Speaking as a husband and a father, it's hard to classify myself as a hardcore gamer anymore. There used to be a time when I would sit down with a new title and complete it in one night. I had a room specifically set up for gaming and gaming alone. I used to have an extensive collection of titles to choose from, and across several different systems. But as I got older and my life got fuller, I found myself spending less and less time gaming.
The first thing to go was my handhelds. While I can't say that my family obligations are directly responsible for this (Apple and the iPhone had a big part in this decision too) I found that I simply didn't need to carry them along as much as I used to. And even when I did bring them, I barely had time to play. I became more involved in the planning and navigating when going on long trips, so I didn't have that leisure time to fill anymore. I ended up giving away my handhelds and the library of games to kids that I thought would get more use out of them. Now, if there is a free moment, I usually reach for my iPhone and pick from the assortment of titles I have collected over the past few years...Street Fighter IV, Gun Bros., Words with Friends, Rolando, Tetris, Monopoly, just to name a few of my favorites. N.O.V.A. with the gyro controls was an instant hit with me as well. If you ever see a guy out somewhere spinning around in a swivel chair looking at his iPhone, chances are it's probably me!!!
Console gaming, however, is a different story. I don't think I'll ever be able to just get rid of my consoles, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to spend as much time with them as I have in the past. Case in point, I have had Halo: Reach since launch day, but it has taken me until just recently to complete the storyline, and I can count on one hand how many times I've been online in matchmaking! In fact, that is what spawned this article. Halo is, in my opinion, the best fps out there...it's the sole reason I bought an Xbox, switching from the PS2, and later upgrading to the Xbox 360. There is no way it should have taken me months to do anything...other than (maybe) earn all of the achievements. As it stands now, I have yet to purchase the DLC map packs!!
It's really not easy to say who's at fault, because I have a very supportive wife. No matter what hobby I decided to get into, she has always supported what I was interested in...matter of fact, one of our favorite past times was playing the New Super Mario Bros. on our DS. Their was a head-to-head mode where we would battle each other for stars...first person to reach a pre-determined amount of stars would win. But watch out, because you could make your opponent cough up a star if you bounced on their head or shot them with a fireball...it was intense!!!
(I REALLY MISS THAT TIME)
And my daughter is rarely fussy. She's a generally happy baby...only crying when she's hungry, sleepy, or needs changing. She is just as content playing in her crib as she is in our arms, and that is a very rare trait to have in a one year old. Truth be told, I could sit her in the baby swing and have her watch me play...video games look just like cartoons...I'd probably be able to get in several uninterrupted hours a day!
Well...is it me? Have I changed? I'd like to still consider myself a hardcore gamer, but my gaming habits don't warrant the title. Sure, there will always be those couple of games to come out every year that pull me back into gaming. The few that I'm most excited about right now are Modern Warfare 2, the remake of the first Halo (of course), and the latest installment of Ratchet and Clank, All for One. However, I do think that my priorities may have shifted or that I may have matured a bit. Evidence of this is fairly clear when I go online and hear the conversations of the next generation of gamers.
I have nothing in common with them at all!!! Is this normal...is it the gaming circle of life?
Rod
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