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There will come a time for all of us when gaming just losses its appeal, no longer will we want to don a control pad and spend late nights in playing games. And for me, I think the time is near.
As some of you will already know I'm turning 18 soon and I think this represents a massive jump in my life. Pubs, clubs and bars being the main focal point but besides that, more socialising and work will probably kill off what time I have to spend in the company of my beloved PS2. Its a shame really as playing games has been a personal hobby of mine for around 10 years now but all good things must come to an end and I think that end is nearing.....
Although this is what I would like to think is what will cause the end of my gaming life there are a couple of other points that have contributed to the demise of the gamer within. The first, lack of originality...
Over the last few years originality in games has started to drift, when the Playstation 1 came out the games interested me like no others, I had never before seen titles like Wipeout, Destruction Derby and Tekken all original titles that would make the PS1 the success that it was. The success of these titles was just too good for the games company's to just throw away, so they 'recycled' the idea, quite a few times actually. All through the PS1's life sequels appeared all over the place and were as much as a success as there predecessors.
Games for the PS2 at release were sub standard titles all created with the hope that the consoles popularity would carry them off the shelves and into people homes and for the first year this was true. I personally didn't buy the PS2 on release because I realised this fact, the games were very poor considering who was making them and the only one that got me going was SSX. Originality was at an all time low with companies all cashing in on old ideas revamped for a new console, Tekken Tag being the first title to come to mind closely followed by Ridge Racer 5 (5, yes FIVE of the bleeding games!!!)
What shocked me about the PS2 was that the people that bought the console on release actually enjoyed this lack of originality, the only titles to show real effort, Smugglers Run and Sky Odyssey, were the least popular of the release games. But what's to come now after a year of learning the PS2's architecture and developing ideas? Wipeout Fusion, Grand Theft Auto 3, Crash Bandicoot 5, Final Fantasy 10 (!!!!) all titles set to do big things and all sequels. Even the most eagerly awaited game of the year, Metal Gear Solid 2, is a sequel. Maybe people do not consider originality as a necessity anymore, but in my mind it is that's why I'm most interested in State of Emergency, Max Payne and Smugglers Run 2 (Although a sequel its really a second attempt at originality considering most missed the first).
Another point that has begun to put me off gaming is the ever increasing price, when I started gaming purchasing a title was a case of saving a few pounds then heading off to my local shop, with my mum of course, and searching through the games for one that interested me. Now, high publicity has lead to increased prices and turned gaming into a more of a pre planned affair. The gamer now researches a product months before release and saves up enough money to then put in a pre-order so the game will arrive on release, just doesn't feel the same anymore.
Oh well, gaming has 'developed' from when I started playing and for me its changing for the worst, people seem to concentrate more on graphics than originality now which is a shame. Making money has become a main priority for the games company's who are running out of original ideas and what surprises me is that most gamers are still willing to spend shed loads on games for there graphics.
Phew, time to stop moaning. I will still be playing games for a while until maybe the death of the PS2, ill have to see how it goes in the originality department.........
oh look a newsletter from SR, cool, screenshots of Final Fantasy 11 !!!!!!!
As some of you will already know I'm turning 18 soon and I think this represents a massive jump in my life. Pubs, clubs and bars being the main focal point but besides that, more socialising and work will probably kill off what time I have to spend in the company of my beloved PS2. Its a shame really as playing games has been a personal hobby of mine for around 10 years now but all good things must come to an end and I think that end is nearing.....
Although this is what I would like to think is what will cause the end of my gaming life there are a couple of other points that have contributed to the demise of the gamer within. The first, lack of originality...
Over the last few years originality in games has started to drift, when the Playstation 1 came out the games interested me like no others, I had never before seen titles like Wipeout, Destruction Derby and Tekken all original titles that would make the PS1 the success that it was. The success of these titles was just too good for the games company's to just throw away, so they 'recycled' the idea, quite a few times actually. All through the PS1's life sequels appeared all over the place and were as much as a success as there predecessors.
Games for the PS2 at release were sub standard titles all created with the hope that the consoles popularity would carry them off the shelves and into people homes and for the first year this was true. I personally didn't buy the PS2 on release because I realised this fact, the games were very poor considering who was making them and the only one that got me going was SSX. Originality was at an all time low with companies all cashing in on old ideas revamped for a new console, Tekken Tag being the first title to come to mind closely followed by Ridge Racer 5 (5, yes FIVE of the bleeding games!!!)
What shocked me about the PS2 was that the people that bought the console on release actually enjoyed this lack of originality, the only titles to show real effort, Smugglers Run and Sky Odyssey, were the least popular of the release games. But what's to come now after a year of learning the PS2's architecture and developing ideas? Wipeout Fusion, Grand Theft Auto 3, Crash Bandicoot 5, Final Fantasy 10 (!!!!) all titles set to do big things and all sequels. Even the most eagerly awaited game of the year, Metal Gear Solid 2, is a sequel. Maybe people do not consider originality as a necessity anymore, but in my mind it is that's why I'm most interested in State of Emergency, Max Payne and Smugglers Run 2 (Although a sequel its really a second attempt at originality considering most missed the first).
Another point that has begun to put me off gaming is the ever increasing price, when I started gaming purchasing a title was a case of saving a few pounds then heading off to my local shop, with my mum of course, and searching through the games for one that interested me. Now, high publicity has lead to increased prices and turned gaming into a more of a pre planned affair. The gamer now researches a product months before release and saves up enough money to then put in a pre-order so the game will arrive on release, just doesn't feel the same anymore.
Oh well, gaming has 'developed' from when I started playing and for me its changing for the worst, people seem to concentrate more on graphics than originality now which is a shame. Making money has become a main priority for the games company's who are running out of original ideas and what surprises me is that most gamers are still willing to spend shed loads on games for there graphics.
Phew, time to stop moaning. I will still be playing games for a while until maybe the death of the PS2, ill have to see how it goes in the originality department.........
oh look a newsletter from SR, cool, screenshots of Final Fantasy 11 !!!!!!!
Funnily enough PC Gamer did an article on older gamers just a short time ago. Old people, like FantasyMeister here, were consulted to see what they thought about gaming and they had people in their fifties mostly I believe. Of course personally I'm 18 and in 62 years time I can think of nothing I'd rather be doing than sitting in my old chair gunning down evil monsters in a high action great fun new game, my body wracked with arthritic pains will be a mere pittance of a tradeoff for gaming fun. It's often said that the older people get the more their tastes change, for example older people often seem to prefer strategy or things which require brains but really I think it depends on the person. As we develop as gamers we want to try new games and perhaps will find that we like one kind of game more than we used to while leaving another behind but that doesn't mean we'll ever give up gaming alltogether. Sure we'll maybe try other things, like having a social life, but in the end gaming is fun so why not enjoy it your whole life through (after all, gaming is the new TV). Anyway if what they say in the Matrix is correct we're all big gamers already, constantly playing a simulation of many years ago when times were better (Typical, and they said things could only get better, liars) so it just goes to show that people of all ages can enjoy games.
i'm 20 in march and have been playing games ever since i had an Amiga which is when i joined SR on and off since. i even remember my cousin and there NES ah those were the days when i could walk down the shops with my dad and for 25 quid get a bran spanking new amiga game. and who can forget all the copying that went on in the playgrounds at school (which is what probably killed of the amiga lol)
anyway i found between the age of 18-19 gaming does go stale but my cousin still plays (savat1683 or whatever his user name is on here) and his in his 20s and still plays games it al depends on the sort of person you are.
i found i started to play a lot of pc games as you seem to get a bit more than £2.50 a week when your older so you can aford to have a high spec pc.
i also got more into online gaming than ever before.
anyway i found between the age of 18-19 gaming does go stale but my cousin still plays (savat1683 or whatever his user name is on here) and his in his 20s and still plays games it al depends on the sort of person you are.
i found i started to play a lot of pc games as you seem to get a bit more than £2.50 a week when your older so you can aford to have a high spec pc.
i also got more into online gaming than ever before.
I will re-assess my gaming situation when I finish the games that I am in the middle off. I have resigned myself to never being good enougth to beat perfect dark, and stiil half way through Majoras mask.
Then it is where do I go from there?
Then it is where do I go from there?
I consider it either lucky or a curse that I've been playing games since 'Pong', so that's erm, 24 years now. (I'm 35).
I mean, if I wasn't interested in gaming I could have gone on to other things, like starting a business, making a few million, going into further education, or the dreaded option of even working.
But for some reason it's in my blood to compete against both man and machine. I'll never be a world class athlete, but I can be 'above average' in gaming. Beating games whether against human or computer opponents still is, and I think always will be, gratifying.
I can understand why some gamers drift away from a pasttime that has taken up many hours of their social lives. They move onto other things (yes, pubs are a great distraction, so is the opposite sex, having a family, an interesting career and so on), but for me, having tried all the usual things, I always seemed to get drawn back to consoles.
Just when I think I've had enough, another ground breaking game comes out, the likes of which I've never seen before. The PSX went a bit stale until Metal Gear Solid arrived, the Dreamcast never really went stale and HeadHunter came out just a few months after Skies of Arcadia, so I was in gaming heaven for many weeks.
Presently GTA3, Burnout, Gran Turismo 3 and Silent Hill take up a lot of my time, but not as much as online gaming which I discovered the delights of just 2 years ago. Playing HUGE games online against thousands of opponents and discovering that you are one of the best is an amazing feeling, but it does take up a lot of your time.
At the moment I've been playing Legend of Mir since September, it's a massive RPG with about 1400 players active, and although I started late I'm still one of the highest 100 or so in the game. But that's not all that online gaming is about, you make friends there, there is a community around it, and it's a lot cheaper than a few pints with your mates down the pub every few nights.
And that's just one of thousands of online games out there at this time (not all of them are pay to play either, there are whole guilds of players that just move from one beta to another for free).
Luckily for me I'm into RPGs in a big way, so with Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance coming out this week, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Final Fantasy 10 due for release next year, and the online version of Final Fantasy (11) coming out around 2003 or so, my gaming calender is looking VERY full for the next couple of years, and I'm looking forward to it.
So my advice is: If you feel that your gaming life is getting a bit stale, try something new, buy a new console, try online gaming and see how it goes. But I think once you've got gaming in your blood it never goes away. Something will always get released that brings you back.
I mean, if I wasn't interested in gaming I could have gone on to other things, like starting a business, making a few million, going into further education, or the dreaded option of even working.
But for some reason it's in my blood to compete against both man and machine. I'll never be a world class athlete, but I can be 'above average' in gaming. Beating games whether against human or computer opponents still is, and I think always will be, gratifying.
I can understand why some gamers drift away from a pasttime that has taken up many hours of their social lives. They move onto other things (yes, pubs are a great distraction, so is the opposite sex, having a family, an interesting career and so on), but for me, having tried all the usual things, I always seemed to get drawn back to consoles.
Just when I think I've had enough, another ground breaking game comes out, the likes of which I've never seen before. The PSX went a bit stale until Metal Gear Solid arrived, the Dreamcast never really went stale and HeadHunter came out just a few months after Skies of Arcadia, so I was in gaming heaven for many weeks.
Presently GTA3, Burnout, Gran Turismo 3 and Silent Hill take up a lot of my time, but not as much as online gaming which I discovered the delights of just 2 years ago. Playing HUGE games online against thousands of opponents and discovering that you are one of the best is an amazing feeling, but it does take up a lot of your time.
At the moment I've been playing Legend of Mir since September, it's a massive RPG with about 1400 players active, and although I started late I'm still one of the highest 100 or so in the game. But that's not all that online gaming is about, you make friends there, there is a community around it, and it's a lot cheaper than a few pints with your mates down the pub every few nights.
And that's just one of thousands of online games out there at this time (not all of them are pay to play either, there are whole guilds of players that just move from one beta to another for free).
Luckily for me I'm into RPGs in a big way, so with Baldur's Gate:Dark Alliance coming out this week, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Final Fantasy 10 due for release next year, and the online version of Final Fantasy (11) coming out around 2003 or so, my gaming calender is looking VERY full for the next couple of years, and I'm looking forward to it.
So my advice is: If you feel that your gaming life is getting a bit stale, try something new, buy a new console, try online gaming and see how it goes. But I think once you've got gaming in your blood it never goes away. Something will always get released that brings you back.
I know what you mean man. I try and restrict myself with my gaming purchases, but its too damn easy to order a game off the internet! its all done in am matter of minutes...and you dont even have to leave your chair.
Best thing to do is just not buy any games until you get the most out of your curretn games. Sometimes you cant appreciate a game totally until you complete it properly.
Best thing to do is just not buy any games until you get the most out of your curretn games. Sometimes you cant appreciate a game totally until you complete it properly.
Nothing lasts forver....
All good things come to end...
Originality becomes harder with time.
All of these things are a shame really, but all are very true.
I'm 18 and still play computer games quite alot, but not with the same enthusiasm perhaps of a few years back. Even my love of championship manager seems to be drawring thin :(
All good things come to end...
Originality becomes harder with time.
All of these things are a shame really, but all are very true.
I'm 18 and still play computer games quite alot, but not with the same enthusiasm perhaps of a few years back. Even my love of championship manager seems to be drawring thin :(
There will come a time for all of us when gaming just losses its appeal, no longer will we want to don a control pad and spend late nights in playing games. And for me, I think the time is near.
As some of you will already know I'm turning 18 soon and I think this represents a massive jump in my life. Pubs, clubs and bars being the main focal point but besides that, more socialising and work will probably kill off what time I have to spend in the company of my beloved PS2. Its a shame really as playing games has been a personal hobby of mine for around 10 years now but all good things must come to an end and I think that end is nearing.....
Although this is what I would like to think is what will cause the end of my gaming life there are a couple of other points that have contributed to the demise of the gamer within. The first, lack of originality...
Over the last few years originality in games has started to drift, when the Playstation 1 came out the games interested me like no others, I had never before seen titles like Wipeout, Destruction Derby and Tekken all original titles that would make the PS1 the success that it was. The success of these titles was just too good for the games company's to just throw away, so they 'recycled' the idea, quite a few times actually. All through the PS1's life sequels appeared all over the place and were as much as a success as there predecessors.
Games for the PS2 at release were sub standard titles all created with the hope that the consoles popularity would carry them off the shelves and into people homes and for the first year this was true. I personally didn't buy the PS2 on release because I realised this fact, the games were very poor considering who was making them and the only one that got me going was SSX. Originality was at an all time low with companies all cashing in on old ideas revamped for a new console, Tekken Tag being the first title to come to mind closely followed by Ridge Racer 5 (5, yes FIVE of the bleeding games!!!)
What shocked me about the PS2 was that the people that bought the console on release actually enjoyed this lack of originality, the only titles to show real effort, Smugglers Run and Sky Odyssey, were the least popular of the release games. But what's to come now after a year of learning the PS2's architecture and developing ideas? Wipeout Fusion, Grand Theft Auto 3, Crash Bandicoot 5, Final Fantasy 10 (!!!!) all titles set to do big things and all sequels. Even the most eagerly awaited game of the year, Metal Gear Solid 2, is a sequel. Maybe people do not consider originality as a necessity anymore, but in my mind it is that's why I'm most interested in State of Emergency, Max Payne and Smugglers Run 2 (Although a sequel its really a second attempt at originality considering most missed the first).
Another point that has begun to put me off gaming is the ever increasing price, when I started gaming purchasing a title was a case of saving a few pounds then heading off to my local shop, with my mum of course, and searching through the games for one that interested me. Now, high publicity has lead to increased prices and turned gaming into a more of a pre planned affair. The gamer now researches a product months before release and saves up enough money to then put in a pre-order so the game will arrive on release, just doesn't feel the same anymore.
Oh well, gaming has 'developed' from when I started playing and for me its changing for the worst, people seem to concentrate more on graphics than originality now which is a shame. Making money has become a main priority for the games company's who are running out of original ideas and what surprises me is that most gamers are still willing to spend shed loads on games for there graphics.
Phew, time to stop moaning. I will still be playing games for a while until maybe the death of the PS2, ill have to see how it goes in the originality department.........
oh look a newsletter from SR, cool, screenshots of Final Fantasy 11 !!!!!!!
As some of you will already know I'm turning 18 soon and I think this represents a massive jump in my life. Pubs, clubs and bars being the main focal point but besides that, more socialising and work will probably kill off what time I have to spend in the company of my beloved PS2. Its a shame really as playing games has been a personal hobby of mine for around 10 years now but all good things must come to an end and I think that end is nearing.....
Although this is what I would like to think is what will cause the end of my gaming life there are a couple of other points that have contributed to the demise of the gamer within. The first, lack of originality...
Over the last few years originality in games has started to drift, when the Playstation 1 came out the games interested me like no others, I had never before seen titles like Wipeout, Destruction Derby and Tekken all original titles that would make the PS1 the success that it was. The success of these titles was just too good for the games company's to just throw away, so they 'recycled' the idea, quite a few times actually. All through the PS1's life sequels appeared all over the place and were as much as a success as there predecessors.
Games for the PS2 at release were sub standard titles all created with the hope that the consoles popularity would carry them off the shelves and into people homes and for the first year this was true. I personally didn't buy the PS2 on release because I realised this fact, the games were very poor considering who was making them and the only one that got me going was SSX. Originality was at an all time low with companies all cashing in on old ideas revamped for a new console, Tekken Tag being the first title to come to mind closely followed by Ridge Racer 5 (5, yes FIVE of the bleeding games!!!)
What shocked me about the PS2 was that the people that bought the console on release actually enjoyed this lack of originality, the only titles to show real effort, Smugglers Run and Sky Odyssey, were the least popular of the release games. But what's to come now after a year of learning the PS2's architecture and developing ideas? Wipeout Fusion, Grand Theft Auto 3, Crash Bandicoot 5, Final Fantasy 10 (!!!!) all titles set to do big things and all sequels. Even the most eagerly awaited game of the year, Metal Gear Solid 2, is a sequel. Maybe people do not consider originality as a necessity anymore, but in my mind it is that's why I'm most interested in State of Emergency, Max Payne and Smugglers Run 2 (Although a sequel its really a second attempt at originality considering most missed the first).
Another point that has begun to put me off gaming is the ever increasing price, when I started gaming purchasing a title was a case of saving a few pounds then heading off to my local shop, with my mum of course, and searching through the games for one that interested me. Now, high publicity has lead to increased prices and turned gaming into a more of a pre planned affair. The gamer now researches a product months before release and saves up enough money to then put in a pre-order so the game will arrive on release, just doesn't feel the same anymore.
Oh well, gaming has 'developed' from when I started playing and for me its changing for the worst, people seem to concentrate more on graphics than originality now which is a shame. Making money has become a main priority for the games company's who are running out of original ideas and what surprises me is that most gamers are still willing to spend shed loads on games for there graphics.
Phew, time to stop moaning. I will still be playing games for a while until maybe the death of the PS2, ill have to see how it goes in the originality department.........
oh look a newsletter from SR, cool, screenshots of Final Fantasy 11 !!!!!!!