How have your babies/kids changed your gaming habits?

MrFrankFontaine · Mar 13, 2019

It impacted me differently at different ages. My kids are now in elementary/middle school.

I'd say today, the biggest impact is the kind of games I play and when I play them. For instance, I probably would have never played Minecraft if it wasn't for them.

I also spend more time on my Switch and only play M rated games at night during the week after they go to bed or on the weekends if they are preoccuping themselves.

Fatoy · Mar 13, 2019

Oh, and it goes without saying: don't play a From Software game or anything else you can't pause when your kids are still likely to wake up and need re-settling. I bought Nioh before our youngest was born, and it sat unplayed for about 18 months because I knew I couldn't risk fighting a boss when I might need to head upstairs with no notice.

ClassAndFear · Mar 13, 2019

Hilarious_Bearious said:
My daughter slept through from 9pm to 5am each night from about 8 weeks...

Until she started teething at 5 months. 15 months later, I can count the number of times she has slept through on one hand. We wound up putting a queen bed with bumpers around the edge so one of us can just go through and sleep next to her when she inevitably stirs.

Children really are the best though. In a way I feel like I wasn't really a human being until my daughter was born. She's legit my favourite person.

Cry it out. I thought it was so cruel until we were in your situation and my god, the difference.

ShapeDePapa · Mar 13, 2019

When the kids were younger and they didn't do their nights my gaming time was super low. I was trying to sleep when I had any spare time lol. But now I can squeeze 10/15 hours a week. My oldest daughter (6 yo) plays on my Xbox during the weekends too.

Redcrayon · Mar 13, 2019

Before my daughter was born (she's 3 and a half now) I was about 70/30 portables/home console due to a long commute to work via train. Now I only use portables/mobile, as I ended up with a stack of unplayed home console games as I mainly play RPGs and just rarely sit in front of a TV anymore, even to watch a programme. Like TV and film, most of my stuff is on tablets with instant pause/resume. The Switch is perfect for me, but after my daughter was born and I was rocking her to sleep a lot, a Vita with sleep/resume and the comparatively long battery life on standby was great. I kept one next to our comfy armchair and still managed to play through a couple of RPGs in the small hours when one or more of us couldn't sleep.

It's getting better now, her bedtime is a routine so scheduling hobby time is easier (finally took the Switch dock out of the box after a year and a half), but generally my hobby time is still my commute.

Mr.Branding · Mar 13, 2019

ABK281 said:
I plan on never having kids because the kid is way worse than any video game I'll ever play.

The answer is obviously yes. I used to be able to play in the afternoons, after work, on weekends but all of my gaming time is now after he goes to sleep at night, usually 1 to 3 hours.

HussiZooT · Mar 13, 2019

Just getting married has affected it quite hard.

I can't imagine what will happen once I have kids...

I barely get time to play, mostly because the missus doesn't like me playing video games, even though she understands how much I love it and I have been doing it for more than 2 decades of my life. She gets that, but she just cannot wrap her head around the fact that playing '1 game' doesn't involve 1 match or 1 level. It means 1 game for however long I can go.

Hopefully she'll understand over time. We are still relatively newly wed with only 3 months since we got married. So... fingers crossed.

Deleted member 11069 · Mar 13, 2019

Twice a year I get "special days" when a big game comes out and the wife "gives me" 12h of fuck around time. Those are glorious days.
MAYBE I'll get one for Sekiro, WISH ME LUCK!

Shrikey · Mar 13, 2019

Have a daughter who'll be 2 this summer. Definitely cut down on my gaming time drastically. Online multiplayer is out the door completely. And I've noticed I really need to do some triage and prioritise which titles I need to play. I won't spend time on something that isn't worth it, and I rarely play to "pass time" anymore. I still managed to get through stuff like Horizon, God of War and RDR2 with her around, but it's been a stretch.

It's not so much you won't have time, babies do sleep a lot and tend to go to bed early. But since your entire household gets less free time overall, there's a harder balance to strike between quality time with your SO, household chores, gaming and other interests.

I can play when she takes her daily nap (on parental leave), but I usually try reading then, because I'm too tired at night. Then after she goes to bed, we'll watch like one Netflix episode of whatever, my SO goes to bed since she needs to get up early for work, and then I can play for an hour or two before I need to get some sleep. But I am sacrificing sleep for gaming, which is kind of moronic, but it's manageable. The tradeoff is that I haven't seen more than like four or five feature films in a full year (on my own), and my reading has gone way down. Right now gaming is a much better comedown though.

Hell Shinobi · Mar 13, 2019

My son is 4 and a half and I haven't turned on my console since November.

I just don't have the time. And the will is slowly slowly fading away each passing day :/

RetroMG · Mar 13, 2019

weekev said:
In the first year you might even play more due to being up in the night doing feeds etc.

When they are over 1 you will get 1 or 2 hours a night to game. If you don't have a Nintendo Switch, get one. The convenience of taking that thing everywhere has saved my gaming life. When they get older (mine are now 9 and 4) it's really fun to play with them.

My daughter and I are currently doing turn about on world of light in Smash, playing Lego harry potter and doing all of kingdom hearts together. My wife plays but I wouldn't call her a gamer so this is my daddy daughter time. It's pretty awesome.

My 4 year old enjoys Mario Kart and Kirby star allies.

Wife is on night shift this week so 9-12 Is my red dead time.

It's about getting it in when you can amongst everything else that goes with parenthood. Your habits will change and you will be looking for less involved games e.g. I know I couldn't commit to a game like monster Hunter cos it's too long.

This guy gets it. This has 100% been my experience. I used to be huge into Destiny before I had a kid. Now I'm hugely into Kingdom Hearts and Mario, and I play a lot of mobile games and portable Switch games.

(My latest trick has been to grab my switch and sit and play next to my toddler's bed while she falls asleep for her daytime nap.)

ABK281 said:
I plan on never having kids because the kid is way worse than any video game I'll ever play.

I'm not sure if this is serious, but let me say, I don't play nearly as many games since I had my daughter, but the trade-off of having this wonderful amazing little person in my life is absolutely, totally worth it. No game has ever made me laugh as hard or feel as happy and loved as my daughter has. If I were told the price of having my daughter was that I could never play another video game ever again, I would still pay it gladly.
Having a kid is a horribly scary experience from the outside, but as someone who has crossed that threshold, having kids is awesome.

Gibordep · Mar 13, 2019

In the first times is best to play SP games, the pause option will be used many times. As she grow up the sleep habits will be more predictable and, although less, you will have time to play without the fear of interruptions.

Hell Shinobi said:
My son is 4 and a half and I haven't turned on my console since November.

I just don't have the time. And the will is slowly slowly fading away each passing day :/

My daughter is 5 and a Half and play almost every day. She sleeps every day at 10 PM and after that I have time to play.

Herb Alpert · Mar 13, 2019

More handheld gaming, less gaming in general though

Braaier · Mar 13, 2019

First of all, congratulations!

I have two kids now, ages one and three. And having kids definitely cuts into your video game time. My PS4 ended up gathering dust and I sold it for lack of use. The Switch has actually been a godsend in that case. I can squeeze in 15 minutes of gaming here or there. And now I'm working from home more often which makes it even easier. Shhhh

So I'd say sell the PS4 and get a Switch.

Innuendo84 · Mar 13, 2019

I usually pick couple of games per year and play extensively during the night when the kids go to bed. Last I did this with REmake 2 and next is Sekiro. My wife is not happy with that, but I take long breaks between games so we reached a consensus. I play much less overall, but when a game comes out, I occupy the tv for one week.

Obviously no online games anymore due to the lack of time.

Also my goto page for games is not metacritic, but howlongtobeat.com :) I would love to play persona 5, but that 90 h game time is insane.

Cosmo Kramer · Mar 13, 2019

In my case, my sons are 12,7 and 1. We have two PS4 and the older ones play Fortnite a lot, because of that i mostly play at night when they're in bed. I'm really considering getting another console and TV for myself.

Panic Freak · Mar 13, 2019

Yes. Don't anticipate that you'll have very many marathon gaming sessions after your kid arrives.

Rocketz · Mar 13, 2019

Here's the ParentERA thread: https://www.resetera.com/threads/parentera-ot-what-to-expect-when-you’re-not-sleeping.621/

ThankDougie · Mar 13, 2019

New dad here (my son is almost 11 months now). You're going to have less time for a lot of things, but it won't matter because being a parent rules. Just a couple of thoughts:

It helps if you have a few games that only require one hand to play (mouse click only, for instance). In the first few months, my son didn't sleep very well unless we held him, so there were a number of 3 AM wake-ups where I needed something to do for an hour while my boy fell asleep against me. Darkest Dungeon, Into the Breach, and a small handful of roguelikes got a whole lot of play in that time. Helped keep me awake and it made running on 2 hours sleep more tolerable. I think my wife also appreciated that I could take him for so long in the early morning. We traded sleep a bunch.
Having a Switch definitely helps me play more than I otherwise might, but it's not going to get rid of your responsibilities enough to make a huge difference unless you travel a lot or travel for work. I mostly use it to play out on the couch while my wife watches TV that I don't care to watch. We still get to chat and be together while doing our own thing and that's great, but it doesn't add play time in other circumstances where the baby is involved. Sure, I can play it in the car when we drive to my mother-in-laws or whatever, but you're going to be cleaning up a bunch and trying to take care of your baby and that's going to require your full attention. Don't divide it with a game. Babies are way more interesting.
As your kid's sleep pattern resolves into something regular, you'll have more time to play at night. This is when I get my Switch couch time in unless my wife is watching something I want to watch. I do a lot of chores, help with dinner, help with putting the baby down, help with cleaning, I watch him so my wife can do her own thing in the evening, etc. It's all worth it. Put that stuff first and schedule a short amount of time for games where you can; put on a Youtube video in the background if you need a fix or just can't stop thinking about a game. The baby is king/queen, they're way more important and more rewarding than any game you'll ever play.

Hippopuncher12 · Mar 13, 2019

Well I definitely play a lot less that is for sure. I really only play at night now when my kids and wife are in bed which is fine as I typically stay up pretty late anyway.

Xero grimlock · Mar 13, 2019

echo what everyone else has said. my wife and i both game which is nice, because we will play a coop game or single player game together when he goes to sleep, and switch is great if the wife wants to do somethjng on the tv o dont eant to watch, so i can still be with her and talk to her. my son is 16 months now, and we arent no tv parents, so i will still play a bit on the tv of hes up, and i can play switch handheld if we throw on an episode of curious george. We do like to give him time to play with no tv on though so he can fully play without distractions for a bit, and of course you have time whenever they sleep. So for me gaming is something ive always preferred to do to relax over a tv show or movie. So my gaming time is definitely down from where it was, and ive watched way less movies and tv shows, opting for some quick youtube stuff before bead.pand

ffvorax · Mar 13, 2019

Gonna be a father soon too (August), and have some friends that had kids in the last years... as other said in the first months there still will be time to play, then not much more untile they grow up to 4-5 (based on different friends experiences).
Just forget MMO or any other heavy time consuming game... any feature that let you start and stop a game anytime will be life saving.
I'm gonna play everything that I want to before he arrives anyway (KH3, DMC5, RE2Make...) and then just keep an eye on just games that I really really want to play, no matter how much time it will takes...

Bunkles · Mar 13, 2019

First of all, congrats man!

I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old... my console time is near zero at this point as is the will to play consoles. My gaming time consists of mainly mobile and Switch. If I play a PS4 game it's usually by streaming it to my iPhone. I did that with God of War and Red Dead 2.

If not for Switch or my Phone I wouldn't be playing much at all... and honestly I'm okay with that. I feel like my gaming tastes and AAA console gaming are creeping apart more and more the older I get and have less time to commit.

BasilZero · Mar 13, 2019

Don't have kids yet but when I do it won't change because I don't plan to involve them with video games.

If they want to and ask sure but it's not something I want to instill on them

All my gaming systems are in my media room so it won't wake them up or anything

JG_Lionheart · Mar 13, 2019

Dad here with a 2yr old and 6 yr old. Tbh, I still have some gaming escapades every few months (KH3 and RE2 combo of death) but I don't game as much as I used to. I'm way more into Switch and Mobile Gaming these days but I'm usually too tired to game as much as I did back then. I tend to either stick to shorter games or just mainline RPGs. I definitely had to cut MMOs from my life. When I did play them (FF14) I did it in the most casual of ways. I just couldn't commit to a raid schedule.

Edit: Case in point. After about 6 months I finally beat Dishonored 2. Also I learned to love games like Apex or Siege where I can just play one match and log off.

jesterkap2 · Mar 13, 2019

For me, the first kid basically reduced the time I got to play. Initially as a newborn it really wasn't a big hit but as he got older I basically had to choose between sleep or playing games. When we had the second kid it really dried up. I sometimes play switch in bed and during lunch. I've tried to get through Kingdom Hearts 3 in half hour intervals, but I have so many games I want to play that I'm not going to get to. I love my kids but it sucks because it's been my life long hobby. Now I mostly just listen to Giant Bomb and live vicariously. I second what others have said, get a handheld. I end up playing Switch and 3ds more than consoles that require me to be at the TV.

DJtal · Mar 13, 2019

I did some changes before getting married... Something called work kept me away from gaming like I used to.

deathsaber · Mar 13, 2019

Post parenthood (have an 11 and 6 year old) Gaming now happens at:

1. after 9:30-10pm when wife/kids in bed- yes this means reduced sleep to get that 2-3 hours in I still crave. Also take a break some nights to join wife in bed to make her happy, since she doesn't like me MIA all the time (but she generally doesn't mind)
2. Weekend afternoons when wife naps, and kids generally know its quiet time and to quietly entertain themselves (they used to nap too when younger, but no more, lol)

Outside of this, its family time (when I'm not at work of course during the week), and there isn't any gaming happening then. So yeah, the time gets extremely reduced, but I still manage to play games 15 hours or so a week. But you definitely no longer can just decide to wake up and play games all day once you are a parent (at least, if you are a GOOD one).

jesterkap2 · Mar 13, 2019

My kids are still babies but I hope to one day play games with if they are interested. Not one of those people who demand that my kids play super nintendo and not fortnite, but I hope to share my love of all things Nintendo with them. If they aren't into it that's cool too though.

castaction · Mar 13, 2019

A lot i have 2 kids and a third one coming in october, thank god for the switch so i can play at work , if not my wife and iplay in the night when the kids are sleeping

Dekuman · Mar 13, 2019

I have a couple of dads in my group of friends. Their playtime is erratic initially but have stabilized to a few hours most days.

PadWarrior · Mar 13, 2019

As a father of 3 I usually play late at night or during the day if the wife is out with them running errands. And some nights I'm so tired from work that I don't even game at all lol.

And I don't mind my situation at all. I love my 3 kids and they are way better than any videogame I could play.

Svejk · Mar 13, 2019

I only play on weekend evenings now. Reduced by almost 80% from the before children days. It's ok though... You learn to adapt, and also, you'll start to be more refined in your gaming decisions/purchases. After all, gaming should come last, when you have a family to look after. Congrats by the way! Life's about to get really real.

SeanMN · Mar 13, 2019

I started waking up an hour earlier (I'm a morning person, so this is preferable to me than staying up later). So, now I get up at 5am every day (maybe 5:30 on the weekends) and game. During the week, this usually means 30-40 minutes of actual game time every morning, and about 2 hours each day Saturday and Sunday.

This has come at the expense of sleep, but I'm still getting around 6-7 hours a night, having quality time with my family (2 kids, 3.5 and 1.5), and enjoying the hobby that I love.

Readvacancy · Mar 13, 2019

Father of a 15 month old here. Went from playing regularly on the PS4 and Xbox to playing exclusively on the Switch. Having a child is a new experience and you'll feel it out as you go. Eventually you'll find a balance that works for you.

Gibordep · Mar 13, 2019

Braaier said:
First of all, congratulations!

I have two kids now, ages one and three. And having kids definitely cuts into your video game time. My PS4 ended up gathering dust and I sold it for lack of use. The Switch has actually been a godsend in that case. I can squeeze in 15 minutes of gaming here or there. And now I'm working from home more often which makes it even easier. Shhhh

So I'd say sell the PS4 and get a Switch.

If the PS4 has a dedicated monitor/TV has mine I dont see many difference in having a Switch. All SP games has pause, and the PS4 has the rest mode that freeze the game. It awakes in 5 seconds or less.

Kamagii · Mar 13, 2019

Go to bed when my son does and play prior to work. He has conditioned me to live on 5 hrs a night so 10-3am the play 3am-6am to get ready for work

BIG J · Mar 13, 2019

my gaming died the first few months. cell phone gaming mainly lol. now after 1.5 years, with a routine more or less stabilized, i can get a few hours in a week (on top of working out, netflix,...)

Gumbie · Mar 13, 2019

I have a 2 and half year old. The first change for me was multiplayer gaming went out the window. I still play quick matches of Overwatch but that's about it. The second change for me was switching mostly to console gaming. I used to be a huge PC gamer and I still play there some but the little time I get to game now I usually just plop down in front of the X1X or PS4 for single player games.

Braaier · Mar 13, 2019

Gibordep said:
If the PS4 has a dedicated monitor/TV has mine I dont see many difference in having a Switch. All SP games has pause, and the PS4 has the rest mode that freeze the game. It awakes in 5 seconds or less.

It's a big difference for me. I can pick up the Switch and be in a game MUCH quicker than I could with my PS4. The PS4 may awaken from rest mode in 5 second (not sure, I never timed it) but it's an additional five seconds or more for my tv and receiver to awaken and switch inputs. If you leave your tv on all the time, maybe you can get into a game on the PS4 as quickly as you can on the Switch, but otherwise it's valuable seconds. And shutting down from rest mode on the PS4 takes another good 5 seconds or so. Switch is instantaneous. I know it's funny harping on about seconds, but they are valuable when you are trying to play in quick bursts.

The other difference for me is that for violent games, I don't have to broadcast that to the kiddos. I can just play handheld on my Switch. No option for that obviously with the PS4. And of course, I do not have a dedicated tv for video games. And we try to limit screen time, which is hard if you're trying to play a game on the tv. For me, as a parent, the Switch just works better for my lifestyle.

Zippedpinhead · Mar 13, 2019

I am more likely to play on my switch away from the TV OR a title where I can pick up where I'm left off and stop whenever I need to than play online or something I have to dedicate lots of time to.

Finding 30-40 minutes to play is easy finding 1hr+ is impossible unless everyone else is asleep

MaximusPayne · Mar 13, 2019

Late nights bro. I've always found time. But, do you want to play and grind or sleep. The choice is yours ;)

jon bones · Mar 13, 2019

it's nice to see so many new dads here

what up DadEra

How have your babies/kids changed your gaming habits?

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