I've been there for the last 6-12 months minimum which is about the same amount of time I've been not buying any brand new games. Only used ones for dirt cheap that I've been wanting to play since they came out in 1998. Personally I feel its a number of factors: 1) I've not been alive that long compared to others around this joint (I'm 25 in November) but I've seen everything from the 90s, my cousins owned Colecovisions, 2600s, Odyssey2, Master Systems and such. Short of an Intellivision I've played just about all of the major players back before the internet made them common enough knowledge. 2) Because of 1, I've seen a lot of gameplay mechanics, plots, gametypes that are long gone, etc. 3) Because of 2, not a whole lot these days impresses me. 4) I'm broke enough that I can't afford $50 games. Not even 1 a month. This forces me to buy older titles I've yet to finish but know 100% for a fact I will enjoy it and play it through to the end. Some 12 year old told me that CoD:BO was the best game ever. Sorry kid, I played that game in 2003. Though I was fighting a bunch of guys that spoke German then.
That's a question I've often asked myself. The answer that I inevitably come up with (for myself, it may be different for you) is that I like to play a lot of different games all the time (thus my relatively large collection), but only a very small portion of those do I really enjoy in a way that stays with me for a long time. So, I guess for most games I just want to own them for the sake of having them in my collection in the event that one day I may want to play them (most of the games I buy are very cheap). But there are a few games, like Ico, Shenmue, Half Life, MGS2, etc. that I truly revere and will probably always love and play again and again as long as I live. If you're finding that the games you've been playing don't satisfy you anymore, maybe you should try a different kind of game. Personally, for a long time all I really wanted to play was arcade-style games. Then I eventually became addicted to story, to puzzles, to games with concepts that are slightly enlightening, etc. I also find that sometimes I become kind of obsessed with graphics and presentation to the point that I don't really think about the overall effect games have on me. Sometimes you have to look at things in a different way to really enjoy them. Those are just some suggestions. Take them with as much salt as they deserve.
I'm with musical note vowel man there. I was recently gripped by gaming ennui, and in April I decided that I needed to learn how to play RTS for real. I'd bought a handful of those games in the past but never really learned how to play. After asking around I ended up with the usual Warcraft III and Starcraft recommendations, and it really stretched my brain as I finally got used to the concept. Of course, what that led to was an additional avenue of possible game purchases that I hadn't considered before. Next up in the batter's box for me is a set of the old Infocom text adventures. I played all three Zork games, but I neglected other titles in the series (like Bureaucracy) even though I own almost every single one. It's nice to be able to reach deep into the game collection and randomly grab something that I might like to play. Or maybe I'll grab a stinker that I didn't know about. It's worth it to stretch, rather than just popping in the same old stuff every night.
Quite simply I like both. There are plenty of games I own that don't get repeat performances or played at all for that matter. Every once in a while though I get an itch to play something from the past and I like not having to remember that I sold it off. That's why I never sell anything I don't have a double of.
It's both for me sadly. At the moment i'm somewhat obsessed with owning every Namco System 246/256 arcade game but at the same time I do enjoy playing most of what I own and some I spend a significant chunk on (namely Gundam Vs). I was almost tempted to do the same with System 10 pcb but after getting 3, I found out I really only like Mr Driller for that hw and sold off the two i didn't like. I'm also currently amassing a large GB cart collection because I want to have a box of GB games I want to play just sitting around for any time I want to boot a game up for 5-10 mins. I'm putting more time into the GB games I have on my 3DS then I am 3DS games.
I too am more into owning that playing. Dunno, just depends what mood I'm in. I'm always buying games but I can perhaps go months without ever sitting down and playing one.
It got that way with me. I had a tonne of consoles but only Mega Drive, 360 and PS2 I played. The amount of space it took up was ridiculous and so I sold everything but my Mega Drive and PS2
I have my seasons. I have a season in which I find a lot of stuff and just get it, and then I get seasons when I buy nothing and just enjoy, plain old enjoy, everything that I get. I play the randomest stuff, a few hours of Atari, a few hours of 360, Dreamcast, all that. Then there's seasons when I have so much work or I'm so tired that I don't play much, and I find stuff and buy it to play later. I discover games that I bought and never played many months after that. Right now, I'm continuing Dragon Quest VIII, which I hadn't touched since 2006 or so, and playing old DS games on the 3DS. I'll come across something fantastic somewhere (black market, play-asia, Wal-mart, who knows) and buy it - and play something else, and discover it in 2013 or something. In short: I do both, and I enjoy both, and I shift from one to the other based on moods, schedules, and what I find or re-discover. Every game has a chance to be my favourite for a few weeks (playing), and a treasure for years (owning).
A couple of years ago, about the time I joined the forum I found myself on the same slippery slope, and even thought I had lost my gamer "essence", could not sit in front of a console for more than 5-7 minutes without losing interest or falling asleep. I'll see if I can dig that thread up if I can find it, I got some interesting replies. Anyway, in my case it depends on the seasons, as Xerdo. Now I don't really have much time to play games so my consoles are piling up with dirt and I just buy a new game every once in a while. I only play on my 360 whenever I buy a new game, I play it a lot until I finish it quickly and then it goes to storage. I also play some DS titles like Tetris DS for 10 min before going to sleep, and the few gaming moments I have are on my PC lately, a quickmatch of Magicka or Starcraft 2 and that's it. But, I know that the urge to play will come back when I have more spare time, nevertheless I love owning games, buying games for my collection is another thing I'd dare say enjoy almost as much as playing games.
Yeah this I can understand. Finding the games in good condition at a good price is more fun to me than actually playing them 90% of the time.
i guess it one of the two there are certain systems , games and accessories that peaked my curiosity so i purchased them and love them but i don't often then there are some game i play alot if i am off from work i will spend 5 to 6 hours on them.
I'm currently in the middle of a game "hibernation" I usually have them every 2 years or so for about a 8-12 month period off....I tend to just loose the urge and motivation to play, I'm just having the odd play on my iPhone and I will log onto Conquer-online to speak to friends every so often but that's it for now. Will most likely stay that way till my gears of war 3 arrives.
I used to collect games because I thought someday I would go back and play them but now my backlog is ridiculous. I bought Xenosaga way back and enjoyed it. Ended up buying Xenosaga 2 and 3 but barely touched them. Other series as well like Viewtiful Joe and Metriod. I do buy the games cheap though. Paying full price for a game I might not play isn't reasonable to me. So there is some control. Game I know I will play are well worth the asking price on day one but other usually get the bargin bin treatment.
I wish i had more time to play my games. But to be honest, it's been a while since i bought anything retro or collectible. All my recent purchases where games i was looking forward to play.
For me there is the odd new game i'll buy to play through straight away but then most of them i'll buy and leave them till i feel the desire to play a game all the way through. Sometimes i'll get games that i wouldn't normally buy on the off chance i'll play it and find enjoyment from the game.
You say that as if you nobody would be looking forward to play retro games @topic Mixture of both. I still play a lot though, but mainly arcade games (fighters, shooters & puzzle from the 80's+90's). Then again I buy loads of stuff that I'll never play, but that doesn't "bother" me in terms of "gosh, I only buy teh shit I'll never play!!", I always have enough good games around. If you gain joy in collecting games rather than playing them, there's nothing bad about it. What I can't stand are people who start complaining and whining about it, "boohoo, I buy and buy but never play" - collecting on its own can be a very nice and interesting hobby, you know. Almost every collector in the world is like that, or how many otakus play in the sandbox with their figures, how many antique book collectors read all of their books from start to finish, how many comic collectors read every issue?
I used to only play about 5 games out of a 200+ game collection I had a couple years ago. I have since stopped buying games just to own them. The only games I have now are titles I intend to finish, they have some sort of memory tied to them/nostalgic value, or they're just great games that I don't want to rebuy later when I want to play through them again. I can now honestly say I've played about 98% of my collection. A couple years ago, it'd be less than 10%.
That's not what i meant though. I was trying to say that the "recently released games" i got, where the ones i was expecting to play since their releases. My retro gaming wish-list remains, but i didn't had the time to look for those in the last 6 months or so. And on some situations, i thought twice before spending money on something that would mostly stay on my game closet. Plus i'm saving some money to buy a new computer.
I have become a game-snob. No point collecting shit I won't play. That said, I do enjoy a great variety of games and I play them slowly and over a long period of time, no great rush. I also play older stuff from time to time to get a nostalgia rush
