EDIT: Please insert a giant "FOR ME" into this topic. I am speaking for and of my own personal experiences, and would never tell you what you think is fun or not.

So after the ESO direct the other day, and recently getting back into WoW classic, I've come to a conclusion.

MMOs are just... not worth the time investment proposition. The only one sort of close is Guild Wars/Guild Wars 2, because expansions add horizontal content, and don't invalidate existing content.

All other MMOs, in greater or lesser fashion, are a complete waste of time. Not only that, but being a GOGladyte, they are the anthesis of what I stand for - which is game preservation and owning your games.

An MMO is basically nothing more than a skinner box. And while it could be argued all games are, sort of, single player games that offer a finite resolution, are much less of a wasted time proposition compared to an MMO, that seemingly has no end.

Look at WoW. It's been over 20 years, and they're just now on the verge of releasing WoW 2 - which is cool, but I have to tell you, I don't have time for MMOs and their gameplay requirements these days.

The ESO direct also, discusses the plan to shift from Chapter releases every year to a "season pass" model, which apparently quietly strips a lot of benefits from the ESO+ members (the subscribers) and puts it behind an additional season pass paywall.

As time goes on, it becomes more and more apparent to me, not just in MMOs, but in all live service games, the developers and publishers ONLY care about making money, and making you part with yours. This is not the gaming I grew up with. This is not the gaming that satisfies.

I got a PS5, and I have to tell you, I hardly touch it. It seems like so many disc games require an internet connection to load, or have a mandatory day one patch you have to connect to the internet to patch before playing.

Even Switch 2, with its predatory pricing on the new console and first party titles, is something I am no longer interested in.

I think I finally see the value of the older gen x and boomer crew, and what they've been saying for years - gaming really did sort of stop around 2010.

If you actually read this whole thing, congrats. I don't know that I would. I think I'm grieving because I'm finally accepting that GOG is an albatross and that we are never going to get back what we lost when we sold ourselves for the promise of cheaper digital games.

It is what it is. I guess I have to start buying more stuff on GOG now, if I don't want to be a hypocrite. Just sucks because some of what they and their parent company, CDPR do, isn't always smart or viable.

Take care.

MMOs are time-wasters by design. Game mechanics are as convoluted and grindy as possible to keep you paying for your subscription. Oh, don't we all love the good old "Go and fetch 50 bear hides" quests? <3

Right, I guess this was more of a declaration that I finally "get it".

I’ve realized that football is a complete waste of my time. I’ve also realized that dressage is a complete waste of my time. Same with knitting. And collecting stamps? Also a complete waste of my time.

And, to be honest… playing games in general? Also a complete waste of time too. (I still do it, though.)

Easy solution. Just stop dressing. :-)

No. Single-player games aren’t a waste of time. Playing a game I consider it to be better than watching a movie, because watching a movie you are a passive receiver of what the filmmaker thought. (To me at least) Playing a game is like playing/acting in the movie. You are the actor. What happens, happens to YOU. YOUR actions, YOUR decisions (kill, not kill, do that, do something different, solve puzzles), that differ very much from real life’s actions/decisions. I don’t know how I would cope, if I didn’t have this hobby as a “small break” of real life’s problems.

You forget that watching a movie is also a complete waste of time

That's a hobby too, man! Something you do to relax, or learn something new, or think in a different way. There are movies, as well as series, that could really benefit a person. Make him/her see things differently, even to be smarter. And of course there are some that one should watch before he/she dies.

Surely the main thing that changed, related to my way younger self vs. the now way more mature self: My time is increasingly becoming more valuable and in general i rarely ever do "grindy games" anymore. I generally use my time, which gets more valuable with age, mainly for games which offers a very extensive and a rich gameplay without lot of "pointless or time consuming" grind. Which also means, in almost any case i do own my games and are in full control regarding its progress and possibilities, even a large portion of its gameplay.

So, the usual "service based game grind" is as good as over for me, as it just is offering to less in return for a lot of my valuable time.

In this term, yes, i do value the way i can play and archive my GOG games, which is giving me the best control over it with the highest customization.

The point is - what you consider a waste of time completely comes down to personal preferences and what you enjoy doing. That makes everything, and nothing, a waste of time.

Playing an MMO is no more a waste of time than playing a single-player game. Which is no more a waste of time than playing golf. Which is no more a waste of time than doing ballet. Which is no more a waste of time than watching a film. Which is no more a waste of time than doing dressage. Which is no more a waste of time than jogging. Which is no more a waste of time than yodeling. Which is no more a waste of time than painting. Which is no more a waste of time than archery. Which is no more a waste of time than playing chess...

What I’m getting at is - this whole topic is kind of a silly one.

Well, yeah. Games arw a waste of time and the more time you spend on them, the more time yoy've wasted. You only have this one life and you'll die. And before death, will you think of real life relationships, friends and memories? Or of game plots or book plots or movie plots or any other sort of entartainment?

That's what they all are for - to entertain you. To give you a bit of fun and relief from daily stresses and such.

But is it worth the time yoy spend on them? When you really think about how you're a mortal human being who has a very limited time to experience the world, create memories or make a change?

Of course it's a waste of time, like almost everything people do. Work is a waste of time, sleep is a waste of time, commute, grocery shopping, cooking, showering, I don't kniw, everything is a waste of time, isn't it?

Just recently I decided to try Elder Scrolls Online. Just the basic 5$ game pack and no expansions or cosmetic crap. I admitted I was bit shocked to discover that - adding to the expansions/chapters - they now also have some sort of monthly subscription service. Which probably offers some sort of shiny loot.

My experience with the game made me love single-player titles even more. I guess I'm one of those guys which clearly isn't made for MMOs or Co-Ops.

Still I think that MMO games are a good (I'd say even excellent) choice for that kind of person who only plays a specific game and has no problem in spending thousands of hours on that game alone and making part of an online community.

Some will have fun with it. But one should always know that if the game is free to play, the game will be deliberately made in a way to entice you into spending money. Usually done by wasting your time to the extreme or making things intentionally obnoxious. Though these days, it is no longer the sole realm of MMOs. The AAAAAAAaaaAAAAA companies are very keen on pushing stuff like this in single player games now.

As for subscription based games, I never have and never will touch that. How something like WOW is still this popular with its $15 a month price tag is beyond me.

maybe bad ones, but a decent MMO could fill an entire library with experiences by gamers.