I didn't spend as much time gaming during and for a while after college, because I had no money. Once I got some disposable income I got right back into it.
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Did you ever fall out of gaming for a while and why did you get back into it?
- Thread starter Mcjmetroid
- Start date
I mostly stopped gaming last gen, starting in 2006. The people I'd play with became uber competitive and console-warrish to the point of toxicity, and that mixed with moving out of my parents' place for college and not having money to buy my own systems/games just destroyed my drive to play anything.
I slowly started picking gaming back up after moving in with some old friends. Just played a game every so often; I can probably list them all on one hand. Even stuff that I love now was hard to pick up. Only games I can remember dedicating any time to were Skyward Sword, Left 4 Dead, GTAIV, and AC2.
That phase finally, offcially ended when I got my Wii U the Christmas after launch.
I slowly started picking gaming back up after moving in with some old friends. Just played a game every so often; I can probably list them all on one hand. Even stuff that I love now was hard to pick up. Only games I can remember dedicating any time to were Skyward Sword, Left 4 Dead, GTAIV, and AC2.
That phase finally, offcially ended when I got my Wii U the Christmas after launch.
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Happened to me ~1998. I was 17-18 years old.
Sounds stupid but here is my story...
I had a crush on this cute girl but she was not interested in me because I was a overweight (100kg) boring dude who was sitting at home all day and was playing video games.
I stopped playing games, started a diet and was working out 3-4 times a week. I lost 22kg in 5-6 month, shaved my head and got a motorcycle.
Meanwhile the girl I liked got a boyfriend and I thought all the hard work was for nothing. Turned out being in shape and owning a bike weren't the worst things to have...
I got a girlfriend and was busy partying for the next years...gaming was not a priority anymore for me.
I got a used game cube (inkl. Resident Evil 4) from eBay in 2005 and i was absolutely blown away from that game. Imagine stop gaming 1998 and then playing resi4 as the first game after all that time. After that I was into gaming again...
Sounds stupid but here is my story...
I had a crush on this cute girl but she was not interested in me because I was a overweight (100kg) boring dude who was sitting at home all day and was playing video games.
I stopped playing games, started a diet and was working out 3-4 times a week. I lost 22kg in 5-6 month, shaved my head and got a motorcycle.
Meanwhile the girl I liked got a boyfriend and I thought all the hard work was for nothing. Turned out being in shape and owning a bike weren't the worst things to have...
I got a girlfriend and was busy partying for the next years...gaming was not a priority anymore for me.
I got a used game cube (inkl. Resident Evil 4) from eBay in 2005 and i was absolutely blown away from that game. Imagine stop gaming 1998 and then playing resi4 as the first game after all that time. After that I was into gaming again...
I slowed down around 2009 in college and then dropped off hard in 2013 after graduating and starting work. I still played the occasional game here and there but I skipped out on the most recent generation of consoles and stuck with PC only, up until the very end of 2017 when I bought a Switch and got back into games in a big way. Now I have a PS4 and am excited by games again, in fact both PS4 and the Switch already have made me build up huge libraries.
I got out of it for a while toward the midde/end of the PS2/GC/Xbox era. I was busy with grad school and just wasn't feeling games much that era. Got a Wii and that didn't help much--liked Twilight Princess, Mario Galaxy, Super Paper Mario TYD and Metroid Prime 3 and then nothing much for along while.
Getting a 360 after loving Gears 1 at a friends house got me back into gaming in a big way. I've not dropped off since, though my tastes have moved away a bit from shooters and online games and more to story-driven stuff like Sony first party games, visual novels etc. I've also been more into Nintendo since I've liked their Wii U and Switch offerings more than most Wii and DS/3DS stuff.
Getting a 360 after loving Gears 1 at a friends house got me back into gaming in a big way. I've not dropped off since, though my tastes have moved away a bit from shooters and online games and more to story-driven stuff like Sony first party games, visual novels etc. I've also been more into Nintendo since I've liked their Wii U and Switch offerings more than most Wii and DS/3DS stuff.
Missed pretty much all of last gen due to travelling and other commitments - came back for a period while I was working with Nintendo, but came back in a big way when I moved to Sony.
I sold everything back in around 2005. No idea what I did with my time, I was about 17 so probably drinking and chasing girls.
In late 2007 my friend introduced me to the wonderful world of buying things on finance. I bought an Xbox 360 with Tony Hawk's Project 8 and Call of Duty 3, as well as a new TV.
I've had periods of a month or two since when my interest wanes, but something always draws me back in.
In late 2007 my friend introduced me to the wonderful world of buying things on finance. I bought an Xbox 360 with Tony Hawk's Project 8 and Call of Duty 3, as well as a new TV.
I've had periods of a month or two since when my interest wanes, but something always draws me back in.
For console/handheld gaming I can't think of a period longer than a month or two where I haven't played, read about, or bought games since maybe 1990
While I enjoy PC gaming, it's always been something I've fallen in and out since around 1994 due to hardware availability (e.g. outdated system/broken PC for various reasons) and amount of good console exclusives keeping me away, but there have been periods where it's my main way of gaming. Most recently, I barely bought any PC games in 2018 because last January my PC I had for 6+ years (with some minor upgrades,but it was a prebuilt) finally gave up the ghost for good, so I'm stuck on a potato laptop with intel HD 4400 graphics, so much of the PC exclusives I'd want to play don't work well. However, I'm finally building a PC in two months.
While I enjoy PC gaming, it's always been something I've fallen in and out since around 1994 due to hardware availability (e.g. outdated system/broken PC for various reasons) and amount of good console exclusives keeping me away, but there have been periods where it's my main way of gaming. Most recently, I barely bought any PC games in 2018 because last January my PC I had for 6+ years (with some minor upgrades,but it was a prebuilt) finally gave up the ghost for good, so I'm stuck on a potato laptop with intel HD 4400 graphics, so much of the PC exclusives I'd want to play don't work well. However, I'm finally building a PC in two months.
I think later in the GC era and the start of the Wii era was like 2 years of a slump for me(like 2005-2006). Wasn't excited for much except for twilight princess. Hated the waggle and didn't have an "HD" system yet.
Then I saw Motorstorm and Gears of war on demo kiosks in gamestop one time in a mall in like summer 2007 or so and once I got my 360 with Forza2/Marvel Ultimate alliance bundle + Gears of War, I was back in full speed. Then COD4 and Mass Effect came out and ahhh good times again.
Then I saw Motorstorm and Gears of war on demo kiosks in gamestop one time in a mall in like summer 2007 or so and once I got my 360 with Forza2/Marvel Ultimate alliance bundle + Gears of War, I was back in full speed. Then COD4 and Mass Effect came out and ahhh good times again.
I fell off of gaming hard for a few years between 2008 and 2011. I had lost interest in the Wii as most games were being targeted towards non-gamers, and only a select few games were really taking advantage of motion controls. And most AAA games on the 360/PS3 were becoming more and more dumbed-down and shooter-heavy. The handful of new games that I actually did play during that stretch were big disappointments. Outside of Nintendo, Platinum and From Software, it was a dreadful stretch for Japanese games.
During those years, I had such low enthusiasm for playing games that I did just about anything else in my free time. I had bought games like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption and they were just sitting on the shelf, unplayed. Galaxy 1 is one of my favorite games ever, so Galaxy 2 was basically my "look myself in the mirror" moment. I was still checking in on message boards and following gaming news; if I wasn't willing to give the sequel to one of my favorite games the time of day, what was I even doing anymore? Why did I still consider this a hobby?
So I lined up about a dozen games that I missed out on that I wanted to play (including Galaxy 2, RDR, Bioshock, Portal 1/2, Arkham Asylum, and Deadly Premonition), and just dedicated the time to playing them. I had such a great time going through those. It's the one period of gaming post-childhood that I have a ton of fondness for. It really got me back into playing games, and my enthusiasm has only grown over the years.
I've learned that much of the problem stemmed from not playing a wider variety of games. Since 2011, I've played so many different games of so many types, and I'm way into sorts of games I never would have considered playing before. When I was only playing select games in select series, and many of those series hit a slump around the same time, it turned me away from games altogether. Whereas if that happened again today, I'd just go play something else.
During those years, I had such low enthusiasm for playing games that I did just about anything else in my free time. I had bought games like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption and they were just sitting on the shelf, unplayed. Galaxy 1 is one of my favorite games ever, so Galaxy 2 was basically my "look myself in the mirror" moment. I was still checking in on message boards and following gaming news; if I wasn't willing to give the sequel to one of my favorite games the time of day, what was I even doing anymore? Why did I still consider this a hobby?
So I lined up about a dozen games that I missed out on that I wanted to play (including Galaxy 2, RDR, Bioshock, Portal 1/2, Arkham Asylum, and Deadly Premonition), and just dedicated the time to playing them. I had such a great time going through those. It's the one period of gaming post-childhood that I have a ton of fondness for. It really got me back into playing games, and my enthusiasm has only grown over the years.
I've learned that much of the problem stemmed from not playing a wider variety of games. Since 2011, I've played so many different games of so many types, and I'm way into sorts of games I never would have considered playing before. When I was only playing select games in select series, and many of those series hit a slump around the same time, it turned me away from games altogether. Whereas if that happened again today, I'd just go play something else.
Yeah not long into this gen, Just felt like last gen but spruced up with resolution wars for Multi-plat games. The only thing that excited me about playing video games again, Was playing VR at an expo. Then PSVR came out for sale and RE7 in VR brought that passion back, Made gaming fun again and new with the sense of wonder i hadn't felt since maybe the ps1 era.
Flat TV games are still ok but since iv'e had my best gaming experiences this gen in VR,Then TV gaming is just there as a side.
Flat TV games are still ok but since iv'e had my best gaming experiences this gen in VR,Then TV gaming is just there as a side.
yea, last semester I was super busy with final semester and capstone project so i stopped gaming. Now that I have graduated, I am playing lots of games!
My interest definitely reduced quite a bit between 2004-2006, and then completely dropped off for another four years - got rid of a lot of old games that I wish I hadn't during that time in order to finance my uni life but hey ho.
And then in 2010 I bought a Wii, old Dreamcast and PS3 in very quick succession. Gaming drought over.
And then in 2010 I bought a Wii, old Dreamcast and PS3 in very quick succession. Gaming drought over.
Yeah. Around the time I got way into fucking.
From my late teens to my early twenties girls were literally all I was interested in.
From my late teens to my early twenties girls were literally all I was interested in.
Quit gaming at 15 /16 because I wanted to lose my virginity, so I stopped focusing on games and focused on my weight and girls.
Lost my virginity at 16, got myself a girlfriend, started smoking weed, and playing games again.
Lost my virginity at 16, got myself a girlfriend, started smoking weed, and playing games again.
Yes. There was a period during the PS3 where I wasn't enjoying much of anything. Even the new Final Fantasy (XIII at the time) was shit, so I was just depressed about it.
Then Demon's Souls came out and fixed everything
Then Demon's Souls came out and fixed everything
I never did. I lost a bit of interest in consoles in the late psone, n64-early dreamcast days because i was hooked on starcraft, warcraft 3 and diablo 2 so much but thats gaming too.
I stopped after getting an N64 back in the days. I felt completely let down by the lack of content on that console and just how painfully ugly everything looked coming from masterful pixel art to early 3d and awful textures and shit.
I got back into gaming during half the lifetime of the Gamecube, then in college and with plenty of time on my hands. I loved the Cube, mainly because of the Wind Waker, Tales, Baten Kaitos and the Capcom 4(5).
Nowadays I am close to dropping out again just because I don't find the time anymore
I got back into gaming during half the lifetime of the Gamecube, then in college and with plenty of time on my hands. I loved the Cube, mainly because of the Wind Waker, Tales, Baten Kaitos and the Capcom 4(5).
Nowadays I am close to dropping out again just because I don't find the time anymore
During graduate school, I was less into gaming as my time and energy was dealing with school and personal issues. Once I got past some personal issues and made strides with my education, my interest in gaming returned.
I never really left gaming. That said, just after purchasing my last gaming PC in mid-2005 (a comparatively underpowered Athlon 64 with a low-end GeForce 6200 card) I graduated and started a period of some years of working many hours per day, plus a brutal amount of commuting / working far from home.
By then I was already tired with the relative hassle of PC gaming (and I used a PC a lot of hours per day for professional reasons) and so I got an already old PS2. I was never much into Sony´s portfolio, but it was a cheap machine that I could take with me in my travels. I do remember playing Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and Gran Turismo 4 in the little spare time I had. As vast as it catalog was, I did believe it was an overrated, unreliable console which couldn´t offer the same variety I had experienced in my best years of PC gaming (circa 1996-2004).
In late 2009 I got highly stressed by a particular work project and decided to return to gaming in full force. After a months-long research and comparison between the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 or a new PC, I ultimately decided to get Microsoft´s machine. I loved it. It renewed my interest in videogames. I played Fallout 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, Forza Motorsport 3, Mass Effect 1&2 and Halo: Reach one after the other and I felt I was living a golden era.
By then I was already tired with the relative hassle of PC gaming (and I used a PC a lot of hours per day for professional reasons) and so I got an already old PS2. I was never much into Sony´s portfolio, but it was a cheap machine that I could take with me in my travels. I do remember playing Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and Gran Turismo 4 in the little spare time I had. As vast as it catalog was, I did believe it was an overrated, unreliable console which couldn´t offer the same variety I had experienced in my best years of PC gaming (circa 1996-2004).
In late 2009 I got highly stressed by a particular work project and decided to return to gaming in full force. After a months-long research and comparison between the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 or a new PC, I ultimately decided to get Microsoft´s machine. I loved it. It renewed my interest in videogames. I played Fallout 3, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, Forza Motorsport 3, Mass Effect 1&2 and Halo: Reach one after the other and I felt I was living a golden era.
Yeah, in my late 20's/early 30's... when my kids were super young.. just didn't have the time.. but as they got older and started playing I got back into it again.
I dropped out hard during university. The biggest reason was just lack of money, I sold many of my older games and consoles and couldn't invest in anything new. At some point I bought used Professor Laytons for my DS and got back into games. I eventually got a better-paid job on the side and got a 3DS, and from there on I went to Wii U and PS4 after graduating and starting to work full time.
For nearly three years, from summer 2010 to something like autumn/winter 2013, the latter of which is when the Xbox One was released.
I went travelling for a year and, first party wise, the Xbox 360 had more Kinect software than 'proper' games on the shelves until Forza Horizon and Halo 4 came out in late 2012.
For an Xbox fan, it was a truly dire time. It was the first time I had considered buying my first PlayStation and/or Nintendo home console...
I've got all three consoles and after being delighted by both the PlayStation 4 and Switch, I now realise that I am no longer the target audience for the Xbox anymore, which is a bit of a shame, as I was an Xbox only gamer for a shy over sixteen years!
I went travelling for a year and, first party wise, the Xbox 360 had more Kinect software than 'proper' games on the shelves until Forza Horizon and Halo 4 came out in late 2012.
For an Xbox fan, it was a truly dire time. It was the first time I had considered buying my first PlayStation and/or Nintendo home console...
I've got all three consoles and after being delighted by both the PlayStation 4 and Switch, I now realise that I am no longer the target audience for the Xbox anymore, which is a bit of a shame, as I was an Xbox only gamer for a shy over sixteen years!
I've always kept up on the industry happenings but I've had several periods since the 7th gen where I simply didn't play anything or barely played. Even now I've just gotten into Last of Us remastered, I haven't done much gaming in the past couple of months outside of a quick Bloodstained play through. I honestly feel like I can enjoy a nice narrative-driven game like the aforementioned LOU if I haven't played anything too involving of my time and energies before. But I'm really enjoying it so far, so I'll probably knock this out then play Uncharted Lost Legacy...then go on the inactive gaming shelf for another few months. Rinse, repeat etc...
I did for a little bit. Wasn't really doing anything during my time away from gaming, but it wasn't until I met a friend that was really into gaming and convinced me to play Bloodborne that I got back into video games.
I'm actually pretty thankful that I'm back in games.
I'm actually pretty thankful that I'm back in games.
2012-2017. Consoles got stolen so I just stopped.
Only came back for a bit in 2015 to play Undertale, which was incredible. Didn't get me back though, since there was nothing else like it.
Switch got me back proper with its ideal handheld+console promise, which it's delivering on well even now.
Only came back for a bit in 2015 to play Undertale, which was incredible. Didn't get me back though, since there was nothing else like it.
Switch got me back proper with its ideal handheld+console promise, which it's delivering on well even now.
From about 2012-2017 my gaming really dropped off. My job at the time required a lot of travel and I just didn't have the home time to do (plus my kids came during that time period). Getting the Switch to play on the plane got me back into things and I have been trying to set aside a little bit of time every week to play.
The mid-00s were a little dry too, mostly because finances were a bit tighter and I spent what little I set aside for an entertainment budget on other things.
The mid-00s were a little dry too, mostly because finances were a bit tighter and I spent what little I set aside for an entertainment budget on other things.
My story is very similar to OP's; I grew up with an N64 and Gamecube, and while I wasn't disappointed by the Wii so much, I found myself playing it less and less. In college, I played an ungodly amount of FIFA with my roommates and friends, but basically nothing else. Eventually I got an Xbox One, thinking I'd mainly use it to play more FIFA, but I've come to explore a lot more of what it has to offer.
I took a break from console gaming in college for a year, just didn't have time or money.
However, I still had my handheld (DS) and played the shit out of it.
Usually if I get bored with one thing I jump to another.
However, I still had my handheld (DS) and played the shit out of it.
Usually if I get bored with one thing I jump to another.
Hah mine is also because of the Wii
Gaming was my main hobby from the age of 10 to probably 18, always on Nintendo consoles
University coincided with the barren Wii years, so while I still played the one good Wii game that came out every 18 months, I didn't really pay as much attention to gaming and the industry
A few years later after Uni (2011) I was looking for work and living with my parents so had a lot of free time. I replayed all my GCN and Wii games then decided to pick up a PS3 and see what I'd been missing out on
Now it's back as my main hobby
Gaming was my main hobby from the age of 10 to probably 18, always on Nintendo consoles
University coincided with the barren Wii years, so while I still played the one good Wii game that came out every 18 months, I didn't really pay as much attention to gaming and the industry
A few years later after Uni (2011) I was looking for work and living with my parents so had a lot of free time. I replayed all my GCN and Wii games then decided to pick up a PS3 and see what I'd been missing out on
Now it's back as my main hobby
Yes. 2005 to 2015 was just a terrible stretch for video games. The entire PS3 era was awful, I stopped playing video games to the level that I thought I had grown out of them. I ended up importing the asian (not Japanese, there was a version meant for asian release outside of Japan that had everything in English already) version of Demons Souls back when it wasnt certain if it would get released just because I was that desperate for something new.
With the PS4 generation though, It turns out that was just the most dogshit decade ever and video games are back, baby.
With the PS4 generation though, It turns out that was just the most dogshit decade ever and video games are back, baby.
I fell off gaming hard mid-late college years simply because I was struggling with class and other things and didn't own a console or have a gaming-capable PC. I got back into it with the Wii and subsequently late into the 360 and PS3's life cycles.
I fell off of playing "good games" when I was in elementary school. Around kindergarten times I was playing Pokemon, Smash, and Spyro all day, then in elementary school I spent all my diminished game time playing Shrek and Spongebob games. I jumped onto Ratchet & Clank and Smash Melee during middle school, then I stuck with it for a while longer. I fell off again at some point during high school (not sure why or what brought me back) but I haven't been fully off again since. That means it's been... 6 years since my last break?
I lost interest in gaming in 1995. I was heavy into going to the arcades, my parents bought be the NES in the late 80's then the SNES, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X. Huge Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 fan, but I didn't like the 3rd game much, pretty much lost interest in gaming and got more into music. I played a random emulator or PC game every once in a while, but it wasn't until 2015 that I bought a PS4 and later a GTX 980ti for the PC. So it was a good 20 year break from gaming.
Now I have about 31 games for the PS4 Pro plus the games on PC. It's still second spot to Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray movies though, but I do enjoy gaming again.
Now I have about 31 games for the PS4 Pro plus the games on PC. It's still second spot to Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray movies though, but I do enjoy gaming again.
I fell out in that period of time after the Wii started to decline but before the Japanese games revival on consoles occurred so around 2008-2012
My feeling at the time was that all the good developers seemed to be moving their interests to handheld and mobile while the games left on console were becoming more risk averse towards new IPs versus sequels and greedier when it came to microtransactions. Thankfully the future was brighter than I thought and games like Puppeteer and TLOU along with Sony's stance against Microsoft's always online plan in 2013 managed to pull me back.
My feeling at the time was that all the good developers seemed to be moving their interests to handheld and mobile while the games left on console were becoming more risk averse towards new IPs versus sequels and greedier when it came to microtransactions. Thankfully the future was brighter than I thought and games like Puppeteer and TLOU along with Sony's stance against Microsoft's always online plan in 2013 managed to pull me back.
Yes the PS2 era, Even though I got one as a shared gift with my brother near launch, he is 11yrs younger than me so he used to hog it the most, I was 17/18 so started to get into other hobbies like Music and Movies & hanging out with friends going Drinkng etc.
When Guitar Hero came out I bought that for the PS2 as the Soundtrack was kind of the music I was listening to, but again thats all I played.
Then I got with this Girl who is now my Ex and she liked some gaming, So I decided to buy a ps3 with some multiplayer games that we could play together and have sort of stuck with gaming ever since
When Guitar Hero came out I bought that for the PS2 as the Soundtrack was kind of the music I was listening to, but again thats all I played.
Then I got with this Girl who is now my Ex and she liked some gaming, So I decided to buy a ps3 with some multiplayer games that we could play together and have sort of stuck with gaming ever since
I have played consistently since the 1970's.
The closest I can compare is that I dropped out of console gaming for 6-7 years. I was a hardcore PC gamer, specifically EverQuest 1, and never played a single DreamCast or GameCube title. Up until then I had owned and played virtually every system out there, so it is a weird gap in my personal video game story.
The closest I can compare is that I dropped out of console gaming for 6-7 years. I was a hardcore PC gamer, specifically EverQuest 1, and never played a single DreamCast or GameCube title. Up until then I had owned and played virtually every system out there, so it is a weird gap in my personal video game story.
Yeah right after I built my gaming PC too. I got a Vita because my PSP was still my most played and favorite device (even though I didn't play it that often).
Then I got a 3DS because Street Pass seemed like fun and I realized that I just needed to take my gaming in a different direction
Then I got a 3DS because Street Pass seemed like fun and I realized that I just needed to take my gaming in a different direction
It tends to happen with me when there's a crises in my life and 100% of my focus needs to be on basic survival, or just getting past the difficult time.