Does anybody else here NOT play video games?

[enyawd72]

I must be the only geek/nerd/whatever in the known universe who does not play and has never played video games. None of my geek friends can believe I have never owned a single video game system EVER. Not even an Atari.
They just cannot accept it.

I don't have any apps on my cell phone, don't have an iPod or a Playstation or whatever people use these days. At age 39, I have never played a single video game in my life. I have zero interest in them. All my geek money goes to toys, comics and DVD's.

[MicromanZone]

I can believe it. But maybe not. Here’s my deal: I got an Atari 400 when I was 13 in 1981 and played video games by crazy. I stopped really caring about video-games by 1985. And while I played Tetris on Macs at the college newspaper and pumped some quarters into video games at the student union building, I really could care less about games. It was a distraction and not much else.

But nowadays it’s weird. I meet up with old friends I used to know back in the day, and they expect me to be as passionate about video games now as I was then. It’s really annoying because I have had one or two times I have been at a bar, talking, enjoying myself when someone comes up and goes “Hey! There is a Ms. Pac Man!” as if I suddenly need to drop what I am doing to play. Sorry, that was the 1980s... I’ve moved on.

[ctc]

>I must be the only geek/nerd/whatever in the known universe who does not play and has never played video games.

Yup. Given their ubiquitousness it's strange that you never played one, ever. Unless you're Amish.

>I stopped really caring about video-games by 1985.

I can see that. After a certain amount of play, the novelty wears off and you lose interest; like anything else. I used to enjoy them a lot; but haven't played so much for a long time. The last system I got was the original Playstation. I stopped there 'cos all the newer stuff plays a lot like the older stuff so there isn't too much novelty for me.

Don C.

[gummi]

I've honestly never known anyone under the age of 80 that has never played a video game, geek or not. Seriously, not even Pong when you were a kid? To me, it's like saying that you've never seen television. :smiley1: I don't mean to bust your chops, but it amazes me that anyone from our generation could have avoided all contact with video games. Aren't you at least a little curious what all the fuss is about?

[thunderbolt]

I have a plug and play Space Invaders game, and that is it, no interest in Wii or whatever. I had an Atari back in the 70's as a kid.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Nope. I love 'em.

[enyawd72]

I've honestly never known anyone under the age of 80 that has never played a video game, geek or not. Seriously, not even Pong when you were a kid? To me, it's like saying that you've never seen television. :smiley1: I don't mean to bust your chops, but it amazes me that anyone from our generation could have avoided all contact with video games. Aren't you at least a little curious what all the fuss is about?

I suppose a lot of it had to do with my parents, who were both workaholics and had my sister and I working all the time on our farm. Chores before and after school, yard work all summer long and cleaning out the barn every spring vacation. They were not big on us kids being "entertained" as they called it. Their answer was always "You don't NEED to see that movie" or "You don't NEED to watch TV."

We never owned a color TV til 1983 I think, and never owned a VCR at all or had cable. I saw two movies the whole time I was growing up...nine years apart. Empire Strikes Back and Batman. Comics were the one thing I could afford to buy myself with my measely $1.50 a week allowance, so I had a ton of those. That is why I collect now. I'm buying everything I ever wanted as a kid but never had.

[Type3Toys]

I hate them. My kids have all the crap, XBox, Wii, the hand held stuff. It just bores me to death. Want to destoy a childs imagination and overall health and fitness level, just give them a video game. Why do anything for real when you can do it on the sofa with a bag of chips?

[MegoScott]

To have never played one at all is pretty unique.

I've played very little, and not much since high school. I remember asking a junior high friend who was really good at Defender how he got that way and he explained how many quarters he had fed into the machine and I lost interest.

There's a lot of art job listings in the area for game companies. They all say "Must have a passion for games" and so I never apply.

[Adam West]

I haven't played much since I was young. I agree in that it truly almost unheard of to say that you have never played a single game. I only had one gaming system as a kid which was a Mattel Intellivision and played it quite a bit but not like an obssession. As an adult, I have played some of the Wii Sports games with my kids and I enjoyed a WWII game (an older one) and can't think of the name of it. The only video game I have played recently (around Christmas time) was Wii Jeopardy which my kids bought for me as a Xmas gift (I love the gameshow). Other than that, I play a couple of games of Kiss pinball once in a while, catch up on reading, or movies I have never seen. My weeks are so busy that I usually have one evening (Friday night) to carve out time for myself and I usually end up catching up on a good book.

[SUP-Ronin]

I play very few video games. I still like Age of Empires, but I avoid most games because they are cool enough that I would lose weeks of my life playing them, and surely regret it later.

[jessica]

Does popcorn blaster count? Cause that's what I play now. And I still love Tetris. Something about fitting those pieces together and making the blocks disappear feels very rewarding to me even though it's a waste of time.

[Iron Mego]

I played casually as a kid. Never got hooked. Would rather spend my quarters on toys, comics and music at the time. Now, I don't play at all, except an occasional round of Wii or something.

[jessica]

I did play centipede for a bit. When we were stuck on a 15 hour flight to Dubai, the Emirates had centipede as one of their videogames. Each seat had its own video on demand and games on demand. I played that game until I got so sick of it.

[Gorn Captain]

I have never played a videogame.
Too stressful....

[Werewolf]

I don't think it is at all weird for people of our generation not to have played video games or not be into them. We all have our own interests and to each their own. Video games for a lot of us are just as intrinsic to our childhoods as action figures and toys. It's that same wonderful sense of nostalgia and play.

I do disagree with the negative generalizations and stereotypes of video games of being uncreative and bad for kids. BTW: Get a kid a Kinect for their 360 and they will be plenty active playing their games.

Some people watch TV shows and sports to unwind and relax and others play video games. I personally watch very little TV. But I loves my games. :smile:

[HardyGirl]

Even though I have an Atari 2600 and 180 games for it, since I moved in this house and got a toy room, I don't play them anymore. Even kids who are totally stuck on them, don't care once they get to my house and see my toyroom. :grin:

[VintageMike]

I love video games but enjoy real machines to home systems. I love older games for a lot of the same reasons I love old comics: they are still fun and unchanged since the first time I enjoyed them.

[jimsmegos]

Last games i really enjoyed were Earthworm Jim and Donkey Kong Country for the Nintendo 64. After that I just didn't care to keep as controllers kept getting more complex. I like; button shoot, joystick move... nice and easy linear adventure!

[Werewolf]

After that I just didn't care to keep as controllers kept getting more complex.

Controllers really aren't getting more complex.

While the Atari 2600 only had 1 button, most vintage consoles had way more. The Colecovision had 14 buttons, the Intellivision had 16 buttons and the Atari 5200 had 19. Heck, the Magnavox Odyssey 2 had a full key board.

[Adam West]

I love video games but enjoy real machines to home systems. I love older games for a lot of the same reasons I love old comics: they are still fun and unchanged since the first time I enjoyed them.

One other thing about older video games such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Pinball, etc. There really is no beating the game (unless you are Steve Wiebe or Billy Mitchell). I know some games have no end as well but many of them have an end to them and then what? Sell them to Game Stop for another game.

I have tried Age of Empires a few times and loved it. It is a great game but takes hours and hours to play. There is only so much free time in a day, week, month and we all allocate our free time to things we personally enjoy. I like video games but just enjoy reading more.

[GlobalObserver]

I sometimes think I'm the only person of my generation that has never played video games. Seriously, PONG was the first and last game I played. :smiley1:

[PNGwynne]

No video games for me--I read & draw.

[4NDR01D]

I've been addicted to call of duty for last few years, but just quit cold turkey in February. I got netflix and started watching alot of documentaries. Now the PSN is down so not missing much I guess.

[bizzaro megomauler]

Proud Vidiot since 1970's! I have every game system (save for Vectrex ,Spectrum, fairchild and Oddessy2 which i was forced to sell) but still have the rest of them and large libraries for all of them! Games are awesome!!!! Some guys and gals don't play them and that's just fine by me. Different strokes for different folks!

[Werewolf]

Proud Vidiot since 1970's! I have every game system (save for Vectrex ,Spectrum, fairchild and Oddessy2 which i was forced to sell) but still have the rest of them and large libraries for all of them!

That is wicked cool! I've been meaning to get an Odyssey 2 for ages. I've always wanted to play KC Munchkin. I love hunting down all the versions of Pac-Man and Pac-Man clones.

[torgospizza]

I really haven't played anything since WoW's Wrath of the Lich King xpac came out, so like late 2008 or early 2009. No, that's not true: I've played Guitar Hero maybe twenty times since then.

[bizzaro megomauler]

That is wicked cool! I've been meaning to get an Odyssey 2 for ages. I've always wanted to play KC Munchkin. I love hunting down all the versions of Pac-Man and Pac-Man clones.

UGH! i sold my Oddessy, and KC was one of the games with it! i actually posted it here first though :wink: you guys get first dibs on all my toys!:smile:

[jwyblejr]

I do disagree with the negative generalizations and stereotypes of video games of being uncreative and bad for kids. BTW: Get a kid a Kinect for their 360 and they will be plenty active playing their games.

Some people watch TV shows and sports to unwind and relax and others play video games. I personally watch very little TV. But I loves my games. :smile:

Or get the kids the Professor Layton series if they've got a DS. Heck,look how many DS games there are that you need to use your brain more than you would for other games.

[Adam West]

My two sons love Runescape for some reason. I only understand the game at an "Elementary" level and it looks like a quasi version of "Age of Empires" to me. I have overheard them talk about buying something at "x" price and selling it a "y" price and it presents a good opportunity for me to talk to them about basic supply and demand and real world economics. My older son has asked a lot of good questions about gas prices so it has been a good door for me to explain some pretty complicated stuff in terms both of them can understand.