Huh.

I never ended up with a big edition of Destiny, surprisingly. Reach was the last one of those I bought for anything. At least it was a good one.

Agree it was a good one. My excitement has diminished over the years, as the stack of boxes got higher in my closet. Can't say that I've ever buy another for any game. The "hardcore gamer" phase of my life might be over.

Frankly, the "hardcore gamer" stage might well be over. Video games are now so ubiquitous, with such a low barrier to entry, that folks who had this "niche hobby" are no longer the only game in town. Long are the days where you had to bring a whole-ass PC AND the honkin' CRT to LAN.

Now a days, folks can make money, hand over fist, from every person with a smartphone with nothing more then some simple mechanics, glossy hyper-saturated colors, and, of course, an endless stream of micro-transactions, each. Why would anyone care to cater to a "hardcore gamer"? ... actually, that might be the wrong question. What is a "hardcore gamer" now? Is it a time thing? A quality thing? A MONEY THING?!

Time, tech, and business has shifted the definition, me thinks. And while I don't see it ever as a dissolved concept, the weighting certainly seems different with retrospect, projecting into the future.

...

I have one more thought to give. Thinking of my self, and the lot of us. A Decade of Destiny, and it's many tide-shifts in the wash, the decade of Halo, and before that a decade or more of just watching Moore's law grow a capability of games and simulation. Pixels and Vectors, Polygons and Voxels. A Brown Box to Cabinets, Nintendos and PlayStations.

Before hand, it was about all the things, because it was all SO NEW. Prizes in the cereal box, but dedicated to the IP we cared about! Like, HOLY SHIT! THAT'S SO COOL! I still get a smile time to time from the Halo 3 Legendary Edition. That whole thing, expensive as it was, money well spent by a country mile. But, if offered now, would I still get it? The pause... in my yes, was not there before.

Because... well a few reasons, but for this, because I'm not a hard core gamer any more. I'm... I'm well-seasoned. Maybe y'all are too? Where it's less about the chase, but the bar of quality. A crude example, but almost like the difference between some "kid" downin' rot-gut 'cause LOL drunk, and getting older, and just wanting to have a nice evening. Something along those lines. The motivation is different.

I've seen many a virtual battlefield, and known and made in my own play, many a story. And, maybe that's in part due to the games I've enjoyed; Kotor, Mass Effect, Dues Ex, Skyrim, Ezio Assassin's Creed... just to name a few, it's a very long list. I think of them and they joy in their play and find myself, content. It's kinda nice. Plus, the last time I came across a game that surprised me was Prey (2017), which is an absurdly underrated game in my purview. That game had no right to be so polished as it was, both it, and its DLC. I've seen my fair share of games and, I no longer need the past time. I've got plenty on my own in the one game that matters. ^_^

So, yeah, there it is.

Indeed. Played a level of Halo 3 and Halo ODST today. Remember when Bungie games didn't feel like the story was applied later, as a supplement? I used to say I was a Mac gamer (which in fairness was pretty weak sauce), and then I said I was a Bungie gamer. I got broader and broader, with the peak probably being the year I went multi-console in anticipation of Destiny, when I played a lot of different stuff. Unlike many here, gaming wasn't an integral part of my childhood. I became passionate about it, without having been weaned on it. I was passionate about this community, too, and did my part to build it up and make it welcoming place. Destiny the game has exceeded my expectations by some measures, but there's been some major disappointments. Much the same can be said about the community. Whatcha gonna do? It's a fallen world. I think cynicism breeds cynicism, so I try to avoid it, but man, is it tough to do. The ultimate boss fight in life, perhaps. On that note, happy Easter to those who observe.