It’s been difficult to accept, but I am starting to think that my passion for being a diehard gamer has come and gone. The thought of playing any type of standard console-based game over an extended period of time feels alien to me. And while it’s no secret that I spent what could be equated to a near-endless amount of hours to playing every iteration of Street Fighter 4, I can only toss up a few titles in recent memory that were actually played from start to finish. That’s a huge contrast from the 1990s, which gave birth to the iconic games like Space Channel 5, Sonic Adventure, Gunstar Heroes, Final Fantasy VII, and the list goes on and on.

So what happened? Well, I’d love to say age changed on that – but the truth is, there is still some degree active presence of gaming on my radar. Lately, it seems a lot more casual-oriented compared to the past decade. I imagine one day, I may just end up dropping video games altogether. However, as long as there’s something like Clash of Clans or Star Wars Commander (same concept of CoC with a Star Wars twist), my iPad will always have some significant value to me beyond staying in touch with friends over Facebook.

As far as I can tell, my gaming involvement still has a pulse – it’s not entirely nonexistent, but it’s probably because I am such a sucker for the old-school style of games.

Up until several weeks ago, I barely touched my PS4. Yes, even though I had signed up for PS Plus, which by far, is one of the best consumer campaigns ever developed. It’s no secret that Destiny has somehow managed to win my heart to the point that I actually enjoy playing Bungie’s new FPS/MMO hybrid release over a fighting game. I don’t wanna go into too much detail, since I have a pending hands-on report literally on deck, and quite frankly, I don’t want to reiterate some of the same points. All I am going to stress for now is: yes, the game actually IS enjoyable, although I don’t know how much longer that fuzzy feeling is going to last with all these recent patches going on (RIP “Loot caves”).

To be honest, I needed to make a clean break away from playing fighting games 24/7. After all, online isn’t all that enjoyable. I find many players are just too random and reckless, and considering the fact I made a pledge to get back into the tournament circuit, I don’t feel anymore conditioned and prepared to make that re-entry than I did before Ultra was officially released in retail channels. That would probably change if I actually made a more active effort to travel up to the Mass area to grind it out with the folks who assemble weekly at Game Underground, but IRL also plays a factor. I am still on the fence about investing a significant amour of time to be a dedicated competitor, especially when I feel that time would be better suited (and valued) working the production end.

And that brings me to the realization of why I could be starting to feel less and less attached to be such a “diehard gamer” in the current era.

Come 2015, I’d like to develop a more diverse portfolio that extends beyond just photography, but will also balance my videography/multimedia skills even further. It’s a delicate balance: juggling a 40+ hour work schedule, weekends that aren’t consistent, and somewhere in-between, finding time to grind out in some of the latest releases. In some ways, it’s a struggle and it often makes me yearn for MORE time to be able to properly devote as much time as I can to diligently be polished in every aspect.

As far as I can tell, my gaming involvement still has a pulse – it’s not entirely nonexistent, but it’s probably because I am such a sucker for the old-school style of games.  Probably because I wasn’t obsessed with staying on top of picking up subsequent Call of Duty or Assassin’s Creed IP releases. Perhaps sometime next month, I’ll share some tidbits about why most games these days don’t resonate with me, or I’ll break it down in the upcoming Destiny report.

And speaking of next month, since our “eSports” coverage, or more specifically – the FGC coverage has been sparse over the few weeks – look for us to be heading out to Raleigh, NC for TFC 2014. This will be my first time at this highly anticipated event which is the final premier Capcom Pro Tour destination and a lot of heavy-hitters will be making the trek for a shot at grabbing some additional points (note: technically New Challengers: Resistance is THE final CPT-event in case you’re not coming out and that goes down the week after.) We’ll be on hand to capture photos and then some of the event, specifically for our friends at Team Ninja and the Dead or Alive 5 community, so please be sure to stay tuned to that coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter at @ptbdotorg and @TeamNinjaStudio.

Well, I’ve gone on for long enough for this particular weekly segment. I’ll probably be reporting back again just before TFC goes down, so thanks for reading. It’s not officially finalized yet, but there’s a strong possibility of moving into video logs – it might end up being put on the back burner until 2015, but it’s something I’ve considered for awhile and it would give me a good excuse to revitalize my personal Youtube account again. Stay tuned!