(Discussion) Does Being an Adult Gamer Suck? - Retro Bird

Many of us have fond memories of gaming from our childhoods, but does that mean gaming as an adult isn't as good? In this video, I go over some the aspects of adult life that can take away from the gaming experience.

(Discussion) Does Being an Adult Gamer Suck? - Retro Bird / Do the Responsibilities Adults Have Take Away From Gaming?

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#retrobird

[devonwilliams]

The worst is going home and having plenty of time to game but just being too tired to pick up a controller.

[apexanomaly]

I don't have any familial obligations that prevent me from gaming, and as for work I make my own hours.

Besides the backlog, my biggest issue with gaming that is specific to being an adult is that nagging feeling of "I should be doing something else, " and that's pretty much always the case, same can be said of YouTube and any other distraction though.

[kingedwin]

Needing games that can be played in short segments, because it's rare to have a large block of free time. Also, being shut out of multiplayer games, because there isn't enough time to GIT GUD.

[bombfog]

As adults, most of us of have lost that most important dimension to gaming: the sense of possibilities for an adult life not yet lived. When I play Metroid Dread, I enjoy the controls, the music, the level design etc. When my twelve year old plays Metroid Dread, he enjoys all of that AND he can imagine a future where he might be in space and smoking aliens. He knows such a thing is unlikely, but he can still feel that it’s possible.

[GedH-]

It does suck compared to being a kid. My niece comes over, she's 5, she loves going through my physical Switch collection, looking at the covers, picking a game and then going through the ritual of taking it out of the box and putting it into the console. It's so magical to her, her face lights up when she's doing it. Her dad has digital games so she doesn't get to do this unless she comes to my house but seeing her going through and picking games just reminds me of how it was back in the day and how excited you were as a kid to try a new game blind based on the box art in the late 80s/early 90s. I still love gaming but that sense of wonder is long gone unfortunately

[megamob]

I can completely relate to everything you said lol the worst part about gaming as an adult is just finding the time to play, especially longer, more involved games.
It’s funny, if my father had been a game collector like myself, with hundreds of games across multiple consoles, it would have been incredible! But the only games my daughter has any interest in ever playing are Wii sports bowling and Mario kart Wii 😂
Maybe when my son is eventually old enough to game he’ll appreciate the little gaming paradise I’ve created 🤷🏻‍♂️

[MegaManNeo]

It's the backlog really because since I earn money myself, I can buy whatever I want.
No need to wish for one particular well chosen game or to put away savings.
With that benefit however came the issue that I have SO MANY games now that I sometimes don't know what to play or simply replay a game for the second or third time because there are so many others to choose from which I haven't even touch yet.

[Throggy]

I wouldn't say that it "sucks" but as I've gotten older, the type of games I play have changed. I used to be big into online fps games, but now that I make Youtube videos, that takes up a majority of my time, so I now focus on single player games. Online games are great, but now that my friends are older and we all have things going on in our lives, it's just easier to play single player games that I didn't get to when I was growing up. And also having a giant backlog and not enough time sucks as well.

[allenwheeler]

The two hardest things for me 1 being too tired to want to play games after work or even the sometimes on my off days 2. Having enough games were I don't always get to revisit games that I already beat.

[JS]

Never having enough time to really grind out a game. I used to love MMOs but there's no way I could play one now. The most multiplayer action I've seen in a while is playing Animal Crossing with my daughter.

[kilkennybrian]

With two young kids (2 years and 3 months) I'm certainly in that "Dad can't find time" problem- but most specifically, in the time I've found, I'm much more enjoying the collecting hobby (cards and games) both buying and selling. I watch YouTube videos like yours to give me that little feeling of entering the video game world, seeing little clips here and there or even reviews/etc. of others. But the hobby allows me to feel like I'm actually being productive. Whether it's "investing" or building a collection, or even selling stuff, I feel like I'm making good use of my time and learning something. Gone are the days where I feel OK spending 2 hours playing some game I don't even love because of the sake of completing it. Collecting is way more fun and rewarding for me. I will say, those old games (N64, gamecube, Sega, etc.) have a place in my heart that will never go away. For that, I am thankful.

[FeralInferno]

Amazing timing. I had to pick up my 9 year old nephew from his school yesterday and on the drive back we talked about this EXACT topic. Great video man!

[layouts]

As I sit here working an overnight shift unpaid for reasons, yes being an adult absolutely sucks and not just for gaming

[markracer]

I am 58 years young, and have been collecting since the Atari days... And super happy about not having any kids to steal away my gaming time!!! At the end of a work day, there's nothing like my awesome video-game collection to enjoy!!! At least as an adult I have disposable cash to spend on almost anything. And that reason alone is why I wouldn't want to be that poor kid again...:)

[ArtisanDragon]

I'm a 39 year old adult gamer, and i dont have any kids. I struggle keeping jobs, so gaming helps me pass the time when im out of work. I own 6 consoles, 5 handhelds, and i have lots of video game merch of my favorite characters, whatever i can get my hands on or afford. :)
I mostly play platformers, nothing too hard, I appreciate every game i own, so its hard to get rid of any if i need to. I try to have fun when im not doing adult things. :)

[BAZFANSHOTHITSClassicTunes]

Well im 47 now and retired so not doing much these days. My retro rooms have certainly helped me pass a few hours. Long live retro. Another great discussion RetroBird.

[omgninjabot]

My biggest issue is selection paralysis. When I was a kid I only had a handful of games to choose from. Now I've got thousands and I can never decide what to play, so I end up looking at my shelves for a while and then, in a lot of cases, giving up.

[Moister]

I get that feeling too "I should be doing something else", "I'm just wasting my time", "Maybe i'll check it some other time" and so on.

Now that I'm in University it's like more hard school and you need to invest more there. Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of time for games. Not having kids yet it's a blessing for my time as well.

I'm just not in the mood for too much games, now and usually I'm just making sure everything is alright with my studies and then go back to play the same game for the 30th time.

[retrosuperbox]

Not wrong mate!
For me, I've rediscovered my passion for gaming with one single genre.

shmups.

I've found they're perfect as an adult.
Highly technical, deep scoring and hard as hell. Short play times and real progression when you smash through a skill ceiling rather than having to sit through 4 hours of cut scenes! Perfect.

[realjaytruth]

Gaming as an adult. Today's games all feel the same. I haven't been captured by many games in so long. Yesterday I started the new Kirby demo on switch and it hit me. I realized why Nintendo never trys to be a graphical powerhouse. It's because they don't want realistic games, they want fun and imaginative worlds and characters. When gaming focus got out online and micro transactions started, it kind of started the beginning of the end of the gaming most of us retro gamers love.