Who here is thinking about quitting videogames all together, and why?
I am. And the reasons for it are really quite simple.
1: Saving Money.
Videogames, when they first come out, are normally $60. And even when you by them used, on average you're going to spending at least $20.
Now think about this: say for example, you bought a new videogame every week. Over the course of one month, that adds up to $240, which is a decent day's wage.
And over the course of a year, that adds up to $2,880.
Now imagine what you could put that money toward, if you weren't wasting it on videogames?
2: Saving Time.
An article published in TIME magazine back in 2013 stated that "the average U.S. gamer age 13 or older spent 6.3 hours a week playing video games during 2013."
You can imagine that figure has surely gone up!
But just taking the above figure, that adds up to about one day per month, and about 12 days per year. One of the biggest complaints people have is not having enough time during the day. Imagine what you could do with an extra 6hrs during the day? Imagine what you could do with an extra 12 days of time?
Not to mention the fact but you only live once, and in your old age, memories are the only thing you're gonna have left. What kind of memories do you want to have to look back on?
3: Low Replay Value.
In my experience, most videogames are great the first time you play them. They're new and exciting. And if they're like the The Walking Dead, they have multiple ways they can be played.
However, after a time even those kind of games get old. So, and this is kind of intertwined with the first reason I listed, but why waste perfectly good dough on something you're only going to use a handful of times at best?
Anyway, these are the three main reasons why I am seriously thinking about giving up videogames for good.
How about you?
Comments
NEVER! O_O
I love games too much to fully stop. I don't play as much as I used to though. I simply put a small amount away for a new game every month and use the rest for more important things. When I'm tired and wanna chill, I go play games I have in mind. Although I don't play too much because I'll get too winded out of a game. After I beat it, I take a long break from it so I can play it again in the future. Of course online multiplayer games are a bit different in that aspect for me.
I spend about 10 euros a month on videogames, hell even less usually. All I do is wait for big steam stales and good humble bundle deals. Anything you want will go on sale eventually, you just have to be patient.
6.3 hours a week is literally nothing, that's like less than an hour a day. the time I spend playing videogames is time I wouldn't have done anything else anyway, it's either play videogames or lay in my bed contemplating the meaning of life. Time spent doing something you enjoy is not a waste.
There are games that have tons of replay value. Rogue lites, survival games, ARPG's. You can sink hundreds of hours into those. Story focused games obviously have no replay value, just like a book or a movie, all it wants to do is tell you an interesting story from start to finish, you wouldn't re-read a book or re-watch a movie unless it's been a long time, same with videogames.
Also 2 and 3 contradict each other.
It's a hobbie, not an addiction, I have no intention of quitting just like others have no intention of quitting chess.
I'll never quit. Just reduce the amount of games I purchase.
One's such as Bethesda games I will buy due to how long they'll last. Multiplayer games are becoming more boring for me. I'm looking towards more narrative now
Uh...Nope, but you have fun with that.
Have fun with whatever you do but I'll never quit video games unless I become blind.
For some folks it's an addiction. Any indulgence can become one, given the right circumstances.
Well I was reffering to myself.
no. i buy games when they are on sale sense i got steam so i don't pay full price.
low replay value.....thats why i mostly play rpgs and story driven games.
Haven't played much recently. Been too bust watching Twin Peaks and Orange is the New Black for me to really get invested enough in games currently.
Nope, I have no reason or intention to quit video games at all.
Video games are the one genuine thing that I will always love, they're practically the largest reason why I learned English, they've helped me immensely during stress and they're far more interesting than the boring world we live in.
Nope, I for one won't. You do what you feel like doing. Why play if you're not enjoying the game? Why not play if you like the game? I play only games I like, when I don't have/want to do anything else.
i have had episodes where i did not feel like playing anything but it never got to a point where i wanted to quit
and buying games every week seems like a bad idea. once a month sure but not a week.
I only buy a few new AAA games every year as well as a few cheaper titles. Right now I'm mostly still catching up with games I missed from the last console generation. The Game Stops we have has really good prices on pre-owned Xbox 360 and Wii games.
Sure, it can take a lot of time, but if I hadn't played games I would have watched more TV or You Tube instead. All the things I have to do are still getting done. And I've gotten better experiences and memories from TWD, TFTB and The Last of Us than any movie or TV-show I've ever watched or any book I've ever read.
Usually it's cheap/long/good enough to warrant the price, so I don't feel like I have to play it again to get my moneys worth.
I basically already have lol, I spend more time on the forums than I do playing video games. The only game I've ever played myself was the walking dead.
I don't know if I'd be able to quit all-together, but I'm working on making it an occasional thing and avoiding games with high replay value.
I can be a bit introverted and I'm not always smooth, but I like hanging out with friends, going out on dates, making people laugh, seeing the outside world, etc. Gaming excessively can cut you off from that. It just doesn't feel fulfilling after a while, either; whenever people say "what do you do," I feel like I should have more things to say.
Not "giving up"per se but but I am buying fewer and fewer games. As to no replay value, when you do purchase games do your research. To me it sounds like your letting publishers lure you in with sales when you were'nt looking to buy. Or somthing like that. Only buy when you want to and then buy only games you'll play. If your honest with yourself you'll likely see your enjoyment increase. As well as your cash flow! Example I used to buy Call of Duty and Madden every year. The last Madden I bought was 25. The last COD was WarFighter. And no amount of proding has changed that. EA emails me Almost Daily with one offer or another but I won't be hustled back. Instead I've went with Nba 2k and The Division as I prefer basketball and 3rd person shooters(which WarFighter was,kinda) as far as TTG style games they're cheapish over all I spend around 225 US dollars a year on games. But I hope to be still gameing when I'm 80! Currently I'm 40.
I work at least 6 days a week, at least 10 hours a day and I'll never quit video games. I have next to zero time to play them, but I still love them. Between trying to replay games I love and trying to get through newer ones, I really can only buy a couple games a year now. Money isn't even close to being an issue. It's time.
Eventually you'll have to quit video games. Not because you want to (who would want to do that nonsense?) but because you have to. Whether its to save money, or because you have no money. To save time, or because you have no time.
I don't play videogames anymore, because I have no time hahashit. I do have a few exceptions though, like TTG. I can spare one hour out of the month to play an episode. But I can't sit in front of the TV for hours day on end playing a FPS game or something like Skyrim. I just don't have the time.
You never HAVE to quit video games. Time sinks? Yeah. Most people do for at least a while in their lives.
An hour here, an hour there. There's always casual or sports games.
Time sinks have to wait for vacation.
I've been considering it, but it's not because of those reasons. It's the community. The video games community in general is toxic. There's ungrateful and entitled gamers insulting and going on manhunts for people because they liked a game that the bandwagon doesn't. The console wars are getting out of hand, and a lot of communities are just getting completely anti-newcomer.
We all need to look past THIS GAME IS SHIT or HE GAMES ON CONSOLE? WHAT A PLEB! or HE GAMES ON PC? WHAT A FAG! and just realize one thing. We're all gamers. We're all in the same industry. It's all about the games, and that's all it should be about.
Such wise word!
Good job, Mr!
I'm very agree with It.
Games do not bring anything useful, as soon as the take away our time, that you have to spend with family and friends.
I've played only one game this year.
And I'm going to completely unsubscribe from the games after the end of "TWD: A New Frontier".
Are you being sarcastic?
(Sorry, I honestly can't tell)
I don't. Cause they are the only thing that entertain me nowadays, while the "real world" offered me nothing but depression, misery, sadness etc.
okay i should stop sounding edgy oops
Only a filthy casul would say something like that.
2014 made me almost quite -__-
I said truth.
To have a completely different opinion from the others - it is so unusual in our time?
Do not you dare insult me.
It's my opinion. Deal with it, human.
git gud fgt
I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell.
It's completely fine, I respect your opinion.
Bayonetta 2 and Wolfenstein The New Order though?
Sorry If I offended You.
I didn't want it.
It's all about perspective. Whether or not you're truly 'wasting' something is in the eye of the beholder, if you ask me.
If you enjoy doing something, does it really count as a waste of time? Maybe by someone else's standards it does, sure. But that's the thing; those aren't your standards.
Besides, I think there's something of a double standard regarding games in comparison to say, drawing or reading books.
You can make just as much as argument that people are wasting time and money buying art supplies or buying new books, and the hours spent sketching or reading. But despite that, you almost never see anyone swearing off of reading books, do you?
So, why are games any different, exactly? Is it because the above two have a more practical use, where the skill or knowledge learned from indulging in the above can help later in your life or in a potential career path? Okay, but what if you don't treat them that way? What if you're just reading for the sake of enjoying a story? What if you're just drawing because you enjoy it, and have no interest and pursuing it as a career? Should you just give it up then because they're not doing you any good on a more practical level? My answer: hell no. If it makes you happy, if you enjoy it, if you can find any kind of solace in what you do, then keep doing it. You shouldn't quit something just because of some arbitrary claims regarding the utility and usefulness of it. All that's going to do most likely is pigeonhole you into doing something you actually don't like doing, because it's 'more useful'. Which is a load of shit, in my opinion.
It's true, you do only live once. But life is what you yourself make of it. Even if games are a waste of time to you, or to someone else, I can still think fondly back on all kinds of experiences I've had with them personally. And as far as I'm concerned, that's what counts. The only thing we're really gonna have when we die are memories. It won't really matter where or how they happened, just the fact that they happened in the first place. So who cares what they encompass? If it made you happy, and you can look back on it fondly for making you feel that way, then that's more than enough.
If you feel that games are a waste of time, then that's fair enough. If that's how you feel, then it is what it is. But that's not how games are for me. That's not how I see them, and that's not how I feel about them.
It's fine, you didn't offend me.
Thank you, sir. I've had many people in my life tell me things like "Video games are wrong, they're a waste of time." Haha, people... not exactly. Video games (at least to me) are a form of entertainment; So, therefore, why do people watch TV shows, or even binge them? Is that a waste of time? Why do people go out to watch a movie? Or to watch a stage performance? Or to watch a sports match? They're entertainment. That's why.
I like video games because they give me that good feeling of accomplishment. They immerse, expand, and have endless possibilities. It's all of the above PLUS the Interactive aspect. You become the director of the show, the superstar, the Almighty GOD of the universe. Or maybe you're forced into its world and must discover everything for yourself... Either way, games are a fun pass-time. Something to either challenge your mind or satisfy your creative self. Even though I'm not a really good writer, and I'll never publish a book, I like to read books. They give you a good story to lose yourself in. Even though I'm a terrible artist, I like to draw sometimes, either for practice or getting my creative juices flowing. Even though I'm not the most skilled "gamer", I still like to play them. It gives you a world of possibilities.
But, I digress. In full, complete response to you @Kenny/Lee:
1. Saving Money ::: Yes, I try to limit the number of games I get per month, and I mostly get the ones I know will give me the best length at which to save up for something else. Plus, here in Canada, what with the evil exchange rate and all, your 60$ games become 80$ games for us. So, pretty careful when it comes to buying games.
2. Saving Time ::: Yes, I agree that games can be spent doing other things, and I do get myself off the couch sometimes to get out a bit and enjoy time with friends. But really, I don't think I have many better things to do when I get some free time for games.
3. Low Replay Value ::: I slightly disagree with that one. That's cause some games, you get "many" tasks to do, and multiple ways of doing them. Some games are worth playing and replaying more than once, others, not so much. But, they're good money spent for a good amount of time played. Kind of like how I can read books multiple times, even though it'll all be exactly the same, maybe I can pick up hints to things I've seen later in the story, earlier.
But in no way am I offended by your thread here. It's all your choice, and it doesn't affect my personal life in any way, so you're good. Thank you for expressing your opinion.
How dare you? You are a true casul.
Alien: Isolation, Claire, Mario Kart 8, Far Cry 4, Shovel Knight, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dark Souls II, Smash Brothers 4, Sunset Overdrive, MGS Ground Zeroes, Halo 2 HD Infamous Second Son, The Evil Within and Valiant Hearts all came out that year as well.
I set up my account pretty much for the sole purpose of responding to your question, primarily because I struggle with the thoughts you've mentioned.
While I have, at times, considered gaming a time and money pit, I usually end up deciding that, of all the hobbies out there, gaming is actually one of the best in terms of its investment to returns ratio. Not only can we employ various ways to minimize what we spend on games, games themselves are one of the cheapest forms of entertainment. A night at the movies, a dinner with a loved one, these things often cost about the same, and sometimes more, than a game. Yet a game can offer countless hours of entertainment. Maybe not every game, but every so often we find one that we can really sink our teeth into.
It's true that time is precious, and that we shouldn't let games get in the way of living life and creating memories with real people. At the same time, I consider gaming to be what I call "active entertainment", versus watching TV, sports, Netflix, etc., which I consider to be passive entertainment. I greatly prefer active entertainment. I very much enjoy playing a role in the outcome, even if the outcome is predetermined. I enjoy that games test my reaction time, test my decisions, and ask me how I would represent myself in situations I will likely never encounter in real life.
At the end of the day, it's supposed to be fun. Somewhere along the way I stopped having as much fun, mostly because some people in my life no longer see the value in gaming, but I'm learning to relax and just enjoy it anyway. I keep playing because I enjoy the experiences, both alone and with friends. If you're not having fun, or if you just don't see the value in it, then maybe it is time to walk away. Just don't lose sight of the fact that playing less is also an option.
I'm not quitting video games... although I will be honest that I've barely been playing them and have more so preferred watching Youtubers play my favorite games xD