Never owned a games console

Duggy747 · 10-01-2012 10:22AM

I'd be a pretty big gamer, moreso towards the older consoles like Snes / Megadrive / etc & Arcade games than later ones. Though Skyrim & Left 4 Dead still keep me entertained

I did have a Xbox 360, had no interest in buying one but I won it at work. Barely ever played it and I turned it into a media center :pac:

I wouldn't find not having a console unusual considering the amount of people I know who do have consoles rarely play them.

SisterAnn · 10-01-2012 10:23AM

36 years old. 1980s economics meant that didn't grow up with one though many of my cohort did have Atari or whatever.
About 8 years back I was doing well jobwise and had more money than sense. I bought the old xbox before it was replaced on a deal with some games. I found it addictive, especially shoot-em-ups, and after two weeks I realised that it was an even greater time-thief than procrastination (and that is saying something!). I had actively "put it away"!
No regrets. Life is for living - it is pretty sad when it is relegated to some kind of virtual screen-staring existence. If others enjoy it and manage to keep a balance in their life - I am cool with that.

Benny_Cake · 10-01-2012 10:24AM

missvirgo wrote: »

I don't have one & never did, & never would...

Also, i'd run a mile from any man that does...

I get violent even thinking about it

Sounds like you're in there OP.

I've always enjoyed gaming, though you get less and less time at it as you get older. I was always more into computer games, on the Atari ST, Amiga and PC but eventually I got fed up of trying to keep up with the minimum specs so I bought an Xbox. Loving Skyrim at the moment!

Taltos · 10-01-2012 10:26AM

OP - don't know too many folk who have not played a console.

Like others I am hooked on Skyrim right now. Find it a great way to unwind after work when all are gone to bed. This game is basically a large open world game with multiple quests that you can choose to do as you wish as opposed to a linear game like Uncharted where there is clear plot progression.

In terms of different types (in my opinion).
Wii - keep it for the kids or someone who plays few games. I got one - played zelda and then sold the whole kit to a mate.
Xbox 360 - great console esp for first person shooters.
PS3 - great console - but also comes with Blu Ray player (now 3-D).

I guess I am the other extreme - came from the Atari 1600 days all the way up with a few years of no console / games system.
Did try PC gaming but found it too expensive.

Why not see about trying a friends if you are interested in getting one.
Between PS3 / 360 - really up to you - each has their own strenghts - actually for a serious gamer I would suggest getting both.
One thing is PS3 allows you to play online games without having to pay a sub - and if you like Blu Ray movies then you are onto a winner.

Kash · 10-01-2012 10:27AM

missvirgo wrote: »

I don't have one & never did, & never would...

Also, i'd run a mile from any man that does...

I get violent even thinking about it

Never understood the anti-gaming brigade! Most of my friends (guys and girls) play console games to one extent or another, and I would be far happier playing a console than watching a soap, or most tv for that matter. Thankfully, hubby feels the same way!

Have had one since the original playstation - I can remember thinking that graphics could never get better than the FF7 cutscenes

)

We have the 2 biggies in the house, but I mainly stick to the PS3 (Assasins Creed Revelations at the moment, Skyrim next on the list), and hubby tends to be a Mac gamer, so the 360 is just gathering dust. I did have a wii, but sold it, and now need to borrow one to play the new Zelda.:rolleyes:

But I've loved consoles ever since we got one way back when, and can't imagine having a time in my life where I don't own one and use it regularly.

donalg1 · 10-01-2012 10:28AM

ronjo wrote: »

Am I the only one???

My friends have owned everything from commodore 64 to X box online thingy but I never really had an interest since I left school 20 years ago and we couldnt afford one when I was a kid.

Is this totally unusual?

Weirdo

ronjo · 10-01-2012 10:30AM

donalg1 wrote: »

Weirdo

No need for that

ronjo · 10-01-2012 10:33AM

Taltos wrote: »

OP - don't know too many folk who have not played a console.

Like others I am hooked on Skyrim right now. Find it a great way to unwind after work when all are gone to bed. This game is basically a large open world game with multiple quests that you can choose to do as you wish as opposed to a linear game like Uncharted where there is clear plot progression.

In terms of different types (in my opinion).
Wii - keep it for the kids or someone who plays few games. I got one - played zelda and then sold the whole kit to a mate.
Xbox 360 - great console esp for first person shooters.
PS3 - great console - but also comes with Blu Ray player (now 3-D).

I guess I am the other extreme - came from the Atari 1600 days all the way up with a few years of no console / games system.
Did try PC gaming but found it too expensive.

Why not see about trying a friends if you are interested in getting one.
Between PS3 / 360 - really up to you - each has their own strenghts - actually for a serious gamer I would suggest getting both.
One thing is PS3 allows you to play online games without having to pay a sub - and if you like Blu Ray movies then you are onto a winner.

Thanks for the advice but the wife has less interest than me so will wait until my daughter starts demanding them which is still a few years away

pickarooney · 10-01-2012 10:44AM

I haven't had a games machine since the Amiga. I've played one or two games since on the PC but I'm not very good and don't have the time to get good so gaming mostly just annoys me.

cloud493 · 10-01-2012 10:46AM

Yep. Video games are the only interest o have, I do watch films/tv/read books or what have you. I just find them boring compared to video games.

Dotrel · 10-01-2012 11:02AM

I actually never had one as a kid. I only started getting consoles when I started working and could shell out on the games. Irony is now I don't have the time to play them so I don't buy too many games as a result.

Lanaier · 10-01-2012 11:17AM

MrStuffins wrote: »

I mean, we're not too far away from the gaming industry taking over from Hollywood!

Not too far?
Google "video games industry surpasses hollywood"

Taltos wrote: »

Wii - keep it for the kids or someone who plays few games. I got one - played zelda and then sold the whole kit to a mate.

Wii is great for playing old school snes/nes games and messing with homebrew, downloadable stuff. You can get emulators for just about every old school console for your wii, I have about 900 old atari games on mine (only a few mb :pac:)

I'd agree that the majority of the stuff you actually buy on a cd for the Wii is rubbish though, shovelware.

I have every console bar the Vita (it's out here) but I'll get it eventually if the games start coming out.

Lanaier · 10-01-2012 11:23AM

ronjo wrote: »

I have seen Skyrim mentioned here but have honestly no frigging idea what its about.

Well if you do check it out it's better on PC.
(Sorry, just the truth. I have all the consoles as well etc etc)

But to be honest if you're not already into games you'll probably not be interested in spending 100+ hours immersed in one at this stage.

JerryHandbag · 10-01-2012 11:23AM

Never owned one. Used to play Mario etc as a kid/teen but that was on my brothers consoles, and in fairness we have good memories of that...especially around Christmas time when Santa would bring the latest Mario game

Just lost interest as I headed towards late teens though. Have played a few PC games, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour is the only one I'd play anyway regularly.

ronjo · 10-01-2012 11:25AM

Lanaier wrote: »

Well if you do check it out it's better on PC.
(Sorry, just the truth. I have all the consoles as well etc etc)

But to be honest if you're not already into games you'll probably not be interested in spending 100+ hours immersed in one at this stage.

So how many hours a week would you play games on average would you reckon?

seamus · 10-01-2012 11:25AM

Always enjoy playing games, but would never consider myself a gamer. I'm that guy who buys the best games two years after they came out, for €10.

My eldest brother is 7 years older than me and a big tech nerd like myself, so there has always been a computer in the house since I was very small. I can remember going with him and my Dad to pick up a ZX Spectrum that he was buying second hand off some guy. We loved that. Then he got the brand-new state of the art Amiga 500. Again, we loved that. Then it was the PC; from the early-mid-90's my Dad always had a computer at home to work on, so we installed games on them.

Weren't really that into consoles. We used to rent MDs and SNES's from Xtravision for 24 hours and stay up literally all night playing them, but otherwise it always seemed to be my mates who had them, we never had them at home. Lost an entire summer playing Mario Kart and Goldeneye on the N64, and the overriding memory of my early drinking years is playing Wipeout, Doom and Resident Evil on the PS1 in my mate's bedroom.

Moved in with said tech nerd brother who already had an N64 and then he bought a PS2 and we did spend quite a bit of time playing them, especially while getting few beers in before going out. We also used to have streetfighter contests when we arrived home after being out. Blind drunk, the only rule was that as soon as it was Ken's stage, that was the final fight. I don't know how or why we came up with that rule, but for some reason Ken's stage rarely came up. More than once these contests went on for a couple of hours (bearing in mind that we started at 4am) while we waiting for Ken's stage to come up.

Then I bought a Wii, first console I ever bought, at 25. Still use it now and again but it sits mostly unused under my TV now.

Keeping with the buying-the-best-years-after-everyone-else theme, I'd like to get a PS3, but I couldn't justify €600 on a console when it was released, and I can't justify €300 on 5 year old technology now.
I'll probably wait till the PS4 is released, get a PS3 for €100 and all the best games for nowt.

Lanaier · 10-01-2012 11:26AM

I often wonder if my parents had actually caved and bought me consoles as a kid would I still be as into them as I am now...... hmm, I think I would.

sbsquarepants · 10-01-2012 11:29AM

I had the original atari console (still have it infact:)). After that nothing, the missus wanted a wii a couple of years back which i duly bought for her birthday or something, i'd say it's been used 3 or 4 times, while drunk. Probably never sober!
I save my game playing for the bedroom:cool:

Lanaier · 10-01-2012 11:32AM

ronjo wrote: »

So how many hours a week would you play games on average would you reckon?

Hard to say.

I don't watch TV, but probably game the same amount most people watch TV for.
I also work in gaming so that jumps me over the average a bit. (I occasionally need to play games I don't like as part of research)

Back when I had more free time and no wife I was basically either working, drinking or gaming (occasional sleeping).

ixoy · 10-01-2012 11:40AM

Have a DS but rarely play it. I do enjoy video games but it's PC all the way for me (and Amiga before that). For FPS and the like, I just don't like console controllers compared to the mouse/keyboard combo.

Chorcai · 10-01-2012 11:47AM

When I was 16 I got my 1st PC a P166 with 16mb RAM :eek:.. moved on a bought another PC then built my own, I've always played games, for me the Battlefield series is what I love about gaming. BF1942 totaly changed online gaming, BF2 - 64 players, squads, VOIP, ranking system, tons of vehicals.

Not to mention clans and friends I've made along the way, tons of online mates from the US to Germany, France, Spain even Qatar ! Most of whom I still keep in touch with.

I'm not a big pub goer or TV person, it's not until you explain an online game to someone and the fact that you also talk to other gamers while playing as most people seem to have the idea of a person sitting in their room playing on their own, rather than the interaction of gaming.

gurramok · 10-01-2012 12:09PM

Played loadsa games years ago on the PC as well as having the Gameboy(back in the day!) and a PS2, then I stopped played them about 7 yrs ago. Think this thread might re-awaken my interest in them again, thanks OP

Kash · 10-01-2012 12:38PM

ixoy wrote: »

Have a DS but rarely play it. I do enjoy video games but it's PC all the way for me (and Amiga before that). For FPS and the like, I just don't like console controllers compared to the mouse/keyboard combo.

I'm the exact opposite

I'm useless with the mouse/kb combo (always running around looking at my feet or the sky), so prefer the controller. And keeping up with specs got too frustrating, especially when most of the games I wanted were in other formats too.

But I'm not hugely in to FPS games in any case, prefer my shooting to be mixed in with other stuff (Res Evil 5/Uncharted etc).

I would play about an hour or two most days (life permitting), but often reserve a weekend for them, where i'll play for 12 hours straight easily. But then, I do the same with books and movies and my other hobbies, and don't really see the difference, it's all about keeping yourself entertained

Nulty · 10-01-2012 12:55PM

Beruthiel wrote: »

That's how it started with me.
Way back in the day my daughter asked Santa for a Nintendo 64 and Zelda.
Santa got it in September and had to check it was working as he didn't want Mini Me getting up on Christmas day to find it broken.

By Christmas, Santa had finished Zelda and was hooked.

I love my xbox. I have spent this winter playing Skyrim and Assassins Creed. I'm finished both.
I need a new game.

Get the second one, its way better but still could be even better. I got it for a tenner in XtraVision the other day. Even better thing is second hand games these days are in better condition than years ago cause more adults play consoles now.

I always had a consol, played nintendo in friends house, never much liked sega but for a few games. First console was a Super Nintendo. missed out on the 64 and went to PS1, then PS2 and only got a PS3 last week. Finished Assassins Creed and now playing AC2. Good thing is, I've built up nearly 4 years of PS3 games I've never played

Kash · 10-01-2012 01:11PM

Nulty wrote: »

Good thing is, I've built up nearly 4 years of PS3 games I've never played

I would love to be in that position.

*cough* Portal 2 *cough* Fallout 3 *cough* Bioshock *cough*

Oh, and Heavy Rain is well worth a look. The game itself is not for everyone, but the gameplay is so unique, it really is an interactive movie.
I loved it.

Taltos · 10-01-2012 01:15PM

ronjo wrote: »

Thanks for the advice but the wife has less interest than me so will wait until my daughter starts demanding them which is still a few years away

Well if neither of you are into it well then I guess that is that...

Who knows your daughter may not be into them either so no worries.
For what it's worth my OH is not into them at all - but she uses the PS3 more than me as our media centre watching movies / TV programs - and now that netflix is here I am starting to despair at ever getting back playing again...

Here's the thing - some people are mad into games just as some aren't. Just like those fanatics of soccer - after growing up in a house full of soccer I made sure to steer clear of women who showed any interest in watching that sport... Just my choice.

Nyan Cat · 10-01-2012 01:20PM

I had a sega megadrive as a kid - I became seriously skilled at sonic the hedgehog !

Got a handmedown ps2 10 years ago - gotten and still get great use out of it at times.

Got a wii as a gift a few years ago. Useless.... I played it for a couple of weeks. The novelty wore off fast.
I've no desire for the newer types of consoles. Cos I'm retro dontchaknow.
Or maybe Im just happy with the old ps2 games and my phone. Games ain't what they used to be etc. grumble grumble old fart.

Sykk · 10-01-2012 01:20PM

I play PC games every day.. Skyrim, DotA etc.. I find it much more intellectually stimulating that plopping myself on a couch watching something on the TV

PseudoFamous · 10-01-2012 01:47PM

I've only been around since the nineties, but I've had a fair few consoles. N64 was the first, sunk hours into banjo kanzooie and Mario 64. Followed up by getting a PS1 from my grandparents, the next year, best birthday present ever, all the crash and spyro games were demolished in the following years. Around second class, got a PS2, puure class. I had an outrageously big collection of those games, had an irrational love for Ratchet and Clank and gran turismo. Nothing much happened on the game front till the Xbox 360 came out, got a few games for it, although I didn't take well to it, as it was plagued with issues from the start. Took a break from consoles for a few years, all the while racking up levels on kongregate from 2008. Around 2010, got a sudden interest in games again, started playing older games such as the early CoDs and Oblivion and stuff, as my computer couldn't handle new games. Decided I was looking for something new, built a decent computer last year, been playing anything I can get my hands on, from minecraft to skyrim to crysis 2.

Burky126 · 10-01-2012 01:59PM

I was crazy into games between the first time I laid eyes on the playstation's epic disc tray till about the end days of the PS2.

Now I find myself hopelessly behind with everything gaming related since about 4 years ago.I went from a period of waiting to see if the next gen will catch on to just not being able to commit to prices and time towards games.That and the disposability of games these days,most games seem to be all focused towards multiplayer with about 10 hours of gameplay.I remember paying less for games and getting so much more out of them exploring every facet of the design and checking for cheats.It feels just a little saturated at the moment with fps.

Despite that,I have had some time playing with my flatmates 360 and it was a blast! Knowing me,I'll finally get one when the next wave of games come out :rolleyes:

Never owned a games console

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