Does anyone here get videogame 'burnout'?

[Nihilanth1982]

i played games through all last year, playing every GTA game on my pc (gta3 series) and ps3 (gta4 series, gta5 and online), RDR and a resident evil game, and after getting my 9th plat i feel like i dont want to approach the console to play another game, its like my brain is saying it wants a break from gaming, and after a month or two, get a ps4 and start playing games on that. i already have a list of games i like to play.

 

does anyone here get videogame 'burnout' as well after playing games everyday for awhile? or take a break?

i remember going into 'retirement' after selling my ps2 but after a couple of years the urge to play the ps3 was too great to ignore.

 

i now have to find another hobby to do! sadly i have to go back to work tomorrow after the winter break

[Skeever]

Yeah, I've had that happen to me dozens of times in the past few years, sometimes with it lasting for several months before I ever want to do anything related to gaming again. I just get an overwhelming feeling of boredom and impatience if I ever try to play any games when it does happen. I suppose all you can do really is find another hobby until you find yourself in the mood again.

On the bright side, it sure is a breath of fresh air when you get back into it several weeks/months/years later. Even a game you've spent hundreds of hours on can feel new again if you take long enough of a break from it.

[Sombra]

I think I've finally lost interest in Call of Duty having played it since 2009. Got Black Ops 3 at Christmas, played for 20 minutes and didn't like it so I just sold it.

 

I'm a big boy on Counter Strike now.

[Guest Billy Russo]

I think everyone gets burnt out at least once in their gaming life, I had several points last year where I was just sick and tired of gaming.

 

However, I've managed to turn that around by making sure I have a bit of everything to play:

Do I want to race? The Crew.

Do I want to mess around, and do what I want? GTA Online.

Do I want to shoot some people in a somewhat competitive setting? Battlefield, BO3, Rainbow Six.

Do I just want to have fun on a shooter? Battlefront.

Do I want to explore a vast open world, with a lot of sh*t to do? Fallout 4.

 

I think I'm good for a while thankfully, I don't see me getting burnt out until the end of this year, but even then I doubt I will because I'll be picking games like The Division up (PLEASE BE GOOD). It's an expensive hobby for sure, but it's making sure you have something of each genre, so you always have something to tickle your fancy.

[dudclub55]

Only open world game burnout. I shake my head a little every time I think of completing any of my backlogged open world games.

[Spaghetti Cat]

I think it depends on the game you're playing. Some games (like Destiny for example) just exist to grind away. The only purpose is to get a fancy item, upgrade it, and repeat the process all over again. Open worlds have a different problem, the checklist. If you have to do ten different things just to play the original mission or activity, then you know what I'm talking about. IN my opinion games should be fun diversions, not the time suckers they've become. If I wanted to level up in Mario I find a mushroom, that's it. No need to go to level 23 and talk to Mr. X, or purchase a DLC item on day one, just a damned mushroom. Not that I don't mind complicated decisions in games, but sometimes I just want to have fun. I think it's that aspect of fun that some people miss, rather than boredom.

[Nihilanth1982]

thats another thing. games that requires grinding either for trophies or completion is also quickly turning me off now, whereas a year prior i couldnt live without seeing everything 100% on my psn record! if the plat is easy and doesn't need 100% then i might do it, but the game itself must be enjoyable and fun to play. thats when i start to want to play again. right now the thought of it makes me 'tired', my brain saying 'noooo not that again'.

[Shenmue18]

I think it's normal to get burnt out on games. Once you're not a kid anymore, you aren't so easily amused to where you can play games all day and not get bored eventually.

[Chewie]

I hardly play video games anymore. I have a whole Steam library of games but I don't play them anymore. I played GTA V on PC a few weeks ago but I got bored of it. I should finish The Witcher 3. That was a pretty awesome game.

[?!=+_-]

All the time like last year haven't played GTA for months now I'm back into it again.

 

The Witcher 3 was a good game but lots of the time I couldn't be bothered and only played a bit at a time but eventually completed it but skipped most of the sidequests in the end. Was a good game and glad I completed it.

Edited January 3, 2016 by ?!=+_-

[CReaper210]

Yup. I actually haven't really played anything in a while. I hopped on GTA and customized some cars for a couple hours combined over the last 2 weeks, but apart from that, I haven't really played anything.

The last two things I remember actually doing and being invested in were Halo 5 and Fallout 4. I got all achievements in Halo 5 and put in probably 30-35 hours playtime and was 3d 12h in Fallout 4 when my game glitched and prevented me from continuing. I guess something like that could have been what demotivated me from playing games for a while, but whatever.

 

It's weird too. I don't even know what I've been doing. I'm just kind of relaxing in my free time. I'm sleeping a couple more hours every day. And every time I get on my PC I end up just browsing the internet looking at what the hell ever. Even when I go out, I'm just taking my time more. What would be a half hour of shopping turns into an hour and a half tour just looking at all the movies to watch. Which I've also been doing. I recently got the X-Files blu ray set and have been watching that for the first time ever. So yeah.

 

It's nice to take a brake once in a while though. Doesn't matter what you do, but it's not good to try and force yourself to play a game when you just don't feel like it. Just go back when you feel the urge and enjoy yourself.

[MarshDanni]

Videogame burnout happens to me more often as I get older. I dunno, I just find it more enjoying to be out with friends or something like that. I came back to replay GTA 3 a couple of days ago just for the nostalgia but even now I find it as a burden so I play it when I really have spare time. I guess it comes as a mind overload, you play so much you can't stand another game, at least it's like that for me. When I was younger I would spend all day playing video games but now to be honest I find it as a waste of time. I do play GTAO ever now and then but still. That would be all

[Commander S]

I get videogame burnout - it have very good driving, I like it lots.

 

[pyramid head]

I sometimes do but rarely does it happen, i once played The Sims Bustin Out for a week straight before taking a long break from playing it again.

[feckyerlife]

being 35 i feel there is 2 types of burnouts. one being playing video games in general and the other the games it self. When i was younger i would get burnout on video games in general because i would play so much. it got to the point that there would be months where i wouldn't play anything. The older i get the less time i have for video games (mainly if i get to play, its on the weekends). so, maybe burnout isnt the word i am looking for, but i tire of games quickly. Right now when i play, im back to playing witcher 3. the last 2 games i bought were MGSV and Fallout 4. both of those games i got burnt out on fast.

[KilnerLUFC]

Luckilly this doesn't happen so much for me in the past couple of years with my work schedule. Tend to work long hours, 6/7 days a week, so my gaming time is only for a few hours at the odd time, and it actually feels good to do so. When I had no job, I experienced Burnout quite often since it was all I tended to do, and it even got to that point I sold my consoles since it was getting too much and needed to break away from it. But yeah, it's inevitable with anything you do quite often imo, so like I said, I'm grateful that my gaming time is limited these days.

[RedMachete]

I haven't been excited or really enjoyed playing a game for long periods since Dying Light came out last January. A couple of games that have came out this year that I expected to really enjoy have ended up disappointing me. Hopefully 2016 will bring some exciting new games that interest me.

[Saikou]

When that happens to me I usually try out the games that I have installed and haven't given a proper go and... Give them a proper go, or delete them after attempting to give them a proper go.

 

One such example was Bully, I played it on the PS2 when it was new (I think? Was it even on the PS2? I forget...) And then I went ahead and 100'd on 360 in like... 3 days or so.

 

And before that it was a few Arcade games, and now trying Saints Row 3, but not 100% sure how I feel about it.

 

I keep this up until I run out of games to play, or something sparks my interest in GTA again.

[Wheatley]

These days, I spend more time looking at my Steam Library than actually playing a game. I suppose it all boils down to time management - where I prefer investing a lot of time into a game rather than enjoying "bite-size" chunks. Sort of like choosing a 3 course meal than a quick bite at a fast food restaurant.

 

There have been games in the past 12 months that have surprised me in that I've been going back to them regularly and really investing time into them like Metal Gear Solid V. Where I get excited to turn on the game and really dig into it. But nowadays we have more games - specifically multiplayer focused titles like MOBAs - where you can sit down and invest a small amount of time into it and not really think much of it. I really enjoy single player games like Fallout, The Witcher etc - but those types of games are the ones you really need to invest a lot of time and passion into to really enjoy it and get a fully satisfying experience.

 

Going back to the time management, most of my time these days are spent working at College so when I get home I usually I'm incredibly burnt out from working throughout the day that I don't have the energy to play a game and would rather crash onto my bed. When I do have free time however, I'm usually focused on working out how much time I can spend playing a game since I have other things to do. It's trying to find a balance between the two that's most consuming.

 

The one type of game that I'm burnt out on is open world games. I remember when an open world game came along on a blue moon, especially a really enjoyable one. In this day and age it seems that almost every developer is attempting to create an open world game because that's what most people enjoy - having the freedom and space to do what they want. Ubisoft announced that most of their new franchises will be open world now - and even racing games are evolving to incorporate the idea of open worlds instead of linear racing tracks. But now I'm burnt out because there are so many games and franchises that are open world that once you've played a few, or even one, you've pretty much played them all. The formula goes:

 

• Player starts off in open world but in small, cornered off section.
• Player has to do a certain task to unlock another small cornered off area - usually either in the story mode or by doing certain tasks in certain areas.
• Player then gets access to another area nearby and more sections that need to be unlocked.
• Unlocking an area reveals more things for the player to do, to find, to accomplish etc.

 

Open world games used to be about exploring, mainly. But now they seem like a checklist of things to do - almost the developer guiding and rail-roading the player through each segment of the map. It's tiring having to do this instead of allowing the player to be dropped into the world and exploring themselves.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Wheatley

[ClaudeSpeed1911]

 

I agree with this.

 

Games these days go open world without really needing it.

I miss the days where I could launch a game and play instantly without having to go somewhere to do a mission or activity. You can start DOOM and you would be shooting demons 30 secs after starting the game.

[Osho]

Every time I look at many Steam / PSN profiles, I often wonder why people buy every game out there?

Its like they spend 20-30 hours on so many games with over 30 titles and then hardly return for playing any of it.

Obviously, you are going to suffer.

I stick with certain genre, developers, and indie news, and get interested only after doing all the research that convinces me to try and makes me truly excited to play, instead of wasting money stupidly without any thought whatsoever and then show off the world, "look, I have so many games"

That's an idiotic trend, to say the least.

Spend time with the games which you can enjoy for the maximum and get fullest satisfaction, no matter the price.

Price is irrelevant to me if the game is excellent.

For instance, I have spend over 200 hours on a 15$ indie title Underrail which is comparable to classic fallout in terms of the whole experience than the piece of sh*t Fallout 4 which I stopped playing after 30 hours.

[Richard Power Colt]

For some reason lately, I've kinda felt intimidated to start new games. I usually stick with playing the same old games with my friends. I might be a bit afraid of adjusting into new experiences in general tho. Eventually I of course do always get around to playing something new and I might end up getting hooked really quickly. I have a lot of games I haven't got around to playing, those damned Steam sales are just too tempting, not to mention sites like Humble Bundle that give you several games for paying next to nothing.

 

Edit:

I also feel like in the myriad of games that come out these days, there's rarely something that impresses me. I remember as a kid I was always so excited to turn my console on to play a new game and nowadays I rarely get that feeling. To be fair though as a kid you do get excited over things in general a lot easier, but still after playing and seeing so many games, it's hard to find something unique that really catches my attention. Most games just follow similar trends, indie games do sometimes try to reinvent the wheel, but they're often held back by their budget. So when it comes to gaming these days, the few things that excite me are ambitious games like No Man's Sky and Star Citizen. I'm also excited to play VR games as it's a completely fresh and pretty impressive experience I've heard. There's also a few franchises that I do still fanboy over, but for the most part I do feel a bit burned out. But I still usually end up playing something every day lol.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Nutsack McQueen

[Phantomspirit]

Yeah lately I feel I don't want to turn the PlayStation on,even though I have many games on the go.Ive got a chrome cast and have been streaming shows I missed ,so passes the time.But to be honest the minute I fire up the console I'm back in again,there is something immersive about gaming that only gamers understand,I will play all my life,it' adds a different dimension to 'entertainment' ...

[Sir Michael]

Yeah, I'm burnt out with everything right now. I'm waiting for Fallout 4 mod support for consoles to come out at the moment because I've done everything possible in that game. With the new leveling system and its lackluster main story with not much choice in anything, I don't see myself starting new playthroughs like I did so many times with New Vegas... it really steered away from what I expected in a Fallout game, mainly the dialogue and the perk systems. Because Bethesda, right? I just hope the future DLC can change that up.

 

I'm indefinitely burnt out on first-person shooters after playing Destiny for so long. I grinded the crap out of that game that I just have no motivation to play it unless it's with friends, plus matchmaking always pairs me up against God-like snipers nowadays, which is just never fun. An update just came out for that game a few weeks ago, but it's just remixed sh*t from last year, and I honestly couldn't care less about reaching max level anymore. Anyway, I used to play a lot of CoD back in the day, then gave up after MW3. I just feel like it's so unnecessary to follow a series that prides itself on releasing a game every f*cking year like it's a membership renewal, alongside a season pass with every release. I just haven't had that "play for endless hours" fun with FPS games since Black Ops 1, Bad Company 2, Halo 3 and Reach... the genre just feels dead to me right now, I'm considering skipping over Doom.

 

I'm also incredibly burnt out with GTA V, mainly Online. I played the sh*t out of it that I have no motive to play anything that makes me money anymore, and I really only played GTAO to take Snapmatic shots and to drive my cars all across the map, and even that's grown very dull. Lately I've been playing Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive. They've both games I haven't played before, and honestly nice breaths of fresh air after playing so many online games these past few years. I need to expand my library a lot more, but I've been very skeptical with new games ever since this generation kicked off. I really like open-world games, but I haven't seen many that appeal to me. I think I'm closed-minded when it comes to what I want to play.

[dudclub55]

Yeah, I'm burnt out with everything right now. I'm waiting for Fallout 4 mod support for consoles to come out at the moment because I've done everything possible in that game. With the new leveling system and its lackluster main story with not much choice in anything, I don't see myself starting new playthroughs like I did so many times with New Vegas... it really steered away from what I expected in a Fallout game, mainly the dialogue and the perk systems. Because Bethesda, right? I just hope the future DLC can change that up.

 

I'm indefinitely burnt out on first-person shooters after playing Destiny for so long. I grinded the crap out of that game that I just have no motivation to play it unless it's with friends, plus matchmaking always pairs me up against God-like snipers nowadays, which is just never fun. An update just came out for that game a few weeks ago, but it's just remixed sh*t from last year, and I honestly couldn't care less about reaching max level anymore. Anyway, I used to play a lot of CoD back in the day, then gave up after MW3. I just feel like it's so unnecessary to follow a series that prides itself on releasing a game every f*cking year like it's a membership renewal, alongside a season pass with every release. I just haven't had that "play for endless hours" fun with FPS games since Black Ops 1, Bad Company 2, Halo 3 and Reach... the genre just feels dead to me right now, I'm considering skipping over Doom.

 

I'm also incredibly burnt out with GTA V, mainly Online. I played the sh*t out of it that I have no motive to play anything that makes me money anymore, and I really only played GTAO to take Snapmatic shots and to drive my cars all across the map, and even that's grown very dull. Lately I've been playing Forza Horizon 2 and Sunset Overdrive. They've both games I haven't played before, and honestly nice breaths of fresh air after playing so many online games these past few years. I need to expand my library a lot more, but I've been very skeptical with new games ever since this generation kicked off. I really like open-world games, but I haven't seen many that appeal to me. I think I'm closed-minded when it comes to what I want to play.

 

By choice, do you mean in the narrative or how you play?

[esmittystud101]

In the last year and a half for Xbox 360, I got pretty burned out on the games just for the simple fact nothing hardly came out that last year in prep for the new consoles I'm sure. I think at the time I was playing GTAV and maybe Bioshock Infinate which I don't think I finished. But now days I have more than enough great games to play. I just switch out games everyday. Right now, when I get home from work in the evenings I usually play Dark Souls X1 B.C., and then later that night when I sit down again to play, I have been playing Quantum Break. Which is really nice for a change of pace.

[Sir Michael]

By choice, do you mean in the narrative or how you play?

 

The narrative. I liked the whole voiced protagonist idea, but when it came down to dialogue, there were just 4 options (positive, sarcastic, question, and negative), but in reality, the former 3 acted as some sort of "yes" and the latter almost always ended up being "nahh, but you can do it later anyway." It felt like a downgrade from past titles, even though I can't vouch for Fallout 1 and 2 since I never played them.

[dudclub55]

 

By choice, do you mean in the narrative or how you play?

The narrative. I liked the whole voiced protagonist idea, but when it came down to dialogue, there were just 4 options (positive, sarcastic, question, and negative), but in reality, the former 3 acted as some sort of "yes" and the latter almost always ended up being "nahh, but you can do it later anyway." It felt like a downgrade from past titles, even though I can't vouch for Fallout 1 and 2 since I never played them.

Wonder what all the silly hype for FO4 was then if it's just a bare bones RPG.

[Freakorama]

The only games I can enjoy playing today are by Naughty Dog. Everything else just bores me.

I used to play video games daily for hours on end. Now it's like maybe an hour or so every few days.
I used to play Tony Hawk games every waking hour, creating parks or playing the story or online. Those days are long gone.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Freakorama

[Dottie]

I honestly thought this thread was about

at first sight

 

But i do get the videogame "burnout" usually because of the lack of content, or another game comes out

GTA O is added on that list due to the lack of any decent content (just overpriced cars, reskinned guns, and crappy adversary modes). I usually only play to check out the content for about a day then hardly ever touch that game

Edited April 29, 2016 by Dottie