Gaming is becoming less interesting to me and here is why.

[JarlBSoD]

Long and possibly rambly, you have been warned!

So, as the title says, gaming has started to become less and less interesting to me, well sort of, i still love playing games and i probably will for a long time still but i have found myself activley seeking out other things to do instead more and more. So why is this? Well, i have played games since my dad brought home a C64 in 1984, since that day i have been hooked, i have owned and played on Atari ST and Amiga 500 before I in the early 90s like 1991 more and more got in to PC gaming. One of the things I allways loved and that was a huge part of PC gaming for me was to semi regulary put together a new PC to play on, in my younger years that obviosly didn't happen as often as it did in my early adulthood but still, I think thiss stems from me watching my dad (Electronical Engineer head of a team of telephone exchange developers at Ericsson in the 80s to early 90s) tinkering not only with the internals of the C64 (you used to get the wiring diagram etc included with the manuals when you bought a c64) but allso the TV when it broke, he was part of the, fix broken things instead of buy new generetaion so anyway i digress. So this probably got me interested in Computers and since that day i have only ever bought 1 prebuilt PC.

In the late 90s i got a job at a store selling hardware and software, mainly to companies but allso private customers, this gave me acces to "cheap" hardware and software since i was allowed to buy stuf att cost of the component and tiny shipment fee so the store went +-0, and my boss was awesome, if we didn't like some hardware, he would just buy it back because he wanted us to try and know the stuff we sold (sadly the place went bankrupt in the 2010s but i hadn't worked there for 8 years by then). So this was a golden age of building for me, not only did i get to build PCs for customers but i could allso buy a ton of hardware to build for myself and my gf (she is still my gf btw, we have been together for27 years this year, go us!)

So, whats the point of thiss? Well, pricing, i have a decent job, my gf an even more decent job, we are not rich by any Swedish standards but we are well off, but honestly, the price increeses the past few years has made me start questioning if i like doing this anymore. Sure i can afford a PC for 3500 euros if i realy want to, but do i realy want to? I keep hearing bull from Nvidia about mores law being dead so we charge overprices, well mores law might be dead but it still dosn't justify the pricing, the only reson they keep these high prices imo is because they have to compensate for the dropp in cryptomining even though they clearly never admit that is the real issue, they are a company and they need to make a profit, i get it, but it is starting to get silly. If AMD comes out lower priced but still good performance than Nvidia they will probably still charge more than it is probably worth in the long run. Yes inflation is an issue atm but it still dosn't account for a GPU being more than doubble the price of the previous generation (3080 vs 4080 release prices).

I have another quite expencive hobby and honestly, in the long run having 2 pricey hobbies is to much. Will i still play PC games in the future, yes but the question is for how long? Big part of the experience for me (building) is getting more and more exclusive and unless we see a drastic change or a realy realy priceworthy competitor to Nvidia, i think we are on a sloap of PC gaming becomming more niche. I am not going to Doom PC gaming entierly, people have been doing that since the first Playstation arrived and after that you hear it with every new console release. But we are either going to see a stagnation in game tech development because the majority will stick to older and less pricey components, or more and more will jump ship and go console instead.

Is this the end of PC gaming? As i said no, atleast not now. Nvidia seems to have compleetly lost touch with reality for the moment and I understand why, they are a traded company that has to keep making more and more money to satisfy investors and when you loose a big chunk of your profits in one market (mining) you have to compensate in another. Could i build a lower spec PC and play on? Sure but to me that's not as fun, I am never at the top end of components, like 3090 or 4090, but i like to be in atleast the higher end segment, not because i have to but because i want to since i think it is fun. a 3060 might be fine for gaming (stretching it in 1440p that i run though) but.. fine is just not fun for me.

So, what do you all think? Is this getting out of hand? Do you think prices will go down or up? Is mores law dead ? Was it even ever realy a thing exept in the 70s-90s? Will consoles get even more attention? For me personally, even though i have historicly owned consoles and currently own a switch, I don't realy like playing on them, Donkey Kong Contry is fun with my GF on a saturday evening with a beer or 2 but thats about it for me.

If you even scrolled this far down i am impressed, and if you even read all of it, wow!!

I have wanted to build a new PC for years now but during covid components were realy hard to get and now the prices are still just stupid here in Swe, and a card like 3080 isn't even avaliable to buy here anymore, and last time i found one it was still 3-400 Euros above the 2021 launch price.

Rant off!

 

[Colif]

4090 is the fastest GPU you can get so they exploiting the desire of some people out there to have the best... and making them pay for it. A 4090 costs $AUD3500, that is the price I paid for my entire PC last time (including peripherals and monitor) ... so buy a PC or buy a GPU. that choice reminds me of this video

but the comparison doesn't work here. The 4080 is $AUD2500 and while you probably can make a PC for it, it wouldn't be as good here. Hopefully the AMD cards come in somewhere near the conversion rate amount and are up to $1000 less. Nvidia might be lucky this year as supplies of the 7900 cards appear to be low.

I expect Nvidia will lower prices on the 4080 series cards if AMD start to bite into their profits. Until AMD can beat the top card of Nvidia with RT & Raster, Nvidia won't stop making bank off the group that has to have fastest 1080p refresh rate known to man to play CSGO.

People who only buy Nvidia also want prices to drop on 4080, as otherwise they would have bought them off the scalpers.

 

[Pifanjr]

I doubt the prices for PC components are going to drop any time soon considering the shortage in chips worldwide. Which isn't getting any better with the USA trying its best to prevent China from making them.

 

[Brian Boru]

we have been together for27 years

So she has to listen to rants like this all the time? Bless her loving heart, she must have the patience of Job!

i am impressed … wow

Been a while since I both impressed and wowed someone, so thanks for the farm wuzzies

Do you think prices will go down or up?

Down, the question is when.
♣ The FTC [US regulator] is bound to be keeping a close eye on our chip makers, since it's such a small group and there are considerable monopoly dangers present.
♦ If prices stay up, then other companies will smell profit and enter the fray, or more likely add a GPU line to their other chips, since starting chip making is not for the faint of heart or shallow of pocket. Intel have already done this, and tat should help prices drop.

But as @Pifanjr makes clear, "when" may not be anytime soon

Will consoles get even more attention?

I expect so. They have become a lot more like PCs over the last 2 gens, so if there's a next gen, it'll mostly be a specialized PC. A rose by any other name…

Personally I have no big worry about this, since I have plenty of fine older games to play on my current tech—i7-7 and 1060. Far Cry 6 just about runs on it, so I won't be able to go for many newer games from here on. But I'm a patient gamer, usually waiting 1-5 years to buy a game.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Here's the problem I have with the original post. You titled this thread, "Gaming is becoming less interesting to me and here is why," but then you didn't talk about gaming one time. Your problem isn't with gaming; your problem is with the expense of building PCs. So really, building and upgrading PCs is what is becoming less interesting to you, not gaming.

So I think you need to ask yourself why you're doing it? If you're honest with yourself, you're not doing it for gaming. You're probably doing it for the love of building great PCs. Sometimes it can even become an addiction. But the truth is you don't have to constantly buy the greatest, most powerful GPU and CPU on the market every single time something new comes out in order to enjoy gaming. So if you're starting to lose interest in building PCs because of the insane prices (and yes the prices are insane), then maybe it's time to take a step back from that, and actually just start enjoying the games instead, without worrying about stats and how many frames per second you can squeeze out.

 

[ipman]

I often wonder if having all the latest components is important to some people and that for example graphic card manufacturers exploit that. I'm more concerned that EVGA are stopping making Nvidia cards better and offering their great aftercare. My 1060 6GB still plays demanding games.

I had a situation last night, switched on PC out of sleep mode, NO SIGNAL at monitor. Opened it, restart and no LED lights on MB, imagined worst case and started wondering how much upgrade would cost.

Found one lead that had come out slightly, Phewwww!

Gaming itself is becoming less interesting to me. I feel like Covid has created a bit of a lag in new games being available with new ideas and content. I'm starting to find most games too similar with repetitive quests, etc, and frankly I've got so good that I find them less challenging.

Hopefully in a few years; new games will entice us, cost will come down.

(went with the KRK Rokit 8 G4 speakers. Now that's an upgrade from my old Creative PC speakers! And that saying; 'it's like hearing music for first time'. So switching to sound art for winter).

 

[Brian Boru]

I find them less challenging

You can always set your own 'rules' to increase challenge. For example in shooters I go everywhere possible on foot, so I'm open to wandering wildlife and patrols. I also mostly avoid big rocket launchers or machine guns or non-throwable explosives.

Customize the game to your liking

I often wonder if having all the latest components is important to some people

It is, they're known as 'early adopters', lots of industries have such a band of consumers.

 

[JarlBSoD]

Here's the problem I have with the original post. You titled this thread, "Gaming is becoming less interesting to me and here is why," but then you didn't talk about gaming one time. Your problem isn't with gaming; your problem is with the expense of building PCs. So really, building and upgrading PCs is what is becoming less interesting to you, not gaming.

So I think you need to ask yourself why you're doing it? If you're honest with yourself, you're not doing it for gaming. You're probably doing it for the love of building great PCs. Sometimes it can even become an addiction. But the truth is you don't have to constantly buy the greatest, most powerful GPU and CPU on the market every single time something new comes out in order to enjoy gaming. So if you're starting to lose interest in building PCs because of the insane prices (and yes the prices are insane), then maybe it's time to take a step back from that, and actually just start enjoying the games instead, without worrying about stats and how many frames per second you can squeeze out.

Well you are a bit off and i think you missunderstood the point, I wrote that i still like gaming, infact i love it, but if i can't justify the price on a, for me, decent PC then my interest in gaming goes down. Sure i can still play older games and my current PC will probably last a little while longer but in a few years i will have to condem my current pc to the shadows, assuming my GPU even last that long seing as i have had a bit of a pickle with it latley, and when that happens I will still want to play games but i will have nothing to play the new games on. I could actually enjoy pc-gaming without building my own PCs but prebuilds are even worse when it comes to prices than building your own so that wouldn't help much. So, as my current rig gets older i will enjoy newer games less and less up till a point where i don't enjoy them anymore and lose intrest in gaming. Playing PC games and having a PC kinda goes hand in hand, you can't have one without the other and if one part dies out, for what ever reson, the other one dies with it. As i wrote, i don't have to have the absolut top end rig but i do like to be on the upper segment since that gives me the most joy from my games and upp untill a few years ago, the price vs joyment worked well for me, now they are starting to missalign. If it was only about the games for me i would happily buy a Consol but PC offers so much more to me than any consol ever did.
Gaming is the main part, and i actually don't build PCs that often (Well often is kinda subjective), my current rig is closing in on 4 years now, speccing out a similar sort of comparable level of spec lands me 1000euros more than my current rig costed me 4 years ago. The PC i had before this one was about 4 years when i replaced it aswell. I have allwas skiped 1 generation when it comes to GPUs so the 3000series in this case was suposed to be skipped since i run a 2000series now, but.. yep everythign seem to have gone bonkers

Hope that cleared some of your questionmarks upp

 

[JarlBSoD]

I often wonder if having all the latest components is important to some people and that for example graphic card manufacturers exploit that. I'm more concerned that EVGA are stopping making Nvidia cards better and offering their great aftercare. My 1060 6GB still plays demanding games.

I had a situation last night, switched on PC out of sleep mode, NO SIGNAL at monitor. Opened it, restart and no LED lights on MB, imagined worst case and started wondering how much upgrade would cost.

Found one lead that had come out slightly, Phewwww!

Gaming itself is becoming less interesting to me. I feel like Covid has created a bit of a lag in new games being available with new ideas and content. I'm starting to find most games too similar with repetitive quests, etc, and frankly I've got so good that I find them less challenging.

Hopefully in a few years; new games will entice us, cost will come down.

(went with the KRK Rokit 8 G4 speakers. Now that's an upgrade from my old Creative PC speakers! And that saying; 'it's like hearing music for first time'. So switching to sound art for winter).

Offcource they exploit it, 4090 sold out faster than ice melting in a vulcano and it was the same with 3090 and the titan cards and so on. 4080 on the other hand seem to have gotten more flak for its pricepoint since it is aimed at a still high end but broader audience than 4090 and as far as i can tell they are not even close or ever were close to selling out yet. Nvidia know what they are doing, quesiton now is what the response from AMD will be.

 

[JarlBSoD]

Hopefully Intel will be a real competitor in a few years aswell and hopefully they will be resonable, knowing Intel they are probably going to join team Green in pricing though if they ever get to that stage :/

 

[ipman]

You can always set your own 'rules' to increase challenge. For example in shooters I go everywhere possible on foot, so I'm open to wandering wildlife and patrols. I also mostly avoid big rocket launchers or machine guns or non-throwable explosives.

Customize the game to your liking

Yes I do do that. I play the game the way it was intended and use various difficulty levels. I then start creating my own games and challenges especially in open world games. I tend to use basic weapons

It does seem like there is a bit of a lull at present in terms of new games, but I'm sure it will pick up.

Maybe what is needed is more hardware manufacturers, more competition, as the OP indicates.

I suppose it's a sellers market at present, high demand keeps prices high.

(I'm really inspired by the audio content of games, so want to experiment making my own, or using gaming audio in pieces of my own).

 

[mainer]

Long and possibly rambly,

Yes, a bit, but it's understandable when you're passionate about a topic it's easy to ramble a bit. I do the same thing at times when trying to express my thoughts about a specific subject. I sometimes find it difficult to be concise enough when relating my thoughts into words for others to understand, so my focus can be somewhat scattered. I think it's mostly just human nature.

As far as your topic goes, and without doing replies to multiple quotes, I think I understand what you're trying to say about your interest in PC game with the ability to upgrade your PC periodically. While I respect your personal opinion, my opinion differs, in that my interest, or passion, for PC gaming will never die, regardless of what PC I'm using.

Do I want the best PCs, or PC components available? Of course I do, but I don't need them to enjoy gaming on a PC. My current PC is about 3 1/2 years old (July 2019 & a graphic card update in 2020), and it runs every game I want to play. Even if I never made another upgrade, or bought a new PC, my interest in gaming on a PC wouldn't wane. Maybe I couldn't play all the new "AAA" game titles, but I have a huge library of older games, and the modding community is huge, so I would never lack for games to play. While I maintain my PC, and upgrade components occasionally, it has no effect on my interest or desire when it comes to playing games on a PC.

I often wonder if having all the latest components is important to some people and that for example graphic card manufacturers exploit that. I'm more concerned that EVGA are stopping making Nvidia cards better and offering their great aftercare. My 1060 6GB still plays demanding games.

I don't have the need or desire to upgrade for the newest components, for me it's just not necessary to enjoy gaming, especially when it comes to graphic cards. I will also miss not being able to get Nvidia cards from EVGA. I've been using EVGA cards since the Nvidia 500 series, back in the day when I actually did SLI configurations of graphics cards (Imagine buying two graphics cards at a time now, not that it's even possible to do SLI anymore). I'll miss the excellent tech support/customer service they provide, as well as the Auto-Notify Que on out-of-stock Nvidia cards (It was that aspect that allowed me to get an RTX 3080 at MSRP).

 

[Colif]

I often wonder if having all the latest components is important to some people and that for example graphic card manufacturers exploit that.

Its not just graphics cards. They do it with all sorts of things, not everyone can afford best CPU as well. And motherboards that cost $2000 that you don't need most of features on (that kitchen sink might not get much use). Its everywhere, DDR5 ram when its still hard to get 4 sticks to run at all, or at right speed. Cutting edge costs money...

I can't afford a new GPU every few years that costs more than my PC did. I am not life support for Nvidia... or any company. Shame GPU don't generally last 5 years before you need to replace them. It really depends on what games you play as to what you really need. If you play latest shooters or whatever, you might need a new GPU more often.

Having new shiny things can make people who are normally immune to things like this dream about buying a GPU... happened to me recently (last 5 hours) so um, logic and sanity can go out the window when you WANT something. Only after waking up I realised I am better off waiting a few weeks instead of fighting people for new GPU
I can watch reviews and work out which one is best to buy... I say that now but be really hard to resist if I find one next Tuesday.

Its getting so close they advertising cards now

 

[ipman]

But it seems to me that tech is far more capable than where games are at(unless you're 4K). And that's probably driven by competitiveness between gamers, and capitalised on by the hardware suppliers. Next Rappers will be wearing graphic card bling.

It also seems prudent to find a good graphics card, well reviewed and tested and stick with it, until there is a generation with a marked increase in performance, as well as the games to play.

If I imagine a future game, it would have to have many elements of current games but have completely interactive characters, clever problems or puzzles to solve as well as stealth/hacking + a Nemesis style story generator.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

If it was only about the games for me i would happily buy a Consol but PC offers so much more to me than any consol ever did.

I know this is blasphemy, but you could always buy an Xbox Series X for the games, and use a decent laptop for everything else.

For PC, it's just all about your demands. Unfortunately, I'm still using an AMD FX 3600 with a GTX 1080. I can run any of the new games even with that. Can I run them all 4K@120fps with RTX turned on? No, but I can usually get them playable. Some of the more resource hogs, I might have to bump it back down to 1080p to get 60fps, and I don't like that. But I can usually get at least 1440p with games. Obviously, it doesn't support RT, though. I know a lot of people aren't happy with that, but I'd guarantee whatever you have will run new games a lot better than mine.

 

[Zloth]

2000-era cards should last a good, long time - because plenty of other gamers are in the same boat. The worry would be, as you mentioned, the card decides to burn out.

Regarding pre-mades, don't count them out too fast. They have to pay people to build the PCs, obviously, but they don't have to pay scalper prices. Instead, they can buy in bulk. And they won't send them back to the card maker because they didn't realize the card wouldn't physically fit in the case, either. There was a stretch last year when you could buy a PC with a 3080 card pre-built for cheaper than a scalper would charge for a 3080 card alone.

 

[Johnway]

I get the cost of hardware argument, i'm still using a 1070 and had a recent look for a 3070 and honestly the prices make me think twice. Checking even ebay and second hand dealers makes me wince and say its not worth it. Hell, with the massive backlog of steam games, i'm content to leave it on indefinite hold at this point and replace parts as and when needed. Its not just graphics card its also power consumption as well. Higher PSUs which could result in higher power consumption(even though the new PSUs have eco features ) and mean electrical costs. Plus its also sourcing the right parts.

That said, when i built my current gaming PC price wasn't the criteria and accepted that was nature of the hobby. It cost me nearly 2k to build but the pc is coming up to nearly 8 years old and its still going strong. If i bought one off the shelf, dell etc it would have been worthless in 3 years. But that said, recent prices has made me think twice about whether i need that upgrade at all. My conclusion was no.

Here's hoping the price will drop. But , i doubt it will be any time soon. Unless a new competitor comes in and provides just as good parts and at a more affordable price, i think i'll wait some more.

 

[Colif]

Here's hoping the price will drop. But , i doubt it will be any time soon. Unless a new competitor comes in and provides just as good parts and at a more affordable price, i think i'll wait some more.

Intel? Maybe we need to wait for the 4th company as I doubt Intel cards be cheap.

Not a good time to be looking on 2nd hand or even Google shopping as I am sure there is a lot of profit making, its the weeks before Christmas. Lots of traps for people who aren't looking

what a bargain
The actual prices here for them are all over 2k. And all being sold by websites I wouldn't trust. No local companies. All scams.

Think I wait until after Xmas as might actually get a card for a reasonable price... or closer to reality

 

[Ryzengang]

I can certainly respect the argument of PC gaming being pricey, but I don't know that I'm totally convinced that it's dramatically worse now than in the past tbh. The CPU side of things is in a fantastic spot. You can get a Ryzen 5600 (non-X) for $140 right now and it's a fantastic processor and DDR4 is very cheap. SSD prices have fallen off a cliff recently. I understand the GPU side of things as that's been the main focus of discussion recently, but the mid-range is actually quite strong if you're willing to go AMD. If you don't need the absolute best, you really can build very capable machines for a reasonable price (of course, what is "reasonable" is largely subjective). If you go high end, there's no doubt that it's quite pricey right now. But that isn't necessary to get a good gaming experience, and the vast majority of PC gamers run cards considerably older/lower end.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I can certainly respect the argument of PC gaming being pricey, but I don't know that I'm totally convinced that it's dramatically worse now than in the past tbh.

When it comes to GPUs, it definitely is. Consider that I bought my GTX 970 new for $375 when it came out. Then I bought a new GTX 1070 for like $425 when it came out. And now the same tier RTX 3070 is a minimum of $569. That's almost $200 higher than my 970 was new. So not even considering the crazy shortage prices and scalping of last year because we're back to normal prices now, the normal prices are way higher than they used to be.

 

[Ryzengang]

When it comes to GPUs, it definitely is. Consider that I bought my GTX 970 new for $375 when it came out. Then I bought a new GTX 1070 for like $425 when it came out. And now the same tier RTX 3070 is a minimum of $569. That's almost $200 higher than my 970 was new. So not even considering the crazy shortage prices and scalping of last year because we're back to normal prices now, the normal prices are way higher than they used to be.

Nvidia basically isn't competitive in terms of value at any price tier right now. You can get 6700 XTs as low as $360, which are only around 10-15% slower than the 3070 at 1440p. There are good value cards, it's that nobody has an interest in buying AMD GPUs and thus the discussion has only focused on Nvidia (which, indeed, are not offering compelling value even if the products themselves are very good).

 

[JarlBSoD]

Nvidia basically isn't competitive in terms of value at any price tier right now. You can get 6700 XTs as low as $360, which are only around 10-15% slower than the 3070 at 1440p. There are good value cards, it's that nobody has an interest in buying AMD GPUs and thus the discussion has only focused on Nvidia (which, indeed, are not offering compelling value even if the products themselves are very good).

I have actually looked at AMD but their cards are sold out everywhere here atm. But i am hoping next gen AMD vill be competative because if they are i will jump over to team RED.

 

[Colif]

Yes, it depends how close to the pointy end you want to be.
i bought a 980 for about 900 in 2016
I bought a 2070 Super for 1000 in 2020
I don't know how much next one will be but if it was to be an Nvidia, the cheapest new card is 2500... hence I am looking at AMD as 7900 should be below that.

 

[DXCHASE]

Its because you are getting older and the older you get the more you do other stuff other than gaming

Well, at least thats what ive found to be my problem, and its not a big problem, just...something i noticed. I just dont get the huge joy in games or the gusto to stick with a game for too long anymore (Destiny 2 being the only one and thats due to other reasons than actual gaming). I mean, its still there, i still game every day whether its for 10 or 15 minutes or a couple hours, but the burning passion i felt when i was younger i can feel fading away sometimes or im just starting to be like "do i want to game or do i want to do this instead" and picking the "this instead" over gaming.

Yes PC components being pricey has been a real drag for me, but it hasnt personally affected my gaming love. Im pretty satisfied playing with what i have and my cycle of upgrading, do i wish i could afford more? Abosluutely, esp. since my wife and son are pc gamers too, well my son, but we all have gaming PCs to play on. 1 being from like 2015 (1080 (yes ik it came out in 2016, im talking the whole build) and a 4790k) and two others being from the last two years (one has a 3050ti and mine has a 3070ti). They are no means behemeths, and didnt cost much more than what building my first pc my wife is using did (i was pretty vigilant on finding good prices and am in the US, so i guess i had a different set of options than you) but there is absolutely no reason for me to lose the love of gaming just because i cant afford the hot new CPUs and GPUs that come out right away or not being able to game in 4k at 120+ fps.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

Nvidia basically isn't competitive in terms of value at any price tier right now. You can get 6700 XTs as low as $360, which are only around 10-15% slower than the 3070 at 1440p. There are good value cards, it's that nobody has an interest in buying AMD GPUs and thus the discussion has only focused on Nvidia (which, indeed, are not offering compelling value even if the products themselves are very good).

Early this year, I was considering finally upgrading my 1080. It didn't work out for me to do that, but I was close enough that I was seriously weighing all my options. Where I was at with AMD is that I really wanted to buy one of their video cards, because they're definitely a bigger bang for your buck. But the main hang-up is that they just don't do RT stuff as well, and that was important to me. If they could catch up in that arena, it would be no question of who to go with.