A Week Without Playing Video Games is Harder than You Might Think

What happens when a dedicated video gamer decides to abstain from playing for a week?

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I think its actually easier than you think IF you have actual things to do to fill the time you would be gaming.

[KiwiViper85]

My wife has been saying lately that she wants us to take a few weeks off work and go on holiday. I'm saying, ye that sounds great, but really I'm thinking, can I bring my Xbox?

[joab777]

I brought my ps3 to Hawaii last time and never used it at all. Going again in 4 wks and I'll bring my PS4, and we will see.

[Eonjay]

@joab777

Enjoy Hawaii!

[StrayaKNT]

loooooooool perfect

[Army_of_Darkness]

Just recently went to Cuba for an all-inclusive, 7 day stay at a resort with the GF and in all honesty, Gaming never crossed my mind once.

[Captain_TomAN94]

Haha it's not hard at all to stop playing games. I once stayed with my girlfriend for a few weeks one summer (She lives in a different State. Needless to say even though I had a gaming laptop I didn't use it much ;).

If you have other stuff to do, gaming really is just a hobby you can take a break from.

[Highlife]

Hmm seems like them girls can keep us away. Hey if I'm going on vacation with the wife I'm not brining any video games. Time for some adult stuff.

[Relientk77]

Yeah if you have things to fill your time, it isn't so bad. If you don't, its sorta impossible lol

[Eonjay]

I have to agree. My job is very intense and sometimes, there really just isnt enough hours in the day. However, sometimes I need to play just to give my mind a break.

[HighResHero]

Similar story here. It's come down to me playing to "give my mind a break" in order to avoid mental exhaustion. It's a good and legitimate excuse. I will never entirely give up the things that I love and keep me in touch with my youth.

[admiralvic]

This.

Obviously factors come into play, like if you have something to do, work/school, etc it's easier, but there is also a lot to be said of slow release periods. Like the next couple of months there are maybe three games I want to play and odds are I won't be playing a bunch of backlog things I have minimal to no interest in, so not playing for a week, 2 or even a month isn't that hard.

[DragonKnight]

I've gone an entire month without playing. I get into slumps like that every now and then unless there is a really good game that I want coming out. It's not really that hard at all. Most gamers aren't actually addicted to gaming.

[bloodybutcher]

Yeah, lately i get into ''gaming slumps'' more often than before.Maybe it comes with getting old o_O

[jc48573]

I do it all the time. I really don't know what is so hard about this.

[kneon]

Anyone that does find this hard really needs to do it anyway because they've got issues if they can't stop for just a week.

[700p]

its actually pretty easy. I nowadays have weeks without actually gaming cus im busy. And im a dedicated gamer.

[Seraphim]

or if you have other hobbies or interests to fill void time. For several years now it was that I hardly gamed. Now I've gotten back into gaming too much. But you hit it on the head. It's actually not hard to abstain from gaming for a week or longer. Assuming you finished that beloved game you're half way through already Lol.

[TheColbertinator]

Don't play games like back in the day. Not many games interest me

[ShaunCameron]

It's actually easier. Especially when there are no games of interest to play.

[Cam977]

Yep definitely easier.
I hardly find the time to play apart from in holidays so I'm used to going 2W without games.

[ziggurcat]

it's really easy when you have other things you need to do.

[MONOLITHICIDE]

Maybe for kids it would be hard. But for myself its pretty easy when you work about 60 hrs a week now that the weather is warming up. Especially trying to play bloodbourne with a mixture of driveclub and zombie army at once!

[KiwiViper85]

168 hours in a week - 60 for work - 56 for sleep = 52 hours left to play games.

There really is no excuse not to.

[Jedislayer]

I've tried this. I did not succeed

[Skankinruby]

My wife insisted i give up gaming as an experiment to see if it helped a sickness i have, i did it cold turkey for about 10 months. Longest 10 months of my life....

[Jedislayer]

It's actually an escape for me playing video games. After stress at work or real life and or crap that is just happening out in the world. I can always rely on a game to just chill and forget about all that.

[Der_Kommandant]

It depends, after a stressful day at work i go to my house to be even more stressful playing Bloodborne lol

[KiwiViper85]

Your still alive so I guess it worked... Yay!

[Spotie]

Between work, my girlfriend, school, writing, and reading, I barely have time to game as it is.

Edit: Yeah, there's some time. Usually at the expense of sleep.

[Jedislayer]

There is always time for gaming!

[KiwiViper85]

A couple times after getting engrossed in a game, Ive checked the clock and thought, should I get 2 hours sleep or just carry on till morning.

Surely 2 hours would make me even more tired.

[KillerPwned]

Everyone should have a life outside of video games but speaking for myself I would hate to be without games. They been apart of me all my life and like many say they really are a relaxing escape even if the game tends to make us mad sometimes. Luckily my girl is also just as big of a gamer as me so it equals out.

We all have our own lifestyles and to us they work.

[Summons75]

You may have some issues your not aware of of you believe that. With everything in my life I'm lucky if I can get in game time. Sometimes I miss the old days of care free school but unfortunately life happens and now I'm looking for anytime to myself.

[OhMyGandhi]

first world problems...

[Kevlar009]

...Dozens of games on Steam and consoles, nothing of interest.

[KillerPwned]

Steam is a hole other problem.

[TheFirstClassic]

I feel like if you can't go one week without playing video games, then you have a pretty bad addiction.

[uGLYmE]

nerds

[bloodybutcher]

And proud of it.

[Der_Kommandant]

I only play like one hour daily because of work, but i play full time on Sundays. Thank God my girlfriend likes video games.

[sevilha82]

I loooooove videogames,i absolutlly adore them ,they are my hobby,passtime and passion,but even them can´t get me away from a sunny day at the beach drinking beer with my closest and oldest friends,and quite honestlly when that happens i hardlly think about videogames anyway,Videogames may be good for the brain,but the quality time(that get´s shorter and shorter as we get older,for several reasons) that we spend with our friends and family are good for the soul and heart.
So yea,in the right conditions i don´t think that spending time way from videogames is that hard really.

Cheers.

[Kingdomcome247]

I work forty plus hours per week on top of taking thirteen hours this semester. I always make room for a little personal gaming time,though. I just recently had carpal tunnel surgery which has postponed my Bloodborne/ Handsome Collection playthrough, but I'll be back at it shortly.If I had to go a couple of weeks without any gaming, it would suck, but it would be very doable.

[theshredded]

meh rarely are there any good games that are worth my money so this is easy for me.I barely played since I got my PS4 until Bloodborne,there are tv shows and anime now which are easy substitutes.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

It isn't hard,the hard part is discovering what else interests you that can fill those hours.
I discovered a thing called Mownten Byeking,good times.

[KryptoniteTail]

Not really. I just have no life so it fills the void.

[Scatpants]

It's not that hard, just get an actual life and stop being a miserable man-child shut in. This is like saying a week without ping-pong is hard f'ing get over it.