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[Drizzlehell]

Around the time when the Wii and Kinect brought in the casuals. Don’t get me wrong, there are still being incredible games released but ever since that time gaming lost something. Before that we were the geeks and games were made by geeks. There was instant connection between gamers because there was a sense of community. Us vs. them. Now everything is mainstream. Both the people that play games and the ones that make them. Not to speak about journalism. Most just don’t care about the industry and more.

Tbh I have no problem with gaming being more universally accessible, I actually hate the elitist gatekeeping (not saying that it's what you suggested ofc). The problem is that with a more generic, universal audience, corporate greed and rampant commercialism will inevitably follow.

 

[Closer]

PS3 $600.

Same.

Everything was brown, 4 hours cutscenes, eMoTiOn, QTEs... Good thing there were DS, PSP and Wii.

 

[Represent.]

Same as OP. 2013 right after TLOU. Early PS4 gen was terrible for me. I haven’t recovered since other than small pockets of time here and there.

 

[sono]

Never

 

[Walter Matthau]

PS360 generation is the first and only time that I really thought I outgrew gaming.

I know people love games like Bioshock, Assassins Creed, Singularity, Uncharted, etc. but I never felt like I was ever actually having fun playing them. Add trophy chasing to the mix and all of it just felt like a chore. I played a string of unsatisfying games that ultimately led to me abandoning console gaming for a couple years.

 

[Fbh]

Mass Effect 3 is the first that comes to mind.
Now that the dust has settled and you can play a fully patched and content complete remaster I still think it's a pretty good game.

But back when it first launched it was a mix of disappointment, devs overpromising and underdelivering, and publisher greed:
- After 2 games hearing about the Protheans you finally get one as a crew member......but it's day 1 DLC
- Devs being like "it's not going to be like choosing ending A,B or C".... when that's literally how the game ends

 

[Foxt3r]

Ps3 is when started. Ps4 doubled down. Ps5 was the last nail in the coffin, big budget gaming was dead to me. I bought a Switch and a MiSTer, never been happier in my life.

 

[LazyParrot]

Probably when I first played Demon Souls. This was back when the game was only available as an import from either Hong Kong or Korea and a Western release wasn't even on the table. Threads about it kept popping up on boards I frequented, and when I saw a used copy for sale at a local store I decided to bite the bullet.

I was a total AAA-whore at the time, but despite the jank and seemingly lackluster visuals something about that game instantly clicked with me, and I became borderline obsessed with it. It felt the way games felt when I was a kid. I always knew that feeling was missing from the modern games I was playing at the time, but I just chalked that up to nostalgia. I wasn't a kid anymore, so I couldn't enjoy games like a kid. Made perfect sense.

As it turned out, it was mostly the games that had changed, not me or my tastes. That whole experience made me realize that AAA games were in the process of moving further and further away from what games like Demon Souls had to offer, and that maybe searching off the beaten path wasn't such a bad idea.

 

[ViolentP]

20 years ago when I realized console games are usually demoed running on PCs.

 

[genesisblock]

GTAIV. The first time a R* that is just so unbelievably cynical. Gone was the chaotic nature from the past titles, trying so hard to make the most boring protagonist in the series relatable.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

Im pretty good with Sony first party games. Im older is all.

 

[Arachnid]

When microtransactions and loot boxes became so widespread. I hated the idea of not getting the full game at launch (IMO solid xpacs are the only acceptable thing to sell after).

It became even worse when I started to see fans defend this for corporations like absolute losers. It's like they had to justify all the money they continued to blow to themselves by slobbing corporate knob. Legit exhausting arguing with these people.

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

My first ever eye roll moment was the tonal shift of jak 2. The next was ff13.

When Activision bought blizz gets special mention, because I knew the results would be catastrophic

 

[TheDreadLord]

Tbh, I wish we had more triple A games. I’m actually getting tiered of all these indies with janky animations and combat.

 

[Kataploom]

When I realized the walking and chatting segments where a thing. I think it was in Metro 2033, game is so boring to me but highly acclaimed that I started to question if I'll keep liking games in the future.

It's just a western thing tho, games with slow as combat, excess of handholding, too much focus on graphics and cutscenes etc. I currently prefer AA because they're not bound to these patterns most of the time or they are but are better built somehow got my tastes.

I don't dislike AAA though, I'm just picky with my content and 9 out of 10 times they don't look appealing to me. Sony games looked appealing to me though, but after getting bored with Horizon first hour I don't want to spend money on their games since they all share a similar "feel"

 

[Red5]

I think when publishers became mega billion-dollar companies churning out COD and AssCreed one year after the other while once cornerstone genres started disappearing or becoming real niche, space sims, immersive FPS/RPG sims, Isometric CRPG's, Point and Click Adventure games, RTS and RTT games either disappeared completely or became scarcer as gaming hit mainstream appeal.

Best years of gaming was 1997-2000, we had MechWarrior, Deus Ex, System Shock, Baldur's Gate, StarCraft, Close Combat 3, Wing Commander, Freespace, Planescape we were spoiled with choices in genre and high quality games. I gravitate towards AA and indie games more these days because I miss these genres.

 

[Rentahamster]

About the time when it seemed that Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed were being milked like a redheaded step-child.