I can understand how you feel. I signed up with a mail rental service recently so that I can just ship back what I don't like and not have to worry about backlog management. I probably might not buy many games from now on. For $20-ish/month, I'm pretty much covered except for the rare stuff (ie. imports like Futari).

I had a habit of buying lots of stuff at bargain prices and building backlogs but now that I'm renting, I feel liberated, "boring... fuck it... back you go in the mail box. I have no obligation to you." I was playing through SO4 some, I just can't seem to get into it. I think I might just send it back. I don't know. Apparently the gameplay is supposed to be great but I just can't get into it. I'd rather play my PGR (got it recently with 12 months live and chatpad) and Torchlight right now than SO4 (and I'll be getting Futari v1.5 soon, can't wait for that. The Miles Edgeworth game is coming out next month too. Ace Attorney games have always been good relaxing games for me. And with Bayonetta out and lots of great games out Q4 2009, I feel my time and money is wasted if I'm not having fun with a particular game). Seems like a waste to send the game back so soon but I can't force myself to play what I'm not enjoying right? Especially when I don't even own the thing. Especially with the stresses of college getting in the way, I feel that playing jrpgs aren't exactly the best way to unwind and relax. PGR, Torchlight or some TV episodes, movies or even animu are good ways for me to unwind after a long day. Not jrpgs. They feel like work. A project of sorts.

Just like your passion for gaming in general has died down recently, so has my passion for jrpgs (not completely but for the most part). I decided to play SO4 thinking I had a good enough break from jrpgs to be cured of jrpg burnout. Well that didn't turn out to be the case. lol.

I know. I don't even know why it bores me. It's really weird.

As for the games between October through December 2009, the only one out of those that interests me is Uncharted 2, but I don't have a PS3 (Sorry lestatdark! I think Demon's Souls looks like a spectacular game, just not really my kind of game!) .

As for the upcoming games, I have 3 I'm planning to buy during Jan-March. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, Final Fantasy XIII and No More Heroes 2. I'm sure I'll enjoy all of them.

I know how Majin feels, i myself have grown quite bored of Games. This gen is becoming stale.

Well I must admit similar things are happening to me, although i doubt I'll cut back on the buying part but maybe the playing part (collector as well haha). I feel a lot of games nowadays are more about shock value rather than actual content. And that is starting to ruin some gaming experiences. They are relying on gore, action sequences, intense cutscenes, outrageous storylines, or simply things that are shocking or gimmicky in nature. I mean this idea of shock value being an entire premise to a game is kinda turning me off to a lot of games.

I guess this has as a lot to do with gaming becoming all about the advertising rather than the actual game and our media is perpetuating it. I think for me this year, I started to realize this with Resident Evil 5 which was a complete turnoff compared to previous RE's namely RE4 which I thought was amazing. RE5 was more about shock value and the action in it rather than what mattered to me the most about Resident Evil... the conspiracy and the characters. The biggest slap in the face for me was of course Prototype which was exactly what I just described... a game all about shock value of the gore and what you can do in the city with absolutely no substance or competent gameplay. And then the trend continued with sub par single player gamers or ones that maybe were fun for a playthrough but just not enough. Great example of that was Modern Warfare 2 which was a fun experience, but silly story combined with a cliffhanger ending and just way too short.

I mean this isn't exclusive to the HD platforms (happening on Wii as well) but I feel the gaming industry due to large budgets and the need for making quick to see profits are starting to make games only for the sake of advertising and marketing them rather than a game that is good enough to sell on their own. All about the features and things they can show you in a trailer or a commercial or talk about in an interview but when you get down to the core game it just lacks substance, competent gameplay mechanics, and replay value thereof. And it's because of these things that gaming is starting to turn me off.

There is something I tell my co-workers all the time that I get into an "RPG craving" every now and then. I'm not a big RPG fan or not someone who plays it all the time but I'd say a lot of my RPG cravings come from the fact of being disappointed by a lackluster action game or shooter game. I just sometimes need something with a story with depth, characterization (weak or not), and something that'll reward me for putting time and effort into it. I'll also get into cravings where I just need to play something I can jump into and just have fun such as a platformer. Guess this is old school gaming haha.

So I definitely see what you are talking about, but I did enjoy Assassin's Creed II and definitely my GOTY 2009 because it had all the things I described most didn't have. Sad thing is though i see a lot more of what I described coming in 2010. Most blatant ones I've seen already has been well Dante's Inferno. I'm not ragging on the game but this is one of those titles that I just see more for shock value rather than game value. Luckily for 2010 we have a lot of brands that have been proven for years that'll release and give us gamers what we actually want... something that is fun to play and makes sure the experience we get in the game matters more than how far they can go in shock value.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm not even a that big RPG-fan, but still I find myself wanting to play RPGs fairly often because they just don't feel as bland as some games do nowadays.

Yep just they are bland and not well thought out... something at least you don't get in RPGs... generic or not.  They always are focused on the stories and characters and the battles in them.  I mean with having bought Darksiders, Bayonetta, and a back catalogue of some other titles, I really think I might go and play Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for a 3rd playthrough just because I think i'll get more out of the experience.  I actually just played through Crystal Bearers two times through.  Game isn't a great game by any standard, not an RPG, but it has a pretty good story and a unique way of playing and I enjoyed that. 

I guess one of the main things that really made me realize how bland gaming is starting to get was when I bought New Super Mario Bros Wii and played through that game.  There was no intense cut scenes or brutal action or blood and gore or anything like that.  You run across a side scrolled level, jump on enemies heads, while listening to calm yet atmospheric music.  It's pure fun and difficult at the same time.  I mean out of all the games I played in 2009, that one was probably the most fun I had.  It just got me thinking, all these other things we add in games are nice, but if you add them without them contributing to the fun, you just saturate the game as a whole.  Maybe developers will start to realize that we want more features but we want them to be fun as well because that is what gamign is about... enjoying the experience. 

Yeah, I know. I mean, I haven't stopped enjoying gaming or anything, I've just grown away from some of the directions it's taking. Like I said before, some games this year gave me heaps and heaps of fun, most notably New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but also Street Fighter IV and Punch-Out!!

My guess would be your taste in games is slowly changing, and you have hit a big bump in it. You have the right idea though. Step back from what you think you will love, and see how it actually catches your eye. I have had to do it a few times, and I always manage to find something interesting to draw me back, but in a new way.

Well yea I know what you mean there.  I mean I'm still loving gaming and why i probably won't cut back on it.  It's just it would be nice that the big hyped games we are getting just aren't all about shock value and stale in nature.  I mean it is sad when some of the most fun experiences games had in 2009 were that of games remade from classics of old such as the three you mentioned.  The old games weren't about shock value but about the experience and that is why they are timeless.  There were obviously some great experiences in 2009 but too many times were we shown games that were all hype with no substance. 

Luckily 2010 looks a lot more promising with a lot of developers either going back to their roots or bring games that recognize experience over the packaging.  Also good to hear that a lot of these devs are focusing on quality not quantity which has been another problem. 

There must be something in the atmosphere because I'm pretty bored of video games aswel. I'm even thinking of giving up gaming after I play GOW 3, FF13 and Yakuza 3.