Has anyone else completely lost the desire to play on a desktop as you get older?

[TheBeardedOne]

I was never much of a PC gamer, but I would play some games on the computer. I thought about building one but never did, and much prefer just laying down or sitting on a couch. I always have, but even more-so now.

Then again, I'm struggling to keep up with or find the interest to game much anymore. Period.

 

[dsk1210]

Not at all.

My desktop is hooked up to my TV and I play from my couch. With 60fps in everything.

I am 42

 

[WyLD iNk]

I abandoned PC as a serious game platform around 15 years ago (in my early 30s) when I realized it no longer had anything to offer me. Every single need I have with games is met by consoles now. The things that PC needs to do to win me back will never happen.

I still keep my pile of PC games from before then, and they work fine on my integrated graphics desktop that I use for other things. I still play a handful of them, so going console only since has been nothing but worth it. I can't even view the PC as a platform now.

Honestly, though, from the looks of things, consoles are losing me after this generation anyway. I'll likely not upgrade ever again. I have more than enough to play until I die already.

 

[Nessus]

My desktop gaming PC is connected to a 55" 4K TV and I play most games with a wired Xbox 360 controller, except for multiplayer FPS games, for them I have a wireless mouse and keyboard.

 

[Rathorial]

Nope, if anything as I've gotten older I like gaming at the desk more...because I just made the desk experience better/more comfortable.

I got a far better chair that doesn't leave by back sore like a couch, but still has cushion to be comfortable. My current and last PC are in smaller mini-itx cases, and my mouse/keyboard have wrist cushions. I got a wide corner desk with a big 4k TV in one section that is my main display for gaming, 2 monitors to the right that are for work (or spotify/discord), and a small area for my graphic tablet. If I wanted, could fit in a couch chair to get the laid back experience, but again they're not ergonomic for the back, and I only use the couch downstairs for netflix or local multiplayer games on Steam Link.

For those people with an office job, has that ruined your ability to sit at a desktop for a long period time at your house, since you already do so at your office?

Click to shrink...

Never understood this head space. My desk at work has none of the comforts or atmosphere of my desk at home. When the game at home on my desk launches, it's on the big TV with the lights off, and my surround sound speakers or headset blaring that audioscape as I get sucked into another world.

 

[Zephy]

I used to love playing pc games and could spend literally a whole day sitting at a desk doing so. Playing League/CS/WoW/GW2/*insert other long term game here* for hours on end felt immensely satisfying, and never had any problems.

But now? I just can't bring myself to do it. I just find it wayyyyy more relaxing to sit on a couch or lay in my bed to play a video game on a console or laptop, when compared to sitting on a chair for hours on end.

I think one factor may be that I now have an office job which requires me to sit at a desktop all day, which makes me want to stay away from that setting when I'm chilling in my home.

Is this just simply a sign of me getting older? Am I becoming...casual?

What about your ERA? Do you enjoy sitting at your desktop setting in the same way now that you did years ago?

For those people with an office job, has that ruined your ability to sit at a desktop for a long period time at your house, since you already do so at your office?

Click to shrink...

I think I feel exactly like you OP. The only difference is I never played online games, but I did play various kb/m games. Now even for FPS games I used my laptop on the TV with a controller. Ever since I bought it more than a year ago, I've hardly booted my desktop.

While I'm not doing so at the moment, I'm still open to using the desktop for the occasional RTS or when I go back to Elite Dangerous (I have a HOTAS/pedals setup for it) or Kerbal Space Program.

An important factor is that sitting at my desktop really hurts my backside even though I had invested in a good chair.

 

[ShinUltramanJ]

I work at a computer all day, and still prefer playing on my PC. It's odd to me that people want little to do with a PC because they work at one.

It'd be like one of my mechanic friends not wanting to work on cars after working in a shop all day.

For me I want the best experience. My library dwarfs my console library, performs much better, downloads are faster, I have a nice comfy office chair, and I feel more focused playing at my desk.

 

[Hieroph]

Yup. Gone from console/handheld/PC to console/handheld only. Doesn't help that PC games are basically all digital these days.

 

[GroovySnake]

I still like it quite a bit, especially for games a mouse could help (FPS, some RPGs, etc). I'm trying to work on improving my ergonomics though, and finding a desk chair that is comfortable and good for me longterm can be tough. Still, I dig it. It's nice to mix and match between that and a couch game say every few weeks or something.

 

[CaVaYeRo]

Yes, of course. Spending 8-10 hours a day at my desktop computer at work, I mainly want TV console or Switch when I get back home, unless it's something truly special that needs to be played on PC.

 

[Dictator]

Nope - it is the only place I play games. A dedicated place.

 

[wildbite]

For me it's like seasons. Most of my gaming life was in front of my desktop computer in the spare bedroom where I mostly played Bethesda games like Skyrim and Fallout. A few 3DS games such as Animal Crossing and Rune Factory pulled me away.

I recently moved into a new house and spent some time playing Odyssey and Life is Strange 2 on my desktop. But now I've become addicted to the Switch and the last thing I can ever imagine doing is sitting in that computer chair alone upstairs. It's so much more comfortable to play handheld from the couch.

I assume it's only a matter of time before I am back at my desktop once games like Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077 come out.

 

[HardRojo]

Yup, couch is where it's at. Whenever I sit in front of my laptop I just can't focus and it doesn't feel right for gaming. Give me a couch, lights off and a big TV any day of the week though. Portability is something I don't care about either so my Switch is docked most of the time, though I'm using it as a handheld for the time being because my TV broke and I'm gonna get a new one as soon as I see a good deal, it's just weird playing my Switch as a handheld for too long, so I only do it for like 10-20 mins at most.

 

[XR.]

I'd say it completely depends on your setup.

I'm personally more comfortable in my chair than in my sofa because it's ergonomical and better adjusted for my back.

 

[ItAintEasyBeinCheesy]

Haven't touched a PC for gaming in about 6 years and a PC in general for about 4 besides starting a movie (which took for fucking ever). Microsoft knew what was up when they said consoles were their biggest threat. I can watch a movie, TV show or play a game in a minute on console. Sony etc just have to reduce loads n what not to around zero and the bulky PC is done.

Console + Pad = PC death.

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

I used to love playing pc games and could spend literally a whole day sitting at a desk doing so. Playing League/CS/WoW/GW2/*insert other long term game here* for hours on end felt immensely satisfying, and never had any problems.

But now? I just can't bring myself to do it. I just find it wayyyyy more relaxing to sit on a couch or lay in my bed to play a video game on a console or laptop, when compared to sitting on a chair for hours on end.

I think one factor may be that I now have an office job which requires me to sit at a desktop all day, which makes me want to stay away from that setting when I'm chilling in my home.

Is this just simply a sign of me getting older? Am I becoming...casual?

What about your ERA? Do you enjoy sitting at your desktop setting in the same way now that you did years ago?

For those people with an office job, has that ruined your ability to sit at a desktop for a long period time at your house, since you already do so at your office?

Click to shrink...

For me the desire to play PC games comes and goes. I agree sitting on the couch or laying on my bed is more relaxing and comfortable, though. Right now I am in the mood for Civilization IV and Fallout New Vegas, which I have on PC, so that is what I am gaming on at the moment.

 

[Fizzgig]

I'm 40 and always on the PC (desk), even though I sit at a desk in the office all day. Can't remember the last time I sat on the couch to play on the consoles.

 

[Deleted member 13645]

Yes. If the games I play on PC were available on console I wouldn't own a gaming PC. I sit at a desk all day for work, I don't want to come home and sit at a desk more.

Also, console gaming feels more immersive and social to me than PC gaming does. I'm always slightly in work mode when i'm in a PC, I struggle to fully focus on games. When i'm on my couch holding a controller though i'm fully immersed. I don't have the option to pull up my email on my second monitor or etc. I also don't enjoy having to fuck with games to get them running well anymore.

But unfortunately games like RimWorld and Total War Warhammer II aren't available on console so I'll always have a gaming PC to play the stuff that isn't available on console.

 

[ShaDowDaNca]

My PC is hooked up to my entertainment center ie tv/avr/wireless kb/mouse/controller....

Gave up being at a desk a long time ago...

 

[capnjazz]

I'm 28 now and I feel like I don't ever want to go back to the conventional couch/console set up. I have my desk, consoles, TV and PC all set up in a 90 degree angle so all I have to do to start playing my consoles is turn my chair to the left and I'm ready to play. I feel a lot more comfortable at my desk with my mouse and keyboard than I do playing further away from the screen and using a controller.

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I think it's the opposite for me now. I'm 28 and as I get older I have less friends too play online games with, so why not play the superior version of all the newest games by myself? Also no fee for playing online doesn't hurt.

 

[phant0m]

Yes and no. Generally, I prefer the couch/console experience. But some stuff, particularly FPS, just feel sooooo much better with M+KB. Also RTS (not that i play many these days).

 

[RJeddy]

Office job and I come home to game on my PC. I barely touch my consoles, I don't even know why I bought them.

 

[Jimnymebob]

Same here. The last game I properly played on PC was Shadow of Memories in like 2006. I still play the odd thing, but it's like an hour or two every few months.

 

[Bjones]

Yeah my solely gaming pc is hidden away behind a book case hooked up to my entertainment center. Big ass tv , large surround sound. I remote in with my phone for anything that's not in steam.

 

[water_wendi]

No but i have lost the ability to play games on a television for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

[Staf]

Haven't touched a desktop game since i bought a PS3 and PS4.

 

[Vitor]

For those people with an office job, has that ruined your ability to sit at a desktop for a long period time at your house, since you already do so at your office?

Click to shrink...

Yep, you nailed it - I spend the entire day on that position, I don't want to do it at home. It's not even a matter of comfort, since I have a good chair and don't have any back problems. The problem is variety - if I get home and sit on my PC, my brain immediately rejects it, like ENOUGH OF THIS ALREADY. But sitting on the couch feels like a different enough activity, somehow (even though it still involves a screen, an input device and a sitting position).

 

[juventino13]

Its been the opposite for me, I built my first PC last year at the age of 32 and have completely stopped playing my consoles. I haven't turned on my PS4 since Spider-Man

 

[StarStorm]

Hell no. Still play games on my desktop. Maybe not as frequently as when I was when I was much younger, but I still play them.

 

[BocoDragon]

I don't think I've had a decent desktop setup since the 90s. I've always been trying to slot PC games into my home theater setup.

I still think certain genres work best in the desktop environment... like 4x games or classic point and click adventure games. But they are the niche exceptions...

 

[Panda Andino]

Yes totally lost, I had been always a pc gamer. My 1st game was starcraft when I was 6 years old. Im from Peru so I emulated alot of snes games in my pc and also pirated some games. I had always a high end pc. I build one when I was 21 and used it all the time( civ 5, dota2,tf2,csgo, all AAA games in steam). now my active working live started in 2015 me with 24. No time to play more on PC and all games for me turned the same. Games had no identity, so I bought a wii u and back to my nintendo origins in snes emulation. But also the time was a problem to play. 2017 Switch turn on again my fire for gaming. Now I can play my games in the bus 4h daily.

 

[Netherscourge]

I will never understand this... it is very easy and affordable to set up your PC for comfy couch gaming, even if you want your PC in another room.

This is part of the massive benefit of PC, the ability to customize and set up how you want. Why do so many people ignore it?

Click to shrink...

Consoles are just easier.

-Plop down on the couch.

-Grab Wireless controller.

- Press Power button.

-Go.

Setup? You have a power cord and a HDMI cable to plug in. You play on your super-awesome 4K HDR TV with little or no configuration settings to fuck around with.

No screwing around with detail settings to make the game work. No having to download hardware drivers to make the game work. No having to create an individual account USER/PASSWORD for every damn game you buy to make it work.

Updates? Your console and games auto-update 24/7 with or without your presence, if you so choose.

No viruses to worry about. No windows bloat. No need to download 3rd party VOIP to communicate with others.

You turn on the console and start playing. That's it. That's why people love them.

 

[Kaguya]

Not completely lost, but it's nowhere where it used to be and I only use it for gaming as a last resort now, does the game have a console port?! Does it run really bad? Well, PC it is then.

 

[Amakusa]

For those people with an office job, has that ruined your ability to sit at a desktop for a long period time at your house, since you already do so at your office?

Click to shrink...

Absolutely yes. It was an office job that made me sell my PC. To be fair, said job required me to play on PC to stay up to date with our product, but the combination of working AND playing on PC had me burned out on that platform (as an entertainment device). I sold my PC the very moment I left the gaming industry. Unfortunately, my current occupation has me working on a PC as well but at least I can handle all my work on my iPad, too (when working from home).

Edit:
Small addition, since some people here are pointing out the difference between a PC for work and a comfortable gaming setup at home, thus one shouldn't affect the other: I kind of agree. It's not the PC as a whole, it's the KB+Mouse setup that turns me off.

 

[TCi]

I mostly only play on PC. Consoles comes secondary for me. I maybe touch them 1 times a year when a game for it launches that I care for.
And for mobile I don't see it as a gaming device at all. PC will always be my favorite platform. Performance and options.

 

[Alcohog]

Agree. My motherboard died and it's been 3 years now. I'm happy being a top PS4 player in just about any game I commit to and consoles have just become the forefront of gaming. It used to be that PC got special treatment and exclusive releases because the tech was so far ahead of consoles (Battlefield 1942, 2), COD1&2, HL, HL2, etc), but I knew the dream was dead when COD 2 had a vault animation instead of traditional jumping, a grenade button instead of selecting it from my weapons, and so forth that PC was taking a back seat to developers. I couldn't continue to play competitive PC FPS where I'm always playing a port of a game that wasn't designed for a kb/m or optimized for PC's.


A proper Counter-Strike iteration and HL3 would probably bring me back tho.

 

[AvernOffset]

Quite the opposite. I love playing at my desktop. My chair is comfortable. I'm close enough to the screen that I can always see UI elements even if devs make them too small. M+K is a great input scheme for a lot of different types of games. Since the keyboard is right there, if I want to look something up, it's quick and painless. It also helps that I recently splurged on a low-latency, 144hz 1440p monitor, which is just delightful.

I still do some gaming on the TV, but nowhere near as much. It's fine, but most of the time I'd rather be at my desk.

 

[JUNGLEGAMER]

I haven't. Specially when it comes to first person shooters to play using mouse and keyboard

 

[Fulminator]

i much prefer the console experience

my pc really only gets used for youtube, netflix and era lol

 

[catswaller]

I used to love playing pc games and could spend literally a whole day sitting at a desk doing so. Playing League/CS/WoW/GW2/*insert other long term game here* for hours on end felt immensely satisfying, and never had any problems.

But now? I just can't bring myself to do it. I just find it wayyyyy more relaxing to sit on a couch or lay in my bed to play a video game on a console or laptop, when compared to sitting on a chair for hours on end.

Click to shrink...

I'm exactly the same, but one further -- having the option to tweak settings, install mods, etc, is a tiny layer of extra stress that's just enough to get me to totally check out of a game.

I rarely play PC exclusives, and I'm not about to set up any kind of desktop hooked up to my TV with a controller setup either.

(I do know how to do all of that stuff, spent the ages of 12-18 worrying about settings, just... why)

 

[Suikodan]

It's been more than 10 years that my gaming PCs are connected to a TV.

The small screen, the sore wrists and a desktop chair that sucks are nothing compared to a big screen TV, a controller and a couch.

It's rare that I'll play KB+M and if I can map them into a controller, the better.

That's how I enjoy it. To each its own :D

 

[MZZ]

I connect my tv to my pc and use a wireless mouse and keyboard. I use an xbox one controller for all games possible. I avoid games that require mouse and keyboard. Its such a hassle to sit on the desk nowadays. If I had better spacing in my room. I'd probably use the desk. But as it stands, slouching on the couch for all possivle activites is preferred. I feel the same as you OP. Maybe its due to office work.

 

[Kuosi]

34, office job for 9+ and I mostly play on my desktop

 

[severianb]

I lost the desire 14 years ago as I relaxed on my Fine Corinthian Leather couch, playing HD games in my massive home theater. My Xbox 360 was tucked away quietly in my AV closet, so all I needed was my wireless controller to enjoy world of comfort, big-screen immersion and thunderous surround sound.

I also had my PC hooked up and the pathetic big screen interface (unusable by non-technical members of my family), lack of split-screen on games, poor controller support and the typical shitty driver issues made it a distant second choice. All these years later and I no longer play games on a PC at a desk.

 

[klik]

Hell yes.I used to be a PC gamer starting from the age of 10 to about 28years old. Now im 32 and i never wanna touch pc again. I have 0 interest in pc games(looked at the steam stats most played games). I used to play a lot of csgo,civilization,strategy games etc.

Now i like my couch in front og big tv,casual gaming and controller rather than mouse.It took me couple of months to get used to controller for fps but now im ok with it. I actually prefer fps on console as its a bit slower,more tactical,more about positioning instead of adadad spam,bunnyhoping,everyone's aim is perfect etc.


And of course no cheaters on console. 500.000 cheaters have been banned for Apex on PC,its a huge mindblowing number. After playing CSGO for years on PC it feels like heaven play fps in general on console and not worry who is a cheater.

 

[mxbison]

I do prefer playing ps4 on the couch in the living room nowadays, but Dota 2 and Steam keep me coming back

 

[MrHedin]

I definitely have. I sit at a desk and stare at a computer monitor for eight hours every day at work, doing the same thing at home (even for entertainment) just isn't as appealing to me as it once was. Now I do connect my computer to the TV in my office and use BPM and play games there with a controller from my comfy recliner so my computer still gets used, just using it more like a console than anything else at this point.

 

[Falcon]

Didn't touch my desktop for a long ass time but recently started playing counterstrike again with a buddy which has been great fun. I don't have that many people around me with consoles anymore so its not like it used to be, logging on every night and seeing all your friends online on xbox or ps4. I'm also a big VR fan so want to buy a new desktop pc again when the next RTX series and HTC Vive 2 comes out. I still love a lot of things about console gaming though and I absolutely hate the PC master race narrative. I still have plenty of problems with PC all the time and it drives me crazy.

 

[Xx 720]

I always prefered the couch/console...but with arthritis its actually more comfortable to sit in/get up and down from the chair, Im only pc now