Video games are losing their magic. Can anyone else relate?

Yes this topic pertains to games but I want to talk about more of the "life in general" aspect. I've been playing games nearly my entire life, and I've been a "hardcore gamer" for nearly 10 years. And now, it seems that games are just not as fun anymore. For example, Grand Theft Auto V is the greatest open world game I ever played but it didn't give me near the amount of excitement that San Andreas or even the heavily flawed GTA IV did.

Hell, I had more fun playing the average-at-best Red Steel in 2006 than I did with the practically flawless Grand Theft Auto V today! And no matter how many shooters come out, nothing will compare to playing Halo 2 online for the first time.

This could be for many reasons. The industry with high budget AAA requirements is getting safe and hasn't really innovated. Or it's just natural that most genres (like fighters or FPS have reached a plateau and the "law of diminishing returns" is kicking in). Perhaps it's end-of-the-gen crisis after a long generation, where people are sick of current gen games and waiting for the next step up.

But it may also be for personal reasons. Nothing wrong with being an older gamer, but being 22 is much different than say 14 or 15. As a kid, I and many others, didn't have much freedom, money or opportunity, so we escaped to game worlds. But now, after 7 years are hardcore gaming, it's starting to get dull.

I've always been a functional member of society, and it wasn't one game in particular that hooked me in, but rather, I tried to play any and every good game possible, which is no longer feasible for the amount of time I have. I'm so used to a life where gaming is #1 priority that I've lost touch with the average person. You know, someone who plays every now and then.

This is essentially what I want and plan to do for next gen: have gaming as a small thing to do on the side, but not my main passion. I do hope I get passion for games again, but at the same time be able to play less of them in smaller doses.

For the past year, I've been diving really heavily into games to perhaps try to recapture the past excitement, but it's not really working. The magic is just fading.

It's tough when you've had an identity for the past 7+ years (which made sense back then) and all of a sudden it's evident that you are no longer that. It just feels empty and confusing.

Can anyone else relate?

I can sort of relate, but for me it's more that my interests in gaming have changed. In particular my interest in fps has declined a lot while my interest in rpgs and jrpgs has gone up a lot.

perhaps it's the gen. after literally 200+ shooters coming out this gen, it gets old.

implying the tc is an idiot for thinking that... nice...

The post you just made begs to differ.

Nope. Gaming has been my main hobby for decades and It just keeps getting better.

As for the magic you describe losing that just sounds like normal first time is the best in relation to anything from hobbys, sex, mind altering experiences, first love, first hate or anything.

In fact you sound less like a hobbyist and more like a recovering addict that has finally come to the conclusion that no matter how hard you chase the dragon your never going to experience that first time again.

Just my opinion.

@thegerg: Same here. I think of video games as fun. But, magical? Nope.

games didn't change, you did.

perhaps you need to branch out and try different genres.

It's just like anything else in life. You may not be into your hobbies forever, like the same kind of movies or music, or enjoy doing many of the things you once did. It's actually more the exception than the norm to be into something for all your life. I never play games anymore. The last game I played was Bioshock Infinite and I probably played for a couple hours at the most and haven't touched that game or any other game since...

Wise choice.

I feel a lot less fascinating than years back the PS2 times... no matter what game I put on, none of them really has that excitment anymore.

Dunno why but I didn't take you for someone who likes jrpgs. :P

Console gaming has definitely become stale territory for me, from the low performance in games to games that are more like interactive movies full of QTEs, the fun arcade magic that consoles brought in the past just isnt there any more. I dont think ill ever get tired of the diversity in PC gaming though, theres just so much to play and always so much to do on PC.

Did you just hit adulthood? I felt the same way when I was 19ish.

I'm also 22, for now. And The 1st time I played GTA 3 It was off the chain (Gotta findout who made that phrase) and just like any newbie I finnished it with cheats and trainers, same thing with vice city, but then came San Andreas, this was by far the best GTA Ive ever played and I finnished twice, once with cheats, and once without. Then came GTA IV, and then it finaly ocurred to me: GTA is boring, not just IV but all of them and Rockstar Games has gotten complacent and I had poor taste in gaming. So Like an absolute moron I sold my PC and got an Xbox 360(should've gotten a PS3), and started experimenting and trying new stuff and $200 later I finally found it President Evil 5, which Ive played 9 times before on my PC, really is a whole new experience on console with my dear Adam shooting zombies along side me. Yep thats right, I'm a local co-op whore and I'l never get tired of that, should've kept my PC though. And yeah, thats it ! Wheres your Adam ?

totally disagree. i just got done playing Child of Eden and The Last of Us~ Super Magical Experiences~

A lot of them are. However there are still some really innovative and superb series that keep great titles coming and coming. I'd like to thank Rockstar games, Rocksteady, Sucker Punch, 2K, Sony Santa Monica, etc. Most of the games those developers release just totally win.

Nope, I still have immense fun with video games. And I'm just gonna throw this out: Call of Duty: World at War campaign>>>every other CoD campaign.

That is why people were nice enough to make emulators. I have been able to play many games from my childhood thanks to emulators and none of the old games have lost any of their charm or excitement, at least for me.

22, but the past 2 years I've been resisting growing up tbh

sucks to be you them I've been gaming for like 25+ years and it always seemed to be getting better

Maybe you are just growing out of it. Or maybe you need to look for more unique lesser known titles.

Personally my love of games has been on the rise. I've never had so many great games to play. I will say though that if the main games you play are shooters (Halo) and action adventures (GTA) I can see how you may become bored. I too found GTA a bit tedious half way through.

Try other games besides big AAA games.

the heavy hitters don't appeal to me anymore. They are all so homogenized and you can tell they are all developed with the sole objective of making the most money by appealing to the largest crowd.

While my overall enthusiasm to play games has dissipated over the last couple of years, there have still been brief magical moments that rekindled my excitement (mirror's edge, Dark Souls, Deus Ex, Catherine, Mark of the Ninja, guacamelee, the walking dead)

These are all games you can tell a lot of love and hard work went into producing them. You really feel that when you play it.

I've fallen out of games for the most part. I still play the occasional new release but I am generally more into modding games and looking for games with an older, archaic style of gameplay. Most games nowadays aren't challenging or gripping enough to hold my interest for more than a few minutes. The homogenization of entire genres makes spending time playing games far less palatable.

Having RTS and RPGs as your favorite genres doesn't bode well either when every RPG nowadays is "open world" at the expense of quality (Elder Scrolls gets away with it thanks to the modding community), and where every RTS...well, Starcraft 2 effectively (and hopefully temporarily) killed the genre.

I have plenty of other hobbies though, so until I get around to playing all those old niche titles I have other things to do.

Yeah gaming never gets old for me too.

Most things lose their magic when you're no longer a child.

My interest in games has been on a constant decline, probably because nowadays games lack diversity and variety. Every sequel gets dumbed down.
e.g. TES, Dragon age, NFS etc.

I think it's because when we were children we would get easily excited. :/

My interest in games have waned over the past year that's for sure. I've been buying games but I don't play them haha. I have the time, I tend to spend that time drinking with my friends or surfing the web, but not play video games. I have been getting into tabletop RPGs, and board/card games. It's a nice change of pace tbh. And lately I have been getting back into Torchlight 2, but we'll see how long that holds my interest before I go back to my usual dry spell. But yeah, out of this whole year, I think I may have played a game to some extent (and not just a general curiosity) about once or twice a month, sometimes even far less than that. O_o

Nah. Didn't read the OP but I think it's the opposite case. Games are more developed now meaning there are more tools to immerse you with magical atmospheres.

Always good to respond to something you didn't read.....

There's still good exciting games the same as there ever was. The only difference between the past and present is that the present is smothered in more garbage that has just been getting worse and worse every year, and has been 'acceptable' as far as society goes when speaking with their wallets. I assure you there are likely still many you probably haven't played that you would have loads of fun with, it's just hard to narrow down in the cesspit of trash that is around these days

In a way I can relate. I am not the same person I was 5 years ago(I'm 20 btw). I find excitement in not so many games nowadays.

I stopped gaming for a time. I mean I'd buy some games and start them. But it wasn't important enough to me to stick with them or pay much attention. But recently I've gotten back into gaming. All be it not constant gaming. Too busy for that but I have recovered my love of gaming.

I find that breaks can be important when it comes to gaming. Even if you don't stop entirely, just following different paths can be refreshing. I've been playing League of Legends lately which is a reasonable change from RPGs, story-driven games and others that I usually play and it actually feels good trying sth new.

I'm about to go buy a copy of pokemon. The innovations and fun new ways of playing these games has been a constant source of entertainment for me. To really get the most out of a broad spectrum of games, I would recommend at least one console and a computer with a steam account. Enjoy the next 100 years of content lol.

I'm kinda' with @CyberLips We were kids and it was, "Wow!"

I still game, definitely more than watch movies. I haven't bothered with TV in ages; I only know about it via my roommate always having his TV on in the living room. So gaming is still my main choice for entertainment. But I spend less money on games, game in shorter bursts (30 minutes max at any time), and am more picky about what games I'll buy and play.

And, having been a PC gamer for almost 5 years, DRM-free is preferred (GOG, GamersGate, DotEmu, some of Amazon's stuff). When I do tolerate DRM it's only via Steam: only if it's an exclusive and only if it's $20 or less.

The longer you are a gamer, the less and less you see new stuff in games and the more you have that "been there, done that" feeling, which in turn leaves you getting bored faster with games. It is the same with me. Fallout New Vegas was my latest victim. I can't bring myself to finish the game because it is just so damn boring. If is nothing more than Fallout 3 and I beat that game.

Agree. He says he isn't an idiot, yet was too ignorant to know not to takes TC's words literally.

The true problem is this; You're getting older and you're no longer getting suckedinto the game worlds as much because you have other commitments and things around you that mean more than you getting to the highest prestige in the newest Call of Duty per say. You don't get the same satisfaction and that odd sense of achievement like you used to when you played the games as a kid/teen where you didn't have much to worry about but the games.

As a child life revolved more around video games. I finished my obligations so that I could play. Now as an adult video games are merely a means to an end. That means is to relax so that I am better capable of doing other things in life, more important things. Video games are not simply a hobby that I can do without. I do not need them and I do not require them. However, I do find them useful for relaxing from school and work.

I disagree, but 'magical' isn't the right word I don't think.

As I have grown up I find that certain aspects of games are no longer appealing to me, but I still find certain games to be just as awe-inspiring at times.

Need...Fallout 4 and Half-Life 3...need...EA to die and Blizzard and Nintendo to do something

I find I just don't have the time I used to to invest in gaming. Back in the day I would buy and finish a game within a week, now I have a hard time finding several hours to plunck myself down in front of the TV to play. Hell, I've had "The Last of Us" since the summer and I still haven't started it. Between school, work, family, friends, etc, it is hard to find the time. Even in my free time I now have competing hobbies, like guitar, reading, internet surfing, etc. Back in the day, gaming took precedence, not so much anymore. Gaming just doesn't seem as important as it used to.

Long story short, yeah, I can sorta relate.

I can relate. As a PC Gamer, the Golden Age was 1997 - 2000, where you had at least 20 exceptional games each year to play.

About 5 games a year now :(

I'm almost 19, and despite the fact that I work full time I still have a big interest in gaming! That said I do a lot of other things such as training at the gym, going out drinking with friends and going to watch the football, so I don't game as much as I used to. I normally only play games at the end of the day to wind down before going to bed.

For the OP's case I'd probably say that the problem is the fact that this gen has become so stale after going on for so long! Next gen cant come soon enough now and I think your interest in gaming will reignite when the new consoles are released.

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