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[clo1_2000]

Influence by a yearning to rediscover the games of the 80s and 90s I have recently gone a spending spree in the Wii store. I saw Kid Icarus and said, oh shit, I remember that game, $5 why not? I then spend 15 minutes trying to get past the first level...

I beat Kid Icarus, Metroid, Ghost's N Goblins, etc as a kid (32 now). When I go back and play some of these games I wonder how in the fuck I could put up with some of the game mechanics. I used to love random battles as a kid; now I can do without them. I used to love exploring caves for hours on end to find that one phat piece of loot; now I really like the linearity of the new FF.

Maybe it has to do with having less time to play video games than I used to. Or maybe it is just one of those aspects of life that changes along with you as you grow older.


So, has anyone else notice their gaming preferences change? If so, how?

 

[Gravijah]

less "spur of the moment buys"

more OCD habits causing me not to enjoy games as I used to

less playing

more worrying about playing

 

[KittyKittyBangBang]

Yes, I currently only play games that have $15 DLC and that arent fun.

 

[bjork]

I used to buy everything I wanted right away, just so I could join in the first discussions about impressions or whatever. Then I realized how dumb it was because I'd play something for like an hour, then move on to the next thing and never touch it again. So I sold off 99% of my collection, and I don't even play what I have now. :lol

 

[Forearm Star]

I used to buy everything I wanted right away, just so I could join in the first discussions about impressions or whatever. Then I realized how dumb it was because I'd play something for like an hour, then move on to the next thing and never touch it again. So I sold off 99% of my collection, and I don't even play what I have now. :lol

.

 

[bounchfx]

yes. tons. in high school/college all i played was games, non stop.

Now that I have a job, I have to be picky as hell about what I buy. I still get most things day 1 (god of war 3 tonight woot!), but I can't play nearly as much as I used to. I also have a very hard time playing more than 1 game at once, because I'll just get distracted or lose interest. I lose interest very fast nowadays because I could be spending my time doing stuff way more productive.. and I feel bad playing games instead

hell, in college I bought somewhere around 35 DS games during the first 2 years of the ds's life. after college I think I've bought maybe 4? total? It's been a big shift. I also try not to buy things I think I'll trade in later.

 

[hyduK]

I spend more time read/watching videos of games/arguing about them than actually playing them now. Other than that, nothing.

Games also don't last me nearly as long...I blow through most single player games within a week and never touch them again. Only a few multiplayer games manage to keep my attention past the first few weeks.

 

[FLEABttn]

I've gotten better at recognizing what I like (and thus not falling for hype), so me completely blowing $50 or $60 on something I think sucks ass after 2 hours hasn't happened in a while.

I save anything questionable for the $20 range, which works out in that even if a game is mediocre, I'm much more willing to forgive its shortcomings from the price alone. And if it sucks ass, I'm not out a whole lot of money either.

 

[Ranger X]

You're more experienced + less impressionable + less time.

This means you will not lose time on stupid grinding, endless exploration without a really damn good prize and you will not forgive design flaws as much as you once were.
When you were a kid, your only worry and goal in life was to fucking play Metroid and it was an awesome game in the context back then. But today realise it's mostly because of that context and that you were a kid that you thought this game was good.

However, if you crave to play that Metroid anyways, play the Metroid Zero Mission GBA game. It's "Metroid NES done right" and infinitely better in all accounts.

.

 

[LCfiner]

well, compared to 10 years ago when I just graduated college, I spend less time and money on B-tier console releases. a game has to grab me almost immediately for me to spend any serious time with it.

I spend much more time with bite sized games on my iPhone.

 

[gamergirly]

I'm more selective with what I actually do end up buying. Dont really have time to spend on something that's crapped

 

[clo1_2000]

One other thing I forgot to mention is my lack of purchasing games as well. I buy the ones I think I'll play for a long time, little big planet, Final Fantasy, Heavy Rain, those types of games, most everything else I rent through Gamefly.

It's funny how my 360 was my most used platform for myself, but in the last couple of months it's been my PS3. My Wii sees a lot of use thanks to me and my 5 year old playing

 

[Skiesofwonder]

When I make it to the mid-point of the game, I ask myself What would NeoGAF do?, and the answers are a little different for each system.

Wii: Hmmm... if I continue on I will risk my Wii losing even more dust.... then I can't bitch on NeoGAF!!

PS3: Hmmm... if I continue on I will risk actually finding a reason to own my PS3 besides Blu-Ray.... then I can't bitch on NeoGAF!!

Xbox 360: Hmmm... if I continue on I will risk the chance of my 360 having a RROD.... then I can bitch even more on NeoGAF!!

And this might seem wrong, but my 360 RROD'd recently. And while the games I was missing out on might be something, boy was that bitchin rant I went on so good!! It was so worth it!!

Ahh....being a gamer has never been better. In NeoGAF I trust.

 

[sam27368]

less "spur of the moment buys"

more OCD habits causing me not to enjoy games as I used to

less playing

more worrying about playing

Truedat

 

[Diablohead]

I buy less games, wait for sales and play the games I do have much more then before, like replaying most games because they are good and I not played it for a while.

 

[Ranger X]

One other thing I forgot to mention is my lack of purchasing games as well. I buy the ones I think I'll play for a long time, little big planet, Final Fantasy, Heavy Rain, those types of games, most everything else I rent through Gamefly.

It's funny how my 360 was my most used platform for myself, but in the last couple of months it's been my PS3. My Wii sees a lot of use thanks to me and my 5 year old playing

Interesting. Me I hate long games. I prefer to play more shorter games. I also play more and more in bite-size sessions. Its extremely rare I will play a game for 2 hours. Final Fantasy is out of the question for me because the progress in the game will be so slow I won't feel its rewarding + I might lose track in the story and character devellopment.
LittleBigPlanet is perfect for my gaming style though: Can be played "bite-size" + lasts forever tks to the creation mode and community.

.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I buy less games, wait for sales and play the games I do have much more then before, like replaying most games because they are good and I not played it for a while.

yeah, i'm pretty much only into 'big' releases now that I'm old.

Last one was arkham asylum. Which I played right to the end and will probably go back and replay. next up halo.

I tend to stick on 2-3 titles a year. SFIV and Halo are probably my most played games ever at this point. but SFIV is a bit hard to keep up with without playing like a maniac. Shit is advanced man.

Halo is great, if you're OK at it, you can stay ok at it. Maps and strats aside, I'm pretty decent at the shooting another guy in the head with a BR before he does the same to me and that's satisfying enough these days. I don't have the competitive drive as much as I did when I was younger.

If I start getting pissed at the telly I turn it off :lol

 

[VeryGooster]

I nitpick way, way more than I ever did 10 or 15 years ago, although I still try to find redemption in average games. I also gloss over big releases unless I really want to play it day one. I'm always looking for any good deals on, say, Amazon the rest of the time. I've also completely stopped watching previews and trailers, but I'll still check out reviews and hit up Metacritic. I've also completely done away with multiplayer, not that I hate it, but I'm just not as competitive as I used to be.

Oddly, I have more free time than I did months ago but I'm playing games in less time frames than ever, otherwise I'd probably be farther or done with FF13 by now.

 

[PandaPandaPanda]

I used to play games through to the end even if I didn't like it because of no money etc.

I'm still in that situation(no money etc) being in college but the second I stop having fun in a game, I just move on since I don't want to waste the free time that I do have.

I also kind of stopped buying many new releases as I kind of like to revisit some of the older stuff that is timeless.

 

[theRizzle]

Since I'm a big boy with a real job now, I refuse to put up with getting really frustrated at a game, knowing that there are a bunch of other games out there that I can buy and hopefully enjoy instead.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy a challenge, but if I'm playing a game that I feel is cheap, I'll just turn it off and I might not ever go back to it. Long gone are the days of slogging through shitty cheap games because my parents weren't going to buy me another one for 6 months or something.

 

[Feel the Swift]

less playing

more worrying about playing

:lol

 

[glennw]

Interesting. Me I hate long games. I prefer to play more shorter games. I also play more and more in bite-size sessions. Its extremely rare I will play a game for 2 hours. Final Fantasy is out of the question for me because the progress in the game will be so slow I won't feel its rewarding + I might lose track in the story and character devellopment.
LittleBigPlanet is perfect for my gaming style though: Can be played "bite-size" + lasts forever tks to the creation mode and community.

.

This. When I didnt have a full time job I wanted bang for my buck, the longer the better...but now I am cash rich (i wish) time poor I tend to only play most games for a few hours. Thats why games like LBP and Fifa are great, I can spend hours on them if I have the time, or just the few minutes it takes to play one game.

I also find I lean towards cheaper games or old familiars. I want to know my time and money are being spent well, so I dont go spending £30 on a game I will play for 3 hours and hate (Like Assasins Creed!).

It makes me wonder why there aren't more games for people without hundreds of hours of spare time? Why aren't there more games I can play with my girlfriend that we will both enjoy? Why aren't there games I can play with my old man online? If you aren't hardcore...and dont want to play Wii Play...there aren't a lot of options right now.

 

[Supervlieg]

Only play triple A titles, and I prefers games to be shorter. I have less time. Thats all.

 

[Varion]

They've got significantly more expensive, that's for sure. Way more imports, way more release date buying, etc. The danger of student loans (dependable income you don't have to directly work for), I guess. I've bought more PS3 games this far into its life than I have for any console I've ever owned before.

Of course, with the end of university a matter of months away I'm expecting this to go right down with lack of free time, which is something I'm not looking forward to at all.

 

[orion434]

Nothing has really changed in the 29 years I've been playing video-games, except that Achievements are addicting as hell.

 

[clo1_2000]

They've got significantly more expensive, that's for sure.

Really, I don't know about that, I remember paying $60 and up for some carts back in the SNES and N64...in fact, wasn't Super Mario RPG like $75? And that's in 1995 dollars lol

On average, yes games are more expensive, but the good ones back in the day weren't cheap either...

 

[Salsa]

More handheld gaming

 

[kinoki]

My gaming habits changed a ton when I stopped being a student and I started making absurd amounts of money.

 

[LunaticPuma]

Only play triple A titles, and I prefers games to be shorter. I have less time. Thats all.

This. I also don't buy RPGs anymore since they are too long. I also will trade in games more freely (even unbeaten games I stopped playing). The ironic part is that I could buy anything I wanted now (since I've been working for a few years), but I don't have the time to play a lot.

 

[thehillissilent]

My gaming habits have changed greatly. I use dto play games all of the time. At one point, I bought a Japanese PS2 just work on my Japanese language skills. I had almost all of the sytems out there at one point.

Now, I'm married and have a 3 year old son. Even though I have a PS3 and Xbox360, and some PC games. I don't really play as much as I used to. I more apt to watch some else play games on youtube because I don't have the time to commit to it myself or don't have the cash. I spend more time on neogaf than even playing games.

 

[shintoki]

1. I buy far less games

2. I no longer keep every game. I own zero PS3 titles, and zero 360.

3. I sold/will sell a good amount of the games I still have left.

4. I can wait months, years, and longer to play titles now.

5. Impulse purchasing is nearing zero outside of some steam sales.

 

[J-Roderton]

I play too little these days.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

I enjoy RPG elements in games now. I still despise anything JRPG and turn based, but games like Mass Effect, Oblivion, Fallout, Borderlands... hell, even Call of Duty, has made me realise how cool leveling up a character can be and such.

Also, I don't play games for the challenge these days. Sure, sometimes I like to go through a game on a higher difficulty, but I nearly always play new games on easy these days just to experience it without frustration.

I also buy and play way, way more.

 

[Flek]

i get more games than i can play, new ones every month, love buying download games (psn/iphone) and import games … my backlog is HUUUUUGE and if i actually finish a game its really good Oh also if i get a great mp game i play it exlusivly but once the maps are starting to bore me i putt it away and never touch it again (happend so often with games like kz2, uncharted2, cod4,cod6 etc.) right now ive locked 28> h into the MP of BF BC 2 and its slowly starting to bore me

 

[ULTROS!]

I don't limit myself to playing JRPGs and Horror Games anymore.

I buy less games (I think)

 

[Entropia]

I pretty much only play WoW.:lol

 

[neos]

I can no more play using tv speakers, i'm addicted to 5.1.

 

[Sol..]

My preferences have changed so much. Now it's pretty much just sports games. I feel like it's the only genre left that provides largely unpredictable dynamic experiences driven by player creativity.....until i go online. Then it's just exploiting. So now i don't even do that much anymore except for nba 2k10 team up. Anything can happen there.

 

[VeryGooster]

Since I'm a big boy with a real job now, I refuse to put up with getting really frustrated at a game, knowing that there are a bunch of other games out there that I can buy and hopefully enjoy instead.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy a challenge, but if I'm playing a game that I feel is cheap, I'll just turn it off and I might not ever go back to it. Long gone are the days of slogging through shitty cheap games because my parents weren't going to buy me another one for 6 months or something.

This, too, pretty much.

 

[FrankNitty]

I used to be very implusive and bought everything day one. Now I don't do that so much. I only buy games that I know I will play. My problem was wanting to play and will play. Which is why my backlog is sooo huge. Now I wait longer to buy games, and honestly usually only buy games that are on sale or I can get very early.

I definitely wait on purchases from PSN and XBLA, just because they go on sale so fast now no need to spend mass amounts of points for something that I won't play immeadately anyways.

My playtime has decreased since I have gotten married, which is a good and bad thing. I still play some games fairly regularly though

the trend seems to be as I get older the more disposable income I have to spend, but the less time I have to make use of it, and the older I get the more carefully I choose how to spend my money

 

[andycapps]

Much more selective in what I buy in that I read reviews and only buy things that I'm really sure that I want to play. I don't have time or the money to buy everything that comes out, so if I buy it, I already have a pretty good idea that I'm going to like it. And I don't trade anything in anymore. If I like it enough to buy it, then I like enough to keep it and not get raped on trade in values.

 

[GotEmRunnin]

less console gaming. more pc gaming. Now that I'm married with kids i care less about having the most expensive components and more about getting value for my money. plus the fact that pc games have longer legs I don't feel like I'm wasting my money. Outside of GOWIII I don't forsee any console titles in my future unless it starts with the word Lego so my kids and I can play together. Oh another thing after becoming a parent I pay more attention to ratings when it comes to games I let my kids play

 

[Pezking]

So, has anyone else notice their gaming preferences change? If so, how?

Definitely.

Today, I often prefer to play games on easy difficulty.
Especially open world games und western RPGs.

The complexity of these games give them more than enough depth. I don't need an additional challenge to keep me interested. I'd rather just explore these vast games without the hassle of seriously challenging fights and the chance of dying all too often.

Also, especially with open world games, the often less-than-optimal controls often are a challenge in itself.

I had a blast with "Fallout 3", "Saints Row 2", "Dragon Age" and "The Saboteur" on easy.

 

[Mailenstein]

I switched more and more to handheld gaming due to lack of freetime. I still play enough on stationary consoles, but it's not that much like it used to be in the 90s when I was a teenager. I miss the days where I came back from school, packed up my games and went to my friends house and play the shit out of Super Mario Kart, NBA Jam etc. for 12hrs straight.

 

[Moggelicious]

Jrpg's doesn't interest me since FF6.. dunno why really.

 

[OnPoint]

I buy a lot more digital games. I tend to finish those.

I buy a lot less retail games. I tend to not finish those as much as I would like.

I don't care as much about the graphics being incredible, especially if the framerate is solid.

I don't have platform loyalty anymore -- I just want the version that runs the best.

 

[Nessus]

Far less free time, in large chunks, so cinematic big budget games that require a big investment (I feel like I need to set aside 3 hours minimum each session for these sorts of games) I end up not playing very often (I haven't touched MGS4 or Uncharted, though I admit I'm not a huge MGS fan, except for the first game).

I end up playing a lot more of the short, downloadable games like World Of Goo, Art Of Balance, etc. on Wii Ware and PSN.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Play less, rant more.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

I complete more games.
I buy more digitally distributed games.
I play online with friends more than playing in the same room.
I try a wider variety of games.
I don't buy as many retail games on day 1, as I'd rather wait for price drops.

 

[Jal]

I've limited myself to £20 per game which means no more day one purchases.

I'll spend more time reading reviews, opinions and watching video online rather than relying on the review of a magazine.