Huh.
I'm old, so I was out of grad school by the time Halo came out.
When Halo 2 was released, I had a full-time job (self-employed, my own business), a wife and 3 kids (9, 10, 12). Life was busy... but the kids had a pretty fixed schedule, so there was some free time. What wasn't used running HBO was put towards Halo 2.
When Halo 3 came out, my kids were 12, 13, 15 - slightly more rambunctious years, but still not too nuts. My wife had gone back to work by that time, though, so my parenting time went up. The business had grown, as well - more work. HBO was busier. And yet, I had more time to game.
When Reach came out, my kids were 15, 16, 18. My oldest was away in college - but my middle son was in serious trouble, and requiring some pretty heavy time commitments. We were visiting therapists, law enforcement officials, and were in talking to school officials on a nearly daily basis. Work continued to expand. (There were days I was working 15+ hours.)
I think Matchmaking might have been an escape.