As a working single parent I can also add that sometimes is not a matter of time or interest in gaming but also energy. There are times where I want to engage in the hobby but it’s late and I’m exhaaaausted, and sometimes it’s easier to just watch content about it instead before bed.
I feel you ! I am 35 and my last vacation was 2014. I am exhausted from work. I could sleep all day. My eyes get heavy and I fall asleep. My brain is not capable to process fast games anymore. I often see myself watching others playing games and fall asleep rather than keep concentrated and play them myself.
Exactly. I get off of work at 5.. that leaves me like 5 or 6 hrs of free time in the afternoon. I’m 37.. I’m exhausted by the time I get home, exercise, walk the dog, eat dinner, etc. I plan on playing a game but end up just staring at TH-cam or Twitch before going to bed.. I think this is just a sign of everyone being overworked and stressed the hell out more than lack of interest.
My kids certainly are but games like Roblox and Fortnite are popular amongst their peers and that’s a game that takes up a lot of time and makes them less likely to try others. I’ve introduced some of my favorite RPGs and played through them with them, and the switch has a great selection of family games to play. But if I had left it up to them, they would have played the same games. I also think with our smart devices it’s common to have TH-cam and other platforms playing in the background. Sometimes I`lll watch a play through of a game and that stops me buying it as I’ve seen most of the story.
I try tons of games. I don’t even know what ones I have or not anymore cause of my backlog actually. I get to all eventually but it takes a while. In the meantime I stick to a few to play in completion. And I fall asleep to gameplay videos. Maybe see how it works first. Cause just because a game is number one doesn’t mean you’ll like it. You have to see. That’s how I found out I’m never buying civilization.
That’s how I am. I might only really play 1 or 2, maybe 3 games per year. When I do, I am playing them pretty heavily, but then might not really play at all for several months. I only really play those games that I am very excited about.
Yes I am also very selective of which games I dedicate my time to I just finished ghost of Tsushima around 70-80 hours I started playing start of last month and finished it last weekend the now the month before I drop around 10-12 into gaming total I was relaying fallout 1 got free on epic and I paly year ago and trip down memory lane and be bit stand by I board game.
Most modern AAA games are pretty bad IMO. I loved Elden ring and Baldursgate, and before that I think The last one I played was Red Dead Redemption 2. Other than that I mostly play map games and indie games, and even those only a few games a year. To be honest I think this is more than a gaming thing. I hardly watch movies anymore, I've canceled all my streaming services and I only watch a few shows a year. When I consume media which I do at the same rate as usual I watch mostly longford videos on TH-cam and play indygames. I think it's just an overall trend of modern media companies being massively out of touch with what people actually want to watch.
28, used to game a lot. Now I’m just too tired all the time. I do follow games. Wishlist. But I take a longer amount of time to really consider WHICH game will take my precious time. I just value my time more now
I was in the same boat with ever growing backlogs. I still buy games that I had on wishlist but recently I packed up PS5 and Series X and dedicate a month to a single classic system like GBA, Xbox and PS2 (emulation) sticking to single game for a whole month. I thought I grew out of the gaming but found out that I wasn’t really feeling modern games with over saturation of ads in the menu of the system.
I've just gotten sick of the tedious nature of most games. I play really intense strategy games like Starcraft 2 but other games just bore me. Its much more fun to just watch other people play them and skip through the hours of grinding
This! Not to be a dick but I used to play almost 6 to 8 hrs a day, yeah... Now I feel like I rather just pursuit my dreams and archive my goals or just... Share more time with family, I still play games now and then but only multy players since I like the social aspects of it, but I can't see myself sitting in skyrim for hours or stuff like that, last game I played like I used to was botw, but once I realized my time is limited, I rather do other stuff than play the whole day
When I get home from work im tired, exhausted with no desire to play any game tbh. I would much rather watch someone else play, watch youtube or listen to music. The Only time I feel like playing, when I actually want to play is during the weekends. I can still have as much fin playing now as I had when I was younger, but I need to be well rested and ready for it. Playing a game is actually alot more of a commitment than watching other people play. I also rarely buy new games now, I prefer to play my favorites that I know im going to have fun with instead of gambling with a New game. It is very cheap as well.
Tell me about it. I am too tired after work too. I still play some short sessions,like 10-15 minutes at a time. But a lot of games are not viable for short sessions, so I only play pinball games and Metroidvania at the moment. I still buy games but I usually wait till they are 70-95% off😂
Me personally: I believe there are way TOO many games coming out at a rapid rate. I get overwhelmed because there are so many games I wanna play that I end up shelving certain games because a new game came out that peaked my interest and so forth.
This guy gets it. Oversaturation will kill the market. Nintendo does it best, I have to wait 20 years to play a new Metroid or F-Zero. You bet I'm seeking meaningful time into those.
As well as the fact that nowadays it has become quantity over quality. There are still exceptions here and there. But most games that come out are garbage
Fun y thing about that, gameranx even touched on it in a video. Publishers are putting out significantly less games per year than they did in the 90s and 2000s. If you look at the lists per console of releases year by year as a whole they are doing a hell of a lot less
@@thegwynbleidd4202 80 hr+ is still 80 hrs+, Time doesn't change regardless if you're having fun or not. I like games but i cant get to all the ones i want to play.
@@thegwynbleidd4202 Oh for sure… though I wasn’t really arguing pacing since it’s subjective. Really depends on the person playing. I usually only get 5-10 hours to game per week. My long game for the year was FF7 Rebirth. Spent 100ish hour and over 3 month to beat it. At that rate I can only play 3-4 gamers per year and that isn’t good enough for me. I want more diversity in my gaming so I’ll fill the rest of the year with games under 30 hours and subsequently get to play a lot more.
I have limited time as a 50 year old business owner. When I play, I am very selective about what I play. And, I don’t play poorly released games…most games nowadays.
Especially in the AAA space so many games are just borng and generic now. They don't take any risks. I find the smaller AA or indie games are way more fun and pushing the envelope. Sure they don't have the same type of budget and aren't as big but I'm just having more fun with those than the AAA's now.
I find as I get older, I still love playing games, but I'm a lot more susceptible to burnout than I used to be. I'll go through a huge 50+ hour JRPG (Metaphor most recently, for example) and then be completely unable to actually stick with anything for months, constantly trying things and then giving up around the 5 hour mark. In these months I'll usually default to other hobbies like books or music. Even when I do come back, it's often gotta be something in a vastly different genre, like a short platformer, before I'm able to actually sink my teeth into the big, sprawling, time-sink type games. I used to be able to burn through 100-hour epics back-to-back for pretty much the entirety of my teenage years, but that's become really difficult as an adult. What's interesting through is that watching videos just like this one aren't really influenced by my burnout. I could be going through a 4 month stretch where I'm not playing anything, and yet I'll still be engaging with gaming-related content the entire time!
I can totally relate. I also found out that bloated games with tons of things to do are not as fun as more linear objective games, because you can't keep your attention and spend that amount of time with games anymore. I now prefer linear games where you finish a story and move forward to the next game/story, but in the past i loved to spend 100+ hours in a single game. Also as an adult i can buy many more games and there's no time, so i watch videos and i buy only the ones that i think will really worth it for me and my reality.
As a completionist/trophy hunter, I feel this. I find myself really researching which game I'm going to commit to for the next x-weeks and not feel FOMO of the backlog or new releases. I play games from 10pm-12am, IF I make it that far without falling asleep on the couch or my wife making fun of me because I'm walking in circles in-game. The games I've been able to commit more time to are games my 3 kids can see on TV on the weekends or early evening - family friendly games or less graphic/gory games. The more mature the game is, the longer it takes for me to get through because I'm not going to play them while the kids are around the tv! 12-25 hour games have been the sweet spot for sure but I'm good for 1-2 GREAT games that are 60+ hr per year. The palate cleansers are a great change of pace too - those 4-8 hr Indy titles.
To be honest, I can't wait for the legendary AI everybody keeps talking about so I can have time to play video games. Ok, come take my job. Fuck, I don't care. I don't even have time to play a video game anymore. Giving even 2 hours of my day to gaming feels too much. I always have something better to do. If I was a teenager again, maybe. So, I'm praying we get AGI or someshit soon. Probably nothing but a dream for now though.
This is true. We really take everything for granted. If you get issues with your hands or your brain then it's a struggle to play the games you enjoyed.
Trophies and achievements have been hinting at this for a long time. I look at the completion percentage for just the most basic things, like beating the 1st boss of a video game, and it's often only around 50% of people who own the game even bother to make it that far.
But also the number is misleading, as I looked into it a couple months back when I was interested as to why that's the case. Turns out that Sony locks in all purchases pr subscriptions of the game to those numbers. Meaning that all the people that either bought the game or downloaded/subscribed then deleted but have yet to play it, are apart of those numbers. So if someone bought elden ring but never started it, they would be apart of the percentage of people that haven't killed the first boss. That's why almost all games, even the most popular, all usually have percentages starting lower than 90%, because a lot of people have a backlog of games they never started
@@CommanderCodyChipless does downloading the game from PS Plus count as playing? If so then no wonder so many player dropped before finishing the first boss. Though if it doesn't count, i dont think it would change the number much
@@antoniusaldprdna well I was just using Elden Ring as an example. I just mean with any game. Like uncharted or gta or whatever. If you look at the percentage of the first trophy, it's never 100%. Usually around 80-90%. The reason that is, is because people have purchased the game (or if you have a subscription and you go to a game page and hit "add to library") but haven't started playing it. So their trophy count gets mixed in with the other gamers whom have bought the game but played it all the way through. That's why I say it's misleading.
@Sekaniy I understand that. I will say i upgraded to Extra recently and that has been pretty good for me. I've been playing many games I've been wanting to try, since they are included.
I think you also need to factor in how game looks and mechanics haven't really changed in the last 10 years. The wicther 3 is still a great game that can last you a hundred hours and it can be bought for peanuts compared to a game released today. it use to be old games were just that old now there just as good as what comes out next.
Ok what's frustrating me is companies keep saying game development costs more. Where are the receipts!? In all these interviews and articles I have not seen a transparent breakdown of where that F that 1million + dollars are being spent. And anything I could find is a vague % allocated to labor and advertising with no evidence. The conspiracy theorist in me believes this narrative is being pushed to justify the rising cost of games that are usually not finished on launch. Where are the receipts, where is the money being spent in game development!? Is it actually going towards the development or is it being paid out in bonuses to the CEOs, and useless middle management.
I was gonna ask what kinda people you watch but, in hindsight even my favorite streamers have some pretty annoying moments like not paying attention in a game. So fair enough.
That is another interesting point. I used to watch a lot more streamers and letsplayers and youtube personalities and whatnot, but at some point something shifted and now I find most of them annoying. Now I only watch people with more educational value, reviewers and semi-journalists like Jake and Skill Up and video essayists like Jacob Geller. Maybe it's the disillusion of the parasocial aspect inherent to the business model and the realization I don't have any reason to particularly care about those people? Maybe it's just that as I get older and have less time I feel like I need to optimize the value of every moment and justify frivolities so watching something that doesn't at least have the excuse of being somewhat educational feels pointless and a waste of time?
Same. Though I can spend hours watching things like video essays, retrospectives and the likes. But that's content that has an inherent value. Streams and lets plays never holds my attention. It's not good content, and you need a parasocial relationship with the streamer to enjoy it. To me that's just... blergh!
Yeah I don’t understand the appeal, I could see some highlights or reactions about specific aspects of a game I played but a full stream? That’s crazy to me not judging though
There's definitely games that for some people are much better off being watched than actually played Whether it's just watching a group of friends play a part game having banter when you don't really have the opportunity for it or Esports that you can't devote time to get into but still enjoy the thrill of tight matches in CS and such I personally find minecraft immensely boring to play, regardless if it's singleplayer vanilla or modded multiplayer. But i can get super invested in watching a youtuber i like play minecraft.
Yes dude I’ve tried so many games through ps plus and 99% of them I get bored because I’m just watching cutscene after cutscene. Most enjoyable games I played through the service were Bloodborne and Demons Souls.
The problem is we have so many games available at a time that we lose interest on one game as soon as it gets a bit complex. Plus so many games these days focus more on complex open worlds that need unnecessary grinding to complete.
I think modern video games are way more complicated than old games. Anyone remember Grand Theft Auto 2? You had your movement buttons, fire button and buttons to get in a car and switch between weapons. Now, think about GTA 5: You have quests, you have your phone, you have all those different people, you have character customization.. It takes a lot of work just to learn the game, and if you take a break you'll no longer remember how to play it. In the old times there was just the gameplay (shooting people) without the progression and customization.
One thing very few talk about is how pick up and play old games used to be. That's why I stick to old roms and Nintendo. I REFUSE to sit through a three hour tutorial for a game that I probably can figure out myself in 10 minutes... p.s. emulators have fast-forward options to get through the time wasting.
I doubt most people struggle to remember how to play their games. The easy way to remember if you forgot is to look at the button mappings in the settings.
That's what's surprising is how many controls and options we have now compared to the 2nd and 3rd console generation of games, even early PC games. It was only an analog stick and a fire button, that's it for the atari 2600 and the intellevision. For games nowadays, there's stories, mutliplayer and multiple options, settings to tweak your display and colors, it's no wonder I went for PC, because all games that release on console will eventually end up on PC emulation at some point in the future, or emulation at some point in the future.
I believe the point you made about listening to gaming media is really insightful. I'm 29, just had to stop skateboarding because of a serious injury, so gaming has become my main hobby. That's where I go for my free time, and I play a lot! However, whenever I have chores to do, or even while I'm working I'll just go through all of your videos, through gameranx, skillup and the fps podcast, and a couple of others. Yes I do keep up with a lot of gaming media, but my free time is mostly restricted to playing :) Btw, already mentioned this in the last Q&A, but you have been my main companion through the recovery from my serious injury! I was lucky enough to get out of a skull fracture alive, and your energy just kept me happy through all of this! Thank you for that ❤
@adamdesalle6338 thanks for the positivity! Getting a ps1 when I was a child brought gaming into my life, and now the connection is just intensified to the utmost. I'm really glad that I got into games since that time. It's an hobby that never faded, and now helped me get through a striking upheaval caused by my other passion :)
My biggest concern is how the highest priority of AAA game design is shifting towards how "streamable" the game is. (Instead of just making a great game there's a market for and letting its quality attract attention.) Trends found in the data you described will only accelerate that shift.
This^^^ I feel like so much bad PR will come out for games because a certain demographic of streamers don’t like a certain game, which just blows the vocal minorities way out of proportion. I don’t care if a game is fun to watch on stream if I can’t enjoy it myself.
100% I've been feeling this as well. Games like Getting Over It are really only fun to watch IMO. Not really to play since I don't engage with entertainment to get angry
@@Adequately_Sane thanks man. I am absolutely making sure to keep some time aside for myself 🙂. I have to take care of myself so I can be there for my people. Just that gaming everyday the way I used to isn’t possible anymore
I will say there was a 5 year period that I was depressed and wanted to play games but as soon as I boot the game up I'd play 5 minutes and be like nah. I'd still watch reviews and game play but wouldn't play. My wife finally said something to me saying she enjoys watching me play games and wanted me to play mafia. I'm happy to say this year I've played through all three mafia games and dlc all of the master chief collection with her co-op, just finished tomb raider and going through the trilogy and on my next back log I have the new Indiana Jones game and Alan Wake 1 and 2. I'm happy she pushed me to get back into it. I forgot how much I enjoyed playing games.
I just turned 28, I don’t have the energy or time to play games like I used to. If I play a game after work I’m kinda just going through the motions and not actually engaged with the game since I’m half asleep. So that discourages me from playing more often unless I’m fully awake like on my day off. And on my day off I have chores to do so that takes up more time. Not to mention all the other outlets competing with your attention, social media, relationships, family, Netflix, TH-cam. It’s too damn much man, I’m tired boss. I think gta 6 is gonna be my send off because if rockstar meets expectations no other game stands a chance.
I think there are numerous factors for this kind of case study - but I feel along with “gaming” itself, the industry has been in a ever changing shift and with that I feel comes a slight evolution of how the hobby evolves. Gaming is no longer a singular “hobby” I feel it’s being a gamer, a watcher of shows/movies/shorts, buying merchandise to accessories, to buying clothing. It’s become a cultural phenomenon and I think it’s still going to evolve into a normalized “lifestyle” as wild as a that sounds - who would’ve thought video games would’ve gotten this big? So the future of what it means to be a “gamer” I think is a massive horizon for things that are not yet fully thinkable or known to come. But that’s my take!
I am in my early 50's and have played games since the Atari 2600. Now days I still play games on my PC (and steam deck), and maybe a Zelda Game on my OLED Switch. But more often than not I am watching TH-cam Videos on Gaming news, upcoming games and gameplay of titles I enjoy or want to play while I am working on the computer all day long. For example (and a lot of people don't like this game) I absolutely LOVE Starfield and have nearly 600+ hours in the game, but I watch videos about mods, gameplay and news about the game I LIKE. I am very selective about games I buy. But I think of them like going to a movie, it can cost $100 for a night out, but a game I can jump back into when I have time and have fun again. What do you think? anyone else watch game vids while working?
I don't watch any game vids besides reviews. Mostly I listen to podcasts or news while I'm driving or working on my computer. I have a massive backlog of games and only ever increases but I work all the time and am usually dead tired when I get free time to play.
I do. I like to have gaming content (usually livestreams or play throughs) running in the background while I do boring tasks. Chores, grading my student’s homework, etc. it’s pleasant white noise to me.
I'm 47, gainfully employed in accounting...and gaming news and occasionally an entertaining Let's Play forms the background noise to many a spreadsheet or vendor-payment program. I never watch/listen to the stuff at home because if I have the free time to do that, I have the free time to play actual games. Been gaming since 1982, when Mom gave 5-year-old me a couple of quarters and pointed me at a Pac-Man cabinet while she settled the bill at a Chinese restaurant.
I’m 44, I like gaming too, I’m currently at my work 😅. But I am too selective, I still play and have a good time with some games, and I’m hyped for tomorrow and play PoE2 after work.
GEN X here! I definitely watch more than I play, because watching is more relaxing & content can run in the background while I do other stuff (cook dinner, put laundry away, etc). Also, gaming content has really improved over even the past five years-creators play games I’m not interested in playing myself, but their commentary is funny & entertaining. Like, I’m more of a Witcher 3 & Baldur’s Gate 3 kind of gal, but I love watching Insym play Lethal Company, or Markiplier play Slay the Princess. Gameplay requires concentration, and I tend to get so absorbed in games I stay up too late and my work suffers (I usually don’t even start a game until I’m on a semester break, since I teach). But I can watch gaming content on the train to work or waiting for a meeting. And a lot of gaming content now is better than the slop streaming on Netflix.
I remember explaining games to my mom in 1995 and I see that some people still don't get it... Gaming is a hobby, a form of entertainment (the best imo, explained below) and I can make it as social or anti social as possible when and wherever I want. Movies, I can watch a movie in my game. Book, my game is a better narrative. Music, my game has that.. And exposes me to genres I'd never knew existed at times... Etc etc. And with gaming I can interact, which I cannot do with those other mediums of entertainment. Now as I hit 45 and am having grandkids... Less time for games sure, but it's still my hobby, and I prefer game engagement than watching a 2hr shitty c or d movie. And I can continue to relate to my inevitable grandkids with gaming while they may not get or be willing to try to relate to me when it comes to older movies, music or books.
there is maybe few games that you can compare to high prose by narrative, otherwise you are bullshitiing us granddad at 44 music yeah, easy, movies too
@@newwonderer nah, it's all subjective.. And preferential. I'll take a Kratos story over the newest bad boys movie any day of the week personally. The writing in a lot of games is nothing to scoff at. Writers are writers no matter if it's a game or cartoon or movie..... Also, yes I'm a grandpa at 44 😂. Hell I've seen younger ones than me, that's life.
Games are too big these days. I’m not in my teens anymore where I can game all day and all night without any responsibilities. So I’m limited to maybe an hour most days. It would take me 6 months to beat a game like the Witcher 3.
Yep. Problem is with these massive rpgs is that if you don't play them consistently, you kinda lose any desire to continue playing them. If you take a break for a month for instance, you almost forgot where you are or what you were doing, and that for me kills all motivation to play. Those games really shine if you can play them alot, and especially consistently which makes you immersed into the game. I Only really play during the weekends now tbh, too tired and exhausted when I get home from work. I much rather watch someone else play or listen to music or just watch youtube than play a game myself. Still though, I have been doing a replay of my favorite game ever Dragon Age Origins and it's still a blast. I can put in alot of hours in the weekend so it's still possible to play a long rpg if you really want.
@@Skumtomten1 100% agree. Plus those games kinda suck when you are time limited as time flies past too fast. If I have an hour I'd rather play something where I can make quick progress and jump in and out without any issues like a casual linear platformer game.
Definite truths to that report. I used to be a big gamer but being in my 30s, overtime, my bandwidth shifted to other things due to work and other hobbies but I still pay attention to the gaming news and watching these TH-cam shows like yours Jake, Mattyplays, gameranx, and Outsidexbox/OutsideXtra. I would love to know the age ranges of that report as well. I finally got a PS5 though and ready to dive into games that I feel I will enjoy after watching so many reviews of yours and many others lol. Thank you so much for all you do!
The one MASSIVE flaw with that report is them assuming I would be playing the games I'm watching. The only time I watch other people play video games is either A) It's an exclusive I can't get my hands on. Or B) It's a game I'd never pay for and play, as I'd deem it "mid" for myself. But I'll watch someone else play it, just for their reaction of it. I've never watched someone else play a game that I really wanted to play, I always just get the game and play the heck out of it instead. I would never spoil the game for myself by watching someone else play something that I'm hyped for. So yeah, that's 1 huge hole in that study. I still play as much as I want when there is a solid game out that I want to play. That great game has to exist though, and 2024 was pretty rough for games overall.
Exactly Modding is the only thing keeping me interested in single player gaming. I mainly play fps shooters and stuff when it comes to modern day stuff 🤷♂️. It is what it is single player games just aren't worth the experience for me as much anymore
I started playing in 1984. In 2020 there was nothing left in the tank. Everything looked prettier, but I've already seen and experienced all there was to. Enter VR. I bought a PSVR on a whim. I have a Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR, and PSVR2 now. I dropped 40lbs., built a ton of muscle, and... started playing the drums because of VR drum games. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
I lost 50 lb with supernatural VR and then sweat three quest 3s to death return the last one and use the money to buy a Smith machine Best investment I ever made I'm now 75 lbs down and ripped but I do miss my VR
My "friend" sold me his PS5 for $250. Then said we not friends anymore cause I wouldn't sell it back. Toxic ppl are better avoided reguardless. Why sell something with the intent to buy back later when you not broke & don't need $? Stupid can't be fixed!
It's just a combination of factors. This our generation of gamers getting older and having less time to well game, games getting more pricey(70$ Triple A games...) and some people just moving away from the hobby a bit or sticking to their small catalogue of games.
Gaming is becoming a niche hobby/entertainment because Gen Z most became adults, and now only Gen Alpha can make gaming a popular hobby/entertainment again
Yes, but games have been 60$ forever and a 10$ difference isn’t huge considering how crazy games are nowadays. They could honestly be 150$ if they truly wanted to
Just look at game prices back in the 90s. So many were around $80 to $90. Games technically should cost around $165 or more due to inflation. However, those priced would crush the industry due to locking out so many consumers.
@@smitty_talks For US probably, but previously in Ukraine in 2003-2010 regional prices for licensed CD/DVD was like $10. In ~2012 in Ukraine I remember I was able to buy Dishonored on launch for $15. Now in the best case scenario we need to pay $40 for a AAA game, when Americans pay $70, but usually we get the same $60-70 price, here it is insane amount of money for a digital copy of a game. I just stopped buying them, only get them on great sales or pirate them.
@@squattingnevilPlaystation games are usually still $49.99 in the '90s. But N64 games reached up to $80 and even more because of the cost of cartridges and ROM chips. I think I paid $90 for ocarina of Time. And that was in 1998 or 1999. Which comes out to roughly $171.15. that's an expensive game
@@smitty_talks You say $10 isn't a big difference? How do you quantify that? TO YOU $10 may not be a big difference but it could drastically be the difference between some one buying say a used game at Gamestop vs buying that brand new game now and just waiting for sales, used game market etc.
Unfinished laggy servers not working bare minimum effort put into the launch...my biggest problem is games not being released completed and smoothed and ironed out. For 10$ more the games have become way worse on launch these days it's almost just worth watching for the first 2 patches before even buying a game nowadays.
Maybe maturity can be a factor. I grew up playing video games and my first console was a PS2. I would play on that thing every day and my favorite genre were the fighting/adventure/racing games. i still play video games as a 26 year old, but I also love having other hobbies. I recently bought a nintendo switch to play Mario, but I find it very impressive with the variety of other titles. Still I believe balance is key to enjoying something.
In my opinion, modern games are just too long or have too many mechanics to remember. With the invention of the smartphone, our attention span has dwindled, so most of us can't sit and watch a 5 min cinematic intro before jumping into the game and going through a 30 min tutorial. That is why the retro market has blown up so much, because with older games you could just jump in and start playing.
I know a few people like that who consume way more gaming content than actually playing games. They’re both PC gamers around 30. The only gaming media I really watch is stuff like gameranx, I play a lot of switch and ps5, sometimes steam deck. I’m not sure if there’s any real causation to this anecdote but for me, I play more on console and then pc gaming just ends up being me adding to my steam library, testing games out, fixing issues and optimizing them for my hardware then never really playing them again. On console all you can really do is game so I definitely spend a lot more time on console just playing games while on pc I can be distracted or again, focused on improving the performance or visuals of my game rather than enjoying the actual game. I get more immersed on console too despite the typical lesser visuals.
@@bronzeagemindsetdude I’m poor asf I only have a ps cause someone bought me one and a lot of people like that. I can’t afford video games only the free games and game catalogue
We still play video games. But when you say video games nowadays people assume it’s the big number one and only triple a online game and not some random hidden gem you found on psp or some other system that doesn’t track time.
Maybe i'm just not in those kinds of circles but i couldn't agree. I don't know anyone personally that only plays the big AAA stuff. If anything, i'm the closest to that, since most of what i play is AAA, albeit from anywhere in the past couple decades.
It's too overwhelming to play everything. Play what you're enjoying now, be open to trying new experiences, and don't look back as the good times come and go.
Everyone works so much that we don't have energy for playing. I tend to play for an hour before bed to relax but sometimes I'm too tired even for cozy gaming.
14:20 what a great son! my mom would cry but in a bad way because she moved out of the house where she used to set up her little village and doesn't have a space for it anymore... i'd be better off figuring out how to fit her village in her current house.
I don’t think it’s necessarily “People aren’t PLAYING games anymore”, I think it’s more of “The older gaming community isn’t playing newer games as much anymore”. That’s probably what I think is a more appropriate way of putting it. As someone who’s gotten older, I’m not spending my money on buying newer games as much as I would’ve as a kid because of a few reasons: newer games can be as high as $70, newer games aren’t as good as they used to be (personally), & I don’t have as much free time to play games. When I do play games, I usually play free-to-play or games that I’ve owned and played for years like Skyrim. There are some newer games that I’m interested in like New World: Aeternum for PS5. However, I’m not desperate enough to pay full price to play it so I’ll just wait until it goes on sale.
About the length of games, it really depends on the kind of game we're talking about. A narrative-heavy game is probably best when it's a tight experience with minimal bloat if any at all. Just direct the player through the story and let them see what they need to see. But games that need to be hundred or thousand hour experiences are the sandbox, simulation, strategy games and games with high replayability. Like for example, I play a lot of Factorio. A lot of people that play it have thousands of hours in it, because it's a game that you can just play continuously, and that ability to play it continuously is part of what makes it great.
Some of the most fun i've had in gaming was tight games like Titanfall 2 or Teardown. You're constantly presented with new mechanics or story beats before the previous gets stale. Ghostrunner 1 and Ghostrunner 2 i felt was a perfect example of a tight short game getting bloated with meaningless side content and excessively long levels. the sequel was 30% longer with imo overall slightly worse content, so it felt like a drag at times.
Yea honestly I consider myself the casual player that partakes in the numbers u see from the top 10 most played games u see every year (i play cod and overwatch) but I also like just sandbox games where i can heavily mod them. Linear stories just don't make since to me especially for 70$ when I can just watch the same exprience on TH-cam lol. Thats just how i feel abt it honestly single player gaming is only worth it if its sandbox like
For me its the amount of games, its like we have HUNDRETS of games in backlog, we just quick checking game, play for 1- 2 hours, its meh and then next. In the 90’s we had like 5 games in the whole year so we were playing them over and over again and we couldn’t watch games in motion before the internet. Now we have EVERYTHING what we want, when we want and how we want. Consumption destroyed our joy.
I usually watch people play games because I have an overwhelming sense of guilt about not being productive if I try to sit and enjoy anything anymore. Having it on in the background while I do something else is the work around, plus hearing someone else talk has the added benefit of reducing the feeling of isolation.
Finding good games is time consuming these days, especially if you're crazy like me and search under all releases instead of popular new releaaes on steam
Gaming landscape is too saturated ... too many options. Too many games look and feel the same. Game companies not taking risks anymore, playing it safe. The special feeling of owning a game, or a console is also gone. These days you can game on a tablet, smartphone, handheld, VR headset, a freaking watch, build in streaming on your tv, car dashboard, on a air plane seat, its freaking everywhere. Soon you will be able to game on a potato. Its not an special activity anymore. Same goes for movies. It was exciting to go and see a movie on the big screen with friends in the old days, but now you can watch a movie on your phone if you want, while sitting on the toilet. The excitement is gone. "You guys, Ubisoft just released Assassins Creed part 20 ... this time it takes place in the jungles of Amazon! Yeeeeeeyyyy! Arer you excited?" No ... not really. I miss the PS2 days.
yeah that's the better way to enjoy games , there was a time when my PC can't run shit and i was forced to watch playthroughs of the upcoming games at that year just to be cool lol
A fellow chad gamer. I've never understood Let's Play channels. The only gameplay I ever watch is high level play of shit like League or goofy challenge runs for soulslikes.
Between a 9-5 and trying to publish a book, I def fall into the category of 'not having as much time'. I definitely love gaming news though, and often times it's the way I feel most connected with video games. Thanks Jake for your content, which helps make me feel apart of this community ❤
That game was going to go in the backlog but I loved the demo, bought it and haven’t stopped playing. I never vibed with persona and the school setting and dating sim, but I love the fantasy setting and journeying aspect of Metaphore. It’s up there with FF7 rebirth and Astrobot for my game of the year.
@ I absolutely love it, I loved persona but I wanted them to get out of the school settings for yeaaaarrrssss and this game is incredible and exactly what I wanted
@@makasete30 A lot about the game interest's me, the art style, the music and I love games with deep stories, but Turn based makes me Yawn. Guess it's a good game I'll never play
Entertainment is everywhere and it's cheap and it's very accessible. Eventually at some point one type of it will dip down, another will rise up in popularity. It's not 2002 anymore.
People are busy and there are too many games. People buy games for the hype just to say they have "played" it (played 1 hour and then added to their backlog).
So guilty of this, Still not finished Visions of Mana and Metaphor but I've been yapping online, complaining and reviewing them. Tbf tho I've played 3-5 hours instead of one 😂 Now I'm in itching to get DQIII Remake and Romancing Saga 2 JUST SO I CAN YAP BOUT THEM in the jrpg subreddit 😅
Honestly YOU are mostly my only source of "gaming" in the past year , I work as a plasterer 40h à week and went back to school in sound design and just making music and stuff for school and being constantly overwhelmed. So I watch you doing dishes, in the shower ( yeah sorry man ) and listening to the FPS podcast . And it feels good to know what s up in the world I love so much without having a second to play ❤ so thank you Jake . Love you man 🎉❤
if you found many of those friends through those games - absolutely not surprising. i'm not really into achievement, challenge stuff, new game plus, grinding ranks/cosmetics or whatever so i'm usually onto a new game every month or two.
I’m curious, are you under the age of 25? I ask because I’m 38 and the games I grew up with are very different from how games are today. You get people who grew up with live service and endless games like Minecraft and Fortnite, sometimes that’s all they play, where I find people from my generation tend to stay away from those and play more single player stuff.
@@drgonzo123I’m 29. I haven’t played an online game since 2015. Just doesn’t grab me anymore. At this point I play games to get away from people lol and to decompress.
@@drgonzo123I’m bout to be 21. Played a whole lot of both multiplayer and single player games my whole life. Only time I really play multiplayer games nowadays is to catch up with friends. Basically just a phone call but with something to do in the background lol
I can attest to this. I'm nearly 30 and a lot of time I spend watching games because I only feel a rare few are worth my time in this era. You have to understand, when I was growing up, games were in a different league! Just take 1998 alone for example: Crash 3, Medievil, Ocarina of Time, Tenchu Stealth Assassins, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Half-Life, Resident Evil 2, etc. Comparing that to what we get today is a joke! All I've played this year is Astro Bot, Silent Hill 2 and soon Indiana Jones because those are the only games this year I feel are worthy of my time... I don't blame the gamers. I blame the state of the industry....
I'm not sure the target audience the survey focused on. I'm 41 and work in legal. Usually work 50-55hrs per week in Tokyo. I still play 4-5 days per week, about 4-5hrs on average. Always complete my games with high percentage of trophies. When I look at the game time for each, it's usually, on average, over 75hrs on each one. Why would anyone just turn on their gaming rig and look at others play for hours? Strange. Are the comments section and seeing a random person play that important or more interesting? I understand burnout or becoming more picky happens with hobbies. I actually took 5 years off from gaming to launch my career before getting back into it. If games are no longer fun to people, maybe it's time to box it all up. I enjoy playing games today and try to keep an open mind. I've played games that I thought I never would 10+ years ago. But I also try to enjoy the journey on each one and not speed through it. Just my 2 yen.
For me, it started when games were being released half-baked, so I stopped buying new games. I would keep a list of games I was interested in though and would wait for a decent sale before I bought them. Since covid, I’ve bought MAYBE 5 new games at full price (FF7 Remake and Rebirth Elden Ring, Horizon FW, and FF16) and I’ve been sticking mostly to small indie games, and I’ve found some gems in the last few years! I favor games that respect my time versus overall length, meaning I’ll take a short 20 hr game that has a great story, gameplay, and music, versus a $70 game that is bloated af, with side quest and mini game galore or fetch quests to stretch the play time. (Looking at you, Rebirth!) I’m to the point though where I have to pick what games I know I’ll play and pass on some games I MIGHT play. I almost didn’t get GoW Ragnarok, but decided to pull the trigger finally. Idk man, growing up sucks lmao
I used to be a "PC master race" lol, and I kinda stopped playing video games after I started a family cause there was just no time. But I got myself a PS5 last christmas, and it changed everything. The best thing about the PS5 is that even if I only have 15 20m to spare, I can just pick up the controller and 5s later I'm already playing. Literally, just turn on the console and you continue exactly where you left it. Most of the time there is a 2 3s loading time, or even no loading time at all! For someone who used to always game on a PC, this still feels like magic to me a year later. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that PC is bad and everyone should buy in a PS5 instead. I'm just sharing for people who don't have a lot of free time but still love gaming, maybe a PS5 is something worth considering.
That's the right attitude. PCs have a lot of pros over consoles but at the end of the day, the few pros that consoles have, can be and are significant enough for specific kinds of people. Particularly people who just want a decent enough frictionless experience.
This is why you need a steam deck!! You can legit jump on a game for 15 mins, put it in sleep mode, then start back in seconds from where you were all while the battery barely budges whilst the games still running
I feel bad for these youtubers having to make those cringey "i like this sponsors product" segments. 99% of the time the products look like shit. thats the life they choose i guess for being entertainers and having creative jobs.
My take is, people don’t want to spend too much time and money on a game they will not play ton and may not even finish. It doesn’t cost a thing to watch my favorite TH-camr play a $70 game on top-of-the-line equipment I could only dream of having. I could not justify spending that much time or money on games… I’ll leave that to the “pros”. I think indie games like Balatro are perfect for aging gamers like myself who can’t really justify spending so much time and money on a hobby. Indie games like Hollow Knight and Balatro give those hits of dopamine within an hour or so of play without breaking the bank either. I think most gamers are becoming more savvy and are starting to discern what games can be watched and which ones need to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
Honestly I think this statement is more appropriate if used in the context of how most people just rush through games and form half-baked opinions ON TOP OF watching said games which will of course color their opinion via the presenter's experience and attention-span, PLUS what Jake says.
as someone who likes to "90%" games, doing all the side content that i find to be meaningful, whether through tangible rewards or plain fun to complete Sometimes i do wish i would just focus on the main story without doing all the in hindsight meaningless content. Ghost of tsushima is pretty and fun and all, but the side content feels way too ubisofty to be fun to engage with.
I thought I had a burnout but I recently played Ratchet and Clank series and playing from original 2002 version and oh my that the only game I play now and can’t wait to play rest of the series and jump into Jak series and Sly Cooper series too.
@@bobby5678-ck2tc LMAO same. 🏴☠️ same for me as long as it's a game i want to support. if i end up liking the game i usually always end up buying it on sale.
@@DIGITALDYST0PIA yep 5$ steam garbage bin sales are quite nice from time to time. I love to just look for random games that like 100-500 people like and have found very nice gems that way. I love to look for games that are not AAA that have been the same game since 2009 with a reskin.
It's important to remember, gaming was a niche hobby before the tech boom in 2020 and now it seems it's returning to be a niche hobby again. Publishers are desperately grasping for an audience that just needed to distract themselves through the boredom of enclosures. Now 2024 almost 2025, normal people just want to live life, be out and about OR brainrot in TikTok.
God how are publishers so ignorant. How did they not realize that the only reason gaming exploded during the 2020s is because of a god damn global pandemic! Why did they think that would remain the same once it was over and people had to return to work for a living!
@@Not-Andy-Here It's really baffling how these companies don't rationalize or understand trends, events and behaviors. They're oblivious to what goes outside of their bank accounts.
I know there is a lot to say about the triple A market… but I feel like social media has broken people’s brains haha. Like people have really bad attention spans now.
The reason why people are watching because most gamers know they have to put in large amounts of time just to find the objective and not completing them and realizing they’re piling up more games in their backlog & find it a waste compared to watching someone else that’s finishing the game
32 year old to explain. It's fun seeing how others tackle or experience a game. How will they handle this boss, what will they think of this twist, or what choices they will make? That's the fun. It's like comparing watching a football game to playing football yourself: you get a different experience out of it.
My man, I feel ya here. I'm 36 and I remember when twitch and streaming gameplay became a thing. I thought it was the dumbest shit ever at the time to watch someone else play a game lol I've warmed up to the idea a little bit since then, but still never got into it myself, never been on twitch. But I do enjoy watching the news/reviews about games.
It’s like people watching sports on television - you’re not actually playing the sport, but you’re having fun watching other people play the sport. It’s the same concept. Also it’s nice to know what you’re getting into before spending $70 on a game you might not even like, best to watch the gameplay of it first before deciding on spending your money.
Hey Jake, I hope you read this because it pertains to the first story and oddly enough, you... On the issue of people playing less games, the reasons discussed all play a part in this issue, but I think there's another dimension to it which deserves to be discussed. Ok, so the gradual decline in quality of AAA games since roughly 2010 has been a well documented phenomenon. There's many reasons for this, lack of risk taking/recycling franchises time and time again, publisher insistence on following trends which diminish the quality of games to potentially strike a goldmine, lack of general consumer awareness as to what gamers actually want to play, etc. For whatever the reason, AAA games are quantifiably worse than when I was growing up, you can check metacritic scores, sales, user reviews, whatever, but the trend is there. Because of this, there's a general lack of consumer trust in most AAA products, with few exceptions like first party Nintendo games and Rockstar's few and far between releases, which have never seemed to drop in quality. As such, the big button games that everyone wants to play are usually 1, the rare low budget indy release which takes the world by storm because of an interesting central mechanic, like Balatro for example, or 2, AA games which have enough of a budget to produce the general type of games which there is a consumer demand for, but don't have the same amount of restriction that a AAA game studio has, which generally tend to lead to a better overall product than the AAA counterpart. In the past 5-8 years we've seen a trend where these AA games are far and away the biggest games on the market, and have seen enormous success which has paved the way towards a new wave of "publisher-free" AAA studios, see Larian, CD Project Red, Fromsoft, etc. The general hope from consumers is that these new AAA studios will not follow the same practices as the dying older AAA studios, and focus on quality products over anti-consumer business practices infringing on development. This has yet to be fully seen, but there is at least some hope that these formerly AA studios which are now AAA studios will revitalize and set the pace for the rest of the industry. Ok, so the issue with the way the industry is now, where it is so difficult to trust in the quality of the games being released is... curation. It's exceedingly difficult to find a good game in 2024, this is just a fact. The resources available to the consumer are not as good as they used to be, despite the continued growth of videogame content on the internet. There are 2 key aspects, however, as to why curation is bad. Firstly, the platforms themselves are failing the consumer. Steam is far and away the biggest digital videogame distributor, certainly on PC. Steam has a core problem with its current version where it has adopted the policy of "everything can be listed on Steam." They fought this for a while, there was the greenlighting phase of Steam's history, but due to continued demands for specific releases not on the platform, ultimately they caved and created a much easier system for getting your game onto Steam, leading to an influx of, honestly, garbage on the platform. On top of this, Steam does a horrible job of advertising to the consumer what is actually good on the platform. The chances of me being able to go onto the front page of Steam and see a game that I don't already own, and will be immediately interested in purchasing are next to zero, it almost never happens anymore, leading me to have to search for games that I may like beforehand, so that I already know what I want prior to making purchases. Even the sales aspect of Steam, which used to be the BEST is not good at showing you what is actually worth buying which is on sale. Even if I filtered based on what is on sale in the list view of Steam, there will be so much garbage on that list that again it is not even worth looking at. Generally, I find the Epic store to be moderately better at actually finding a good game on, but even then most consumers refuse to use it, even I don't use it much, and it's not like its a great resource. The second issue, is that because the storefronts are bad at curating their content, to find quality games you're interested in, you must do your own research. I'm going to make a bold connection here, but I believe it makes quite a lot of sense. In my experience, as a very active member of this community for over 15 years, I have seen 2 eras of videogame content on TH-cam, before the death of TotalBiscuit and after the death of TotalBiscuit. I want to preface this by saying whether or not you personally consumed the guy's content is entirely irrelevant, he was massively influential to many people which had a great impact on the entire industry. What he did, which has yet to be adequately replaced within the TH-cam landscape, is he had a very large audience of eager consumers, and he gave well curated recommendations for games which, for the most part, would have otherwise fallen under the radar. It's well documented how many games became commercial successes after he highlighted them. This role was extremely important to the videogame landscape, because of the general lack in consumer faith in well established brands, and is even more necessary now in 2024. Nowadays, in 2024, we don't have anything like TotalBiscuit, sure there are people with smaller audiences (or less purchase ready audiences) who highlight indie releases or releases within certain niches of video games, but there is nothing quite to the scale of what TB did, and further, many of these people are not covering the AAs or as broad of a scope of video games. Oddly, Gameranx is one of the better resources available to consumers for this, which is why I started following you, but it's not quite the same. You guys cover a lot more AAA games, and spend less time highlighting smaller games. Also, most of your content is top 10 lists, which are great, but they're not straight video game recommendations. ACG kind of does a similar thing to what TB did, but honestly, many people find him slightly annoying and overly analytical in his reviews; plus his viewer base is smaller, and as such is less influential to the market, and he doesn't really highlight indies the same way, nor does he only show the good games like TB used to do. Generally, there's a lack of a quality videogame curator with a massive, purchase ready audience, on the internet, and because game magazines and websites kind of went the way of the dodo, it needs to come from TH-cam, and it's not. Because of this, most gamers are now getting their "curated recommendations" based off of what content creators are playing, which is a large aspect as to why those numbers are as high as they are, on top of the added entertainment value in watching someone else play a game. Basically, I wish we still had TotalBiscuit, for a number of reasons, but I can't even begin to count how many games I bought because of his recommendation, and how many truly amazing experiences I've gotten to experience because of him. I wrote all of this because I see you as someone who can actually fix this void in the gaming landscape. You're one of the few good ones. That being said, I love your top 10 content, so I can't really expect you to cover more smaller releases when you're already (presumably) using most of your time to do that. Anyways, you're the man, keep it up!
25, girl so maybe it’s different but real life is just too important. I got work, friends, parties and social clubs to attend so when I have time to play a game I want to make sure it’s what I want .
I'm a completionists, I see everything I play to the end and usually 100% when it isn't unreasonable. Achievements for the last story mission/level tend to have a completion rate of anywhere from 12% to 27%, more missable and 100%-related achievements anywhere from 0.6% to 5%. I play pretty much everything that comes out, I've seen this a Morbillion times. Yes, people don't play games anymore.
The peak of gaming was what, 90-2010s, non stop and hella time? Too many games, too many disappointments, too many agendas being pushed, too tired to even care sometimes… meh gaming is dying slowly. But enjoying still enjoying them.
Maybe if more indie developers joined forces to make few games instead of a million we'd have some amazing games. As far as the bigger gaming companies they just want to push for more money true.
More like companies are not putting out games worth buying and playing so people choose to experience the content vicariously. Put out good games and people will buy and play them.
Yeah... Um excuse me sir.. have you heard of GTA? Yeah I think people still play that and look at the dev time/cost per game. It's because it's a great game is all. You are totally right.
Not putting out good games? Black myth wukong, final fantasy 7 rebirth, silent hill 2, metaphor refantazio, astrobot, elden ring, tekken 8, like a dragon, helldivers 2 etc… The actual issue is that most cost £70 day 1 and people don’t want to spend that.
@@BenAstridge I hear the "no good games" bs and just laugh. Mfs acting like there were bangers releasing weekly back in the day. I still remember going to GameStop 20 years ago and 80% of the games being licensed slop or just trash games. The last 3 years alone have had sooo many good games.
@@pabl0sauced0 People just being mad bc they want to be mad about something. There’s more good games that release every year than anyone can even realistically get thru. You’re so right i have so much licensed trash games in my old collection hahah love them tho
When you get to your 30s and you become a dad you don’t have time to play everything. I finished stellar blade because the gameplay was extremely tight.
I used to love video games as a teenager, but as I got older, into my 20's, gaming kind of took a backseat for me. I think there are a a few reasons a lot of people stopped playing games, myself included... 1. Because most video games that have come out over the last 5-10 years are freaking garbage. Just simply not fun. 2. The gaming world has offered all there is to offer, it seems (sort of aligns with number one). There is not enough new, or original ideas anymore. 3. Too expensive of a hobby. Especially when they raised the retail price to $70. Ridiculous. 4. People are just tired or burnout (This could have a lot to do with number 2). Now do I still play games time to time? Sometimes, but when I do, it's older games. I'd still rather play the old Call of Duty games than play the new ones. Which don't look that good, in my opinion. And again, why would I pay $70 for something I'm not interested in? I'll stick to the classics.
Goofy black mindset. Randomly just vomiting out words their low capacity brains don't understand. No one is playing a game they are complaining about most likely my dude. On top of that most people don't care enough to complain they just don't buy it if they don't want it.
Would make sense, considering almost every gaming opinion I see people make on the internet is copied by some big content creator and not made by themselves
Too many choices. So many companies give away really good games for free or as a part of subscriptions so people end up just adding to their libraries without touching even 10% of their games. I’ve fallen into the same rut. Streamers don’t help bc that’s free and you can vicariously experience everything a game has to offer without paying a dime.
I'm a young guy in his 40s. Been playing since the Intellivision. I can't ever focus on just one game. I like being in the middle of several different games since I get bored way too quickly with what i'm playing. Because of that I prefer shorter titles anyway because they're easy to pick up and play with a few exceptions for sports titles since i love sports games as well. So for example, I'm bouncing around between Iron Meat on PC, Madden 07 on PS2, making another run through Metroid Dread on my Switch, playing Stellar Blade on PS5, F1 2019 on PC, New Star GP on PC, picked up a shooter called Drainus I really enjoy, and so forth. I mainly enjoy shorter retro inspired titles or actual retro titles that are pick up and play. I have 2 kids, a wife, and a demanding job and another music hobby that keeps me from being able to really sit down for hours on end and just play. Plus at my age, I'm not as big into video games as i used to. I get more excited about the business aspects of it today; which is why I enjoy channels like yourself and Gameranx. Spawn Wave is excellent for the type of video game content I mostly enjoy.
I used to be an avid gamer but lately I find myself hardly interested. It’s all greedy anti consumerism and political activist bullshit. I play games to escape reality not to have more of it forced on me and I imagine many others are feeling the same way. After practically all of my favorite IPs have been ruined well, not much inspiration left for me there.
I'm very selective with what I play and I mostly stick to older games and skip out on the AAA nonsense that's been plaguing the industry for years. Apart from reviews and gaming news, when I watch people play games, it's not really for the game, but for them as an entertainer. I don't care what they play, so long as they're cracking jokes and having a good time.
I was watching this while playing FC25. I work from home, so I watch a lot of TH-cam/Twitch while I work. But when I’m finished with work, I have a house to clean, a family to cook for, a dog to walk, and I have to sleep. Sometimes at night I’m so tired I’d rather watch a movie or whatever comfort show, sometimes me and my partner are really into a game and playing it together as much as possible. I would definitely say that in the last 3 years there have been fewer games that actually peak my interest, because the industry is in a lull unless you like soulslikes or MOBAs. So yea, these days on an average weekday I might watch/listen to 6+ hours of gaming content, but only play 1-3 hours of actual games.
![ค้าง (STILL) - GEMINI [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ftxx3hk5vkU/mqdefault.jpg)
As a working single parent I can also add that sometimes is not a matter of time or interest in gaming but also energy. There are times where I want to engage in the hobby but it’s late and I’m exhaaaausted, and sometimes it’s easier to just watch content about it instead before bed.
Same. I want to play but i be trying to keep my head up like a new born baby looking at the screen
I feel you ! I am 35 and my last vacation was 2014. I am exhausted from work. I could sleep all day. My eyes get heavy and I fall asleep. My brain is not capable to process fast games anymore. I often see myself watching others playing games and fall asleep rather than keep concentrated and play them myself.
Exactly. I get off of work at 5.. that leaves me like 5 or 6 hrs of free time in the afternoon. I’m 37.. I’m exhausted by the time I get home, exercise, walk the dog, eat dinner, etc. I plan on playing a game but end up just staring at TH-cam or Twitch before going to bed.. I think this is just a sign of everyone being overworked and stressed the hell out more than lack of interest.
Preach!
Preach it!
I believe people still are, but are becoming more selective. At least I am, now.
Too many disappointing to downright bad games that cause people to be burnt out of them now
Surprisingly i buy and play more nintendo games
Same actually I have my backlog that's older game. I don't played all the new games
My kids certainly are but games like Roblox and Fortnite are popular amongst their peers and that’s a game that takes up a lot of time and makes them less likely to try others.
I’ve introduced some of my favorite RPGs and played through them with them, and the switch has a great selection of family games to play. But if I had left it up to them, they would have played the same games.
I also think with our smart devices it’s common to have TH-cam and other platforms playing in the background. Sometimes I`lll watch a play through of a game and that stops me buying it as I’ve seen most of the story.
I try tons of games. I don’t even know what ones I have or not anymore cause of my backlog actually. I get to all eventually but it takes a while. In the meantime I stick to a few to play in completion. And I fall asleep to gameplay videos. Maybe see how it works first. Cause just because a game is number one doesn’t mean you’ll like it. You have to see. That’s how I found out I’m never buying civilization.
I’m only an active gamer when there’s a game I’m interested in. I’m picky and selective on the games I dedicate my time to.
That’s how I am. I might only really play 1 or 2, maybe 3 games per year. When I do, I am playing them pretty heavily, but then might not really play at all for several months. I only really play those games that I am very excited about.
Yes I am also very selective of which games I dedicate my time to I just finished ghost of Tsushima around 70-80 hours I started playing start of last month and finished it last weekend the now the month before I drop around 10-12 into gaming total I was relaying fallout 1 got free on epic and I paly year ago and trip down memory lane and be bit stand by I board game.
Most modern AAA games are pretty bad IMO. I loved Elden ring and Baldursgate, and before that I think The last one I played was Red Dead Redemption 2.
Other than that I mostly play map games and indie games, and even those only a few games a year.
To be honest I think this is more than a gaming thing. I hardly watch movies anymore, I've canceled all my streaming services and I only watch a few shows a year. When I consume media which I do at the same rate as usual I watch mostly longford videos on TH-cam and play indygames.
I think it's just an overall trend of modern media companies being massively out of touch with what people actually want to watch.
@@00CooG00 Red Dead Redemption 2. ls a outstanding game
Most games in the last 4 years suck. The industry is in a free fall. Blame corpos.
28, used to game a lot. Now I’m just too tired all the time. I do follow games. Wishlist. But I take a longer amount of time to really consider WHICH game will take my precious time. I just value my time more now
I was in the same boat with ever growing backlogs. I still buy games that I had on wishlist but recently I packed up PS5 and Series X and dedicate a month to a single classic system like GBA, Xbox and PS2 (emulation) sticking to single game for a whole month. I thought I grew out of the gaming but found out that I wasn’t really feeling modern games with over saturation of ads in the menu of the system.
I've just gotten sick of the tedious nature of most games. I play really intense strategy games like Starcraft 2 but other games just bore me. Its much more fun to just watch other people play them and skip through the hours of grinding
This! Not to be a dick but I used to play almost 6 to 8 hrs a day, yeah... Now I feel like I rather just pursuit my dreams and archive my goals or just... Share more time with family, I still play games now and then but only multy players since I like the social aspects of it, but I can't see myself sitting in skyrim for hours or stuff like that, last game I played like I used to was botw, but once I realized my time is limited, I rather do other stuff than play the whole day
When I get home from work im tired, exhausted with no desire to play any game tbh. I would much rather watch someone else play, watch youtube or listen to music. The Only time I feel like playing, when I actually want to play is during the weekends. I can still have as much fin playing now as I had when I was younger, but I need to be well rested and ready for it.
Playing a game is actually alot more of a commitment than watching other people play. I also rarely buy new games now, I prefer to play my favorites that I know im going to have fun with instead of gambling with a New game. It is very cheap as well.
Tell me about it. I am too tired after work too. I still play some short sessions,like 10-15 minutes at a time. But a lot of games are not viable for short sessions, so I only play pinball games and Metroidvania at the moment. I still buy games but I usually wait till they are 70-95% off😂
Me personally: I believe there are way TOO many games coming out at a rapid rate. I get overwhelmed because there are so many games I wanna play that I end up shelving certain games because a new game came out that peaked my interest and so forth.
Brooooooo this FAXXXXXXXXXX FOR ME
This guy gets it. Oversaturation will kill the market. Nintendo does it best, I have to wait 20 years to play a new Metroid or F-Zero. You bet I'm seeking meaningful time into those.
As well as the fact that nowadays it has become quantity over quality. There are still exceptions here and there. But most games that come out are garbage
Rapid Fast Food Games that are not Good, Complete or not fun
Fun y thing about that, gameranx even touched on it in a video. Publishers are putting out significantly less games per year than they did in the 90s and 2000s. If you look at the lists per console of releases year by year as a whole they are doing a hell of a lot less
I only have one 80+ hour game experience in me per year
I’m playing games to get away from my job… not to work a second one
A lot of 80+ hour games are paced so well that they don't feel like a second job though. It just happens that the story is that long and complex.
@@thegwynbleidd4202 80 hr+ is still 80 hrs+, Time doesn't change regardless if you're having fun or not. I like games but i cant get to all the ones i want to play.
@@thegwynbleidd4202
Oh for sure… though I wasn’t really arguing pacing since it’s subjective. Really depends on the person playing.
I usually only get 5-10 hours to game per week. My long game for the year was FF7 Rebirth. Spent 100ish hour and over 3 month to beat it.
At that rate I can only play 3-4 gamers per year and that isn’t good enough for me. I want more diversity in my gaming so I’ll fill the rest of the year with games under 30 hours and subsequently get to play a lot more.
@@affordablehousing9116
Exactly, even with good pacing I just don’t have the time or desire to fill my whole year with long games.
@@thegwynbleidd4202
There are at most 1-2 good 80 hour games per year anyway.
I have limited time as a 50 year old business owner. When I play, I am very selective about what I play. And, I don’t play poorly released games…most games nowadays.
Congrats on the success 💪🏼
Especially in the AAA space so many games are just borng and generic now. They don't take any risks. I find the smaller AA or indie games are way more fun and pushing the envelope. Sure they don't have the same type of budget and aren't as big but I'm just having more fun with those than the AAA's now.
I find as I get older, I still love playing games, but I'm a lot more susceptible to burnout than I used to be. I'll go through a huge 50+ hour JRPG (Metaphor most recently, for example) and then be completely unable to actually stick with anything for months, constantly trying things and then giving up around the 5 hour mark. In these months I'll usually default to other hobbies like books or music. Even when I do come back, it's often gotta be something in a vastly different genre, like a short platformer, before I'm able to actually sink my teeth into the big, sprawling, time-sink type games. I used to be able to burn through 100-hour epics back-to-back for pretty much the entirety of my teenage years, but that's become really difficult as an adult. What's interesting through is that watching videos just like this one aren't really influenced by my burnout. I could be going through a 4 month stretch where I'm not playing anything, and yet I'll still be engaging with gaming-related content the entire time!
Well put
I can totally relate. I also found out that bloated games with tons of things to do are not as fun as more linear objective games, because you can't keep your attention and spend that amount of time with games anymore. I now prefer linear games where you finish a story and move forward to the next game/story, but in the past i loved to spend 100+ hours in a single game. Also as an adult i can buy many more games and there's no time, so i watch videos and i buy only the ones that i think will really worth it for me and my reality.
Yeah absolutely get it as a depressive Person. It's exhausting but the interest is still absolutely there xD
50h is not huge, i expect 80-120h for an RPG
@@Emeric62 he said 50+ hours
As a completionist/trophy hunter, I feel this. I find myself really researching which game I'm going to commit to for the next x-weeks and not feel FOMO of the backlog or new releases. I play games from 10pm-12am, IF I make it that far without falling asleep on the couch or my wife making fun of me because I'm walking in circles in-game. The games I've been able to commit more time to are games my 3 kids can see on TV on the weekends or early evening - family friendly games or less graphic/gory games. The more mature the game is, the longer it takes for me to get through because I'm not going to play them while the kids are around the tv! 12-25 hour games have been the sweet spot for sure but I'm good for 1-2 GREAT games that are 60+ hr per year. The palate cleansers are a great change of pace too - those 4-8 hr Indy titles.
To be honest, I can't wait for the legendary AI everybody keeps talking about so I can have time to play video games.
Ok, come take my job. Fuck, I don't care. I don't even have time to play a video game anymore.
Giving even 2 hours of my day to gaming feels too much. I always have something better to do.
If I was a teenager again, maybe. So, I'm praying we get AGI or someshit soon. Probably nothing but a dream for now though.
Take care of your health before you wake up one day and can’t play games any more. Real talk
This is true. We really take everything for granted. If you get issues with your hands or your brain then it's a struggle to play the games you enjoyed.
Trophies and achievements have been hinting at this for a long time. I look at the completion percentage for just the most basic things, like beating the 1st boss of a video game, and it's often only around 50% of people who own the game even bother to make it that far.
But also the number is misleading, as I looked into it a couple months back when I was interested as to why that's the case. Turns out that Sony locks in all purchases pr subscriptions of the game to those numbers. Meaning that all the people that either bought the game or downloaded/subscribed then deleted but have yet to play it, are apart of those numbers. So if someone bought elden ring but never started it, they would be apart of the percentage of people that haven't killed the first boss. That's why almost all games, even the most popular, all usually have percentages starting lower than 90%, because a lot of people have a backlog of games they never started
@@CommanderCodyChipless does downloading the game from PS Plus count as playing? If so then no wonder so many player dropped before finishing the first boss. Though if it doesn't count, i dont think it would change the number much
@@antoniusaldprdna well I was just using Elden Ring as an example. I just mean with any game. Like uncharted or gta or whatever. If you look at the percentage of the first trophy, it's never 100%. Usually around 80-90%. The reason that is, is because people have purchased the game (or if you have a subscription and you go to a game page and hit "add to library") but haven't started playing it. So their trophy count gets mixed in with the other gamers whom have bought the game but played it all the way through. That's why I say it's misleading.
What is your playtime on some games?
"bother to make it that far"
or it's on the backlog...the very big backlog.
As much as I wanted to play most games, I have to choose which games I can invest my time in. But I still prefer playing games than watching gameplay.
Same. With $70 per new game, I definitely am selective with new games I buy.
@@mac1bcMeh. Games are actually cheaper than ever if you consider subscription services and massive Steam sales of older games. Seems like an excuse.
Play all of the best classics on Steam. There's a lot of good games out there. Are there good modern games? A few...but most were made 15 + years ago.
@@mac1bc yes I just stopped PS+ from taking $80 in a renewal. I don't even feel like it's worth it, and i don't want to play online.
@Sekaniy I understand that. I will say i upgraded to Extra recently and that has been pretty good for me. I've been playing many games I've been wanting to try, since they are included.
I think you also need to factor in how game looks and mechanics haven't really changed in the last 10 years. The wicther 3 is still a great game that can last you a hundred hours and it can be bought for peanuts compared to a game released today. it use to be old games were just that old now there just as good as what comes out next.
Ok what's frustrating me is companies keep saying game development costs more. Where are the receipts!? In all these interviews and articles I have not seen a transparent breakdown of where that F that 1million + dollars are being spent. And anything I could find is a vague % allocated to labor and advertising with no evidence. The conspiracy theorist in me believes this narrative is being pushed to justify the rising cost of games that are usually not finished on launch. Where are the receipts, where is the money being spent in game development!? Is it actually going towards the development or is it being paid out in bonuses to the CEOs, and useless middle management.
😂😂😂
I'm guilty of doing this. I'm just so fed up with IPs being ruined.
It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
Follow the creators, not the titles.
Not for me. I'm still playing, not watching. Twitch and Live TH-camrs mostly annoy me
I was gonna ask what kinda people you watch but, in hindsight even my favorite streamers have some pretty annoying moments like not paying attention in a game. So fair enough.
That is another interesting point. I used to watch a lot more streamers and letsplayers and youtube personalities and whatnot, but at some point something shifted and now I find most of them annoying. Now I only watch people with more educational value, reviewers and semi-journalists like Jake and Skill Up and video essayists like Jacob Geller. Maybe it's the disillusion of the parasocial aspect inherent to the business model and the realization I don't have any reason to particularly care about those people? Maybe it's just that as I get older and have less time I feel like I need to optimize the value of every moment and justify frivolities so watching something that doesn't at least have the excuse of being somewhat educational feels pointless and a waste of time?
Same. Though I can spend hours watching things like video essays, retrospectives and the likes. But that's content that has an inherent value. Streams and lets plays never holds my attention. It's not good content, and you need a parasocial relationship with the streamer to enjoy it. To me that's just... blergh!
Streamers are cringe and the fans worse
Yeah I don’t understand the appeal, I could see some highlights or reactions about specific aspects of a game I played but a full stream? That’s crazy to me not judging though
Some games feel more like a movie than a gameplay focus. So I get people watching it then playing
this would make sense but i dont think those are the games that get watched primarily.
Some games are more enjoyable as a movie. So sometimes you're better off watching cutscenes on youtube
There's definitely games that for some people are much better off being watched than actually played
Whether it's just watching a group of friends play a part game having banter when you don't really have the opportunity for it
or Esports that you can't devote time to get into but still enjoy the thrill of tight matches in CS and such
I personally find minecraft immensely boring to play, regardless if it's singleplayer vanilla or modded multiplayer. But i can get super invested in watching a youtuber i like play minecraft.
Yes dude I’ve tried so many games through ps plus and 99% of them I get bored because I’m just watching cutscene after cutscene. Most enjoyable games I played through the service were Bloodborne and Demons Souls.
Quantic Dream games.
I have a 5 year gaming backlog; just older, less time, lots of other interests, just ebbs and flows like you said
I’m in same situation right now. Last few games barely played anything
The problem is we have so many games available at a time that we lose interest on one game as soon as it gets a bit complex. Plus so many games these days focus more on complex open worlds that need unnecessary grinding to complete.
I think modern video games are way more complicated than old games. Anyone remember Grand Theft Auto 2? You had your movement buttons, fire button and buttons to get in a car and switch between weapons. Now, think about GTA 5: You have quests, you have your phone, you have all those different people, you have character customization.. It takes a lot of work just to learn the game, and if you take a break you'll no longer remember how to play it. In the old times there was just the gameplay (shooting people) without the progression and customization.
One thing very few talk about is how pick up and play old games used to be. That's why I stick to old roms and Nintendo. I REFUSE to sit through a three hour tutorial for a game that I probably can figure out myself in 10 minutes... p.s. emulators have fast-forward options to get through the time wasting.
I can go years without playing gta 5 and pick it back up and remember everything right away
I doubt most people struggle to remember how to play their games. The easy way to remember if you forgot is to look at the button mappings in the settings.
GTA 5 is an old game. It's 11 years old.
That's what's surprising is how many controls and options we have now compared to the 2nd and 3rd console generation of games, even early PC games. It was only an analog stick and a fire button, that's it for the atari 2600 and the intellevision. For games nowadays, there's stories, mutliplayer and multiple options, settings to tweak your display and colors, it's no wonder I went for PC, because all games that release on console will eventually end up on PC emulation at some point in the future, or emulation at some point in the future.
I believe the point you made about listening to gaming media is really insightful. I'm 29, just had to stop skateboarding because of a serious injury, so gaming has become my main hobby. That's where I go for my free time, and I play a lot! However, whenever I have chores to do, or even while I'm working I'll just go through all of your videos, through gameranx, skillup and the fps podcast, and a couple of others. Yes I do keep up with a lot of gaming media, but my free time is mostly restricted to playing :)
Btw, already mentioned this in the last Q&A, but you have been my main companion through the recovery from my serious injury! I was lucky enough to get out of a skull fracture alive, and your energy just kept me happy through all of this! Thank you for that ❤
Awesome dude - glad to hear you’re on the road to recovery and that you have found an outlet through gaming!
@adamdesalle6338 thanks for the positivity! Getting a ps1 when I was a child brought gaming into my life, and now the connection is just intensified to the utmost. I'm really glad that I got into games since that time. It's an hobby that never faded, and now helped me get through a striking upheaval caused by my other passion :)
My biggest concern is how the highest priority of AAA game design is shifting towards how "streamable" the game is. (Instead of just making a great game there's a market for and letting its quality attract attention.) Trends found in the data you described will only accelerate that shift.
This^^^ I feel like so much bad PR will come out for games because a certain demographic of streamers don’t like a certain game, which just blows the vocal minorities way out of proportion. I don’t care if a game is fun to watch on stream if I can’t enjoy it myself.
100% I've been feeling this as well. Games like Getting Over It are really only fun to watch IMO. Not really to play since I don't engage with entertainment to get angry
Streaming is one of the worst part of this industry
My dad is sick and in between taking care of him and work I have no time to play anymore. My pc is just sitting there gathering dust
I hope he gets better. You need time for yourself.
It's very important. Anyway take care. ❤
@@Adequately_Sane thanks man. I am absolutely making sure to keep some time aside for myself 🙂. I have to take care of myself so I can be there for my people. Just that gaming everyday the way I used to isn’t possible anymore
Hope everything goes well with your dad 🙏
Get a gaming laptop and take it with you.
@@Ybabayaga777 thank you 🙏
I will say there was a 5 year period that I was depressed and wanted to play games but as soon as I boot the game up I'd play 5 minutes and be like nah. I'd still watch reviews and game play but wouldn't play. My wife finally said something to me saying she enjoys watching me play games and wanted me to play mafia. I'm happy to say this year I've played through all three mafia games and dlc all of the master chief collection with her co-op, just finished tomb raider and going through the trilogy and on my next back log I have the new Indiana Jones game and Alan Wake 1 and 2. I'm happy she pushed me to get back into it. I forgot how much I enjoyed playing games.
I just turned 28, I don’t have the energy or time to play games like I used to. If I play a game after work I’m kinda just going through the motions and not actually engaged with the game since I’m half asleep. So that discourages me from playing more often unless I’m fully awake like on my day off. And on my day off I have chores to do so that takes up more time.
Not to mention all the other outlets competing with your attention, social media, relationships, family, Netflix, TH-cam. It’s too damn much man, I’m tired boss. I think gta 6 is gonna be my send off because if rockstar meets expectations no other game stands a chance.
I think there are numerous factors for this kind of case study - but I feel along with “gaming” itself, the industry has been in a ever changing shift and with that I feel comes a slight evolution of how the hobby evolves. Gaming is no longer a singular “hobby” I feel it’s being a gamer, a watcher of shows/movies/shorts, buying merchandise to accessories, to buying clothing. It’s become a cultural phenomenon and I think it’s still going to evolve into a normalized “lifestyle” as wild as a that sounds - who would’ve thought video games would’ve gotten this big? So the future of what it means to be a “gamer” I think is a massive horizon for things that are not yet fully thinkable or known to come. But that’s my take!
You're onto something
@@JammedClipperthat's gay
"Gaming" has become an aesthetic in the same way electric guitars became an aesthetic in pop music videos for vocalists to just wear as an accesory
@@kokorochacarero8003 you cooked
I am in my early 50's and have played games since the Atari 2600. Now days I still play games on my PC (and steam deck), and maybe a Zelda Game on my OLED Switch. But more often than not I am watching TH-cam Videos on Gaming news, upcoming games and gameplay of titles I enjoy or want to play while I am working on the computer all day long. For example (and a lot of people don't like this game) I absolutely LOVE Starfield and have nearly 600+ hours in the game, but I watch videos about mods, gameplay and news about the game I LIKE. I am very selective about games I buy. But I think of them like going to a movie, it can cost $100 for a night out, but a game I can jump back into when I have time and have fun again. What do you think? anyone else watch game vids while working?
I don't watch any game vids besides reviews. Mostly I listen to podcasts or news while I'm driving or working on my computer. I have a massive backlog of games and only ever increases but I work all the time and am usually dead tired when I get free time to play.
I do. I like to have gaming content (usually livestreams or play throughs) running in the background while I do boring tasks. Chores, grading my student’s homework, etc. it’s pleasant white noise to me.
I'm at work right now, lol
I'm 47, gainfully employed in accounting...and gaming news and occasionally an entertaining Let's Play forms the background noise to many a spreadsheet or vendor-payment program.
I never watch/listen to the stuff at home because if I have the free time to do that, I have the free time to play actual games.
Been gaming since 1982, when Mom gave 5-year-old me a couple of quarters and pointed me at a Pac-Man cabinet while she settled the bill at a Chinese restaurant.
I’m 44, I like gaming too, I’m currently at my work 😅. But I am too selective, I still play and have a good time with some games, and I’m hyped for tomorrow and play PoE2 after work.
GEN X here! I definitely watch more than I play, because watching is more relaxing & content can run in the background while I do other stuff (cook dinner, put laundry away, etc). Also, gaming content has really improved over even the past five years-creators play games I’m not interested in playing myself, but their commentary is funny & entertaining. Like, I’m more of a Witcher 3 & Baldur’s Gate 3 kind of gal, but I love watching Insym play Lethal Company, or Markiplier play Slay the Princess. Gameplay requires concentration, and I tend to get so absorbed in games I stay up too late and my work suffers (I usually don’t even start a game until I’m on a semester break, since I teach). But I can watch gaming content on the train to work or waiting for a meeting. And a lot of gaming content now is better than the slop streaming on Netflix.
I remember explaining games to my mom in 1995 and I see that some people still don't get it...
Gaming is a hobby, a form of entertainment (the best imo, explained below) and I can make it as social or anti social as possible when and wherever I want.
Movies, I can watch a movie in my game.
Book, my game is a better narrative.
Music, my game has that.. And exposes me to genres I'd never knew existed at times... Etc etc.
And with gaming I can interact, which I cannot do with those other mediums of entertainment.
Now as I hit 45 and am having grandkids... Less time for games sure, but it's still my hobby, and I prefer game engagement than watching a 2hr shitty c or d movie.
And I can continue to relate to my inevitable grandkids with gaming while they may not get or be willing to try to relate to me when it comes to older movies, music or books.
Damn 44 year old granddad is crazy, dude had kids in his teens
there is maybe few games that you can compare to high prose by narrative, otherwise you are bullshitiing us granddad at 44
music yeah, easy, movies too
@@tgreg9542 not necessarily 😂. Your math is a bit off.
Early 20s.
@@newwonderer nah, it's all subjective.. And preferential.
I'll take a Kratos story over the newest bad boys movie any day of the week personally.
The writing in a lot of games is nothing to scoff at. Writers are writers no matter if it's a game or cartoon or movie.....
Also, yes I'm a grandpa at 44 😂. Hell I've seen younger ones than me, that's life.
Games are too big these days. I’m not in my teens anymore where I can game all day and all night without any responsibilities. So I’m limited to maybe an hour most days. It would take me 6 months to beat a game like the Witcher 3.
Yep. Problem is with these massive rpgs is that if you don't play them consistently, you kinda lose any desire to continue playing them.
If you take a break for a month for instance, you almost forgot where you are or what you were doing, and that for me kills all motivation to play. Those games really shine if you can play them alot, and especially consistently which makes you immersed into the game. I Only really play during the weekends now tbh, too tired and exhausted when I get home from work. I much rather watch someone else play or listen to music or just watch youtube than play a game myself.
Still though, I have been doing a replay of my favorite game ever Dragon Age Origins and it's still a blast. I can put in alot of hours in the weekend so it's still possible to play a long rpg if you really want.
@@Skumtomten1 100% agree. Plus those games kinda suck when you are time limited as time flies past too fast. If I have an hour I'd rather play something where I can make quick progress and jump in and out without any issues like a casual linear platformer game.
So you dont have a problem to comment on TH-cam but you have a problem to play games?
Definite truths to that report. I used to be a big gamer but being in my 30s, overtime, my bandwidth shifted to other things due to work and other hobbies but I still pay attention to the gaming news and watching these TH-cam shows like yours Jake, Mattyplays, gameranx, and Outsidexbox/OutsideXtra. I would love to know the age ranges of that report as well. I finally got a PS5 though and ready to dive into games that I feel I will enjoy after watching so many reviews of yours and many others lol. Thank you so much for all you do!
The one MASSIVE flaw with that report is them assuming I would be playing the games I'm watching. The only time I watch other people play video games is either A) It's an exclusive I can't get my hands on. Or B) It's a game I'd never pay for and play, as I'd deem it "mid" for myself. But I'll watch someone else play it, just for their reaction of it. I've never watched someone else play a game that I really wanted to play, I always just get the game and play the heck out of it instead. I would never spoil the game for myself by watching someone else play something that I'm hyped for. So yeah, that's 1 huge hole in that study. I still play as much as I want when there is a solid game out that I want to play. That great game has to exist though, and 2024 was pretty rough for games overall.
Wouldn’t say that’s a massive flaw in the study. Just a hypothesis as to WHY more people are watching then playing.
Yep. I watch streamers play a lot of horror games but wouldn't play them in a million years 😂
Low taper fade
I just play modded skyrim, fallout 3,nv,4 and stalker gamma over and over again.
I'm going back to the original Half-Life. And Metal Gear Solid 5. Oh, and Witcher 1, 2, 3, lol.
Morrowind with the tamriel rebuilt mod for me.
Exactly Modding is the only thing keeping me interested in single player gaming. I mainly play fps shooters and stuff when it comes to modern day stuff 🤷♂️. It is what it is single player games just aren't worth the experience for me as much anymore
I was going to play re4 modded for the rest of my life but I pivoted
I started playing in 1984. In 2020 there was nothing left in the tank. Everything looked prettier, but I've already seen and experienced all there was to. Enter VR. I bought a PSVR on a whim. I have a Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR, and PSVR2 now. I dropped 40lbs., built a ton of muscle, and... started playing the drums because of VR drum games. I look forward to seeing what comes next.
I lost 50 lb with supernatural VR and then sweat three quest 3s to death return the last one and use the money to buy a Smith machine Best investment I ever made I'm now 75 lbs down and ripped but I do miss my VR
@stevengilley5107 Smith machine? I play drums a lot more than I play games now. Crazy how that worked out.
@@OldmanRzR smith machine is a bench press on rails so you can lift alone and not crush yourself lol
My "friend" sold me his PS5 for $250. Then said we not friends anymore cause I wouldn't sell it back.
Toxic ppl are better avoided reguardless. Why sell something with the intent to buy back later when you not broke & don't need $?
Stupid can't be fixed!
That's awful. I'm sorry.
At least you got a great deal on a ps5 tho
He was a Poor Friend
Geese what a terrible person, sorry that happened to you.
It's just a combination of factors. This our generation of gamers getting older and having less time to well game, games getting more pricey(70$ Triple A games...) and some people just moving away from the hobby a bit or sticking to their small catalogue of games.
For me, I'm trying to live a more balanced life as I get a little older. I love gaming, but I understand I need to focus on other aspects of life too.
Gaming is becoming a niche hobby/entertainment because Gen Z most became adults, and now only Gen Alpha can make gaming a popular hobby/entertainment again
And the younger ones only playing fortnite or some popular games that they dont even finish
People still playing games, it’s just people are selective now, as games $70 per, consoles that are the least inexpensive almost $800.
Yes, but games have been 60$ forever and a 10$ difference isn’t huge considering how crazy games are nowadays. They could honestly be 150$ if they truly wanted to
Just look at game prices back in the 90s. So many were around $80 to $90. Games technically should cost around $165 or more due to inflation. However, those priced would crush the industry due to locking out so many consumers.
@@smitty_talks For US probably, but previously in Ukraine in 2003-2010 regional prices for licensed CD/DVD was like $10. In ~2012 in Ukraine I remember I was able to buy Dishonored on launch for $15. Now in the best case scenario we need to pay $40 for a AAA game, when Americans pay $70, but usually we get the same $60-70 price, here it is insane amount of money for a digital copy of a game. I just stopped buying them, only get them on great sales or pirate them.
@@squattingnevilPlaystation games are usually still $49.99 in the '90s. But N64 games reached up to $80 and even more because of the cost of cartridges and ROM chips. I think I paid $90 for ocarina of Time. And that was in 1998 or 1999. Which comes out to roughly $171.15. that's an expensive game
@@smitty_talks You say $10 isn't a big difference? How do you quantify that? TO YOU $10 may not be a big difference but it could drastically be the difference between some one buying say a used game at Gamestop vs buying that brand new game now and just waiting for sales, used game market etc.
Its just rare to have a good new game nowadays. Why spend progressively more money for progressively bad games
It’s not that rare, they’re just harder to find. AAA games that get those most exposure are at a general downturn tho.
Unfinished laggy servers not working bare minimum effort put into the launch...my biggest problem is games not being released completed and smoothed and ironed out. For 10$ more the games have become way worse on launch these days it's almost just worth watching for the first 2 patches before even buying a game nowadays.
BECAUSE PROGRESS
Maybe maturity can be a factor. I grew up playing video games and my first console was a PS2. I would play on that thing every day and my favorite genre were the fighting/adventure/racing games. i still play video games as a 26 year old, but I also love having other hobbies. I recently bought a nintendo switch to play Mario, but I find it very impressive with the variety of other titles. Still I believe balance is key to enjoying something.
In my opinion, modern games are just too long or have too many mechanics to remember. With the invention of the smartphone, our attention span has dwindled, so most of us can't sit and watch a 5 min cinematic intro before jumping into the game and going through a 30 min tutorial. That is why the retro market has blown up so much, because with older games you could just jump in and start playing.
I think you are specifically talking about arcade and puzzle games by saying "retro games"
I know a few people like that who consume way more gaming content than actually playing games. They’re both PC gamers around 30. The only gaming media I really watch is stuff like gameranx, I play a lot of switch and ps5, sometimes steam deck. I’m not sure if there’s any real causation to this anecdote but for me, I play more on console and then pc gaming just ends up being me adding to my steam library, testing games out, fixing issues and optimizing them for my hardware then never really playing them again.
On console all you can really do is game so I definitely spend a lot more time on console just playing games while on pc I can be distracted or again, focused on improving the performance or visuals of my game rather than enjoying the actual game. I get more immersed on console too despite the typical lesser visuals.
0:27 maybe because games are expensive af now?
I make that point later in the video, yea
Game sales are still high. I doubt it’s that.
We’re just flooded with too many releases.
@@JakeBaldino A lot of my watching is on the second screen while I'm playing! So it's like Netflix in the background etc.
@@bronzeagemindsetthat’s it
@@bronzeagemindsetdude I’m poor asf I only have a ps cause someone bought me one and a lot of people like that. I can’t afford video games only the free games and game catalogue
We still play video games. But when you say video games nowadays people assume it’s the big number one and only triple a online game and not some random hidden gem you found on psp or some other system that doesn’t track time.
Maybe i'm just not in those kinds of circles but i couldn't agree. I don't know anyone personally that only plays the big AAA stuff.
If anything, i'm the closest to that, since most of what i play is AAA, albeit from anywhere in the past couple decades.
It's too overwhelming to play everything. Play what you're enjoying now, be open to trying new experiences, and don't look back as the good times come and go.
Everyone works so much that we don't have energy for playing. I tend to play for an hour before bed to relax but sometimes I'm too tired even for cozy gaming.
14:20 what a great son! my mom would cry but in a bad way because she moved out of the house where she used to set up her little village and doesn't have a space for it anymore... i'd be better off figuring out how to fit her village in her current house.
I don’t think it’s necessarily “People aren’t PLAYING games anymore”, I think it’s more of “The older gaming community isn’t playing newer games as much anymore”. That’s probably what I think is a more appropriate way of putting it. As someone who’s gotten older, I’m not spending my money on buying newer games as much as I would’ve as a kid because of a few reasons: newer games can be as high as $70, newer games aren’t as good as they used to be (personally), & I don’t have as much free time to play games. When I do play games, I usually play free-to-play or games that I’ve owned and played for years like Skyrim. There are some newer games that I’m interested in like New World: Aeternum for PS5. However, I’m not desperate enough to pay full price to play it so I’ll just wait until it goes on sale.
About the length of games, it really depends on the kind of game we're talking about. A narrative-heavy game is probably best when it's a tight experience with minimal bloat if any at all. Just direct the player through the story and let them see what they need to see. But games that need to be hundred or thousand hour experiences are the sandbox, simulation, strategy games and games with high replayability.
Like for example, I play a lot of Factorio. A lot of people that play it have thousands of hours in it, because it's a game that you can just play continuously, and that ability to play it continuously is part of what makes it great.
Some of the most fun i've had in gaming was tight games like Titanfall 2 or Teardown.
You're constantly presented with new mechanics or story beats before the previous gets stale.
Ghostrunner 1 and Ghostrunner 2 i felt was a perfect example of a tight short game getting bloated with meaningless side content and excessively long levels.
the sequel was 30% longer with imo overall slightly worse content, so it felt like a drag at times.
Yea honestly I consider myself the casual player that partakes in the numbers u see from the top 10 most played games u see every year (i play cod and overwatch) but I also like just sandbox games where i can heavily mod them. Linear stories just don't make since to me especially for 70$ when I can just watch the same exprience on TH-cam lol. Thats just how i feel abt it honestly single player gaming is only worth it if its sandbox like
For me its the amount of games, its like we have HUNDRETS of games in backlog, we just quick checking game, play for 1- 2 hours, its meh and then next.
In the 90’s we had like 5 games in the whole year so we were playing them over and over again and we couldn’t watch games in motion before the internet. Now we have EVERYTHING what we want, when we want and how we want.
Consumption destroyed our joy.
I usually watch people play games because I have an overwhelming sense of guilt about not being productive if I try to sit and enjoy anything anymore. Having it on in the background while I do something else is the work around, plus hearing someone else talk has the added benefit of reducing the feeling of isolation.
this does not factor in the hours i spend scrolling up and down my unplayed steam games waiting for one to become interesting to me.
Finding good games is time consuming these days, especially if you're crazy like me and search under all releases instead of popular new releaaes on steam
Gaming landscape is too saturated ... too many options. Too many games look and feel the same. Game companies not taking risks anymore, playing it safe. The special feeling of owning a game, or a console is also gone. These days you can game on a tablet, smartphone, handheld, VR headset, a freaking watch, build in streaming on your tv, car dashboard, on a air plane seat, its freaking everywhere. Soon you will be able to game on a potato. Its not an special activity anymore. Same goes for movies. It was exciting to go and see a movie on the big screen with friends in the old days, but now you can watch a movie on your phone if you want, while sitting on the toilet. The excitement is gone. "You guys, Ubisoft just released Assassins Creed part 20 ... this time it takes place in the jungles of Amazon! Yeeeeeeyyyy! Arer you excited?" No ... not really. I miss the PS2 days.
damn straight.
I don’t watch playthroughs or gameplay videos.I typically just watch reviews and then I go in blind with every game that I play.
Honestly probably the best way to go about it.
Same
yeah that's the better way to enjoy games , there was a time when my PC can't run shit and i was forced to watch playthroughs of the upcoming games at that year just to be cool lol
The only time I watch that kind of stuff is if I really like a game I'll go find that content just to find people who want to talk about it.
A fellow chad gamer. I've never understood Let's Play channels. The only gameplay I ever watch is high level play of shit like League or goofy challenge runs for soulslikes.
Count me as one who still consumes gaming media (TH-cam, podcasts) but very rarely play. Gaming has felt more like a chore to me for years now.
There are so many games out there to choose from I think people get overwhelmed and paralyzed with making a decision on what to play.
I think you should play what truly attracts your preference and interest
Between a 9-5 and trying to publish a book, I def fall into the category of 'not having as much time'. I definitely love gaming news though, and often times it's the way I feel most connected with video games. Thanks Jake for your content, which helps make me feel apart of this community ❤
What will the book be about?
I am writing a book too
@@SRW_ Currently writing a book that's kinda like Gen V meets Wednesday 😊trying to write a fun crunchy magic system into it too
@@unicorntomboy9736 Awesome! Always glad to meet another writer :)
@
Sounds delightful
I haven't sat down and played anything in months.
I miss not feeling guilty for doing it.
You haven't missed much on the multiplayer front. There's a lot of good independent single player games that have come out though
1 hour on Metaphor got me feeling personally attacked Jake goddamn😂😭
Dude I’m 25 hours in and barely scratched the damn surface 😭😭
That game was going to go in the backlog but I loved the demo, bought it and haven’t stopped playing. I never vibed with persona and the school setting and dating sim, but I love the fantasy setting and journeying aspect of Metaphore.
It’s up there with FF7 rebirth and Astrobot for my game of the year.
@ I absolutely love it, I loved persona but I wanted them to get out of the school settings for yeaaaarrrssss and this game is incredible and exactly what I wanted
@@makasete30 A lot about the game interest's me, the art style, the music and I love games with deep stories, but Turn based makes me Yawn. Guess it's a good game I'll never play
Entertainment is everywhere and it's cheap and it's very accessible. Eventually at some point one type of it will dip down, another will rise up in popularity. It's not 2002 anymore.
People are busy and there are too many games. People buy games for the hype just to say they have "played" it (played 1 hour and then added to their backlog).
So guilty of this, Still not finished Visions of Mana and Metaphor but I've been yapping online, complaining and reviewing them. Tbf tho I've played 3-5 hours instead of one 😂
Now I'm in itching to get DQIII Remake and Romancing Saga 2 JUST SO I CAN YAP BOUT THEM in the jrpg subreddit 😅
People are also having fewer and fewer friends. Personally i feel less driven to play when i dont have anyone to play with
yesss!
Honestly YOU are mostly my only source of "gaming" in the past year , I work as a plasterer 40h à week and went back to school in sound design and just making music and stuff for school and being constantly overwhelmed. So I watch you doing dishes, in the shower ( yeah sorry man ) and listening to the FPS podcast . And it feels good to know what s up in the world I love so much without having a second to play ❤ so thank you Jake . Love you man 🎉❤
Pretty much everyone on my friends list switches between the same 2-3 games; including myself.
if you found many of those friends through those games - absolutely not surprising.
i'm not really into achievement, challenge stuff, new game plus, grinding ranks/cosmetics or whatever so i'm usually onto a new game every month or two.
I’m curious, are you under the age of 25? I ask because I’m 38 and the games I grew up with are very different from how games are today. You get people who grew up with live service and endless games like Minecraft and Fortnite, sometimes that’s all they play, where I find people from my generation tend to stay away from those and play more single player stuff.
@@drgonzo123I’m 29. I haven’t played an online game since 2015. Just doesn’t grab me anymore. At this point I play games to get away from people lol and to decompress.
@@drgonzo123I’m bout to be 21. Played a whole lot of both multiplayer and single player games my whole life. Only time I really play multiplayer games nowadays is to catch up with friends. Basically just a phone call but with something to do in the background lol
I can attest to this. I'm nearly 30 and a lot of time I spend watching games because I only feel a rare few are worth my time in this era.
You have to understand, when I was growing up, games were in a different league! Just take 1998 alone for example: Crash 3, Medievil, Ocarina of Time, Tenchu Stealth Assassins, Metal Gear Solid, Spyro, Half-Life, Resident Evil 2, etc.
Comparing that to what we get today is a joke! All I've played this year is Astro Bot, Silent Hill 2 and soon Indiana Jones because those are the only games this year I feel are worthy of my time...
I don't blame the gamers. I blame the state of the industry....
Ok
I'm not sure the target audience the survey focused on. I'm 41 and work in legal. Usually work 50-55hrs per week in Tokyo. I still play 4-5 days per week, about 4-5hrs on average. Always complete my games with high percentage of trophies. When I look at the game time for each, it's usually, on average, over 75hrs on each one.
Why would anyone just turn on their gaming rig and look at others play for hours? Strange. Are the comments section and seeing a random person play that important or more interesting? I understand burnout or becoming more picky happens with hobbies. I actually took 5 years off from gaming to launch my career before getting back into it. If games are no longer fun to people, maybe it's time to box it all up.
I enjoy playing games today and try to keep an open mind. I've played games that I thought I never would 10+ years ago. But I also try to enjoy the journey on each one and not speed through it. Just my 2 yen.
For me, it started when games were being released half-baked, so I stopped buying new games. I would keep a list of games I was interested in though and would wait for a decent sale before I bought them. Since covid, I’ve bought MAYBE 5 new games at full price (FF7 Remake and Rebirth Elden Ring, Horizon FW, and FF16) and I’ve been sticking mostly to small indie games, and I’ve found some gems in the last few years! I favor games that respect my time versus overall length, meaning I’ll take a short 20 hr game that has a great story, gameplay, and music, versus a $70 game that is bloated af, with side quest and mini game galore or fetch quests to stretch the play time. (Looking at you, Rebirth!)
I’m to the point though where I have to pick what games I know I’ll play and pass on some games I MIGHT play. I almost didn’t get GoW Ragnarok, but decided to pull the trigger finally.
Idk man, growing up sucks lmao
I used to be a "PC master race" lol, and I kinda stopped playing video games after I started a family cause there was just no time. But I got myself a PS5 last christmas, and it changed everything. The best thing about the PS5 is that even if I only have 15 20m to spare, I can just pick up the controller and 5s later I'm already playing. Literally, just turn on the console and you continue exactly where you left it. Most of the time there is a 2 3s loading time, or even no loading time at all! For someone who used to always game on a PC, this still feels like magic to me a year later.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that PC is bad and everyone should buy in a PS5 instead. I'm just sharing for people who don't have a lot of free time but still love gaming, maybe a PS5 is something worth considering.
One of us one of us! 😂❤
That's the right attitude.
PCs have a lot of pros over consoles but at the end of the day, the few pros that consoles have, can be and are significant enough for specific kinds of people.
Particularly people who just want a decent enough frictionless experience.
This is why you need a steam deck!! You can legit jump on a game for 15 mins, put it in sleep mode, then start back in seconds from where you were all while the battery barely budges whilst the games still running
Jake is definitely NOT leaving revenue on the table with that Factor ad
I feel bad for these youtubers having to make those cringey "i like this sponsors product" segments. 99% of the time the products look like shit. thats the life they choose i guess for being entertainers and having creative jobs.
My take is, people don’t want to spend too much time and money on a game they will not play ton and may not even finish. It doesn’t cost a thing to watch my favorite TH-camr play a $70 game on top-of-the-line equipment I could only dream of having. I could not justify spending that much time or money on games… I’ll leave that to the “pros”.
I think indie games like Balatro are perfect for aging gamers like myself who can’t really justify spending so much time and money on a hobby. Indie games like Hollow Knight and Balatro give those hits of dopamine within an hour or so of play without breaking the bank either.
I think most gamers are becoming more savvy and are starting to discern what games can be watched and which ones need to be experienced to be fully appreciated.
Man who’s job it is to play games is surprised people in the real world don’t have time to play games.
Honestly I think this statement is more appropriate if used in the context of how most people just rush through games and form half-baked opinions ON TOP OF watching said games which will of course color their opinion via the presenter's experience and attention-span, PLUS what Jake says.
as someone who likes to "90%" games, doing all the side content that i find to be meaningful, whether through tangible rewards or plain fun to complete
Sometimes i do wish i would just focus on the main story without doing all the in hindsight meaningless content.
Ghost of tsushima is pretty and fun and all, but the side content feels way too ubisofty to be fun to engage with.
"TH-camrs are better than the company who are just trying to sell you their stuff"
"Now a word from our sponsor, buy their stuff!"
Ok then
If you double tap the screen on the right hand side, you can skip it. Imagine that!
modern gaming has made me appreciate older games. i only buy certain modern games when they're on a very deep sale.
I thought I had a burnout but I recently played Ratchet and Clank series and playing from original 2002 version and oh my that the only game I play now and can’t wait to play rest of the series and jump into Jak series and Sly Cooper series too.
For modern games i just sail the high seas unless it's games like kingdom come deliverance 2 and crimson desert then i will pay for that.
@@bobby5678-ck2tc LMAO same. 🏴☠️ same for me as long as it's a game i want to support. if i end up liking the game i usually always end up buying it on sale.
@@AkagiRedSun those are awesome games, brother. 👌 i've been replaying splinter cell: chaos theory and it's still one of the best stealth games ever.
@@DIGITALDYST0PIA yep 5$ steam garbage bin sales are quite nice from time to time. I love to just look for random games that like 100-500 people like and have found very nice gems that way. I love to look for games that are not AAA that have been the same game since 2009 with a reskin.
I play games less than I used to, probably only like 8 hours a week but I also only play single-player games.
Multiplayer games need more players.
most companies now just pump out slop for children to play and modern day shooters are just always infected with cheaters from day 1
It's important to remember, gaming was a niche hobby before the tech boom in 2020 and now it seems it's returning to be a niche hobby again.
Publishers are desperately grasping for an audience that just needed to distract themselves through the boredom of enclosures.
Now 2024 almost 2025, normal people just want to live life, be out and about OR brainrot in TikTok.
God how are publishers so ignorant. How did they not realize that the only reason gaming exploded during the 2020s is because of a god damn global pandemic! Why did they think that would remain the same once it was over and people had to return to work for a living!
@@Not-Andy-Here It's really baffling how these companies don't rationalize or understand trends, events and behaviors. They're oblivious to what goes outside of their bank accounts.
I know there is a lot to say about the triple A market… but I feel like social media has broken people’s brains haha. Like people have really bad attention spans now.
I feel it's the developers not respecting their audiences
Some of us have Jobs now Jake and the games coming out are TRASH 🤣
I’m sort of surprised to hear that report because I’d much rather play a game than watch someone else play it.
True , playing it yourself is much better and everyone knows that
The reason why people are watching because most gamers know they have to put in large amounts of time just to find the objective and not completing them and realizing they’re piling up more games in their backlog & find it a waste compared to watching someone else that’s finishing the game
And watching walkthrough to help them get to the next level can be exhausting
Dopamine addled brains means we just flit between games. Dabble, buy, dabble, buy, dabble, buy. The ultimate money maker.
As a 35 yo dude i personally will never understand people watching other people play games instead of playing. Granted i like reviews, news etc.
32 year old to explain. It's fun seeing how others tackle or experience a game. How will they handle this boss, what will they think of this twist, or what choices they will make? That's the fun. It's like comparing watching a football game to playing football yourself: you get a different experience out of it.
Exactly, especially for horror games cos it’s fun to see ppl who get scared more easily play stitch that no longer affects you
because its super entertaining when you have a player with a good sense of humour. plus you learn a lot
My man, I feel ya here. I'm 36 and I remember when twitch and streaming gameplay became a thing. I thought it was the dumbest shit ever at the time to watch someone else play a game lol I've warmed up to the idea a little bit since then, but still never got into it myself, never been on twitch. But I do enjoy watching the news/reviews about games.
It’s like people watching sports on television - you’re not actually playing the sport, but you’re having fun watching other people play the sport. It’s the same concept. Also it’s nice to know what you’re getting into before spending $70 on a game you might not even like, best to watch the gameplay of it first before deciding on spending your money.
Hey Jake, I hope you read this because it pertains to the first story and oddly enough, you...
On the issue of people playing less games, the reasons discussed all play a part in this issue, but I think there's another dimension to it which deserves to be discussed. Ok, so the gradual decline in quality of AAA games since roughly 2010 has been a well documented phenomenon. There's many reasons for this, lack of risk taking/recycling franchises time and time again, publisher insistence on following trends which diminish the quality of games to potentially strike a goldmine, lack of general consumer awareness as to what gamers actually want to play, etc. For whatever the reason, AAA games are quantifiably worse than when I was growing up, you can check metacritic scores, sales, user reviews, whatever, but the trend is there. Because of this, there's a general lack of consumer trust in most AAA products, with few exceptions like first party Nintendo games and Rockstar's few and far between releases, which have never seemed to drop in quality. As such, the big button games that everyone wants to play are usually 1, the rare low budget indy release which takes the world by storm because of an interesting central mechanic, like Balatro for example, or 2, AA games which have enough of a budget to produce the general type of games which there is a consumer demand for, but don't have the same amount of restriction that a AAA game studio has, which generally tend to lead to a better overall product than the AAA counterpart.
In the past 5-8 years we've seen a trend where these AA games are far and away the biggest games on the market, and have seen enormous success which has paved the way towards a new wave of "publisher-free" AAA studios, see Larian, CD Project Red, Fromsoft, etc. The general hope from consumers is that these new AAA studios will not follow the same practices as the dying older AAA studios, and focus on quality products over anti-consumer business practices infringing on development. This has yet to be fully seen, but there is at least some hope that these formerly AA studios which are now AAA studios will revitalize and set the pace for the rest of the industry.
Ok, so the issue with the way the industry is now, where it is so difficult to trust in the quality of the games being released is... curation. It's exceedingly difficult to find a good game in 2024, this is just a fact. The resources available to the consumer are not as good as they used to be, despite the continued growth of videogame content on the internet. There are 2 key aspects, however, as to why curation is bad. Firstly, the platforms themselves are failing the consumer. Steam is far and away the biggest digital videogame distributor, certainly on PC. Steam has a core problem with its current version where it has adopted the policy of "everything can be listed on Steam." They fought this for a while, there was the greenlighting phase of Steam's history, but due to continued demands for specific releases not on the platform, ultimately they caved and created a much easier system for getting your game onto Steam, leading to an influx of, honestly, garbage on the platform. On top of this, Steam does a horrible job of advertising to the consumer what is actually good on the platform. The chances of me being able to go onto the front page of Steam and see a game that I don't already own, and will be immediately interested in purchasing are next to zero, it almost never happens anymore, leading me to have to search for games that I may like beforehand, so that I already know what I want prior to making purchases. Even the sales aspect of Steam, which used to be the BEST is not good at showing you what is actually worth buying which is on sale. Even if I filtered based on what is on sale in the list view of Steam, there will be so much garbage on that list that again it is not even worth looking at. Generally, I find the Epic store to be moderately better at actually finding a good game on, but even then most consumers refuse to use it, even I don't use it much, and it's not like its a great resource.
The second issue, is that because the storefronts are bad at curating their content, to find quality games you're interested in, you must do your own research. I'm going to make a bold connection here, but I believe it makes quite a lot of sense. In my experience, as a very active member of this community for over 15 years, I have seen 2 eras of videogame content on TH-cam, before the death of TotalBiscuit and after the death of TotalBiscuit. I want to preface this by saying whether or not you personally consumed the guy's content is entirely irrelevant, he was massively influential to many people which had a great impact on the entire industry. What he did, which has yet to be adequately replaced within the TH-cam landscape, is he had a very large audience of eager consumers, and he gave well curated recommendations for games which, for the most part, would have otherwise fallen under the radar. It's well documented how many games became commercial successes after he highlighted them. This role was extremely important to the videogame landscape, because of the general lack in consumer faith in well established brands, and is even more necessary now in 2024. Nowadays, in 2024, we don't have anything like TotalBiscuit, sure there are people with smaller audiences (or less purchase ready audiences) who highlight indie releases or releases within certain niches of video games, but there is nothing quite to the scale of what TB did, and further, many of these people are not covering the AAs or as broad of a scope of video games. Oddly, Gameranx is one of the better resources available to consumers for this, which is why I started following you, but it's not quite the same. You guys cover a lot more AAA games, and spend less time highlighting smaller games. Also, most of your content is top 10 lists, which are great, but they're not straight video game recommendations. ACG kind of does a similar thing to what TB did, but honestly, many people find him slightly annoying and overly analytical in his reviews; plus his viewer base is smaller, and as such is less influential to the market, and he doesn't really highlight indies the same way, nor does he only show the good games like TB used to do. Generally, there's a lack of a quality videogame curator with a massive, purchase ready audience, on the internet, and because game magazines and websites kind of went the way of the dodo, it needs to come from TH-cam, and it's not. Because of this, most gamers are now getting their "curated recommendations" based off of what content creators are playing, which is a large aspect as to why those numbers are as high as they are, on top of the added entertainment value in watching someone else play a game.
Basically, I wish we still had TotalBiscuit, for a number of reasons, but I can't even begin to count how many games I bought because of his recommendation, and how many truly amazing experiences I've gotten to experience because of him. I wrote all of this because I see you as someone who can actually fix this void in the gaming landscape. You're one of the few good ones. That being said, I love your top 10 content, so I can't really expect you to cover more smaller releases when you're already (presumably) using most of your time to do that. Anyways, you're the man, keep it up!
25, girl so maybe it’s different but real life is just too important. I got work, friends, parties and social clubs to attend so when I have time to play a game I want to make sure it’s what I want .
I'm a completionists, I see everything I play to the end and usually 100% when it isn't unreasonable. Achievements for the last story mission/level tend to have a completion rate of anywhere from 12% to 27%, more missable and 100%-related achievements anywhere from 0.6% to 5%. I play pretty much everything that comes out, I've seen this a Morbillion times.
Yes, people don't play games anymore.
The peak of gaming was what, 90-2010s, non stop and hella time? Too many games, too many disappointments, too many agendas being pushed, too tired to even care sometimes… meh gaming is dying slowly. But enjoying still enjoying them.
Maybe if more indie developers joined forces to make few games instead of a million we'd have some amazing games. As far as the bigger gaming companies they just want to push for more money true.
More like companies are not putting out games worth buying and playing so people choose to experience the content vicariously. Put out good games and people will buy and play them.
Yeah... Um excuse me sir.. have you heard of GTA? Yeah I think people still play that and look at the dev time/cost per game. It's because it's a great game is all. You are totally right.
@@brenty3766 Uh...you named one game..that came out a decade ago
Not putting out good games? Black myth wukong, final fantasy 7 rebirth, silent hill 2, metaphor refantazio, astrobot, elden ring, tekken 8, like a dragon, helldivers 2 etc…
The actual issue is that most cost £70 day 1 and people don’t want to spend that.
@@BenAstridge I hear the "no good games" bs and just laugh. Mfs acting like there were bangers releasing weekly back in the day. I still remember going to GameStop 20 years ago and 80% of the games being licensed slop or just trash games. The last 3 years alone have had sooo many good games.
@@pabl0sauced0 People just being mad bc they want to be mad about something. There’s more good games that release every year than anyone can even realistically get thru. You’re so right i have so much licensed trash games in my old collection hahah love them tho
Shorter attention spans.
Interactivity cancels that, watching gameplays is far more passive
When you get to your 30s and you become a dad you don’t have time to play everything.
I finished stellar blade because the gameplay was extremely tight.
I used to love video games as a teenager, but as I got older, into my 20's, gaming kind of took a backseat for me. I think there are a a few reasons a lot of people stopped playing games, myself included...
1. Because most video games that have come out over the last 5-10 years are freaking garbage. Just simply not fun.
2. The gaming world has offered all there is to offer, it seems (sort of aligns with number one). There is not enough new, or original ideas anymore.
3. Too expensive of a hobby. Especially when they raised the retail price to $70. Ridiculous.
4. People are just tired or burnout (This could have a lot to do with number 2).
Now do I still play games time to time? Sometimes, but when I do, it's older games. I'd still rather play the old Call of Duty games than play the new ones. Which don't look that good, in my opinion. And again, why would I pay $70 for something I'm not interested in? I'll stick to the classics.
Gamers are complaining more about games than actually playing them nowadays 😂
Cry abt
@@LouvreJaramill
Yeah, that's what they're doing 😂
"Gamers" do more complaing about games than actually playing them.
Cry
Why would they want to play a game they complain about? What you've said is just another way to say most games are bad these days lol
Goofy black mindset. Randomly just vomiting out words their low capacity brains don't understand. No one is playing a game they are complaining about most likely my dude. On top of that most people don't care enough to complain they just don't buy it if they don't want it.
@@Hazza101 I'm not surprised "gamers" are this slow.
terminally online opinion
Would make sense, considering almost every gaming opinion I see people make on the internet is copied by some big content creator and not made by themselves
Too many choices. So many companies give away really good games for free or as a part of subscriptions so people end up just adding to their libraries without touching even 10% of their games. I’ve fallen into the same rut. Streamers don’t help bc that’s free and you can vicariously experience everything a game has to offer without paying a dime.
I'm a young guy in his 40s. Been playing since the Intellivision. I can't ever focus on just one game. I like being in the middle of several different games since I get bored way too quickly with what i'm playing. Because of that I prefer shorter titles anyway because they're easy to pick up and play with a few exceptions for sports titles since i love sports games as well. So for example, I'm bouncing around between Iron Meat on PC, Madden 07 on PS2, making another run through Metroid Dread on my Switch, playing Stellar Blade on PS5, F1 2019 on PC, New Star GP on PC, picked up a shooter called Drainus I really enjoy, and so forth. I mainly enjoy shorter retro inspired titles or actual retro titles that are pick up and play. I have 2 kids, a wife, and a demanding job and another music hobby that keeps me from being able to really sit down for hours on end and just play. Plus at my age, I'm not as big into video games as i used to. I get more excited about the business aspects of it today; which is why I enjoy channels like yourself and Gameranx. Spawn Wave is excellent for the type of video game content I mostly enjoy.
I used to be an avid gamer but lately I find myself hardly interested. It’s all greedy anti consumerism and political activist bullshit. I play games to escape reality not to have more of it forced on me and I imagine many others are feeling the same way. After practically all of my favorite IPs have been ruined well, not much inspiration left for me there.
I think injecting activist views into video games played a part in the decline
Huge part.
Games cater to tiny percentages of activists now. Not the mainstream.
I'm very selective with what I play and I mostly stick to older games and skip out on the AAA nonsense that's been plaguing the industry for years.
Apart from reviews and gaming news, when I watch people play games, it's not really for the game, but for them as an entertainer. I don't care what they play, so long as they're cracking jokes and having a good time.
I was watching this while playing FC25. I work from home, so I watch a lot of TH-cam/Twitch while I work. But when I’m finished with work, I have a house to clean, a family to cook for, a dog to walk, and I have to sleep. Sometimes at night I’m so tired I’d rather watch a movie or whatever comfort show, sometimes me and my partner are really into a game and playing it together as much as possible. I would definitely say that in the last 3 years there have been fewer games that actually peak my interest, because the industry is in a lull unless you like soulslikes or MOBAs.
So yea, these days on an average weekday I might watch/listen to 6+ hours of gaming content, but only play 1-3 hours of actual games.
I've watched more Minecraft than ever playing the actual game myself, probably over 1000 hours of watching Minecraft over the span of 10 years.