The Glade 4.0

(NOTE: "Evolve" does not necessarily mean good. You can evolve for the worse.)

Curious to hear how we have changed our buying/playing habits over time.

Me:

I no longer run out and buy a game because its new and shiny. I used to be really bad about this. I can attribute this to my years at GameStop, and seeing just how much crap was really out there. I'm much more choosy about my games now.

MMOs have ruined my taste for regular (i.e. offline) RPGs. Regular RPGs just can't hold my interest after over 10 years in various MMOs.

I've learned to look at aggregate review scores as opposed to just one or two sources. Anticipated Game X could get a 9 from one major review house, then get a 6 or 7 from another. The general consensus of scores from places like Meta Critic or Game Rankings.com tend to give a much better range of how a game stacks up. Of course, it should be noted that nothing can take the place of personal reviews and preferences. Aggregate scores are just a buying tool.

I've learned that used is okay. I was kinda anti-used unless absolutely necessary in the past. Now if there is a game that I waffled on, or just want to save money, I'll look for it used (only if in good condition of course).

I'm a finicky reserver. This relates to my first point. I'll reserve something that looks interesting to me at the time, and then if I change my mind, I'll roll it over to something else. While I am very careful to make sure that the GS I go to doesn't lose numbers over my decisions, I still have this feeling that it is a hassle for them somehow.

Besides these, there are a ton of things that have changed for me in MMO gaming, but that's a different topic all together.

Then don't look for it at GameStop.

/ba dum CHING!

I now play games not only to completion, but repeat them to get all possible endings.

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Darksiege
Traveller, Calé, Whisperer
Lead me not into temptation; for I know a shortcut

Well I do have the discount card from Game Informer, which helps a little, but yeah games still fetch a premium. Be interesting to see how that Wal-Mart thing pans out. But I hate Wal-Mart with a passion.

And /agree Darksiege. Also, different difficulty levels for me.

Extra thumbs.

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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show

I tend not to finish games as much as I used to. I used to do it for 95% of my games. Now it's probably more in the 50% range.

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Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

I used to try to get my hands on anything and everything. My early 360 collection is very complete.. I think I had just about every title released in the first 6-9 months.

Now I'm far more selective. I think the last 360 game I bought before AC2, was either AC1 or TFU (whichever came out last). I have AC2, but haven't played it beyond the tutorial yet.

I picked up DA:Origins yesterday and played that for a few hours. It may stick if I can gain some more affinity for the combat system.

I also have a WoW subscription, but it's not something I take seriously in terms of end game goals. It's just more of an escape/stress reliever after work. My highest level character is level 57 (not counting my level 60 DK who doesnt really count).

Well, I don't really have big gaming sessions with friends over. I blame developers for that since they're not a fan of split-screen because they sell fewer games.

I'm also cheap. I can't remember the last game I bought brand new. It sucks because I hate reading about all the fun many of the people here are having when it first comes out. Of course I later feel justified when 2 weeks and they've moved on.

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The Dude abides.

Since 2000, I've been a hardcore MMO player with a healthy side of console gaming. I'm finding that the places have switched, and I'm getting a lot of enjoyment out of my consoles - while my MMO playing is nearly non-existant.

After 10 years of Healing, I have it down to an art. If they had a purple club in every game I'd happily try my hand at it.

I no longer sit at my desk 16 hours at a time. I am okay with not doing a couple of instances/raids.

I still NEED new technology. Wii on launch night, currently have both diablo 3 and SC2 pre-ordered. I also get bored of new games a lot faster.

I don't have to put the quarters in any more?

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Raell Kromwell

I don't have the kind of time to finish games like I did as a kid in high school. This leads to many great games being left unfinished: Borderlands, Dragon Age, GTA4, the list goes on. It's unfortunate, because I really wish I had the time to complete them. So I try to make use of my time wisely when I do get it. It's ironic that I usually look for depth in games before I purchase them, even though I know I'm not going to finish it.

I now purchase more games than ever before, which tends to leave me with a huge game library that with hundreds of hours left of playing time. I still continue to buy new games though, regardless of this fact. I find that I always want to get the newest games and play them as my friends play them. I don't want to play Modern Warfare 2 in a year when everyone is moved on from the game. I want to play it at its peak. The same goes for all of my games. Participating in the buzz around a game is exhilarating.

My MMO cherry was popped by EQ1, and all subsequent MMO's simply feel rehashed. However, I still continue to play EQ2. Nothing else has held my attention too long other than WoW, which I grew tired of long ago.

I now know that I love achievements/trophies. I don't really actively try to collect them, but when I do achieve them by playing the game, it's a moment I enjoy.

I really can't say a lot has evolved though. Here I am at the age of almost 25, and I still do almost the exact same thing that I did at 13. I play lots of games, of all types. To be honest, I think I may have been better at some games when I was younger, like FPS games. I don't know why, but I seem to be lacking a bit these days with only a 1.0 kill ratio. I used to be in the 2 ratio in most online FPS games.

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Ever since I started playing EQ, I started using the PC and getting online more in general and I suppose after that I stopped playing console games so much. I have so many console games and single player PC games that I have either not started yet or started and then stopped playing. I own a lot of games but I've only beaten a few. I've always kind of been this way, but now that I'm older I have more money, and less time, so the problem is worse. I blame sequels, though, and my tendency to be a completionist when it comes to buying games.

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Ron Paul 2012

I would have to say "very little".

I typically only commit to one game at a time (when I have time).

With the exception of said committed game (ie EQ1 and expansions), I rarely buy anything new (unless as a gift for someone else) and even then, pretty much only when in the $5-$15 range. This is true for both PC (my primary focus) or any of my console games of PS3 and Wii.

I like single person, first person shooters on the PC (keyboard and mouse FTW) Doom, Duke Nukem, Falout 3, etc...

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Gorse

Due to having a lack of time to play many games to completion, I have come to realize that I don't need to do absolutely everything in a game that it may have to offer to get enjoyment out of it.

ie. I only play one mode in the EA NHL series (Be a Pro). I used to think I am missing out on so much else (online leagues), but have realized that the game is as fun as I make it. If I enjoy it and have only played with one facet of the game, then it was worth it.

Achievements, collectibles, upgrades, high scores...I used to think I was missing out, until I realized that regardless of achieving/collecting/upgrading/highscoring, I was STILL enjoying the game and that is all that matters to me anymore.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

I now have troubles getting "into" single player games - to the extent that I recently renewed my EQ subscription and I'm having a ball

EQ wasn't a single player game??? Crap!

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Raell Kromwell

I'm ok with single-player games if they're done well. Elder Scrolls and the Neverwinter Nights games come to mind.

I no longer rush out to buy a new game.

I'm much less impressed with Diablo-style nonpersistent world MMOs than when it first came out.

RTS games are something I mostly avoid although I'll probably get SC2 at some point. StarCraft was fun for a while but it became a chore and most other RTS games have been a chore too.

FPS games don't hold my interest like they used to

Flight Simulators don't either. When I was a kid I was all about the flight sims, but they've become just too damn hard. Falcon 4.0 for example; I struggled to land the F-16 consistently. I'm past the age where I could learn to fly a fighter evidently.

MMOs....
EQ burned out a lot of my desire to raid, as did my first g-round with WoW when MC was one of the big things to raid. I'll stick to PUGs for raiding anymore, and non-raid or casual-raid (as in "If we feel like raiding we might give it a shot a couple times a month") anymore, or fill a spot in someone else's raid. When some raid leader starts yelling and screaming because everyone there hasn't "learned the strats" beforehand, or just isn't meeting their DPS expectations I'm pretty likely to just say "If you're going to act like that, find someone else to fill my spot. I'm be happy to come again when you can act like an adult."

I might be talked into a raid guild again at some point in some game, but it's going to be made very clear that leadership will meet my standards of behavior if they expect me to meet their standard of performance.

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"Hysterical children shrieking about right-wing anything need to go sit in the corner and be quiet while the adults are talking."

With the existence of MMO's, I basically don't buy single player games anymore. KOTOR2 was the first single player game I'd picked up in probably 3-4 years. I haven't even finished it, as I lost interest after a while.

I am planning on picking up D3, but haven't finshed D2.

I occasionally miss playing FPS games, but not enough to go buy one.

I think the source of all of this, is that I've finally realized that what I really find interesting and engaging is the actual game mechanics. How to leverage the tools you have to "win" the encounter. In single player games, this usually doesn't take too long to figure out, and the toolset is much smaller (just you, instead of 10-25 people). With MMO's, you have to figure out how to work as a team, and often the team keeps changing, as well as getting new instance/raid content periodically. Plus, many different class/race combo's to try out.

So for me, MMO's provide much more bang for the buck than any single player game has ever offered me.

I buy a fewer number of games as a whole. I've realized that I'm a very fickle gamer. While I finish almost every game I play, I will rarely go back and play through an entire game again after finishing it unless it was truly amazing.

I try and rent every game before I buy via gamefly (which is very difficult sometimes, their availability for popular titles is rather limited. Also, this generally enables me to "keep the game" for 45 bucks for new games, saving 15 dollars over the store purchase price (and essentially saving enough with one game purchase to pay for a month of the service, as well as getting an additional 5 dollar coupon once every 3 months).

Other than that, I've started limiting my playtime to games I really think I will enjoy. I used to play quite a few more games than I do now, but I realized with as many games as I was finishing, I was powering through them like it was a job and not really having fun. I take my time and enjoy my play time a lot more these days.

When I used to be really into gaming I would upgrade my entire PC every two years and my graphic card every year. I always had to have the fastest technology to support the "coolest" games.

I used to love games like the Elder Scrolls, Might & Magic (not Heroes of) and other open-ended RPGs that seemed to have endless replayability. Now I find myself in the category of gamers who enjoy having Nintendo pimp their childhood back to them. Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, etc on the DS or Wii. Rarely do I play games on my PC anymore, in fact I only play Civ IV and Worms 2 and occassionally load up Rainbow Six: Raven Shield if I feel the need to veg by mindlessly sniping the AI.

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