Other than the current generation of consoles, my last one was a NES almost 15 years ago. In the last year or so I've gotten back into console gaming. Nothing hardcore, but I am enjoying playing games again. I never really played many games on the PC other than Civilization.

I do go in gaming phases though. At times I'll be playing all the time and then I won't play for a week or two. It helps that my wife likes to play games, so we'll trade off watching the other play.

I lose interest for a while, then I get back into it again. It kind of depends on what's out, but a good console style RPG (not an MMORPG--I think those are played out for me) can usually get me back into it. (Yes, I know all the complaints about this variety of games, but they're still my favorite overall genre)

Same here. The few times a week I sit down to play a game, I'm usually wanting to relax for a while. So I have very little patience for super hard games that take a ton of effort and practice. Defeats the purpose of trying to relax.

My main issue is just finding time to play. I usually have to wait until the kids (ages 2 & 4) go to bed to start playing, and then it's a tradeoff between sleep and playing. I actually think it would be a great time to be a kid, and have a lot of time to put into the great games that are out now.

I am trying to get my 4 year old started on gaming with Mario Sunshine, but the game is a little too much for him. I'm really looking forward to getting the GBA to GC adapter, and letting him hook up on the TV for some good side scrolling fun, so that he only has to worry about hand eye coordination in 2 directions.

I miss the old school games also, such as Pac-Man, Asteroids, Tempest, Defender, etc... The beauty of those game was...you put in a quarter, play, then you're done. Even something on the Atari/Genesis/ColecoVision like Space Invaders, Tetris, Venture, etc...was great because there weren't memory cards or some long drawn out story, you play 'til you die and then move on. Sure, you could play the games for hours on end, but you could also play one 10-15 minute game and be satisfied.

Now, it almost gets to feel like 'work' trying to beat a video game. You have to learn all of the moves, save levels, "live" the story, etc... I recently beat Splinter Cell, which is the best game I've played since Halo released, but in hindsight, it was more of a "mission" than playing for fun. I got to the point where I just wanted to beat it so it would finally end.

I feel similar to the way some of you feel. While I still play games, I don't play nearly as much as I used to partly because of work and school and partly cause of interest. Personally I don't like "3d Worlds", I could couldn't care less about moving side to side and up and back and diagonal, I don't care. I miss the good ol' 2D games from atari to 8-bit to 16-bit and some of the PS and N64 games. It's come to a point where I hate having to think too much in the game, I just want to play it. Call me lazy, call me old, or just call me an old school gamer.

Well, I THOUGHT I missed the "old days." Then I actually went back and played some of those games. With my MAME machine, I've been trying a lot of games I LOVED when I was a kid.

I have way too much nostaligia, because frankly, a lot of those games I liked just plain suck now. The luster has faded.

I am completely opposite of a lot of you. Simplistic side-scrollers just bore me now. I want an adventure, an experience, a WORLD to explore. That's what I always wanted growing up. I don't get that with any of the NES games (well, maybe SMB 3) and only a few SNES games. I don't want to go back and play those old games because they just don't do anything for me anymore. I was always impatient for the future. And it's finally here.

With BF1942, Splinter Cell, Animal Crossing, Vice City, Nightfire, Buffy and all the other games I'm playing, I've never enjoyed gaming more.

I agree to a point, but I just wish there were some new games that came out that were in the same category as the old schoolers. Splinter Cell was great, but at the time I got it there weren't any other games that interested me to "break it up", so it became a little tedious. I wish there were 'simple' games that you could toss in and play when you don't feel like living an 'epic', then go back to games like Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, GTA's, Halo, Socom, etc... I, and alot of others it seems, don't always have hours to spend gaming, so how about some new 'simple' ones to fill the void and give us our 20 minute gaming fun??

My interest really varies depending on what games I have. When I first got my XBOX I played tons of HALO. Then I got into DoD on my PC and didn't touch my XBOX for months. Now I'm back on the XBOX and don't touch my PC. The latest XBOX kick was inspired by XBOX LIVE.

I go in streaks where I play a lot for a couple weeks then nothing for awhile. At 30 though I do have to say the time is just not always there (unless I give up sleep).

Well, I'm a bit confused. What would be an example of a "20 minute" game? The only games I can think of that I liked required a lot more than a few minutes.

Because, with the lack of save games or memory cards, you couldn't just jump in and play the last level of Contra or SMB. So to get anywhere in an "old school" game you had to sit down and really dig in, right?

But with Splinter Cell, I would sometimes just play to the next checkpoint (which is about 10-20 minutes of playtime.) Or a couple more levels of Buffy. Or play through the Vanquish levels on Nightfire (another 10-20 minute experience.)

GTA III is the ULTIMATE "20 min game" if you ask me. I constantly fire it up and just mess around or show it to friends. My wife plays Animal Crossing for either 2 hours or 10 minutes at a time.

So I'm not sure what people are talking about when they say they want an old-school type game to just pick up and play. I can hardly think of anything that was like that, unless you were fine with playing through the first level over and over again.

I think people are talking real old school stuff, like Atari Era. Stuff like Pac-man where you have to be super good to make one game last for more than 20 minutes as when you die you start over again.

Well that makes more sense. But I completely lose interest in playing Pac-Man longer than 10 minutes, so it's not like I look forward to firing it up. I'll play it, I'll go "huh" and then move on to something else.

Most online games aside from the RPGS are the definition of pick up and play for 30 minutes, then leave. So that sort of game is very much alive if you're after it. All sports games are the same.

Fighting games and sporst games are the only pick up and play games that I really enjoy.

I never liked the Pac man type games, they were a little before my time. My dad bought an Atari 5200 but I never played it much. I really got into gaming with the NES.

So the pick up and play aspect isn't a reason I prefer old school games. I just like 2D gaming better for some reason. My GBA gets as much, or more play time as my GC and PS2 combined. I think one reason is that the older games are easier to play every now in then. Many games today are more involved. If you don't play for a couple of weeks it's hard to remember what you were doing and where you needed to go sometimes.

That's why the hint system in Metroid Prime was so great. It not only kept you from wandering around randomly trying to figure out where to go next, but also showed reminded you of where you were going after not playing for a couple weeks. Plus you could turn it off giving the purists nothing to complain about.

It's always been in phases for me. Not just in terms of playing games in general, but also in genres of games. For instance, right now I'm going through an "RPG" phase, alternating between Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights, Skies of Arcadia,and Baldur's Gate.

Here are two ways to renew your passion for video games.

Start playing PC Games-nothing is more fun then playing 3d shooters/strtegy games against live people...stategy and teamwork make for more interesting games...

Get married-then after a few years you'll want to play games more then sex...hehe.

I go through phases as well. Right now, I'm not playing a lot (even though I've only got one mission of the Getaway left to play through). However, a month ago, before I finished GTA:VC, I was playing every single night. In general, I don't play as much as I did in high school/college, but when a good game sucks me in, I definitely wouldn't say I'm losing interest in games. My standards are just higher as my time is more scarce.

Excellent quote!!!

1. Hate playing games on the PC.
2. Assuming "3d shooters" means FPSs. Not a big fan of the genre and never liked deathmatches much.
3. Hate strategy games.
4. Hate online gaming. Won't bother to list the reasons for the umpteenth time. Online specific gripes aside, it also takes more time and is harder to pick up and play. Sometimes I don't want to finish a whole game (especially with sports games), but I have no choice online. I hate when people quit on me, so I don't quit on others.

I feel the same way too. Lately, it's almost as if I'm making myself finishing the games that I've bought. I do it because that way, I don't feel like I'm wasting my money. I also have to agree with all the 3D games. The 2D incarnations are much much better IMO. Also, what is up with the Nintendo games? I mean, when Mario 64 first came out, yeah okay that was pretty revolutionary and innovative, but when Zelda 64 came out wasn't it just Mario 64 with Link in it? And Banjo Kazooie, and all those other overloaded 3D platforming games that was on the N64. It seemed to me that that's all Nintendo knew how to make. Even the Final Fantasy series went from great gameplay to great cinematics. All flashy and no substance. Sure it's cool to watch, but where's the game? I can honestly say that Sega is pretty much one of the few companies left that is truly trying to save the videogaming industry. If this keeps up, I think I will be bored with games...

Uh, no. Ocarina of Time only shares a color palette and the 3d look with Mario 64.

Translation: "I have never played Zelda 64." The two games couldn't be more different in terms of gameplay. The only similarity is that they both featured a 3rd person view.

I'm in the same boat as all the rest of you. I agree with a little bit from everybody. My biggest issue is that I just don't have the time anymore to put a ton of time into a game unless I am completely entranced in it. Otherwise, I seem to get frustrated with it all to quickly. It used to be that I would never look at a stratagie guide unless I was ripping my hair out. Now, I'll pick one up after two or three tries at something. I also miss the games that were very linear. To much freedom drives me crazy. RPG's like FFX and my favorite, The legend of Dragoon, are perfect because they were very linear. Knowing what you had to do next and where to go next but with the struggle of COULD YOU DO IT, is what I really miss. You and a friend could be playing the same game and be at two different parts, and if you were farther into the game, you were the master untill they were able to get to a part that you couldn't beat.

OK, I'm ranting to much. I don't think I'm loosing interest, but there needs to be a second coming of the old school state of mind OR ONE REALLY DAMN GOOD GAME to keep me on the same game all the way to the end!!!!

I never was heavily interested in games. They've always been a relatively minor hobby for me. I don't really play anything between Nintendo's big releases.. and I don't feel like playing anything. Probably the only reason I play games at all is I still love Nintendo games.

i was loosing intrest like a half year ago and now just around this month i staretd to get back in to it. reading my gaming mags again,i wnat rpgs, playing vice city alot,gaming online.