I think the biggest thing that has reduced my excitement for new releases is the lack of rentals and demos. When I was a kid, every weekend I would go to Blockbuster to get the newest cool game then go to the corner store to load up on junk food and play the hell out of that game for a weekend.
10-20$ for an awesome weekend of gaming even with a friend sometimes is an amazing value proposition. 80$ or more when I don’t even really have that kind of disposable income for a game that I may not even enjoy? That’s a harder expenditure to rationalize.
Though I do find myself still getting excited for new releases though. Not usually for new games but for new dlc. Every time a new expansion for Stellaris comes out I am super excited, I bought and played Phantom Liberty day 1. I am already invested in those and paying another 20-40$ to be able to enjoy more of them is fantastic. If a dlc comes out for BG3 I will definitely pick it up and another strong example for this are many of the dlcs for the Borderlands games always excited to get them or I will just straight up by the whole complete edition again just to play them all.
I just think as we get older and have other priorities in life the things we look for change you know?
I think the biggest thing that has reduced my excitement for new releases is the lack of rentals and demos. When I was a kid, every weekend I would go to Blockbuster to get the newest cool game then go to the corner store to load up on junk food and play the hell out of that game for a weekend.
10-20$ for an awesome weekend of gaming even with a friend sometimes is an amazing value proposition. 80$ or more when I don’t even really have that kind of disposable income for a game that I may not even enjoy? That’s a harder expenditure to rationalize.
Though I do find myself still getting excited for new releases though. Not usually for new games but for new dlc. Every time a new expansion for Stellaris comes out I am super excited, I bought and played Phantom Liberty day 1. I am already invested in those and paying another 20-40$ to be able to enjoy more of them is fantastic. If a dlc comes out for BG3 I will definitely pick it up and another strong example for this are many of the dlcs for the Borderlands games always excited to get them or I will just straight up by the whole complete edition again just to play them all.
I just think as we get older and have other priorities in life the things we look for change you know?