I'm sick and tired of gamers

[Rayn]

I fell in love with the very first video game I ever played and I've been hooked ever since. I think my very first gaming experience was in either 1979 or 1980 and my journey started with a simple pong clone home console and continued with arcade games and C64 before getting a NES in 86. Since getting the NES, gaming has been my favourite hobby. 

It wasn't easy being a gamer in the late 80s and early 90s, it was pretty much looked upon as a geeky/nerdy thing and there was no chance I could impress any girl by stating I had a massive games collection. I was pretty happy when gaming started to get more and more main stream as it was easier to find others to talk about games with but it always made me feel like I was in a minority. By the late 90s I've left console games for the PC as there seemed to be a lot more like minded gamers in the PC community. I was attending LANs almost every weekend and had a blast. 

 

The PS2 and Gamecube got me back into the console games but in late 2005 I was back on the PC thanks to World of Warcraft. WoW was great for a few months as a game but it was the community that kept me playing it for years, I actually stuck with it for nearly 8 years. 
When I was done with WoW the PS4 was released and I was properly back into the console scene.

 

I loved the games and I loved that gaming had evolved into something that almost everyone was doing. Kids, teens, boys, girls, adults...everyone was a gamer all of a sudden. Finally, people had come to their senses and found out that playing  a game can be just as much fun as anything else. The only problem, I found out, is that the majority of modern gamers are a sad bunch of whiners who spends more time complaining about all the games and systems they don't own and play and less time speaking fondly of what they actually like. 

 

All my actual friends who I've played with for nearly 20 years now have mostly walked down their own respective gaming niches and they refuse to play anything outside their own niches. 
I currently have all modern consoles and enjoy them all but my friends seems like they've purchased the consoles to find something negative to say about them all. Whenever I find a game I want to talk about or suggest to play together, they seem to look at it for 3 seconds before concluding it's either shit, a bad copy of something from the 90s they liked better or it's developed by the wrong team (or any other silly excuse not to look more into it). 
Fine, I don't need my friends to play online, eh? Well, joining a multiplayer game with random strangers is even worse, not only do they whine about the game we're currently playing, they're also whining about my mum being a slut (even though they enjoy her company every night), they're whining about my accent, my age and I always do the wrong thing no matter how much I think I'm winning. 

The last few years has made me leave the multiplayer games and go back to single player games, but I tend to not speak fondly of the games I'm currently playing to anyone because if I do, they're going to lecture me about why I'm playing the wrong game, how evil the publishers of that game is and how much better the game they are playing is. 

 

I've got one friend who buys pretty much every big release for all consoles, no matter what. I've always wondered why he keeps on buying so many games because he almost never completes a game, they're all shit apparently. So last friday I got a text from him which went something like this "Fuck, my local games store didn't have any copies of the new Shin Megami Tensei for Switch in stock, now I have to purchase the overpriced and evil digital copy" to which I replied "Well, you could always order the physical copy online and wait a couple of days, in the mean time you could play one of the hundreds of unfinished games you already have". 
His answer was simply "Well, I'm bored with them, I need this new one to play tonight"

Fast forward to around midnight that same day "Oh wow, I've played Shin Megami for 20 minutes now and it's AMAZING". 
Two hours later "Fuck me this game is slow. Oh well, it's not like I don't have other games to play"

I asked him to join me on Forza Horizon 5 but no, he said "No way, tried it for 4 minutes, it's basically FH3/4 with a reskin"

I give up. 

 

I think I'm back to the late 80s where I'm just going to decide that I speak of my hobby to no one, so as of now if anyone ask me what I like to do in my spare time, gaming won't be mentioned very often. 

[Boozy The Clown]

Gamers are joyless cunts.

[Hitcher]

I blame the internet!

[Ketchup]

Get new friends or come and join some of us online for some possible more positive moaning. Always people in new game threads wanting others to play with.

[dataDave]

16 minutes ago, Rayn said:

I've got one friend who buys pretty much every big release for all consoles, no matter what. I've always wondered why he keeps on buying so many games because he almost never completes a game, they're all shit apparently. So last friday I got a text from him which went something like this "Fuck, my local games store didn't have any copies of the new Shin Megami Tensei for Switch in stock, now I have to purchase the overpriced and evil digital copy" to which I replied "Well, you could always order the physical copy online and wait a couple of days, in the mean time you could play one of the hundreds of unfinished games you already have". 
His answer was simply "Well, I'm bored with them, I need this new one to play tonight"

Fast forward to around midnight that same day "Oh wow, I've played Shin Megami for 20 minutes now and it's AMAZING". 
Two hours later "Fuck me this game is slow. Oh well, it's not like I don't have other games to play"

I asked him to join me on Forza Horizon 5 but no, he said "No way, tried it for 4 minutes, it's basically FH3/4 with a reskin"

I give up. 

 

Your friend sounds like a seven year-old with too much money and an undiagnosed mental condition.

[moosegrinder]

1 minute ago, Fallows said:

and an undiagnosed mental condition.

 

Genuinely my first thought.

[Qazimod]

The immediate gratification thing is very real, especially in a Game Pass / PS+ / Prime era. If something doesn’t grab you within 20 minutes it’s done, because there are so many other shinies to look at. I totally include myself here because I’ve had this attitude towards some Prime Gaming offerings. On the other hand, I’m someone who plays slow-burn JRPGs and so it’s impossible for me to recommend anything without the caveat of “give it a few hours”.  

 

I do find that limiting my gaming spends helps though. Give yourself less things to play and you value what you already have. Who knew, eh?

[Rayn]

3 minutes ago, Fallows said:

 

Your friend sounds like a seven year-old with too much money and an undiagnosed mental condition.

 

1 minute ago, moosegrinder said:

 

Genuinely my first thought.

 

I can't disagree with that, I've had that thought myself. 

[moosegrinder]

And yeah people are terrible. Fuck 'em.

[Sumire]

I think a lot of people have really short attention spans these days.

I think he is right about Forza though haha.

[moosegrinder]

I mean, he's not. It's reductive and lazy to call it a reskin, but that's the internet/gamers these days.

[RubberJohnny]

Same, and your problems are basically the same problems I have here, a whole bunch of people stuck in their ways, only excited by sad nostalgia pandering.

 

Try and mention liking something newish like mobile games, streaming or whatever positively without 40-year olds waiting in the wings like this to moan that it's shit.

 

[Benny]

Games themselves are better and more diverse than they have ever been. Most people are just too permanently incurious to seek them out and enjoy.

[Sumire]

You have to admit though, the older you get, the harder it is to become excited about games like you once did. It is very rare for anything truly innovative and exciting to come out these days.

 

The Forza thing he said is just a way of "lazily" saying he thinks it is too similar to the last game without explaining why, but you already know that.

[Benny]

Truly innovative and exciting things are coming out at the same rate as they always did, and the same amount of dross. You couldn't move for shitty isometric platformers back in the 80s for example. People just think things are more samey now because when they look back it's only the good stuff that they remember.

[Kevvy Metal]

15 minutes ago, Sumire said:

You have to admit though, the older you get, the harder it is to become excited about games like you once did. It is very rare for anything truly innovative and exciting to come out these days.

 

Nope

[CheekyLee]

4 minutes ago, RubberJohnny said:

Same, and your problems are basically the same problems I have here, a whole bunch of people stuck in their ways, only excited by sad nostalgia pandering.

 

Try and mention liking something newish like mobile games, streaming or whatever positively without 40-year olds waiting in the wings like this to moan that it's shit.

 

51 here, and I like plenty of mobile games. Maybe I could stream them? I'm sure you guys would all tune in ...

 

The term "gamer" itself is nonsensical. We get "bookworms", and "film buffs", but they are seen as the obsessed. Everyone reads some stuff, and watches some stuff. Games are in that same space, now, but somehow the old audience are reluctant to embrace that. 

 

But, the games industry itself is partially responsible. Sony and MS go on about "gamers" in their conferences, and everything is continually pushing to the next big release. It's gotten to the point, now, where re-releases are hyped to the point that the masses can't wait to play them again.

 

We need to break the term, render it meaningless. I know plenty of people who would feel sick if you called them a gamer, but who are happy to tap away on their phone screen for half an hour during their train journey to work. Are they gamers? No, we call them "casuals", sometimes putting the modifier "filthy" in front of it.

 

We don't even like each other! Xbots and Sonybros looking down on Nintendrones. The PC Master Race casting shade on everyone else. 60 fps Vs 30 fps. "MY PREFERRED SUBSCRIPTION IS BETTER THAN YOURS!" Sod off. All of it.

 

Gamers, clearly, are insecure. This is because the industry itself still feels inferior to other more established entertainment media. At some point, though, there will be nobody left who remembers a time before games, and hopefully by then we'll all have grown-up enough to bin this kind of crap once and for all. Games are just as brilliant as books, movies, and TV. They are also just as rubbish.

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Gerbik]

One thing that works very well for me is to simply play the games that I enjoy and don't mind what others are saying. And avoiding online multiplayer like the plague, unless it's co-op with a friend. If I post about how much I love a certain game, I'm not trying to convince everyone else to agree. There will never be a game that literally everyone likes. I just want to say why I love a certain game, and certain others with a similar taste to mine, could very well enjoy that game too. People online can be infuriating but at the end of the day, you can't allow that to spoil your own enjoyment. Same goes for real life friends who like to moan about everything.

[Uzi]

I like some games and enjoy them. These might not be games other people enjoy. 

[Eighthours]

36 minutes ago, RubberJohnny said:

Try and mention liking something newish like mobile games, streaming or whatever positively without 40-year olds waiting in the wings like this to moan that it's shit.

 

Modern mobile games (some of Apple Arcade aside) ARE shit, though, and the shiteness is built into the game design itself to try to make people spend more money. It's a horrific predatory market that can fuck off.

 

OP's point about gamers whining too much is well held, though. We're in a golden age of games at the moment, even with the many problems in the industry.

[Scribblor]

You'll have to define shit, I think. I've played (and still play) plenty of modern mobile games that I've really enjoyed and wouldn't consider shit. Even F2P ones.

[MattyP]

Problem is as you age you get a bit more disposable income.. so you can afford more games but have less time to play them so are probably more judgmental on what you are looking at and don't give things a fair chance. Also there is so much choice which further compounds the problem.

 

Personally tried to stick to having one console and my PC for everything else. However I'm noticing these days that I'll just pick something up on GamePass and play that. Usually between 10-15 hours length.

[robdood]

I can't blame people for being so tribal about things, and it's not just games.  People get mad about brands and products in general, because we live in neoliberal hellscape where we've been conditioned from birth to think that material objects define who we are and bring us happiness.  It can feel like you're personally being attacked when someone says something you like is shit, yanno?

 

 

 

[RubberJohnny]

48 minutes ago, RubberJohnny said:

Try and mention liking something newish like mobile games, streaming or whatever positively without 40-year olds waiting in the wings like this to moan that it's shit.

 

Quote

Modern mobile games (some of Apple Arcade aside) ARE shit, though

 

See what I mean? He couldn't resist.

 

9 minutes ago, Eighthours said:

, and the shiteness is built into the game design itself to try to make people spend more money. It's a horrific predatory market that can fuck off.

 

Whereas the like of Ultimate team are great, of course? Your problem is really with a business model (one that not all games on mobile even have,. and one that games on consoles have) but you're pretending it's about a platform because you don't have nostalgia for it and therefore it's an acceptable target. Stop being a gaming gammon.

[Mr. Gerbik]

5 minutes ago, robdood said:

It can feel like you're personally being attacked when someone says something you like is shit, yanno?

For me this is the case with music. But games? Eh, I'm just over here enjoying my isometric RPGs, obscure eurojank games, and obscure Japanese stealth shite thankyouverymuch. If others are having a blast micro purchasing their way through a call of duty endless clicker, well more power to them.

[matt0]

My personal gripe is:

 

A: "Nobody makes [genre that fell out of fashion in the 2000s but is actually back in fashion] anymore"

 

B: "Look, here are dozens of amazing games in that genre."

 

A: *looks the other way and whistles*

 

B: "Did you... did you see all the games?"

 

A: *whistling intensity rises*

 

...

 

1 week later

 

A: "Nobody makes [genre that fell out of fashion in the 2000s but is actually back in fashion] anymore, I am so fucking angry about it."

 

 

[danbot]

1 hour ago, Sumire said:

I think a lot of people have really short attention spans these days.

I think he is right about Forza though haha.

 

Tldr

[Garwoofoo]

All this is why I like this place. Everyone here is a miserable middle-aged git like me, but everyone's got their specific areas of enthusiasm. I can go into the Forza thread and everyone's enjoying their new Forza game. The Yakuza thread is like a little community all of its own. The Rock Band thread is like a plastic instruments addiction therapy group. The Game Pass thread has loads of people enthusing about the latest little oddity they've found (and people wanting cheap deals, obviously).

 

I wouldn't try and have a generic conversation about "gaming" with a "gamer", but on here I can easily find people to chat to about specific stuff I like.

[df0]

Two examples:

 

1 - way back when I was QA in Madrid, a colleague from I believe Hungary was completely in love with Resistance 2. Best game ever, for real. Better then I could expect, it is so much better. Long story short: I bought it, played it, finished it, thought it was decent enough (like 6/10) and he agreed. No clue where all that hype went.

 

2 - More recent, a colleague who would get amped up over announcement and releases. This new game is out and it is superb, this new game is coming out in 2022 and man does it look good. Placed a pre-order already. He's also the type who had one of those games running on his phone that play themselves? Some typical JRPG combat stuff, for hours and hours. He'd basically surround himself with games as much and often as possible. But only by his choice, when I'd told him about how great Doom 2016 is he'd go out of his way to not buy and play it. I had to buy it for him and he barely touched it. He'd rather play some complete crap and pretend it's well good.

[Mr. Gerbik]

Sometimes I bump the Tenchu thread but I never get a reply and then it disappears off the first page of Discussion again for a few years. And that's okay.