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Teens Losing Interest In Gaming? 227

Posted by Zonk from the come-back-to-us-kids dept.
Survey firm Piper Jaffrey has results saying that teenagers are losing interest in videogaming. From the Gamasutra article: "Interestingly, almost 80 percent of teens indicated that they intend to spend less time playing video games in 2006 and nearly 70 percent indicated that their interest in playing video games is decreasing." What do you think could be causing this drop in interest from young people? Sequels? Mature themes? Sequels?
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Teens Losing Interest In Gaming? More

Teens Losing Interest In Gaming?

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  • Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MyLongNickName ( 822545 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:30PM (#15101002) Journal
    Radical idea. Puberty hits. Older kids get interested in girls. Making friends. Socializing.

    I'd post more, but I don't want to frighten off Slashdot's majority population.
    • That's what I was thinking too.

      Then there are cars, and clubs, activities, drinking, partying, hobbies, etc.

      As kids grow up more of the world becomes available to them.

      And then there is still the stigma associated with being a gamer; of being childish or geeky or dorky.

      • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Otter ( 3800 )
        Yeah, even if it were true, would you (or the 16-year-old you) really say, "Yes, in 2006 I plan to spend significantly more time gaming than I did in 2006!"?
        • It must be related to this comment [slashdot.org]!
        • Yeah, even if it were true, would you (or the 16-year-old you) really say, "Yes, in 2006 I plan to spend significantly more time gaming than I did in 2006!"?

          No. Unless your system clock and/or logic circuits were broken.
        • > "Yes, in 2006 I plan to spend significantly more time gaming than I did in 2006!"?

          A modern teenager is unlikely to utter such a sentence. Instead I would expect something like:

          "Yeah, I think I gonna game less next year, 'cause o, like, girls, y'know?"

        • Even if a 16 year old wouldn't say it, I think it's more than just puberty, girls, etc. I think the novelty has simply worn off, because there aren't going to be revolutionary changes in gaming for years. For example, Atari 2600 to NES (big change), NES to SNES/Genesis/early good PCs (big change), that bunch to 3D graphics cards in PCs/Playstation/Xbox (big change), then....incremental changes. Sure, PS3 looks better than PS2 looks better than PS1, but the games are basically the same. I'll skip PS3/XBo

      • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:3, Insightful)

        by /ASCII ( 86998 )
        I'd guess that the fact that it's becoming pretty common with parents who are gamers is also a common reason why playing games seems less cool these days.
    • Or else they say that they intend to spend less time gaming just like they say they intend to study more and lose weight and get a job and find a girlfriend etc...

      Do they actually do any of those? maybe

      • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:4, Interesting)

        by ottothecow ( 600101 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:47PM (#15101156) Homepage
        That being said, I thought I should add that as someone who is only seval months away from not being a teenager any more: I play games less now.

        I'm in college and there are simply a lot more things to do whether it be work or walking down the hallway to someone elses room. No longer to I get home from school like I did in 10th grade at 3:00 to an empty house and load up a game of counterstrike since thats where all of my friends are, now my friends are down the hall (and really, though people still play CS to this day, gamers are much more spread out than they were back then). Even still in high school I started playing less. Last year I certainly played less. There were definately games that I would devote my time to (such as HL2 when it came out) but there was much less compulsive multiplayer action. Frankly, by then my friends and I all could drive, I had a part-time job and a girlfriend who was closer and more readily available than the girlfriend I had through so much of my counterstrike time.

        there will always be computer games, I played some WoW over the summer (and intend to play again this summer) and I still will hop into a CS:s server or something in college when I feel like some gaming (the HL2 expansion gets released the first day of my reading period before finals week, its probobly going to kill me) but other things certainly have priority over gaming.

        • I donno what's wrong with your dorm, but putting up a CS server in a dorm is like setting up a 24 hour crack store your favorite dilapidated inner city intersection.
          • It doesnt seem to work that way at my school. Of the former gamers in my dorm, it seems like they would have been the people playing hardcore starcraft (as well as some diablo II but I also spent a lot of time on that game) while I was playing CS. Then there is the fact that fully half of the people on the floor are girls and throw in a handful of mac users and there arent that many people left to play. Of those that are left, college computing has turned so much towards laptops that a lot of people with
        • I don't know; I don't really know how people in challenging majors have time for games. Between class, work, my girlfriend, and a small amount of association with real people, I have 0 time for games. Okay, enough talk, back to one of the things looming over my head*.

          * where things looming over my head, in no particular order, could be one of the following (in no particular order):

          1) Numerical Analysis Homework
          2) Implementation of AES algorithm with CBC mode in MATLAB
          3) Giant Java software project
          4) DFT and
          • This is similar to what I've heard, on and offline. Many teens simply have no time for games. A great deal of the reason is home work and studying -- if you're my age (35) and thought you had a lot of homeowrk in school, you might be surpirsed to learn that kids today get even more. Often a lot more. My neighbor's 14-year-old daughter is assigned homework every day in school, and there's frequently enough for Friday that it takes two nights to finish. And she's not taking extra classes, she's simply involve
            • Yes, in High School, I had that "Homework" problem as well. My solution to that was playing video games during my free time at home and sleeping during class with evenings spent next to campfires at various areas out in the middle of nowhere with other highschoolers quenching our thirst. It worked for me, I show my 3.1 GPA as proof. Highschool these days is soo hard....

    • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:5, Funny)

      by JeanBaptiste ( 537955 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:39PM (#15101082)
      "Puberty hits. Older kids get interested in girls. Making friends. Socializing."

      Those are strong words. Strong, bewildering words.
    • Individuals grow up, but the age range of the teenagers asked remains the same.
      • Bzzzt.

        Interestingly, almost 80 percent of teens indicated that they intend to spend less time playing video games in 2006 and nearly 70 percent indicated that their interest in playing video games is decreasing.

        At least TFA did not refer to anything showing that the afe group itself was experiencing a declne. If you looked at the underlying data to see otherwiser, then I just have one thing to say: "You must be new here".

    • Re:Dumb dah dumb dumb (Score:3, Insightful)

      by thelost ( 808451 )
      your comment is spot on. to go a little further one could point to the massive growth of youth culture on the web in places like myspace, faceparty etc as an example in a movement towards socializing as the preferred norm for teenagers.

      In another vein if game developers want to pay attention to the socializing aspect of their games (MMOGs come to mind) then they will want to start adding alot more interactive, social aspects that do not necessarily follow the old fashioned game progression ethos.

      Games like
    • Older kids get interested in girls. Making friends. Socializing.

      I'm confused. Please explain this "Making 'Friends'" you speak of? Will the standard gcc complier work? Where can I get the source?

    • So much missing info! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Kelson ( 129150 ) *
      1. What are these teens doing instead of playing games? Socializing is definitely a good bet. Maybe they're spending more time online in non-gaming pursuits. Maybe they're seeing more movies (probably not, I'm sure there's astudy somewhere showing movie attendence continuing to plummet even among the coveted teenage audience). There are only 24 hours in a day, and unless they're sleeping more, if they've cut back on games that means something else is more interesting.

      2. What do the numbers say for the s
    • Girls, friends, socializing? What are these things you're talking about? Oh, you must mean they're moving from console games to MMORPGs!

  • Better Things to Do? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by dankney ( 631226 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:30PM (#15101008) Homepage
    I'm not suprised because I've never really seem the appeal of hard-core gaming. Sure, a game can be a nice distraction once in a while, just as a movie can. But in the long run, stimulating activities (books, athletics, social interactions, programming) are always more interesting.

    • Re:Better Things to Do? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Krach42 ( 227798 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:45PM (#15101138) Homepage Journal
      Your point is much more intelligent, unlike everyone else in this forum, who's going on about "teens think screwing > gaming", I'm not going to take as much of a narrow view. Reasoning why? Kids were playing these games hard-core to begin with over sex.

      Sex has little to do with the change of interests here. What's actually the case is that fads, and popularity of things are generally determined by what other people are doing. These kids were playing video games because their friends were all playing video games, and they didn't want to be left out.

      Same reason people bought Pet Rocks. You bought them because everyone else was.

      Unlike Pet Rocks though, video gaming is not a useless exercise, and contains a reasonable enjoyment level, similar to television. I expect to see gaming decrease in popularity as kids find other entertainment to do, and we'll see the amount of gaming level off.

      God, heaven forbid table-top RPGs ever become truely popular with the in-crowd. Then when they all would lose interest, everyone would think that RPGs would be dying out, when they would really just be returning to normal levels. Just like what's happening with gaming right now
      • I'm a game developer, so my view is probably skewed. But I tend to see things as "broadening." Studies have shown that the average age of a gamer has gone up to the mid 30's. At the same time, as gamers get older, the spend less time and more money on gaming. I'm happy with that arrangement, as quite frankly kids (or anyone) who spend 80 hours a week on World of Warcraft scare me. Even great games really aren't worth 60 hours of your time... Maybe Dance Dance Revolution.

        Just like how movies in the 50'

        • Yes and no (Score:3, Insightful)

          by Moraelin ( 679338 )
          "Studies have shown that the average age of a gamer has gone up to the mid 30's."

          Well, I'm a gamer right in the middle of the 30's, and I also find myself less attracted to games lately. So while this is just one guy, so not a statistic or analysis or anything, I'll still go ahead and post my impressions. Namely that it isn't "broadening", it isn't waiting for the next console, it's just interest seems to fade at my end of the market too:

          A) less and less games are any good.

          - Sequels, f-ing sequels. And verb
    • Games are just one of many activities a person can pursue. It doesn't seem surprising that teens would spend less time gaming if there are more things to do right?

      Hard core gaming is no more unusual than hard core gardening or hard core house decoration. It's really just another hobby.
    • Hey. I, for one, enjoy marathon gaming sessions. In fact, I am currently addicted to a game which has hours of intense game play, and is difficult to walk away from. When I find Slashdot isn't enough to keep me stimulated, I wander over to this game. [nasa.gov].
    • 'm not suprised because I've never really seem the appeal of hard-core gaming. Sure, a game can be a nice distraction once in a while, just as a movie can. But in the long run, stimulating activities (books, athletics, social interactions, programming) are always more interesting.

      Why do you think that passively reading a book is a stimulating activity, while actively participating in a game isn't. This is complete crap. That said, programming is just a big game (but I actually get paid to do it..... and N

    • Of course you do realise that you represent a minority market. By far the majority of teenagers will prefer to do nearly anything else rather than read a book, as for computer programming, you a now talking caculations to 9 decimal places before you see any percentage number turning up.

      Any slow down in teenage gaming is now starting to be absorbed by seniors gaming, as gaming further spreads it's demographic. Older game players tend to buy older games at a discount, rather than the latest and greatest, it

    • Well, at least in my case it's replaced most of my TV time. Instead of couch potatoes, we have computer chair potatoes.

      1) Books are good but have no interactivity, which is part of what I don't like about TV. Very nice for relaxing all the decision making-circuits tho, e.g. bring a book while getting some sun. Unless I'm in that mood or the book is really good, I get too restless.
      2) Athletics? Physically stimulating, but notoriously BORING in my experience. At least the "running around" or "pushing weights"
  • Growing up? I would think as people grow up, fewer people actually do gaming or devote less time to gaming if they still are.

    • Re:getting older? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by wongn ( 777209 )
      No, not growing up. Sure, the current generation of gaming teens will grow up - but then there'll be a new generation who are starting gaming. That said, the article only looks at the former, so I'd have to conclude that it jumps to conclusions about overall teen gaming numbers. I'd say that I'll try to reduce the time that I spend gaming, because of other commitments - but I know that I won't.

  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:32PM (#15101024)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • prohibitive on the PC unless you have a new computer, outragious on the systems

      Go out and pick up a used Gamecube with four controllers and Smash Bros Melee for under $200 and tell me its outrageous on systems.
    • When it comes to PC's I think you're a bit wrong there. I have a 4 yr old noteBook that I use as a desktop replacement at home. I still game a lot on it. Granted the games are not Doom, World of Warcraft or Half Life 2, but I am still able to play many games like Serious Sam, Age of Mythology, Warcraft 3, Hitman 2.

      The cost of gaming depends on what types of games you play. I mostly play strategy based games which don't require an insane video card.
    • Cost of gaming is a big one! Back in the day games could be had for a fraction of the $80 dollar super titles out nowadays. Then there's the hideous expense of the console or computer itself.
    • The parent's fanboyism is pathetic.

    • Re:Saw it coming (Score:3, Insightful)

      by kuzb ( 724081 )
      Nintendo? Innovative? All they do is pump out the same crap year after year following the same themes. This may change with the revolution, but I don't think so. Look at the DS - half the titles are re-released N64 games. Nintendo innovates in it's games about as much as anyone else. Which is to say, hardly at all.

  • Technology and Creativity (Score:4, Insightful)

    by vga_init ( 589198 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:36PM (#15101059) Journal
    On one hand, I believe that technological advances in video games and computer games has decreased dramatically. It's true that games kept getting more and more sophisticated graphics, but I don't think the graphical difference between games today and a few years ago are that great. Compare that to when I was a child (late 80's, early 90's), each new game offered something totally different, and most popular games took unique approaches to graphics that enhanced the game. Even newer games released for the same platform were significantly better--you see this less and less on modern platforms.

    Also, I also like to believe that games were more fun and creative. When was the last time you played a game like Quest for Glory? How about Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure? I'm sure there are still creative games being made today, but it gets difficult to find the gems among the rest of what's being produced (I liked Katamari Damacy ;).

    • There is an inherent problem with the current video game companies. Games have become too risk adverse. What I am trying to say is that games now cost almost as much as a movie to produce. The companies have mostly consolidated to a handfull of big names and have all pretty much become assembly lines of the same thing.

      No one dares to take much of a chance of producing anything but the big three (on computers), first-person-shooter, real-time-strategy, or MMORPG. There might be some mixing between the thre

  • Maybe... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by plantman-the-womb-st ( 776722 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:40PM (#15101094)
    They are just growing up and have better things to do than sit in front a screen wasting time making pixels kill each other all day.

    Perhaps they've discover this thing called "Real Life".

  • Are they being honest? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AnotherBlackHat ( 265897 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:42PM (#15101112) Homepage
    Of course people said they were "intending" to play less.
    Smokers usually "intend" to quit too.
    Saying it isn't doing it.

    -- Should you believe authority without question?
    • But the smokers intending who don't to quit view smoking as negative. You seem to be implying that playing video games is a bad thing, and that teenagers intend to do something productive instead. The way I take the data is that teenagers are intending to play less video games in favor of other forms of entertainment.

    • Re:Are they being honest? (Score:4, Informative)

      by The-Bus ( 138060 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @05:38PM (#15101568)
      As is expected, this is a usual cut-and-paste from a press release with little to no analysis. As alarming as this may sound, I believe the parent poster is correct. I'm going to guess that a large majority of teens also "intend to" exercise more, watch their health, and do better in school.

      Anyway, let's take a look at some past Piper Jaffray survey results [piperjaffray.com]:

      Percent of surveyed student households that have at least one video game platform
      Q1 2006: 81%
      Q3 2005: 79%
      Q1 2005: 76%
      Q3 2004: 81%
      Q1 2004: N/A

      Percentage of students state who state they are occasional game players (playing at least monthly)
      Q1 2006: 59%
      Q3 2005: 58%
      Q1 2005: 49%
      Q3 2004: 54%
      Q1 2004: N/A

      Now, this is only over a two-year period, but correct me if I'm wrong, I'm seeing a (possible) slight increase in the number of occasional game players and a somewhat steady number of households with at least one video game platform.

      I didn't look for their past surveys so I don't know what the mindset was in 2003 and earlier.

      To me, it doesn't look like anything is moving. Also, bear in mind just because you spend less time playing games doesn't mean you're going to buy less games: it could just mean you're playing each game less.

      Add all this to the fact that Piper Jaffray seems more interested in where teens are buying shoes [pbs.org] that I am ready to write this off as non-news.

  • I'd like to know exactly what was asked and the options given. I grew up with gaming and still play them enthusiasticly. Do I play less? Yes, that whole wife/family/job thing sort of takes up some time after all. Does that mean I don't want to play more? No, it just means I can't. As phrased, we don't know if these are kids planning on going to college, getting f/t jobs, married, etc. What conditions are they citing for not playing more? Or is it apathy towards gaming, which is what they seem to be
  • Crap games:

    Sequels:

    Stupidly expensive Consoles...

    Handhelds which are instantly outdated...

    PC's which are cheaper than said console, do alot more than said console, and even cost less than said console.

    Hum... i wonder why kids today play less games.

    • Stupidly expensive Consoles...

      The Cube is below 100 bucks.

      Handhelds which are instantly outdated...

      My DS is still current, last time I checked. And there has been no new PSP. And the GBA is still a major player.

      PC's which are cheaper than said console...

      Cheaper? No way. For the cost of a new mobo and processor with any kind of upgrade path, I could buy any of the last gen consoles, any handheld or a Revolution (if it was out) plus some games. And then I need to buy the next graphics card, too. Keep in mind

  • WoW is still HUGE, the Next Gen Consoles WILL sell like hotcakes, and people will continue to buy Madden well into 2020......
    • WoW has been suffering from a series of community rumbling lately (no thanks to their continued server instability and PvP queues), the NextGen consoles are flat-out too expensive for the average teenage college student ($300 for the regular Xbox360 and the PS3 reportedly being $500+ is enough to pay a month's rent in some areas not to mention games and accessories) and Madden sales have gone flat thanks to EA's poor improvements and Sega's (arguably) better Blitz series.

  • Many factors (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:47PM (#15101161) Homepage
    I think a large part is due to the lack of exciting new games...but what is interesting is how there have been quite a few blockbusters that pulled in many from non-traditional gamer demographics. Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft for example.

    I really think this is just the regular ebb and flow of the games industry. I have a hard time believing that people are becoming less interested in games, although the one thing that might contribute to it would be the increase in interactive media. Rather than play a game, people are browsing on YouTube, updating MySpace, etc.

  • The new baby boomers. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by AdamThirteenth ( 857966 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:53PM (#15101219)
    We're just a generation of video gamers that's older now. Gen X-Y played/plays video games... This new generation doesn't. It used to be that target markets were 12-20, now we're older and its changed along side us to 18-30.

  • The Hollywood effect (Score:5, Insightful)

    by caffeination ( 947825 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @04:54PM (#15101226)
    A cash cow starts to get fat. The parasites move in. Sequels and remakes become the norm. Flashy style takes precedence over substance. Innovations move from the product itself to the maximisation of profit.

    Sound familiar? It's the same thing we constantly take the piss out of Hollywood for every time movies come up. At the forefront of this are the likes of Bethesda and Bungie - flashy graphics, sequels and series, micropurchases, and universally unsatisfactory gameplay saved only by a few major strengths.

    • I'll second that Bungie comment.

      I love Bungie. I'm the proud owner of a Mac Action Pack, and it is excellent.

      However, you know what game we've been playing around here in my dorm? Doom II.

      We've all re-installed this gem and are blasting each other away in deathmatch. I've been playing lots of single player too, and even today, the game still stands out. I'm only 20, so I wasn't allowed to play it when it came out, but damn, Doom is just as good as I heard it was.

      I've stopped playing video games on consoles.
    • you picked REALLY bad examples.
      Please tell me what's wrong with Bethesda. Oblivioin is freaking awesome.
      Bungie, while not nearly as good as they used to be (Marathon), have suffered a change in management, so it's to be expected.

      A better example is EA Games. Seriously. Sequel heaven, and piss-poor management. Command and Conquer went from my all-time favorite franchise to a mediocre re-hash since they took it over.

      • Goddamnit, take a second look at Oblivion.
        It has freaking awesome graphics.
        That's it.

        ALL the rest is a step backwards from Morrowind.
        Have a look at the quests. Morrowind had some interesting, challenging quests. That frigin dwemer cube, you'd crawl the whole goddamn fortress, kill all the spectres and mecha spiders, levitate to the top of that huge hall, and nothing. And then on your way to the exit, defeated, you'd notice the goddamn MIDDLE floor, right under your nose, several steps from the exit.
        Now what
        • Let me direct you to the official Oblivion forums. There's a free-for-all whinefest going on for the last couple of weeks. Could you please direct your whines there? It is bad enough that the oblivion forums are rendered unusable by the regular trolls and whiners there - I don't want to read the same bullcrap all over slashdot, thank you very much.
          • Let me direct you to the OP.
            "Please tell me what's wrong with Bethesda. Oblivioin is freaking awesome."
            If there's such a whinefest, it probably means it isn't so freaking awesome, right?
    • "At the forefront of this are the likes of Bethesda and Bungie - flashy graphics, sequels and series, micropurchases, and universally unsatisfactory gameplay saved only by a few major strengths."

      Good post, bad examples. Bungie, whose almost every game had impressive physics and realism for its day (compare Marathon Vs Doom, Myth Vs Command and Conquer, Halo Vs Quake 3). Bungie, who turned genres upside down with innovation (again, Myth: The Fallen Lords) instead of Westwood Studios, the king of RTS franch
  • I joined an anime community a while ago, and while there is the typical mention of gaming, I don't see much interest about it. Specially when games offer you less than 8 hours of gameplay in average. Two boring weekends and you finished the game.

    What I see in the forum, is lots of people talking about their problems and getting new boyfriends/girlfriends.

    Perhaps there's a social implication in this - now people lose their virginity at a much younger age than before.

    So I guess that nerds (who can't get a gir
    • So I guess that nerds (who can't get a girlfriend as easily as everybody else) deviate their attention to two things: Videogames, tech stuff, and porn.
      I count three, but maybe you were just referring the article and discounting videogames. :)
  • I'm guessing that money and value for the money are two big reasons they're planning to play less. The average price of a game they'd want to play is way to high.
    • I don't think that is the problem, paying for games is nowadays pretty much voluntary.
    • Yeah, I mean, you could actually find a woman, go for dinner and a movie and you might actually get something out of it! (I mean, the movies out suck, so you're not really going to be watching the screen anyway...)
  • I intend to completely abuse "free mobile-to-mobile calling" in an effort to play Dungeons and Dragons 24/7/365. Who's with me?
  • I think people in general, not just teens, stop playing games as much in the summer because the weather is nicer, girls are wearing less, and there's generally more real life stuff to do. In my part of the country, today was a very nice day, and the two people in my dorm that stayed in to play computer/video games were asked "WTF n00b? The weather is so nice out, you should go do something!"
  • I have a 9 year old (I know he's not a teenager) that would easily rather play Yugi-Oh [upperdeck.com] or Vs [upperdeck.com] than just about any game out there. I have been carting him to tournaments and events for the last six months or so to see crowds swelling from about 10 or 15 to 50 or 60 players. Not just kids either. By far the largest groups are 15-20 year olds, and not your stereotypical D&D or other tabletop type players either. The GenCon Yugi Oh event last year pulled in a few hundred players, and in Vs., you can win

  • Lack of compelling games (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ShawnDoc ( 572959 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @06:22PM (#15101828) Homepage
    I'm going to take a stab at this and say its the same reason I find myself playing less (or one of the two main reasons). There's just not much new out there I want to play. I haven't been excited by a game release since GTA:SA, and even that was muted since I knew it was more of the same. I have no plans to by a 360 or a PS3 (I own both companies current gen systems), because I don't see any reason to own them. It looks like more of the same, but with better graphics. The only system that I'm even paying any attention to is the Revolution, just because it seems to be the only one that has any potential for "new" games. Heck, I just installed Baldur's Gate II on my PC to play (never played it before) since there was nothing out there that I wanted to spend $40-60 on. I think this is a real problem for the industry. There's nothing truely new on the horizon, and there's a HUGE back-catalog of games for much less to choose from, that besides graphics, offer essentially the same gameplay and what's coming out.
  • Padron the botched quote. Perhaps the quality and variety of the games are dropping and players don't want to play version 9 of a game that was never really all that good to begin with.
    1. Engage the player
    2. Challenge the player
    3. Provide a worthwhile goal
    4. Reward player for achieving steps towards the goal
    5. Provide a metaverse for social interaction with other players

    The amount of technology required to do this depends on the interactive needs of the player.

    Personally, my gaming has very low CPU requirements. There is no need to stick on the upgrade treadmill. I have a P133 with no mouse that runs Angband OK. My online gaming experience is satified at 3k.org [3k.org].

  • for me, i still have an interest in gaming but have trouble finding any interesting games. gone are the classic platform games that were designed for gameplay first and graphics were a way to make gameplay better. now all games are tricked out graphics and the gameplay suffers. i just feel that current games are not fun anymore.

    also, the mmorpg fad is pushing gaming down. people that play those games are not necessarily playing because it's fun, but because it is the only thing to play that has any game
  • I'm biased about console to PC games but...

    I'm a PC Gamer. I played console games from way back to the Atari 2600 up until the PS1. I have a PS2 but I don't play it.

    I don't play console games anymore. From my point of view, console games are generally all flash and no soul. There's very little 'game' in the videogames that come out for the console. It's all about graphics.

    I may be biased not because I play PC games but that I remember a time when it wasn't all about graphics. I learned to love the games for

  • Teens are not the market anymore... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by binaryspiral ( 784263 ) on Monday April 10, 2006 @07:28PM (#15102283)
    Now with $500+ consoles, $60-$80 games, and monthly subscription fees that exceed what I used to spend on gas in a month -

    Adult gamers are the cash cow of the gaming industry - teens are a secondary market.

    This is news, how?

  • I sure hope so (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Alphager ( 957739 )
    The original gamer-generation (NES and the like) can finally get back to quality-gaming with intelligent people instead of listening to 12-year-olds whining to their mum on teamspeak.
  • ...to titles that interested them. We're without a GTA game this year, apparently, and not much like it. GTA has to be by far the longest game play of anything going out there...

  • Games are STUPID expensive now. The PS3 has a predicted retail price of something like $600, doesn't it? Who can afford to be a gamer anymore?

    There's a line between what you spend on entertainment and what you spend on trying to see some girl's boobs. I know that when I was a teenager, boobs were way more important to me than games. You spend money on what's important to you.

    I don't know if girl gamers are spending less time on games; I didn't read the story. Girl gamers seem to be more level-headed about t

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