Your partner & games

RedXIV · 29-03-2012 11:32pm #1

Was thinking about this as I was reading a few other threads here. It's only a small thing but it kinda sucks that my gf has little to no interest in games. Gaming would be my first and foremost hobby in my spare time but between a 9 to 5 job and 3 kids, I don't get a lot of time with it, well at least in my eyes.

This isn't to say she doesn't get that I like games, the legend has gotten me a 3DS and a vita so far this year, and patiently puts up with my obsessive collection of retro games with more tolerance than I probably deserve. I just wish it was a part of my life I could share with her. I got her a master system so she could play Alex the kidd, the only game she ever spoke fondly of and I'm still hearing about the "homer present" I got her a year later.

It has its pros too I suppose. I don't compete with use of the console (the tv is another matter) but that's all I can think of?

Does having a gamer partner become the match made in heaven I envisaged or am I luckier than I realise?

Retr0gamer · 29-03-2012 11:40pm

I met my girlfriend because of retrogames so I guess I'm lucky

Nice having a girlfriend that doesn't bitch and moan about how much you play games. It seems perfect but it's not because until I get a job I have to put up with my mother who absolutely detests videogames. You should have heard the argument 2 weeks ago when I brought home a Neo Geo MVS system. It was so worth it though!

Paparazzo · 30-03-2012 12:40am

My wife doesn't play games at all, but came up with a good compromise for the TV. I got a 23 inch monitor that can be put in the same room as the tv, and a set of headphones. So she can watch the tv, I can play playstation in the same room at the same time. I can chat between games, or even during games (don't need sound for football games).

Procrastastudy · 30-03-2012 1:03am

After my obsessive bouts of Everquest she nearly got rid of me. Then EQ2 happened and she nearly go rid of me. I just play STO now which is beyond casual so she's happy now.

Uriel. · 30-03-2012 1:07am

Paparazzo wrote: »

My wife doesn't play games at all, but came up with a good compromise for the TV. I got a 23 inch monitor that can be put in the same room as the tv, and a set of headphones. So she can watch the tv, I can play playstation in the same room at the same time. I can chat between games, or even during games (don't need sound for football games).

you're so lucky man, the basis of a perfect relationship there

:P

Kinski · 30-03-2012 1:18am

I'm just left alone to game, which is actually pretty much my preference, except for occassional two-player sessions on stuff like Mariokart...though Catherine was not popular, and for reasons that had nothing to do with the gameplay!

hightower1 · 30-03-2012 1:24am

I have tried on a few occasions to get my missus to try games alright, co op stuff but she just couldnt get the hang of it and didnt have much interest. Im lucky though I play at least 3 hours a night 7 days a week and she never minds. I have my 32 inch in the man cave with my airsoft stuff while she gets a downtown penthouse for half price rent and nookie on tap ! I think she came off the winner there! lol. I guess the way she looks at it is I could be off with the guys in town every night but this way she knows where I am and what Im up to

EJ22 · 30-03-2012 1:54am

Met mine through World of Warcraft as we used to raid together etc so kinda lucky here although nowadays we're more prone to argue who's playing what when since we only have one tv in the house

Although as compensation cos she takes it more she did buy me my vita

Also she hates it when I beat her at FIFA, she plays pro clubs every night, and ever few weeks i'll have a game with her and beat her. Of course this also leads to bragging rights

Calhoun · 30-03-2012 3:01am

Mine is not interested at all, except for a few games like Mario ect but she has ADD when it comes to playing anything and doesnt do it for long.

Our compromise is she gets to watch all she wants on the TV and i play my PC or consoles in the office when i want to.

I can never understand a situation where your asked to not play and come watch ****e on TV for hours but its never anything you want to watch :P

Oh and one last thing, i am kinda glad she is not interested. I feel you need a bit of distance at times from your partner and this is my thing that i like to do to unwind on my own.

jay-me · 30-03-2012 3:47am

While playing Saints Row 2 the GF saw you could customise the character to a great detail.. So she wanted to try and make a character that resembled her.. She was there for nearly an hour making this character that was just scarily like her.. Hilarity ensued as she watched herself running around stealing cars and beating people up!

So then her BDay rolls up and she says jokingly why not get me a ps3... As if I am spending 350 on a present for her bday not a hope it's way too much and I couldn't spend that much on a frickin BDAY present... Then I factored in staying in hers and having a PS3 to play instead of her crap WII (Just my opinion I don't like them).. So I said actually you know what? Yeah why not so I got her a white ps3 320GB 2 controllers 20 euro PSN card and skyrim for 350.. Happy Bday to You ME!!

And I am the best BF ever lol she loves it and is playing skyrim all the time!

matrim · 30-03-2012 4:42am

My GF is into games so it's all good. She's actually sitting beside me playing Dragonquest on her DS now. We've had plenty of nights where she's playing minecraft on her laptop and I'm playing something on my xbox.

It's also good that for some games she likes to watch them but not necessarily play so she'll happily sit there and let me play while she reads a book and then pays attention to the main story parts of the game.

Potential-Monke · 30-03-2012 7:03am

Mine used to play the Sims 3, but usually only building houses or raising a family (thanks to moterlode). She also loved the Layton games, and any puzzle games (as in picross, etc).

Every evening i'm not working i play games up to around 9pm so she can wathc her soaps, and then join her for watching either a film or recorded Spartacus/Walking Dead/other programmes we would both watch.

Ya, she got* annoyed every now and again, but i think it finally sank in how much of a gamer i am when she was gone for the weekend and i played a solid 3 days of gaming. It's all i have an interest in really.

*We're breaking up, so i'm going to have loads of time free, and i won't be settling for a long time as good looking, sound, gaming women who don't want kids are a pearlascent rarity!!!

cloud493 · 30-03-2012 7:10am

My fiance... has tried to like games. I got her a DS lite. I've tried to have her PS3, wii, xbox, but none of them click. She doesn't mind me playing them though, she just doesn't get them

deelite · 30-03-2012 7:12am

My hubby isn't into gaming but my son is. I cringe with fear if he asks me to play sometimes it's like being back in school and being singled out...I forget which button does what and I see the look in his eyes and then I don't save him and kill my own team mates - the mistakes are endless, then I get the "ultimate" put down - he goes off line so his virtual friends won't slag him off...

thebostoncrab · 30-03-2012 8:32am

My fiancée is into her games. Loves her DS, plays The Sims 3 quite a bit and we often have an evening of Mario Kart. Although she isnt allowed to play UFC after the evening where I spent the whole day learning the system and she just knocks me out in the first round in no time

LA Noire we had a system of me doing the action and driving while she would do the crime scene stuff

Sesudra · 30-03-2012 10:00am

I'm lucky in that we're both guys, so the odds were slightly more in my favour for him liking games as well! He likes puzzle or platform games (he has a DS and also loves Prince of Persia, Ratchett & Clank and Jak & Daxter) whereas I'm more into Mass Effect/Skyrim/LA Noire. But our tastes overlap enough for us to have 2 player sessions on Marvel vs Capcom 3!

We have the perfect game set up as well - The Xbox is in the spare room, while the PS3 lives in the sitting room, so we can both play different things at the same time if we want to. I shudder to think what things would be like if he didn't like gaming, considering how much time I spend on it...

koneko · 30-03-2012 10:23am

My other half is a gamer, so we're mostly good, and play co-op/online games together as well. Our arguments are more gamer centric, since I'm platform agnostic and he's a PC gamer (so it's like a forum, in our house).

And I do get moaned at sometimes when I stay up till 2 on a week day playing online, swearing at people.

Dave_The_Sheep · 30-03-2012 10:26am

My long stints at gaming were a large part of a breakup with a long term girlfriend (8+ years). She just wasn't into it, and I wasn't into TV. We had other interests, but gaming was my primary one so it didn't work out. My own fault, I suppose.

Paparazzo · 30-03-2012 10:32am

Uriel. wrote: »

you're so lucky man, the basis of a perfect relationship there :P

When a baby comes along, that's when it gets tricky.

Potential-Monke · 30-03-2012 10:33am

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

My own fault, I suppose.

Why do you suppose that?

Dave_The_Sheep · 30-03-2012 10:37am

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Why do you suppose that?

I may have played ... a bit ... too much!

Duggy747 · 30-03-2012 10:40am

GF is kind of into games, as in she loved playing Theme Hospital & Theme Park.

She's not very good with competitive games because she's a brutal sore loser. We had a game of Bomberman where she kept punching me really damn hard everytime she died :pac:

If I find the right game like Donkey Kong Country she'll play it. We spent a few hours last Saturday chilling out playing co-op on The Lost Vikings

She doesn't like it when I play Left 4 Dead and recently asked me do I not get nightmares / depressed playing it since it creeps her out (I play the games on my 42'' TV in the sitting room while she does be on her laptop / iPhone). She finds 1st person games too intense. Watching me run around the wilderness in Skyrim relaxes her, though.

She said before she doesn't understand the popularity of games or why people play them but that she wouldn't bother me about them if I don't take the piss which, in fairness, she never has. She finds women who bully men out of their video games is bitchy thing to do and that those guys should "grow a pair"

James Howlett · 30-03-2012 10:47am

RedXIV wrote: »

This isn't to say she doesn't get that I like games, the legend has gotten me a 3DS and a vita so far this year, and patiently puts up with my obsessive collection of retro games with more tolerance than I probably deserve.

Sorry I stopped reading out of jealousy:)

Potential-Monke · 30-03-2012 10:50am

Dave_The_Sheep wrote: »

I may have played ... a bit ... too much!

I would like to know more please!

I play a helluva lot, so i'm wondering what's too much and if she watched the same amount of tv... You can tell me where to go too if i'm prying...

FutureGuy · 30-03-2012 10:52am

Myself and the gf have a good relationship when it comes to gaming. She has become a casual gamer since we met and has a 3DS.

We have great fun playing mario kart 7 together.

We have played Street Fighter x Tekken alot recently which is brilliant as you play with each other, not against each other.

We also discovered the joys of Castle Crashers.

I do most of my single-player gaming when she is gone to bed or at weekends. The odd evening, she'll watch netflix on the laptop and I take over the living room for a few hours

Boom_Bap · 30-03-2012 10:59am

My ball and chain likes the idea of playing games with me but rarely does. I think it boils down to the last time I busted out the N64 and played Mario Kart, I destroyed her...in fact, I have anhialated her in every game

But she has her DS and like playing Tomb Raider. She's always talking about playing a car game or tennis game on the PS3, but never seems to happen.

And, probably the best thing about her, she doesnt mind me sticking on the PS3 for some COD because she likes listening to some of the smack talk while she reads or does whatever she does while I'm playing.

EDIT: If this was After Hours, my responce would be that I dont allow my games consoles/controllers so close to running water, with her been chained up to the sink in the kitchen and all that

Zulu · 30-03-2012 11:00am

I wish she played to be honest, but she's no interest.
It does make it hard, as I feel guilty disappearing into the office for a few hours to play (so i got a gaming laptop, but it's not the same).

She's understanding though, god bless her pretty little head.

penev10 · 30-03-2012 11:44am

My wife is a bit of a casual gamer. She got a DS a few years ago and played Nintendogs and some puzzle games for a while but ulitimately gave up. She'll "play" Singstar, Buzz or Wii Sports if we have people over but otherwise wouldn't be bothered.

She says she'd play more games but it's a hobby thats down her list of priorities behind reading, sports and Gossip Girl!

ionapaul · 30-03-2012 12:48pm

My GF doesn't mind too much, she understands I need to game / play poker to unwind most days. I doubt she'd be on for me spending a full day during the weekend gaming while she is in the house as well, but luckily that would never happen, I simply can't game for too long if there is someone else around to interact with.

She plays some casual games on her iPad and DS, and I've set her up on Steam and bought her Toki Tori to play on her laptop. We completed Trine co-op together, have played a lot of Worms Reloaded and are currently very slowly making our way through Lara Croft and the Guardians of Light co-op, before tackling Trine 2 in the near future hopefully. She'll never be a full-on gamer and I'll always kick her ass in most games, but that's cool! I don't want to try to force her to play too much, if she'd rather watch TV, I don't mind.

Wossack · 30-03-2012 12:55pm

herself is pretty tolerant - far more then I really give her credit for now I think of it...

*picks up flowers on way home from work*

Temptamperu · 30-03-2012 1:02pm

Mine is fairly tolerant. She will do her own thing when a new game comes out. She has a love/hate mindset for rpgs, which are my favorite type of game. Its probably the value I get out of them but she rages at me for not sleeping while i play them.

Your partner & games

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