Absolutely. I can't make myself sit down and study key charts, map controls, remember what tws up means, etc. If I do anything at all, it's usually Asseto Corsa, RF2 because I don't need stick, throttle, pedals and TIR, or one of the Silent Hunter series.

My enthusiasm for PC gaming now is just as strong as it was over 20 years ago when I first started. What has changed though is what I like to play and how. I'm no longer interested in playing on public servers with people I don't know and I hate any kind of head to head multiplayer unless it happens to be auto racing simulations.

Types of games change.

These days, I like a game that tells a good story, like an interactive movie or TV-Show. I don't really have the time to make up my own story, which is what many simulators demand of you.

Though simulated racing is neat because it's fast, no-nonsense actions at zero startup costs compared with a two-hour patrol over WW1 trenches with nothing happening. Only thing there is that it's much more attention-demanding (i.e. focus for 30mins practice session is much harder than 30mins egress/ingress into a combat zone).

Can't see myself ever stop gaming. As long as there are cold fall/winter evenings without a mate or girl available to hang out I'd rather play than watch TV.

Definitely one common theme brought up in this thread is lack of time and I find that very interesting because it really does exemplify the general demographic of SimHQ (ie males over the age of 35 with family and work obligations).

This also segues right into the debate about flight simulations and why they seem to be on the decline. Flight sims have failed to acquire a significant following of next generation/younger players so the current niche fanbase has been declining over time due not having the time necessary to devote to hardcore/high fidelity flight sims. The time just isn't there anymore.

I seem to be following the same pattern I've had all my life - I'll play a generation to death for some years, then get tired of what it has to offer and stop for a few years, then some new platform/generation comes out and I binge again.

Did arcade games in the 80's, got tired of that by the 90's. Got into PC gaming late 90's, got sick of it mid 2000's, but then got into the console generation of the second half of that decade. Then got burned out on that a couple years ago.

PC gaming has evolved enough that I'm starting to get interested again, but what's really going to probably be my next true binge is virtual reality in some form or another.

Once (if) I get to the point of being bored of what that can offer it MIGHT mark my last true gaming binge in life - I'm not sure where you really go forward from photorealistic graphics on a good virtual reality rig.

One type of gaming I'm positive I'll never get permanently tired of though is pinball - and there are some pretty awesome virtual methods for that nowadays. And of course (should go without saying around here) I'll always have some type or another of flight simulator happening - even if it sits untouched for a few months at a time.

Pinball just isn't the same virtually though. No big physical machine to bump and push around.

Oh that can be done...

http://virtuapin.net/

I'm planning on building a mini version of one next year.

Whenever I picture myself playing games, it depresses me a lot more. You have these pixels moving on the screen and these pixels entertain you by pushing buttons. I feel like a cat chasing a laser pointer.

Years ago I would say that I'd give anything to experience the real thing: fly a real airplane, helicopter, or drive a sports car around a real racetrack. Not interested anymore.

But virtual racing really, really #%&*$# up my real life driving. No matter how careful, no matter how much I try to be considerate to my passengers, the racing instinct always kicks in. Never ever use a realistic racing game to jump start your driving lessons. EVER!

I'm trying to get back into gaming because it seems to be the only viable escape till the grim reaper comes but just can't get back to it.

Same thing can be said about anything. Playing with my dog is just watching an animal burn calories but it's still fun.

It comes and goes for me. Some weeks I just want to watch netflix, other weeks I just want to go out for walks in the woods... but then it normally comes back around and I play games again. I think it is kind of a cyclical thing for me. If I do any one thing too long I get board of it and move on but whatever I move on to... I do it too much and get burned out and have to move on to something else. It's good to have multiple hobbies I guess.

No, I have not lost my interest in gaming as the years have passed. Now and then I'll take a hiatus, but I always come back to it again. In retrospect I've had a lot of fun with this hobby and met some awesome people through the years. I'm looking forward to getting back into Falcon BMS 4.33. In 2016 I want to be playing Falcon 4.0 on a regular basis. Playing a campaign in multiplayer should be a blast.

Sometimes I feel that I enjoy gaming less and less--I find it takes less time to be satisifed... but... good games are still great. The problem is these days most games aren't designed or made in a way that I enjoy--they are deficient or lacking in areas of difficulty, depth or originality that just kills the game for me.

I enjoy old games from twenty to thirty years ago. I still play them... but there's only so much of them as the past has already happened, thus, as much as we experience it, it is always what was and the same so once it has been lived, it is a memory and absent constant repetition, it is a dwindling resource.

That's one game I like to get back into on a regular basis. I practically lost my entire group of racesim regulars as they have all moved on to other pursuits.

What I need is a study sim to hold my attention for years, something that I got on during the evenings for a couple of hours. It used to be some of the old flightsims, then racesims and followed by Arma2/DaZ Mod.

We need to hook up again on BMS. Maybe this time we hunt those pesky Rhinos with some Mavericks instead of that stupid bow and arrow *inside joke*. "Be fierce, Ajay. Be fierce."

Gentlemen, it's more common than you think. About half of men over 40 have some degree of GD (gaming dysfunction). You're not alone. (data taken from 2015 SimHQ study)

Alcohol helps men get and keep a game-on.

Before using Alcohol, tell your healthcare provider that you only drink on social occasions thus avoiding useless lectures about your personal business.

Side effects of Alcohol may include:
1) unexplainable changes to your PC's configuration
2) Sudden onset Steam Sale
3) Increased sensitivity of neighbor's hearing
4) Increased ugliness of neighbor's wife

Don't wait, get your prescription now! Or don't. Either way, go around the corner to da likker store . . . I said the cheapest stuff is-a-all I need . . . to get me back on my feet again . . . well it's cold gin time again!

I think LB is speaking from experience......

Sounds great Harry. I'll be upgrading my internet to gigabit service in 2016 as soon as the roll out begins here. It will be fiber and super fast with bandwidth to burn. Hopefully, the multiplayer sessions are fluid.

Well, to answer the question in the tittle. 34 yo and I didn't lose enthusiasm, what I lost is the will power to actually do something with that enthusiasm.

Not only with gaming, but in general, things that I could do for hours and hours, all night long (not talking about sex here :P ) I can no longer do.

I used to be up late coding like mad or playing Red Baron like a zombie... Not any more, I get all enthusiastic about it, but then then I seat down couple of hours and that's it, I need a break.

It's not about lack of time neither. I can and do stay late on weekends, but I just waste time watching yet another knife making or fails compilation on Youtube.

This is easily reversible by ingesting additional quantities of alcohol. The actual amount will depend on the level of ugliness of the neighbor's wife.

I'm "north of 60" and still enjoy gaming. I generally only play one at a time now though. I admit to having lost my interest in flight sims but still play WoW and Eve Online and am eagerly awaiting the new Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls/Skyrim

I got tired of FPS violent games for teenagers, now I play only sims and rocket league. Eagerly expecting VR headsets.