Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
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Post by Balder on Feb 14, 2024 22:49:46 GMT
I've come to the sad realization that I'm bot particularly fond of playing video games anymore. Some years ago, if someone had asked me to stop playing video games for a billion dollars, I would have said no, however, I'm not so sure I'd say the same thing today. I do enjoy playing video games from time to time, but I hold virtually no excitement over new stuff, especially not the collecting side of things. I've own almost a thousand physical games across many systems, and now I've decided to downsize heavily. This hobby have been incredibly fun to collect for, but most of it is just collecting dust at this point as I rarely play outside of my favorites. So I'm going to sell everything I know I won't play again. This means I'm going to sell all of my PS3, PS4, Sega Master System, Atari VCS (the new one) DreamCast Nintendo DS/3DS and Atari Lynx stuff. I'll only keep my favorites from my Xbox original, 360, One, Sega Saturn, Genesis, PS1 and PS2. I will however keep all of my 2600 games and two of the 2600 consoles I've got along with all my Neo-Geo and Vectrex stuff. So I'm not quitting video games forever, but I guess this is part of the cycle. Over the years I've collected so much stuff, and I'm looking forward to only keep the truly great stuff.
Anyways, how's your relationship going with the hobby?
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scipioafricanus
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Sega Does What Nintendon't... except the 32X
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Post by scipioafricanus on Feb 15, 2024 0:13:31 GMT
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Cervantes
Off-Brand Transformable Robot
A former Incompetent Evil Commander (XP: 2423)
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Post by Cervantes on Feb 15, 2024 1:37:35 GMT
Balder - A few things strongly rekindled my interest recently. First, it was playing Ys VIII: for some reason, it gave me a sense of adventure so strong that the last time I remember feeling it was with Ocarina of Time in the late 90s (the game is flawed and has some repetition, but it hit that sweet spot of not feeling like I was just playing one more game of my backlog and I was truly invested in it). Secondly, it was a small thing, but buying a wireless controller for my Saturn made it more comfortable to play, so I ended up playing/replaying many games that I hadn't played in ages. Third, I was talking to a friend who is really into RPGs, which made me become interested again in the genre that I've neglected for so many years and now feels completely new to me. But I'm used to have ups and downs about the hobby: sometimes, after playing a very long game or too many short ones, I spend a few weeks not playing anything and just reading books, watching films, tv etc. Just last month, before starting Final Fantasy XIII, I spent three or so weeks mostly reading Claymore and Berserk during the time that I would normally be playing video games: I not much of a manga guy, so reading them and getting into a new thing for a while was exciting. It's good to have more than one hobby and try different things when you get tired of one of them to go back later. Also, trimming down a collection, as you're doing, might also help: amassing a huge collection can feel like work and make us feel obligated to play even the bad or mediocre games in it, when we should really be focusing on the fun side of it. A few years ago I would buy pretty much any famous game that was discounted enough on Steam or would buy random cheap bundles; nowadays I'll even pass on almost all free games (like those Epic Store promotions) as I only want to have in my collection stuff that truly interests me.
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Post by kevpez on Feb 15, 2024 1:51:21 GMT
I went through this before. It would come And go. Still does sometimes. Lately I’ve been playing maybe 30 minutes, sometimes days at a time without anything. This used to bug me. It’s a super long story still keep it brief: last June, my partner and I found out we were pregnant. Was a total life change. End of September, we ended up having a miscarriage. After THAT, everything that was important, suddenly didn’t matter. Now? I agree. it’s hard to be excited for God of War Ragnorok, I never played 2018. I’m in no rush. We don’t need to own every single game ever. I still player Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Sega Genesis. That’s my comfort foods and that’s ok! I’ve sold a whole lot of stuff. 360, N64, Dreamcast, PS Vita, PSP, Wii U. I regret selling the handheld stuff, I think about the Dreamcast. I noticed that having things like Game Pass and PS Plus makes me play LESS. If you give me everything, I won’t be able to pick something…then we go back to play elder scrolls oblivion for the 20,000th time. Sometimes, less is more.
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scipioafricanus
Cartoon Pony Wrangler
Sega Does What Nintendon't... except the 32X
Posts: 3,572
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Post by scipioafricanus on Feb 15, 2024 2:45:59 GMT
Orrrrrrrrr house has a game room/museum...
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Post by Imperial Khador on Feb 15, 2024 6:09:04 GMT
Hey Balder. Don't feel badly about it. Interests wax and wane over the years. Time away may mean that your interest will re-spark down the road, but there's a million other hobbies and cool things out there. I've never really stopped playing, but I have certainly stopped collecting. There are a lot of benefits to physical media, but it sure takes up a ton of space. So I've been mostly going digital for 7 or 8 years now. Most of the few physical games I have are just ones that were on sale at a much deeper discount than the digital versions at the time. The exception is my 2600 Jr, and its games and peripherals. It was the first game system that my dad surprised me with, along with a bunch of games, so there are a lot of good memories there, and I can't imagine selling it even if I rarely turn it on. This hasn't been just the case with games either. I used to have hundreds of novels, which I've down-sized to a few dozen and a kobo e-reader. My pen and pager RPG books do still take up 2 shelves, but that collection is less than a quarter of what I had at it's height. With those books, I've been lucky enough to sell to folks who were very passionate about whatever particular game, or setting it was, so I know they're being used, and that's a good thing. But again, that wasn't so much becoming dissatisfied with those interests as...moving a few houses a few times over a 5 year period and getting sick of packing and unpacking a lot of heavy books and games every time, and finding places to put them. Also, scipioafricanus, that looks like a really cool arcade room If I were to ever buy my dad's old house from my step-mother, he had a massive workshop/garage, and I could see turning part of it into a cool space like that. Of course..that goes against what I just said about physical media, but if I ever bought that house, it would be with the intent of not moving again afterwards
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dschult3
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The true heir to the Monado.
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Post by dschult3 on Feb 15, 2024 13:46:29 GMT
I understand you completely, Balder. You've got to do what keeps you happy. I've noticed there are a lot of collectors offloading a large chunk of their collections while playing less. You've got to prioritize what's important in your life. Keep what you like and play what you like.
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Pimpjira
Guardian Force Shooter
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Post by Pimpjira on Feb 15, 2024 16:59:53 GMT
I haven't lost any passion for playing, but I've definitely felt that way about collecting. I only keep/buy the games I really care about when it comes to physical stuff.
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Balder
Supreme Overlord
Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
Posts: 6,827
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Post by Balder on Feb 15, 2024 20:13:23 GMT
I understand you completely, Balder . You've got to do what keeps you happy. I've noticed there are a lot of collectors offloading a large chunk of their collections while playing less. You've got to prioritize what's important in your life. Keep what you like and play what you like. Definitely man. I still love going to and arranging LAN parties, and that made me realize that I enjoy sharing my video game experiences much more than playing alone. It doesn't have to be a multiplayer game, but sitting together with someone and just playing something makes it a much better experience.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Feb 17, 2024 8:58:36 GMT
I still love playing games, but I agree about collecting not being as important nowadays. It comes and goes.
Sometimes it is just nice to look at your collection, and that's a pleasure too. Other times you just want to play, but ultimately time is short and you have to be picky even if you don't want to.
I lost love for physical games about 8 years ago or so because they take so much space and you can't travel with them.
The issue with digital is that once they close the online store if you delete them it is the same as breaking the physical disc, if the console breaks, same deal. It is a risk, but it only matters with the games you want to continue playing.
At least with physical games you can still sell them and get some of that money back.
To be fair I feel even emulation is fine as long as it works well. The pleasure is not so much in using the original hardware as it is in using the original controllers, and for arcade games, a good arcade stick is enough.
Let's just admit that PC gamers have the best deals, not only they can run games at their highest capacity, they also have the best mods, and there are all kinds of identical wireless replicas of the original controllers and other peripherals to get that original experience.
In an ideal world a TV with access to entire console libraries using a wireless original controller is where is at. I understand some people like to look at their consoles, but at some point your living space matters too.
So good luck on your new endeavor, I always think people should follow their bliss no matter what because it is always the best path to follow.
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centipede
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It was just one soy latte, I swear!
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Post by centipede on Feb 18, 2024 11:07:03 GMT
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