Too old to enjoy hardcore gaming anymore? :(

[eidairaman1]

I feel you! I updated windows 10 in one of my computers after installing a new video card, just to boot and find out MS no longer considered my copy to be activated!

I had to spend over 20 minutes between phone calls and entering a new long ass activation code in my PC just to make things "normal" again.

By the time I was done, I wasn't even interested in trying games on this system anymore.

Please don't think the reason I started this thread was to pick on PC gaming in particular, trying to run a game on a console will be almost the same experience as it is on PC nowadays.

I think my point is, with so many responsibilities in life as you grow older, gaming in general becomes a harder proposition, and anything that gets in the way of reaching that point where you can finally sit down and enjoy a game, further detracts from the experience.

I'm so glad to see I'm not the only one who feels this way, and not only that, but also to see how many of you guys are willing to do whatever it takes to keep your gaming hobby alive, it makes me feel better about this particular bad experience I had this morning, I hope it does the same for some of you reading this thread

Just remember one thing, you will Enjoy gaming till you get bored of it. Also gotta have a job to get money so we can buy games after completing the current ones.

Maybe engage with your kids in a lanparty here and there.

 

[15th Warlock]

Just remember one thing, you will Enjoy gaming till you get bored of it. Also gotta have a job to get money so we can buy games after completing the current ones.

Maybe engage with your kids in a lanparty here and there.

Yes, there ain't no rest for the wicked, money doesn't grow on trees haha.

And yes, that's an awesome proposition, our son is only 9 right now, and he's into Minecraft, can't introduce him yet to the gore of some of my favorite games...yet, but in a few more years all bets are off

That's another way to enjoy gaming when you're an old fart, I remember playing doom and Duke nukem 3d in LAN with my little brother, we are 14 years apart, so I was more of an uncle than a brother to him.

Any of you guys here do that? Game with your kids or young nephews?

 

[eidairaman1]

Yes, there ain't no rest for the wicked, money doesn't grow on trees haha.

And yes, that's an awesome proposition, our son is only 9 right now, and he's into Minecraft, can't introduce him yet to the gore of some of my favorite games...yet, but in a few more years all bets are off

That's another way to enjoy gaming when you're an old fart, I remember playing doom and Duke nukem 3d in LAN with my little brother, we are 14 years apart, so I was more of an uncle than a brother to him.

Any of you guys here do that? Game with your kids or young nephews?

Money is just a Tool, nothing more for me.

I get rest by peace.

Also it is said, we don't work we don't eat.

Yes, there ain't no rest for the wicked, money doesn't grow on trees haha.

And yes, that's an awesome proposition, our son is only 9 right now, and he's into Minecraft, can't introduce him yet to the gore of some of my favorite games...yet, but in a few more years all bets are off

That's another way to enjoy gaming when you're an old fart, I remember playing doom and Duke nukem 3d in LAN with my little brother, we are 14 years apart, so I was more of an uncle than a brother to him.

Any of you guys here do that? Game with your kids or young nephews?

COD/BF don't have any Gore like Quake or UT.

Idk if Overwatch/PUBG/Fortnight have any either.

I've never met my nephew or nieces.

 

[Steevo]

I feel the pain, my hands are covered in drywall mud, we bought a house that needed a lot of work, and instead of gaming or chilling on my weekends my time is filled with work, kids, the house, being engaged and trying to wedding plan, family, sports... and then the thousands I saved to buy a new system is either going for a huge door update on this place, or something else here. Sometimes I start steam to update games so if I get the chance to play its ready.

 

[eidairaman1]

I feel the pain, my hands are covered in drywall mud, we bought a house that needed a lot of work, and instead of gaming or chilling on my weekends my time is filled with work, kids, the house, being engaged and trying to wedding plan, family, sports... and then the thousands I saved to buy a new system is either going for a huge door update on this place, or something else here. Sometimes I start steam to update games so if I get the chance to play its ready.

I hope your place don't have galvanized pipes, if it does replace them asap, they love to get pin holes.

 

[64K]

It's a bygone times but my son used to love it when we played games together on the SNES and N-64.

It's more about spending time together. Doing something that is fun for your kid only adds to it. Even when the game was tedious to me it was fun for him. That made it cool.

 

[15th Warlock]

Money is just a Tool, nothing more for me.

I get rest by peace.

Also it is said, we don't work we don't eat.



COD/BF don't have any Gore like Quake or UT.

Idk if Overwatch/PUBG/Fortnight have any either.

I've never met my nephew or nieces.

Yes, I see what you're saying, I feel sometimes like I'm so caught up in this rat race, that it leaves very little time to enjoy gaming like before.

And you're right, COD or BF aren't too gory, when I think of it, it's more of a skill issue with my son, he's not quite there yet, Minecraft might be a good training, since it's first person game also.

I feel the pain, my hands are covered in drywall mud, we bought a house that needed a lot of work, and instead of gaming or chilling on my weekends my time is filled with work, kids, the house, being engaged and trying to wedding plan, family, sports... and then the thousands I saved to buy a new system is either going for a huge door update on this place, or something else here. Sometimes I start steam to update games so if I get the chance to play its ready.

Sounds like your hands are full, it's a good thing you're investing all that time in something tangible like working in your house, and doing it for your family, I'm sure they appreciate the effort.

We do a lot of camping, and got a trailer last year, so money I could use for a new video card would go to a power generator, or paying for a camping trip, which I don't regret, it is totally worth the fun and time spent with the family.

It's a bygone times but my son used to love it when we played games together on the SNES and N-64.

It's more about spending time together. Doing something that is fun for your kid only adds to it. Even when the game was tedious to me it was fun for him. That made it cool.

That brings back so many memories, playing Mario kart or GoldenEye with my brother.

We do a lot of casual gaming, we play Mario and Rayman on the Wii U, or Overcooked, Bomberman and Mariokart on the Switch, excellent games for a family and our son helps us with the control pad by placing platforms in Mario or distracting enemies in Rayman, it's so much fun!

But it's the immersive experience that comes from playing a game like the Witcher 3 or GTAV or even BFV, or Tomb Raider that I miss the most, I mean, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the time I spend playing casual games with the family, but it's those experiences where you get sucked into the lore of a game, that have become more of a rare thing at this stage in my life.

Judging from this thread, this is a common thing for many gamers around my age, I appreciate everyone who's posted their experience here, and how you guys find ways to enjoy gaming whenever possible

 

[Steevo]

I hope your place don't have galvanized pipes, if it does replace them asap, they love to get pin holes.

Nope, copper and some pex. Geothermal heat and cooling that I am actually debating using as PC cooling, but that is a project way down the road. Biggest issues are the cisterns and the taxes, we get to pay thousands more a year for a highschool on property taxes since it's in a ritzy area.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

Just sharing some thoughts with you guys, concerning our hobby. Rant follows...

Just a little background, I was born and raised playing video games, they have been an integral part of my life since my dad introduced me to them with the Atari 2600 and Coleco vision.

I've had all major consoles and PCs from the 8088 all the way to more current systems, but lately, I find it so hard to dedicate any time to my favorite hobby.

Between work and family, I can only game late at night, and it's getting so frustrating I'm actually finding it really hard to support this habit, like today for example, I had 45 minutes to game while the wife and my son were asleep and before I had to show up for work.

I booted my PC, double clicked on the Battlefield V icon, and was greeted by a message on Origin telling me I couldn't start the game cuz it needs a mandatory patch...

Okay, I let Origin do its thing and try to start Shadow of the Tomb Raider, only to get the same exact results, only this time it was Steam that wouldn't let me start the game until it was patched.

I cursed under my breath, and remembered I had a mint copy of Ace Combat 7 for the PS4 that I had not tried before, I inserted the disk in my console, grabbed a controller and seated on my couch, I looked at my watch, only 27 minutes before I have to leave for work, we can do this!

Well, not quite, the full game has install on the HDD and then download a patch...

That's when I gave up, grabbed my Switch and picked up exactly where I had left off in Diablo 3, I was playing in less than 3 seconds.

That's when it dawned on me that I have invested all this time and money on building PC systems and getting the latest "grown up" consoles, only to spend 90% of my time gaming on my Switch. I really miss my hardcore gaming sessions, but today, I realized it may all be in the past... That makes me so sad.

I'm sorry about the long rant, I just wanted to share this experience, and see if there are any other "old" gamers out there who feel left out by the way supporting this hobby has become so tedious.

I know it's not like this all the time, and people will probably say this is my fault because I don't keep my games patched up to date, but I do! I made sure everything was patched up last week when this same thing happened!

I don't know, if you guys find yourselves in this same spot, this is the thread to share your experience, or if you don't, this is where you can tell an "old" man he's too old for hardcore gaming and it's finally time to hang the keyboard, mouse, and controller

I feel ya...
Literally every single time that time is limited it's wasted waiting for an update.
Today I was trying to play CoD ww2 but everything was laggggggged out or as I've come to know this as UPDATE TIME...
It ended up being Steam that needed the update.
Anyways I never have time to game with a 3yo and a 6yo and a 20yo....right.

Lately my wife has been good enough to let me game distraction free and I've been enjoying it like I used to...all I had to do was go insane and it all became enjoyable again..LoL
My point is nothing..I'm just joining your rant.

 

[15th Warlock]

I feel ya...
Literally every single time that time is limited it's wasted waiting for an update.
Today I was trying to play CoD ww2 but everything was laggggggged out or as I've come to know this as UPDATE TIME...
It ended up being Steam that needed the update.
Anyways I never have time to game with a 3yo and a 6yo and a 20yo....right.

Lately my wife has been good enough to let me game distraction free and I've been enjoying it like I used to...all I had to do was go insane and it all became enjoyable again..LoL
My point is nothing..I'm just joining your rant.

LMAO! That last paragraph was comedy gold! Here's to you being able to enjoy gaming again mate!

 

[EzioAs]

What is hardcore gaming if we try to put it into words? If it's anything what pro-gamers/full-time streamers do to make a living, I can accept that. Unless you're playing games for the same reason as them, I see no reason to downplay yourself to not be able to enjoy games anymore. I'm pretty sure most of us gets to play less and less as we get into the adult world and beyond. I don't think that's anything to really worry about. I'm still in my mid-20s and even I get to play less games with each passing year.

I can't speak about those who play mass multiplayer games because I've never been a fan or played those myself. Most multiplayer games I played are co-op games with a friend and speaking from experience, even that is pretty hard to find the right time to play for just even 2 players because of our other priorities.

As for the building high-end PCs to enjoy game aspect, it's not a notion I really share. I remember saving some money in the past to buy decent hardware to play games but I've never felt like you need top of the line components and max settings to enjoy games. It's much more important for me that I enjoy the game element themselves rather than the visual aspect.

I guess all I can say is just try to enjoy the game on any console/platform you want with even the small time you have. There's nothing "hardcore" about most people playing games really.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Ahh, back in the day when I had to put a quarter into it.

View attachment 115565

Ahhh those were the days. I was never more excited as when I walked through the doors of my local arcade with a pocket full of quarters. And never so sad as when i walked out the door when the quarters ran out.


By the way...I used to drive up to Binghamton on a monthly basis back in the 80's to do my clothes shopping and such. Grew up in NE PA and about 40-45 minutes from that city.

 

[MrGenius]

Updates and patches and mods...OH MY!!!

Just make a game right to begin with. I mean...well...I don't know what I mean. But gaming did exist before all that crap. And it WAS good enough. Hell...it was GREAT...PERFECT EVEN...you might say. Or you might not say...I dunno.

Yeah...I know. "The only constant is change". But that doesn't mean I have to like it...

 

[witkazy]

52 here and still gettin some but on emulators mostly, instant fun .How can You say no to that? v

 

[lexluthermiester]

After, reading through this thread I empathize with the OP and others when it comes to the headaches of updates and the rigmarole of activation. Everyone who knows me knows where I'm going with this(and I'm shocked no one mentioned it yet); GOG.com. No mandatory updates(no updates at all unless you have Galaxy installed, which is optional), download your games, install, play. No lame-ass DRM or clients getting the a way, no online presence requirements. Just you and your game playing the way you like it.

@15th Warlock GOG.com is da bomb! Check it out. If you can't find something there to love playing, then maybe you are past gaming(sarcasm). Which would be silly because I grew up with the 2600 also and while I don't game as much as I did 20 years ago, it's still one of my favorite hobbies.

 

[Splinterdog]

I empathise with the OP, but for me it's not family holding me back, but other priorities. I certainly don't play as much as I used to and it very much depends on the mood and what's on my mind.
Perhaps set aside some time just for yourself and ask not to be interrupted (getting everything up to date first)?

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

I find I game more now that I'm getting older...having money I didn't have as a kid allows me to buy and play most games I am interested in, from past to present. I own over 15 consoles, and several gaming PC. I am more into competitive gaming now than when I was young...all in all, my gaming hobby has grown tremendously since my childhood.

 

[64K]

I find I game more now that I'm getting older...having money I didn't have as a kid allows me to buy and play most games I am interested in, from past to present. I own over 15 consoles, and several gaming PC. I am more into competitive gaming now than when I was young...all in all, my gaming hobby has grown tremendously since my childhood.

Same here. There have been times in my life when I had zero time for gaming. Barely had time for getting enough sleep at night. College, running my own business, raising kids, relationships etc. but the last few years I have had more time. My other leisure activity also eats up a lot of time, reading.

I've worked hard ever since I was 15 and saved and invested and now I am looking at early retirement in 4 years at 60 unless something catastrophic goes wrong with the economy. I will have more time for gaming then and maybe I can put a dent in the massive backlog of games I have on Steam and GOG.

 

[sepheronx]

Same here. There have been times in my life when I had zero time for gaming. Barely had time for getting enough sleep at night. College, running my own business, raising kids, relationships etc. but the last few years I have had more time. My other leisure activity also eats up a lot of time, reading.

I've worked hard ever since I was 15 and saved and invested and now I am looking at early retirement in 4 years at 60 unless something catastrophic goes wrong with the economy. I will have more time for gaming then and maybe I can put a dent in the massive backlog of games I have on Steam and GOG.

Hey grampa, can you adopt me?
Joking aside, I find I game less and less. I would have normally beaten Resident Evil 2 Remake within at least a day, like I did when the original game first came out. But back then I didn't have much care in the world besides my grades in school and that was about it. I wasn't chasing girls or doing anything bad so yeah. Now? Cant. With wife/kids/money issues it just not really fun to sit and play games when you got lots of stuff on the mind stressing you out. Hell, I am already going grey mostly because of the stress.

 

[phill]

I think it's the same for everyone.. Maybe it's down to the fact we have phones now that do everything, everyone hardly gets a break to do anything and all this social media has just taken over our lives I feel. There are some great advantages to it, but there are some massive disappointments and disadvantages as well.

I to hardly game and it's not for the sheer want to try either. I have a few things to do at home after working with IT all day, (I love my job but what a pain it can be at times!!) I might have to cook tea (unless the girl friend has already done so) then spend some time with the her watching a film or something (she's pregnant about two weeks to go before D day (so to speak!!)) and then I have a few things I like to do for the forum (the WCG and FAH pies/milestones etc for the day) then I have my daughters diary to do and that can take 5 minutes when I don't talk or look at the screen but otherwise, a few hours..

So I find myself with less and less time to actually game but when I do, it's the updates, it's hassles with things not working straight away but then when I would like to, plug in the Amiga or Mega Drive, click on something and boom.. It's there, I'm up and gaming in 5 seconds not 50 minutes as downloading anything at home is less than quick, yet everyone relies on it so much either for streaming TV/Films/Music/Games, you name it it's there...
I was born in 1980, so had the Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga's and such to play around on. Friends had Mega Drives and one had a SNES (Mario Kart...) but wow for me I find gaming has gone down hill somewhat and that's depressing.. Same as some films as well, what the heck is happening to all the re-makes of films?? But that's another story altogether...

Gaming used to be fun, now it's just a ball ache because of updates, Windows 10 or DLC's to actually finish the game.. It's most certainly not what it used to be.... That makes me sad

 

[Bones]

Still gaming a little myself - Well actually as of late I've been gaming MORE, things in life have changed and now I certainly do have the time.
The only reason I have what I've got is because it was all bought brandnew back in the day, didn't look to sell any of it off so instead I just held onto it along with all the do-dads I got for them. Back then it was for killing time and although I was working and doing, I had time to kill so that's how I did it.
Fast-foward some 20+ years later, now married and I still have my stuff. BTW she has a little of the same stuff too and kept it as well.

Have alot of goodies including a few that's really hard to find now including a V-Mem module for the PSX and a couple of Gamesharks for that too, some of the rarer/more desireable games..... You can probrably guess since I was doing this from way back that I've got some stuff.

From my old NES all the way up to my PS2 and Xbox I"m still going with it. Recently I got a few PS3's to toy around with and (To further pass time) working on plans to create from scratch a reball setup for it and whatever else I'd need it for.

In the end...... I may be old in body but not in heart.

 

[insane 360]

i'll throw my two cents in...

used to game into the night when i was younger (36 currently) now have a family, 5 kids, great wife...i find i enjoy building things with my hands and teaching the kids how to have a usable skill and learning a skill myself at the same time. i like wood working now. still work in IT as my career but being on a computer all day and sitting in chairs most of the day kinda sucks the fun out of coming home and grinding at a pc game and sitting more....still enjoy the city skylines and tropico or dirt series some nights though...

we've been getting really big into board games, its something my wife really enjoys and the kids also enjoy it. i've just changed priorities, got burned out on first person shooters also helped get be out of gaming as much as it seems thats still where the lion share of devs put their focus on.

not really going anywhere with this, i enjoy reading on this forum and tweaking hardware/vm environment here at work, but after hours, i love spending time with family.

*side note* VR, i'm not sure where anyone can really spend that time closed off from the world, it doesn't appeal to me at all. the tech is neat glad others enjoy it, just not my cup of coffee

 

[Lorec]

Hi guys, I feel same way as all of You. I dont have kids yet but im married. There is so many things I have to take care of already and on the daily basis I dont get much time already! What when children show up?
Another thing is that I expect things to happen and thats why even if I have time I dont involve myself with engaging games. Just in case. I feel I want to play something but I don't wanna be in a situation when I need to stop but save point is far away (or I'm in the middle of a mp game).
Is this growing up or am I doing it wrong? I still love to get new games and build PCs but it ends up like I have over 300 games on steam and I played/finished just some of them only and the PCs I built I gave to friends of mine as I had no time to test them anyway.
I feel scared what will happen, even though I really want to have children and all...
Brothers, what to do, how to live?

 

[insane 360]

Lorec, for me at least, nothing beats having kids. games are fun, but my perspective changed, kids and raising them and having fun with them and the wife...its what matters to me. when i do play a game, its fun and i can still get lost in it, but its not as often, and i don't feel like i'm missing out on much. just a bonus anymore

 

[Boatvan]

I remember the nights where I could play Counter Strike Source for 7-8 hours straight in college. Now that I have the time and money to game more, I have to log off after an hour max because I get bored or tired. Most of my old buddies from my early online games have grown out of gaming too. Sometimes life just don't seem that fair.