Have you ever thought about retiring from video games ?

[Kristen Danielle]

Absolutely not. I am, at this point, hoping there are game consoles in Heaven because my backlog is longer than my life. lol

[Dry]

I did question continuing this hobby upon losing access to my original main PSN account, only a week later I decided to stick to it by creating this one.

 

Ever since I've been paying attention to PlayStation trophies beyond simply playing a video game for fun (LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing etc.) in my pre-teen years and having one unlock every once in a while, at home I'm rarely if ever gaming on a platform beyond a PlayStation console from the PS3 onward.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Dry

[Datboy1991]

Retiring? Do I get a pension?

 

I take breaks when I burn out, but it's a hobby, not a job. 

[CB7Tuner91]

I probably will never fully retire, but I've always said if my account was ever hacked or was gone that I'd cut wayyyyy back. I would never trophy hunt again thats for sure. 

[ReverzerO-]

My contract doest have expiration so how can I retire?

[Wired-Warlock]

That seems like a silly question on a site like this. And like someone above me has said you can handle burn out by taking a break (either hours or days if you have to).

 

.

[TheDarkKratos]

On 11/14/2017 at 1:47 AM, Kale said:

Have you ever thought about retiring from video games ?

Over the last 2-3 years I've constantly thought about seriously retiring from trophy-hunting, but not retiring from playing video-games. The two are closely related, but they are not the same thing. I turned to the dark side of the Force about 6-7 years ago, and regret it totally. Lately, I question my reasoning for actually earning trophies. I simply don't get much fun out of it anymore. Miss the good old days of just playing games for fun. Trophies were not even a part of the equation back then. I really enjoyed my gaming 100%. But all that got tarnished when trophies unexpectedly took over my life. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened. I became a trophy-addict-whore.

 

Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy playing a wide variety of games, but when popping platinum's etc, the overall thrill has all but disappeared for me. I'm at a cross-roads as to whether to pursue my trophy-hunting, or just video-game for fun. Having 12 years invested in my gaming on PSN, and it's been an amazing and costly journey, but maybe I do need to move on at some point or other. I have some very close friends on the PSN, and we have talked about this topic more than once. I like to hang out with my PSN friends more than actually playing video-games. I am not burnt out, nor am I bored as such. I just don't feel motivated much anymore. And it's a feeling I can't shake, no matter how hard I try. 

 

Backlog is a term I despise, because my own Backlog is beyond ridiculous. Very few people ever clear up their backlogs fully. I've resigned myself to the fact that I will NEVER finish up all the games I want to. So, that is yet another factor on my stress-meter. Maybe I should just say FUCK all of this, and just play for fun, with minimal trophy-hunting? But it's difficult to let go, and do that. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't know how to stop, unless I actually dropped dead.

 

I recently tallied up my total gaming time per month, and almost had a heart attack. I once read that to really enjoy your hobby, you must break it up and do other stuff in your life. Maybe that's true. Variety is the spice of life, and to keep one's outlook more positive I guess. Too much of one thing can be self detrimental in the long run. As others have already stated - when gaming becomes a tedious chore, or a job you hate, then why torture yourself. It will consume you. Sigh...

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by TheDarkKratos

[Juzota]

Trophy hunting can come and go, but gaming is there for life. I'm 35 and I've been gaming since age 3, I don't remember life without videogames.

[unkind-tear4]

I’ll retire after I die, how about that? (Also good lord, the Persona 5 Tactics thing kept me from reaching the “submit reply” button!)

[Qjotr]

Yes. For a few reasons;

 

Games take more and more time to complete, whilst i have less and less. If i wanna play games, i have to drop things. This ruins the fun since i should do more important stuff. When i do choose to play games i realise i've lost all my skill since i don't play enough any more.

 

On top of that games that i like to play like assassins creed now take 300h (looking at you Valhalla). Shooter games like CoD became a skill based match made loop where all your experiences are artificial to push you to the store to spend more money. No thanks. Finally i see more and more political standpoints intertwined with single player games. I don't necessarily disagree with them, but i don't want to see everyday issues in my valuable escape from real life.  Finally, i enjoy video game collecting. With the push to go all digital by 2028 and stopping the sales of disc drive consoles my final fun from the hobby is killed off.

 

To end positive though, i currently have some time off and my love for the hobby flourished. I find it hard to get into modern games but i really enjoy replaying old favourites. Gen 9 is definitely the last generation of consoles for me. The only current gen exclusive that i enjoy is AstroBot. All other games are also available on PS3 or 4. The updated graphics and SSD make PS5 a perfect machine to play my games on though, plus i can do local MP with my PS4.

 

Tldr; I'll quit modern games, but ill occasionally revisit old favourites.

[TJ_Solo]

On 11/18/2023 at 2:01 AM, Wired-Warlock said:

That seems like a silly question on a site like this. And like someone above me has said you can handle burn out by taking a break (either hours or days if you have to).

 

.

 

Silly but oddly frequently repeated accross a bunch of gaming forums. Some people need reinforcment and support for their personal decisions. If I want to quit something, I quit. Bye, sayonra. No post, no parade, no pleading for attention...but I didn't grew up with tiktok or a phone attached to my hand.

[funboy1246]

On 11/17/2023 at 3:17 PM, here4headshots said:

Bird watching with no binoculars, and books on birds is free too lol

Nah, that requires going outside....OH I KNOW! shadow puppets. oh yea. I'm single ladies 😎

[Alayaes]

I personally don't see the point in stopping a hobby you enjoy unless;

1. You no longer enjoy it but instead feel obligated to continue due to what you've already invested.
2. It affects other things in life like family, friends, work, other hobbies, etc.

[willows_blessing]

yeah tbh games aren't fun and are just boring, I only play them to make guides and don't enjoy most in my free time I'm going more to just normal stuff like tv instead of games

 

[Nameless600]

I've never fully retired. I didn't play a CRAZY amount when I was 13-16 as I was way too focused on girls and social life, and I didn't play much my freshman year of college for similar reasons.

 

I did semi-retire from trophy hunting for about 3 months in 2022. I had a problem with a Vita cross-region pop that caused trophies to pop out of order. I had a full freakout about being removed from the leaderboard, being labelled a cheater and/or getting my account banned in some way. After some thought I decided "what the hell am I doing?" and decided to take a break from trophy hunting. I switched over to playing World of Warcraft, joined a raiding guild and did that for about 3 months.

 

Now that I have a kid, I'm back to trophy hunting, although its DEF slowed down quite a bit. I am super excited to teach her the ways when she is older :).

 

TL;DR, no, mini break due to trophy problems, played WoW, back on the sauce, want to play video games with my kid someday.

[GUDGER666]

No I enjoy it, once I've finished all the PS3/4 games I will probably move onto Xbox or PC but that will be a while.

 

I did think my gaming days were over when I lost my eyesight but thankfully partly got it back in my left eye. 

 

I've no interest in buying a new console for a long time as most games nowadays are just shit or broken. 

[xh117]

Yes if Playstation ever went away I probably won't want to play on PC or Nintendo. At least I have enough games than I'll ever have time for even if playstation ceases to exist.

[Sofa King]

I'm 50 years old, divorced, and work a full time job. I've seen a lot and done a lot in my life and right now gaming is my escape from the everyday grind. I don't go out much and keep a small circle of friends, none of whom are gamers. Other than spending as much time as I can with my soon to be graduating high school daughter( which in itself is a bit overwhelming to think of), gaming is basically all I really do. And I am perfectly content with my lifestyle.

 

I'd only retire from gaming if it felt like a job. But I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[Suicide_Tortuga]

I'll retire when I suck.

[the1andonly654]

I'll probably never retire completely since there are games that I just want to play no matter what. 

 

But yeah, if I didn't need an escape and didn't have so much downtime while working, I'd probably play less than half the games I'm playing. Not because they're bad, but most of them are the same thing over and over again. Something to do, sure, I can appreciate their qualities, but would I really lose all that much by not playing them? Most of the time, no. 

[Cellcrash1991]

I'll never stop completely, I guess. But sometimes the interest goes away but then comes back, so it has its periods. I am also getting older (32) so there are logically other obligations and/or matters that take priority. 

But I'm still definitely online on the Playstation every 2 days. Currently reliving the youth with GTA 3. (almost platinum)

Edited March 26 by Cellcrash1991

[Vulpine9Tails]

Nope in fact I'm trying to get my dad into it as he approaches retirement because my mom has made it clear she will not tolerate him spending all his time at the casino so he needs a new hobby. It's not going well so far unfortunately. 

 

But for myself there seems to less coming out that I am interested in, but that might just be because I am trying to actually get through my backlog so my brain is telling me everything sucks now so don't bother with it and focus on what I already have. No plans to ever give it up though. 

[NeW_CLeaR_HoRRoR]

On 11/16/2017 at 11:58 PM, Kubanga said:

Absolutely. With how much of a train wreck I’ve been this year emotionally, I’ve thought a few times about just selling everything and moving on to something else completely. 

Having no idea of your circumstance, what has helped me the last two years was getting back into weight training. Changing my diet, quitting soft drinks. And trying to clear the mind out. Focusing on my reps & keeping track on a google spreadsheet of progress. I can't begin to tell you how hard of a journey it's been to workout 4-6 times a week. Strong body, strong mind (or so I'm trying) & it will help you emotionally. I do this on top of raising a 7 year old daughter, working full time in a career & taking on side jobs for extra money.

 

I was only playing games after 8 pm at night & mostly sticking to my preferred genre of stick shooters. Quitting completely has crossed my mind, too. But my little girl discovered Plants vs Zombies & it has been fun to play some stuff with her.

 

She did 'Spot the Difference' & now we are co-oping Ugly Americans.

 

You have to find the power to heal yourself.

 

 

[Wired-Warlock]

I posted a little way up the thread a while back, but here is another take on this...

 

I'm 56 very soon, but not even near considering the thought of giving it up anytime soon.

Plus PS6 will release in 4 and a half years time and that console will be a game changer for gaming in numerous ways. Can not wait!!!

.

[StewartBros]

On 11/18/2023 at 7:01 AM, Wired-Warlock said:

you can handle burn out by taking a break (either hours or days if you have to).

 

.

 

It wouldn't be much of a break if it only lasted for a matter of hours.