a sign the game is unbalanced to me or getting big time boring. Well, Doom 3 was boring alright.
 
Heh, I felt like Metroid Prime was work for a lot of it. But for me Shenmue was fun, I guess the work would have been in those training sessions, but they're optional.
 
Dr_Cogent said:
Holy shit! Same here as well dude! I started cheating in Doom 3 just to finish it, and even then I gave up. I think I was one or two levels away from finishing the game too. And I usually NEVER cheat in games. Cheating is a sign the game is unbalanced to me or getting big time boring. Well, Doom 3 was boring alright.
Click to expand...

Man, you are cracking me up, because I started cheating too, and I generally refuse to. But in Doom's case I wanted to get to the Hell levels just to see things change from those boring, dark corridors. The levels in Hell were way nicer, but it seemed too little too late and in the end, I never did finish it, but don't regret it either.
 
Teddman said:
Heh, I felt like Metroid Prime was work for a lot of it. But for me Shenmue was fun, I guess the work would have been in those training sessions, but they're optional.
Click to expand...

Metroid Prime only got on my nerves at the very end because the end boss battle was just so damn tough and long. Shenmue pissed me off when I had to actually "go to work" moving crates back and forth. I don't know if there was any way of not doing that. I would get home, eat dinner, turn on the DC, and joke to my wife that I was going to my second job. I forced myself to finish that thing. :-P

Wish I hadn't. Gaming should be fun, not labor. I already do that 40-50 hours a week writing code.
 
I'm also finding video games becoming boring as of late, but I think that's really because there hasn't been a whole lot of new news out, just a lot of bickering back and forth with the occasional praise of a good game.

I recently played and beat NBA Street V3 on Legendary mode and dear god was it easy. I loved NBA Street Volume 2, and it was such a disappointment. Mercenaries was fun as well, but not worth the 46 bones. SMT:N was a personal letdown, SHC was dry, Phantom Brave was a poor experience.

I also told myself I will focus on school this semester rather than play games. Perhaps that's a partial reason.

I was thinking about games recently and how it seems that the imagination is gone. 3D gaming came along and it opened up so many possibilities. It's been a while since the introduction of 3D gaming to consoles, and it's starting to show. People are also making gimmicky devices which don't add a whole lot, or serve many purposes (touch screen, microphone, camera). I think if someone managed to create an entire new way in which we view video games, like that one video that was posted a while ago, my interest would sharply increase.[/ramble]
 
Go and play GOD OF WAR, Resident Evil 4, GT4, PSP, Wanda and the Colossus..... and you will not be bored! Believe me! ;-)
 
Anyone bored with gaming isn't playing Halo 2 online or Resident evil 4 at all.

You call always try monkey ball 1 for a mainline injection of joy right into your heart as well.
 
Games are indeed beginning to suck. The problem lies in the fact that gaming is no longer a niche industry. I mean it was never really niche, maybe thats the wrong word but what the industry has become is a real BUSINESS with shareholders and corporate bigwigs and wallstreet expectations. 15 years ago, hell even 10 years ago developers were forced to churn out a game for some crappy liscence. They were more free to develope what was in THEIR imaginations. Not some big conglomerates idea of what will make the most profit.

Another thing that sucks is that once one of the developers that DO try to stick to the old ways of game design and turn a profit, corporate greed takes over again and runs shit into the ground. Take GTA3 for instance. I'd still almost say that it was by far one of the best games this gen. Someone took their idea from ages ago and gave it a next gen facelift. Gameplay galore, ORIGINAL(for the most part)music, just endless fun. The game was a hit so what happens at rockstar? time to screw it up! big budget, real actors, shitty music. the 2 "sequels" dont even begin to touch the feel that GTA3 had. I dont care what anyone says.

That leads me to another thing and this is where you know creativity has started going down the drain. Remember the days where games actually had their own music? not some liscenced MTV bullshit. i mean REAL music. Original music. There were actually music studios within the companies that made music! OH MY GOD. Music of old craps all over the BS thats in games today. EA trax anyone? Funny someone mentioned katamari damacy because namco actually got it right. Songs were actually written FOR The game. Not just plucked from some top 40 list.

Its sad to see companies like nintendo and sega, capcom even struggling to stay afloat in todays world of oiling the cogs of the corporate machine. People are so eager to say that sega and nintendo suck. Its not their fault. Take a look back. Sega had it NAILED in the 16-32 bit hell even the DC era. They had the perfect mesh gameplay, design and orginal music. I'd ven go as far as saying sega was THEEEEEEE king of game music back in the day. Nintendo was up there too though but now today, after the masses have been programmed to buy crap by media hype, sega and nintendo are kinda in a limbo. Should be stick to our roots or should we try to inject some of this newfangled hype into our products? The result is a mess that no one wants and thats where they fail.

I'm honestly thinking about sitting out next gen. I'm happy playing old games. What i'd LOVE to see is companies like sega, nintendo and capcom releasing classic lines of games completely overhauled for the newer generations. Keep all gameplay of say super mario world in tact but with redone mindblowing graphics. I'm sure that back then they werent envisioning the games we actually got back then. they had thoughts beyond that but were limited to hardware. gameplay translated, graphics could have used more. I wanna see mario shoot a fireball that lights up the level with light and shadows then errupts in firey sparks when it hits target.

I think i've rambled enough now but yes...today gaming does indeed suck and its only gonna get worse. We'll see gems every now and then, maybe we're just getting old and miss the glory days because someone out there has to be buying the shit if its not us. You have to be happy though that we had the chance to experience what gaming was.
 
chsnoringmario7xu.jpg
 
Talking/posting about gaming is never boring. (I would bet alot of people here post more than they play).


Also, broaden your definition of "gaming". I played on-line poker for 6 months (and actually came 500 bucks ahead). I had a serious Euchre jones on MSNZone for 3 months. Puzzle Pirates ate up 4 months of my life. Even building a MAME machine kept me occupied for 4 weeks.

There is alot of stuff out there to do, than buying the next big console video game.
 
Barnimal said:
Games are indeed beginning to suck. The problem lies in the fact that gaming is no longer a niche industry. I mean it was never really niche, maybe thats the wrong word but what the industry has become is a real BUSINESS with shareholders and corporate bigwigs and wallstreet expectations. 15 years ago, hell even 10 years ago developers were forced to churn out a game for some crappy liscence. They were more free to develope what was in THEIR imaginations. Not some big conglomerates idea of what will make the most profit.

Another thing that sucks is that once one of the developers that DO try to stick to the old ways of game design and turn a profit, corporate greed takes over again and runs shit into the ground. Take GTA3 for instance. I'd still almost say that it was by far one of the best games this gen. Someone took their idea from ages ago and gave it a next gen facelift. Gameplay galore, ORIGINAL(for the most part)music, just endless fun. The game was a hit so what happens at rockstar? time to screw it up! big budget, real actors, shitty music. the 2 "sequels" dont even begin to touch the feel that GTA3 had. I dont care what anyone says.

That leads me to another thing and this is where you know creativity has started going down the drain. Remember the days where games actually had their own music? not some liscenced MTV bullshit. i mean REAL music. Original music. There were actually music studios within the companies that made music! OH MY GOD. Music of old craps all over the BS thats in games today. EA trax anyone? Funny someone mentioned katamari damacy because namco actually got it right. Songs were actually written FOR The game. Not just plucked from some top 40 list.

Its sad to see companies like nintendo and sega, capcom even struggling to stay afloat in todays world of oiling the cogs of the corporate machine. People are so eager to say that sega and nintendo suck. Its not their fault. Take a look back. Sega had it NAILED in the 16-32 bit hell even the DC era. They had the perfect mesh gameplay, design and orginal music. I'd ven go as far as saying sega was THEEEEEEE king of game music back in the day. Nintendo was up there too though but now today, after the masses have been programmed to buy crap by media hype, sega and nintendo are kinda in a limbo. Should be stick to our roots or should we try to inject some of this newfangled hype into our products? The result is a mess that no one wants and thats where they fail.

I'm honestly thinking about sitting out next gen. I'm happy playing old games. What i'd LOVE to see is companies like sega, nintendo and capcom releasing classic lines of games completely overhauled for the newer generations. Keep all gameplay of say super mario world in tact but with redone mindblowing graphics. I'm sure that back then they werent envisioning the games we actually got back then. they had thoughts beyond that but were limited to hardware. gameplay translated, graphics could have used more. I wanna see mario shoot a fireball that lights up the level with light and shadows then errupts in firey sparks when it hits target.

I think i've rambled enough now but yes...today gaming does indeed suck and its only gonna get worse. We'll see gems every now and then, maybe we're just getting old and miss the glory days because someone out there has to be buying the shit if its not us. You have to be happy though that we had the chance to experience what gaming was.
Click to expand...


You suffer from this:

2. Nintendo's declining relevance in the industry has lent you the unshakable notion that gaming overall is in decline, although the real problem -- as yet unacknowledged -- is the fact as a child you wed your pride in the hobby, and hence your sense of nostalgia, to the Nintendo name brand, and you can't separate yourself from it long enough to truly enjoy the creativity and excellence that can be found in other console libraries, and yes, even in the occasional corporate monolith sponsored title.
Click to expand...
 
errrr....no. lets take for instance segas sequel, OutRun2. IMO this was FLAWLESS excecution on how old franchises SHOULD be reborn. Sega took the old, went and thought on the ORIGINAL vision of outrun and brought it to life.
 
I'm burned out too...probably because there aren't any games I want between yesterday and the next 3 months. In the meantime, replay your old favorite games or do something else than gaming. Thats what I am doing now. Give it some time.
 
I've felt this way lately too. Actually, since I went hardcore on PSO on my DC back in nearly all of 2001. Every night... It was insane. Since then, it's so hard for me to finish a game now. It's not that gaming itself has changed, it's just that it's harder for me to fit it into my schedule. There are so many games I want to play, but I have no time for them anymore. Only on precious days off, or on holidays... Even then, I am busy with other obligations.

Everytime that I think of quitting though... a game like MGS3 or RE4 come to restore my faith not only in the belief that games can still amaze and be incredibly entertaining to me, but in my own ability to find time to enjoy them.
 
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