Been happening to me a lot lately. Probably cuz I'm thinking I have way too many games to play and not enough time to play them. Lately, I tend to play a game I like and replay it just cuz I'm used to the controls. But I continue to buy games I'll probably never get to. I'm actually thinking about selling my entire collection but at the same time I don't want to part with them.

It happens to me as well, especially in regards to MMOs. I have other hobbies and when I get tired of playing any games, I spend more time with those other hobbies. Just like someone earlier mentioned, if you spend too much time with something or someone you'll get tired of them. Don't sweat it.

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Variety is the spice of life.

I go through phases with gaming. I game a lot, get burnt out, then game little for a couple months while I spend more time on other things. Wash, rinse and repeat.

For me as lot of it is how busy I am. If work and social life is eating up more time than usual, I tend to game less as games just take more time and effort vs. vegging out and watching tv, or a movie or reading a little.

It takes a lot more motivation and energy to get through a game--even a short 6-8 hour one, much less a long RPG or what have you--vs. spending 90 minutes with a movie and being done with it.

For me, stress levels matter too. If I'm really stressed with work, life etc. I mostly stay away from games as I have no patience for challenge, dying repeatedly etc. and just end up rage quitting and in a worse mood than when I started. Gaming just isn't a good veg out and relax activity for me. I'd rather go for a run or chill out with a book or movie.

Good post drittz, feel as you hit the nail right on the head. Same thing happened to me, when I first started buying everything I could get my hands on.

I'm going to ramble on a bit here, so be warned.

It feels like we get one of these posts every 3 months on here. I'm definitely at one of those points right now: though I am working less than ever (and thus have quite a bit of free-time) I just don't play as many games. I played a few games this past year, but they were all basically six-ten hour campaigns that you can breeze through in a weekend. I almost never actually buy games anymore, and the only real time I hang out on CAG is when I am bored at work (like right now).

I do feel a small tinge of disappointment about my decreasing gaming habits. Six years ago I was playing Oblivion every single night after work, just completely losing myself in the world. Flash-forward to 2013 and I've only played about 11 hours of Skyrim. I spent hours fooling around with the physics in GTA IV in 2008, but I just coasted through the campaign missions in Saints Row 3. I feel like I've lost my ability to fully appreciate a video game, and these days I'm just blasting through quick campaigns.

For the most part however, I don't really care... I feel better that I am spending my free time doing things that are more productive. While I'm certain this is not the same for everyone, my nerd habits tended to feed a rather lonely lifestyle. I spent a year at college, then took a year off in 2005 to live on my own and "earn a bigger federal grant by being poor" (as I told my high school biology teacher when I ran into her at the supermarket). While my friends were off having fun at school, I was working sixty hours a week at some real crummy temp jobs. I didn't have time to hang out with my friends, so I found things to do around the apartment that fit around my schedule. Before I knew it, I had a 360 and a PSP, I was buying DVDs on a weekly basis, going to the bookstore on occasion to buy the new volume of Naruto (that was before I found out they were all online for free) and hanging out on message boards. I got fat, didn’t exactly make a whole lot of new friends (nearly all of my current friends are buddies from high school), and my “year off” turned into “5 years off”, save for a few night classes at community college. Eventually a reprieve came when, of all things, my entire work site got laid off and I decided to go back to school and stop being a lazy SOB.

Anyways, to make a long story short, it is probably a good thing that I am falling out from games. I’d like to think there is still the potential for finding a game that I can completely immerse myself in, but I think the only way to do it is by owning one game per year, while practicing a healthy amount of self-restraint.

Originally Posted by YoshiFan1 This has happened to me a lot over the last few years. I used to play video games almost every day, now I can go for a few weeks without picking up a single video game. I find that from April to October is when I stopped having interest in playing video games the most probably because my other interests that time of year are more important (following baseball/watching every Phillies game I can and going to amusement parks at least once a week) and from November to March when I am bored more often and spend more time indoors, I sometimes feel like I have more interest in playing games where I at least play a game 3 - 4 days a week. I have also found that I'm no longer interested in newer games as much either. 10 - 15 years ago I couldn't imagine not picking up a new Nintendo console. Now with Wii U out I almost have no interest since I just don't think I would use the system enough to justify the cost. Even games from some of my favorite franchises like Mario, Mario Kart, GTA etc. take a lot for me to play or finish the games. I still haven't finished Mario Galaxy despite buying it in 2007 and it took me over 3 years to finish GTA 4. I did pick up a Vita last week which really goes against what I just typed but I feel like sometimes even if I think I shouldn't buy something, the price factors into it and I end up with games I bought because they are cheap but play once or twice and forget about them. With the Vita, I only bought it because of an amazing deal (First Edition bundle with system, Little Deviants game, memory card and case for $118 brand new), but I know I probably won't use it that often.

Even if you don't use it that much if you can get something at a low price it's almost never a failed investment. A Vita for $118 could probably be flipped for more than what you paid, if you ever decided you didn't want it. This thing retails for $250 and there are people out there paying that price for it. There may be a killer game you just have to have for it some day, and in that case you have the system and then you can acquire the game. Since its flippable for what you paid or more, then it's not a failed purchase. It will be a while before we see a vita price drop in that range, very likely a long long long while. Now buying a Vita at launch and spending like $300-400 with games and memory card then never using it is definitely not worth the price and is a totally different situation. I probably would have shelled out for one at this price had I been able to locate one just because there is an atelier game I want to play coming to it. Most of this game hardware especially handheld game hardware is vastly ovepriced and not worth full price but when you can get something on a deep discount clearance it's probably best to buy it even if you don't use it that much, unless there are absolutely no games at all you want to play on it, worse come to worse it can be sold for at least what you paid.

Originally Posted by SkywardKing Why does this happen every once in a while?

I think of it as a gaming hangover. Usually happens after I either a.) play one game that is long (60+ hours) or b.) beat a bunch of short games in a relatively short time. I think it happens to me because I usually dread the the thought of starting a new game... the process of actually choosing which one (worst part), getting into the story, and getting the hang of the controls

Originally Posted by SkywardKing Does this happen to anyone else? and why do you think this happens?

All the time. See above.

Originally Posted by SkywardKing I just recently bought many games and now that i have them, I have no drive to play any of them lol.

Story of my life.

I don't get burnt out on games exactly, I just get burnt out on what I play. I never want to try anything new. I find myself playing nothing but Torchlight II, WoW, Skyrim and Borderlands 2 lately. And I only buy games from series that I've played before and that I love such as DMC, Pokemon, MGS, Tomb Raider, and so forth. I've got an overabundance of games on Steam I should be playing, but I don't.

Originally Posted by SaraAB Even if you don't use it that much if you can get something at a low price it's almost never a failed investment. A Vita for $118 could probably be flipped for more than what you paid, if you ever decided you didn't want it. This thing retails for $250 and there are people out there paying that price for it. There may be a killer game you just have to have for it some day, and in that case you have the system and then you can acquire the game. Since its flippable for what you paid or more, then it's not a failed purchase. It will be a while before we see a vita price drop in that range, very likely a long long long while. Now buying a Vita at launch and spending like $300-400 with games and memory card then never using it is definitely not worth the price and is a totally different situation. I probably would have shelled out for one at this price had I been able to locate one just because there is an atelier game I want to play coming to it. Most of this game hardware especially handheld game hardware is vastly ovepriced and not worth full price but when you can get something on a deep discount clearance it's probably best to buy it even if you don't use it that much, unless there are absolutely no games at all you want to play on it, worse come to worse it can be sold for at least what you paid.

Yeah you're right, it was really somewhat of a buy now and think about it later purchase even though I do plan to keep it. I just feel like had it been when the time when GBC, GBA or even the original DS, I wouldn't have thought twice about it since back then I had more of an interest in games and wouldn't have even considered not getting it.

If you won't play the games then give them to me I will play them. I'm looking for Dishonored, Darksiders 2, and the new Transformers game.

I haven't played too many games in the last year, but yet I still buy them. When I do play, I have so many games to choose from. I start them up and then I play a little bit, tell myself I'm going to beat it, then after a day or 2 never touch them again.

Originally Posted by YoshiFan1 Yeah you're right, it was really somewhat of a buy now and think about it later purchase even though I do plan to keep it. I just feel like had it been when the time when GBC, GBA or even the original DS, I wouldn't have thought twice about it since back then I had more of an interest in games and wouldn't have even considered not getting it.

I am playing games now because its winter and boring and stuff but I spend my whole summer going to yard sales and thus, I spend most of my time cleaning and preparing games to sell! So while i am still involved with games, i am not playing them much, only to test them. This leaves me little time to actually play. If you go to theme parks every weekend you are very lucky as I love parks but I go once a year if that, if I had friends into it I would go more but basically no one in my area cares about theme parks except kids who beg their parents to take them. Of course that is probably false but I just don't know anyone who loves amusement rides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Zinw1uDJo

Originally Posted by greyzieoriental I haven't played too many games in the last year, but yet I still buy them. When I do play, I have so many games to choose from. I start them up and then I play a little bit, tell myself I'm going to beat it, then after a day or 2 never touch them again.

Yeah, that was something I did good on up through last winter--not buying games I didn't intend to play right away.

I hate having a backlog as it makes gaming start to feel like a chore as I feel pressured to clear out games and get them sold/traded before they're completely worthless since I'm not a collector type.

But when my x-box live account got hacked and I was locked out of it for a few months I ended up getting a PS3 and got a bunch of cheap games for it since I'd never had one--add in the PS+ freebies and I'm back to having a decent (for me) backlog of 15 or so games that I've made little progress clearing out since I mostly played Skyrim through last summer/fall, and Borderlands 2 from October to now.

With the decline of Goozex I care less about rushing through stuff now. Most of the older PS3 games I have on disc aren't worth bothering selling/trading anyway so I'll just beat them whenever and donate them to Goodwill if I can't get at least $10 for them on the Amazon marketplace.

If I had it to do over again I'd have just road out the Xbox hacking debacle (see my blog posts on here for details) without gaming or just said the hell with it and made a new live account though as I don't game anywhere near enough to own three consoles (also have a Wii that seldom gets touched).

If I keep gaming next gen, I'll definitely just pick up one console after the first price drop and go back to only buying games when I need a new one to play as that definitely worked better for keeping me in gaming and not getting burned out on it.

Shenmue III is the only thing that can save me at this point.

I just pop in to play NBA JAM from time to time.

Is this really a problem?

It's often the people who strongly identify as a gamer or with the "gaming culture" that is fervently promoted by gaming websites and blogs who are the most distressed by their temporary loss of interest in gaming, as if a part of their core identity has been stripped away. If this is you, pick up another hobby or fun time-waster. And if that doesn't work, consider a therapist.

TLDR: You are more than a gamer.

Personally I try to mix it up. I watch a movie a day and read an hour a night then focus the rest of my free time on games

Seems to happen to me every several years or so, I just take it easy on gaming for a bit and usually a title will come along that gets me back into it before too long.

How do you know it's temporary? Maybe its forever. Seriously though you need another hobby, read a book.

Originally Posted by megaman456 But the thing I've discovered is that most of the time the reason why I don't play video games is because I can never make up my mind on which game to play. I stand at my shelf full of games for like 10 minutes literally deciding what to play and then I get tired and just go watch tv instead because I couldn't make up my mind.

I seriously do this all the time. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of games I haven't started playing yet. And even if I do pick one, I don't enjoy it because I try to beat it quickly just to get to another one. The rush to buy them was fun, but I think I've learned my lesson and will only buy games I REALLY want to play going forward.