When you have been playing video games for most of your life, it will seem weird when one day you find you no longer enjoy it like you used to. You sit down to play some old favorites and you find them boring.
What happened? Did you just grow out of it or is it more than that?
Why Do Video Games Get Boring As You Get Older?
Video games get boring as we get older because as we grow up our priorities change. Our gaming “style” changes from when we were young, and games need more to hold our attention as we age.
Short video games, lack depth, or games that are overly complicated can be perceived as a waste of time, creating a sense of boredom.
So, there is no single reason why some gamers lose their passion for gaming. But I think if we break down some of the more common challenges we might be able to find a solution.
So stick with us as we look at the reasons adults get bored with playing video games, in hopes that you can avoid them.
7 Reasons Video Games Get Boring
The Game Repeats Itself
This sounds like an issue that every video game is guilty of. This is including games that people love and sold millions of copies when they were released. Take a look at Super Mario Bros. 3 on the Nintendo then Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo.
Even though these games were released on two different consoles which meant Super Mario World would have better graphics, there wasn’t much difference in terms of gameplay.
Nintendo is exceptional at adding just enough new features to keep experiences interesting, always increasing things by a factor of one and never 10, unless they have to.
Even though Mario will always have a large fan base waiting for his newest adventure, there are a lot of retro gamers out there that loved the originals but have given up on the franchise. Want proof? How many of you reading this have played NSMB2 on DS?
Nintendo is not the only developer guilty of incremental upgrades. We see a degree of fatigue with franchises like Call of Duty and Madden, etc.
It’s not always the fault of the developer. When a company like EA Sports makes another Madden game, what else can the designers do to change things up? Graphics will only go so far, at the end of the day it’s a football game and needs to stay within certain constraints.
When these games are released once a year, that doesn’t leave a lot of time to come up with innovative ideas.
In defense of the consumer, $70 once a year is too much for an updated player roster. So Madden is a perfect example of a game that repeats itself too much and becomes less fun as a result.
The Game Is Too Easy Or Too Hard
The difficulty of the game works best when there is a balance. Some games personally turn me off because of the difficulty. Video games can become boring if they are too easy and frustrating if the game is too difficult.
The best examples to illustrate this point are the old-school Resident Evil games. Unless you know ahead of time where to go or you find it through exploring, running around in circles trying to figure it out could become boring. I prefer the Resident Evil titles that have a waypoint.
Some may think this guidance would make the game too easy but that isn’t always the case. Using the Mario Bros. example again, you knew where to go in the NES and Super Nintendo games but that didn’t make the levels a walk in the park.
On the opposite side of the coin, If a game is too easy then you’re not going to try your best because it’s not necessary. You will lose interest, and there is no fun in that.
You Know What Will Happen Before It Happens
How interesting is it to watch a movie that you have never seen before but you can accurately predict the ending? The same can be said for video games. Why would you put in so much work to see an ending when you know what is going to happen?
Sometimes the appeal of games is the storyline. There have been many times when I stuck with a game wanting to see how it would finish. The payoff to a great story is a great ending.
Video games have come a long way and there is no reason for a story to be flat and predictable.
Some Games Take Too Much To Get Started
Every gamer hates unnecessary tutorials. Sure they exist to make you aware of mechanics that you need to know about to play, however, you don’t want someone to get bored during the tutorial.
The tutorial is not the only thing that could slow a game down. If a game is dragging its feet at explaining the story then you might make the player bored before they have a chance to play…
For most of us, “life moves pretty fast”, as we get older we want something we can pick up and play. A slow pace can kill interest in any type of media including video games.
No Rewards For Your Effort
Remember when all the extras were unlockable and based on your efforts. Secret levels, hidden characters, and hidden powerups all feel like a thing of the past for most games.
It could feel like a slap in the face if you devote dozens of hours and not get something as a reward. There are games like Metal Gear Solid which gave you extra items and had alternate costumes for Solid Snake and Gray Fox encouraging multiple playthroughs.
End-of-the-game rewards could be motivation for extra playthroughs but there have been very disappointing rewards. In Pokemon Red and Blue on the Game Boy, your reward for finding all the Pokemon was a diploma with a congratulatory message…
Some rewards had players continuing a game they didn’t like. In Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, you could play as Gray Fox if you got far enough. While many didn’t enjoy the VR mission spinoff, they kept playing so they could unlock Gray Fox.
There could be arguments where the experience is a reward. However, players want to get something extra to feel like they have accomplished something. This is the reason games have trophies and achievements today
If a title is available for all consoles I will usually pick up the PS version over the Nintendo one for the trophies alone. I love my trophies!
You Have A “Real-Life” Now
A good game could be a temporary escape from our lives. But there might be issues you are dealing with that are keeping you from enjoying a video game as much as you could.
We have friends and family that we care about and want to spend time with or other commitments that are more important than gaming, like work or school.
We might just have things looming in the back of our heads and stopping us from getting the full enjoyment the developers planned. While video games are fun, real-world issues could make everything less enjoyable until they are resolved.
The Game Is Just Not Good
While it may seem obvious, sometimes a game just isn’t good. It might perform correctly but it could be lacking a decent story, have uninteresting characters, repetitive gameplay, or several other factors that could just make it bad.
This isn’t about games that weren’t programmed correctly and rushed out to the store to be purchased. This is referring to games that were completed correctly but don’t provide an enjoyable experience.
You have a lifetime of experience and games to compare it to. A game needs to be top tier to make your list.
Luckily we have all kinds of review sites, youtube playthroughs, and comparisons to help us make an informed decision as the market continues to grow.
These are some of the reasons video games become boring as you get older. There could be other factors depending on how long you played and how many times you beat the same game. But despite these reasons, some games out there just lose interest in gaming.
