Gaming Days probably coming to almost an end.

[GTS]

I'm on the other end of things. I'm 43 and I plan to keep playing, and this year I plan to increase the amount of time I spend doing it. To me, a video game is like a book, and a TV series, only it uses a larger portion of the brain. Keeping the brain fresh at my age is very important. When I'm at work, I feel more productive during weeks in which I gamed a lot.

[VideoGameCritic]

One theme I see running throughout these posts is that gaming should not be first and foremost in your life. It can be a satisfying hobby but you need to put your real life first. If gaming is all-consuming that is not healthy. In my opinion, games should be a fun diversion. A chance to take a break from real life when the day is done. Moderation is key.

This is one reason I'm skeptical about e-sports. The idea of young people dedicating their best years to a single game is kind of disturbing. Yeah I know some can make some serious bank, but not sure it's worth it.

[DrLitch]

First and foremost, you are only as old as you feel
Me, 41yo, do not feel any different to when I was in my 20's.
Gave up TV years ago, occasionally watch films, I do not like reading, video games are one of my hobbies.
Gamed last night until 230am. Probably will play tonight as well.

[GTS]

This is one reason I'm skeptical about e-sports. The idea of young people dedicating their best years to a single game is kind of disturbing. Yeah I know some can make some serious bank, but not sure it's worth it.

I understand where you are coming from, but those e-sports kids may game just as much as we gamed at their age; yes it's just one game, but today's games are complex and can be played for longer periods of time (Rainbow Six, Fortnite). Plus, are we judging those kids differently than kids who spend time practicing competitive sports? Yes, sports counts as exercise, but they can also damage their bodies and brains. It's kind've the same thing, only one is more physical.

They recently built an e-sports arena in my hometown and I think I might go and watch sometime. Too bad there won't be a Dreamcast there.

[Herschie]

First and foremost, you are only as old as you feel
Me, 41yo, do not feel any different to when I was in my 20's.
Gave up TV years ago, occasionally watch films, I do not like reading, video games are one of my hobbies.
Gamed last night until 230am. Probably will play tonight as well.

Yep. I don't watch much TV anymore, except for sports and shows that my wife likes to watch with me. I'm 36 years old and game more than I did when I was 16. I guess to each their own though. There have been times in my life where I lost interest in gaming, but I always ended up coming back. Plus, games keep on getting better and better.

I even like playing on the patio!

[Paul Campbell]

I like this thread alot. It's giving me some good insights and ideas. I'm 41, and I've posted on this board in the past about feeling like I was burned out on gaming. But I've also found, like others here, that there are other avenues that can add a spark to it. The first good thing I did was sell most of my collection for a few grand, and bought a modded Wii with a hard drive loaded with every game ever made up to, and including, almost every Wii game, from a guy here in Vegas who puts them together and sells them. That made retro gaming aich smoother experience. Initially it actually made it worse because having every game at my fingertips made me too quick to dismiss games that didn't hook me within 30 seconds. Now I gave learned to incorporate schemes to make games more enjoyable, or enjoyable in new ways. I also have become interested in watching speed runners make mincemeat of games that took me almost a full day to best back in the day. I like what I have read here by others about how they have injected new life into old games, with personal challenges and rules added to the experience. Recently I started going through the Critic's NES reviews from the highest to the lowest to try to find some hidden gems. What I discovered was "Eliminator Boat Dual" which is an amazing game that I couldn't put down for over three hours yesterday! And it's an "Electrobrain" game! They normally suck!

Anyway, I find gaming to be extremely therapeutic, to the point that sometimes, after a long day at work, I'll walk in the door, and within a few minutes my wife will say to me "I think you need to play some games", and she's right. Some days I need a quick few minutes of Marble Madness, which is my only real "speed running" game, or I need to revisit the "Bioshock" trilogy, which I'm currently doing in tiny bursts. So while gaming is no longer an hours-per-day exercise for me, I still need it to keep my sanity with five kids and a small business.

[velcrozombie]

I started playing drums again after an 11-year absence about a month-and-a-half ago. I originally went back to them as a way to get some physical exercise while doing something that would be more stimulating than riding a stationary bike, but they've unexpectedly become a substitute for gaming as well. As others have said in this thread, it gets harder to justify playing video games as you get older (I'm 36) because you always feel that you could be doing something more useful with your time, and playing drums scratches the same itch of gaming intellectually while being more flexible (I can make the click track that I practice to 5 or 10 percent slower if the pattern I'm practicing is too difficult, but I can't make a game that I'm have trouble with 5 or 10 percent easier, for example) and giving a range of other benefits - improved mood, improved coordination, losing weight, etc. It also gives me tools that will allow me to create, either in collaboration with others or on my own projects. I've been moving away from gaming over the last few years anyway after playing on a regular basis from 2008-2014 or so - increasingly I find myself either bored or frustrated by games, whether they be modern or classic. Maybe it's part of being exposed to gaming on a daily basis for so long - when I jumped back into the hobby with both feet in 2008 after over a decade of only playing occasionally with my friends or family I was genuinely excited about everything I'd missed, but I've largely become numb to it through overexposure. I've continued to buy games (either older games I missed for the PS1, PS2, Gamecube and Wii or PC games, either during sales or in bundles) but at a much slower rate - I end up finishing (or even putting much time at all into) the ones I get that it's not worth it to dedicate much of my income to them any longer, and I'm no longer sure that I will buy any future systems (the last one I purchased was the Wii U after receiving my tax refund in 2015).

Oddly enough, I've found myself watching more films on my off-time than before - maybe because of the comparatively limited time required. I've also been looking at getting back into drawing, as well - if that happens and I stick to it, I could see maybe going years without gaming again (especially in light of my recent decision to start taking online classes towards a new degree starting in September). A long break from gaming and gaming media might be exactly what I need to so that I can one day come back fresh once again - or it may really be it for me as well.

[ptdebate]

For me, videogames are a way for me to stay connected with my friends. We all have a Facebook chat group that's been going for about 6 years (since we graduated college), which is how we organize sessions of Civilization VI, Overwatch, etc. When we play games together, we inevitably catch up and chat about what's going on in our lives. It's like virtually meeting up for a game of poker.

Likewise, my brother and I are not always able to meet up in person, but that random session of Overwatch or PUBG is a way for us to virtually hang out.

Sometimes the discussion on this site leaves you with an impression that modern, online, multiplayer gaming is somehow a lesser experience than traditional offline gaming. In truth it's the best thing about videogames these days.

[bluenote]

Interesting perspectives in this thread. I'm 43, married with 2 kids. I still game, but only a few hours per week. I know some people mentioned that they feel they are wasting their time, but I don't see it any different than watching tv. Sometime you just want to veg out on the couch watching tv or play a video game.

For me, I keep my collection very small with just games that I really enjoy. If I buy a game I don't like, I get rid of it. I find this helps me with my enjoyment of videogames.

[Paul Campbell]

I'm on the other end of things. I'm 43 and I plan to keep playing, and this year I plan to increase the amount of time I spend doing it. To me, a video game is like a book, and a TV series, only it uses a larger portion of the brain. Keeping the brain fresh at my age is very important. When I'm at work, I feel more productive during weeks in which I gamed a lot.

I'll second this. Gaming almost feels like regular maintenance for my brain. When I go a long time without it, my mind can feel weary. I had pretty heavy ADD as a child (the REAL ADD, before it became a label for active children who are bored by adult stuff), and today playing a game feels like it gives my brain time to focus on a single thread of thought, instead of bouncing all over the place. It's a relief.