Why do girlfriends/wives want you to get rid of your games?

[Einhander]

Have you ever met someone that had to give up their collection because of their wife or girlfriend? A long time ago as a kid, I remember my cousin getting a whole stack of PS1 games and a Playstation from my other cousin's boyfriend. He simply said, ''My girl won't let me keep it, it's gotta go.'' That incident left profound affects on the way I view having games, even though I love to collect for myself.

My friend uses a binder to store his games. He feels guilty for collecting so much, so he just hides his discs away in his binder when he's not playing. Sticks the artwork and cases in his closet. Sometimes I wonder if this is just a side effect of other people's reactions.

Have you ever heard someone call you a ''hoarder?'' I think there are people who do hoard things to an extreme, but I think if you're balanced and it's not affecting your emotions, you're doing okay. If you save money and don't buy games, chances are you'll put it to something else which could be worse than games such as drugs, alcohol, eating out, trips or just things in general that could also be viewed as wasting money.

Back to topic, I am aware that some girls are like this. But if this happens to me, I'm not going to give in. I just am interested in why some girls do this. Is it because they want the guy to pay attention to her more and like her more than the collection? The worst part is when a guy gives in and the next month gets dumped after he already sold his games for her.

[razielleonhart]

no clue but my girl is also a gamer   so my games are safe

[Megatron]

My wife absolutely hates video games.  In all of their forms.  She has begun to accept the Wii...for Just Dance...that's about it.
I'm lucky to where my wife is a therapist (like me) so we have a very open understanding of things...but when we were dating, and when we got married, I made it very clear...don't ask me to choose, because you won't like the answer.  Now I never SAID that, of course, I'm not that stupid.  But the message was there.

To some people this is just a hobby.  To others, it is a way of life.  For some, it's how the make a living.  I think it's all in how you identify yourself.  To some, it isn't that big of a deal to give this up.  There are things I could let go.  If my wife suddenly had a problem with MasterChef, I could probably walk away from that.

And to wear the other shoe, to ask someone or make someone stop doing something they enjoy because he or she doesn't like it, well we have a word for them in the therapy world.  They're an asshole.

[Jeff]

And to wear the other shoe, to ask someone or make someone stop doing something they enjoy because he or she doesn't like it, well we have a word for them in the therapy world.  They're an asshole.

Quoting for emphasis. If she gets upset over you playing games then there will probably be more problems like this that aren't related to gaming.

My last girlfriend wasn't a gamer, but she at least tried to play a few games with me. We had an understanding that I like videogames and she likes her girly anime and chick flicks. She also collected DVDs, so collecting games wasn't an issue either.

[FritzWhite]

I remember reading a craigslist post once from some guy selling off all of his PS1 rpgs. His collection was nice. He wrote about how it was time for him to fully begin his adult life and to leave behind the childish things of his youth that were preventing him from fully realizing his potential as a man. The way that the post read was that he very much was going to miss the games, but had been talked into, (by someone else like a girlfriend, wife, or parent) and accepted that, to be a man, he must leave the games behind.

In a way, this can be true for some people who struggle finding the proper balance in their life. There is a guy on this other forum I frequent that brags about having put so many thousands of hours into one of his favorite games, but has never had a girlfriend and is in his 30s. He claims to have a bad back and no luck on dating sites, but still, there has to be a healthier more productive way to spend your time than sitting in front of a screen for the vast majority of the day. Don't we all have to maintain a balance in this regard? Online stuff can be fun, but there lots of other good things in life too. I get cranky if I don't get enough exercise.

My dad has tried to talk me into giving up videogames for years. He acts like I'm still being a kid being into this stuff. I don't care at this point. If I had to let go of it all tomorrow, I could. My world wouldn't be upside down and I think that's important. I like games, but it's just stuff. As long as your hobbies don't own you and define you as a person essentially then you're good. If this is what you live for and all that you care about then I guess you're not hurting anyone and I hope it makes you happy, but I can't believe that it would be enough to satisfy a human. We're meant to experience and enjoy more than just digital pleasures, we need a balance between work, sleep, food, family, sex, games, and physical activity.

Yes, my girlfriend is cool with it. She knows I like the games. I just make sure to aggressively remind her that I like her too.

[e_brugal]

well, thanks God my wife likes video games too, not as a collector but as a player, so, i don't have that problem with her. i just ask her if she wants to play and there is two anwers, yes or not now. 

[wiggy]

Yeah, screw that shiz.  My wife is FAR from a gamer, but she sure as hell doesn't try and take that away from me.

[palmer6strings]

Ya my GF doesn't have a problem that I'm a player or collector.

[sheep2001]

I just make sure to aggressively remind her that I like her too.

erm.....that sounds very wrong! lol 

[wilybird]

i think it depends on how you or your other half were raised.
my wife was raised w/ a very strict and responsible man as her father, who has very strong opinions about what's acceptable past time and isn't afraid to tell you 20 times in a day (hardly an exaggeration). however, i believe that stems from the daddy issues he had where his father didn't believe that his son was his, so my father in law worked extremely hard for his father's approval, and from the tender age of 8 started working in the fields (ouch), so to him video games were unacceptable, because of the case of how he was raised/accepted where he didn't have free time cuz he was worked so hard. this translated down to my wife to a certain extent (lesser extent fortunately) and coupled w/ my moms fantastic story of my video game addiction (even though i sold all my stuff for wedding money) she really doesn't want games in the house.
ya kinda sucks. buy i'm still planning on going for old school (well, mid-late 80's anyway) for my 4 year old son, so i'm still gonna get him an NES w/ all those great games, later a GBA starting on GB and GBC games and we'll see from there.

anyhow, i think we need to get some girls to comment on this collumn, have some insight into how other girls think from a girl gamer perspective....

[aaron-hagel]

My wife is more or less indifferent to my collecting of games.  She doesn't care that I collect them, but on the other hand she doesn't like the fact that the games take up space in a small home.  She knows that I like to collect games and on occasion play them, she doesn't care as long as the bills are paid and she and the children are taken care of.

[romevi]

Funny; I had a discussion about this with my wife the other day.

I don't have as impressive a collection as many on here, but they do take up a bookcase. Right now I'm so busy that I limit my gaming time to a few hours a week; specifically, an hour on each day of the weekend (Friday included).
I forget what exactly my wife and I were talking about, but in the end she stated, "Before I dated you I didn't know grown men play video games. But now I know a lot of men play games." I have a lot of friends with whom I play vidya (is that term allowed here?), and so she's kind of gotten used to it.

Still, she's not bothered by the fact that I play video games--so long as I get the important stuff around the house and finances out of the way first.

The most she's played with me is a couple of races of Mario Kart Wii, as well as Super Mario Bros. and Sonic. She grew up with three brothers and they played Genesis a lot as kids, so that's about all she'll play.

[segamer]

I've never had a girlfriend in my life that wanted me to get rid of my games. However, if I did, I'd just get a new girlfriend.

[quickfingers818]

I've never had a girlfriend in my life that wanted me to get rid of my games. However, if I did, I'd just get a new girlfriend.

exactly. why would you wanna be with a girl that doesn't want you to be happy? If games make you happy and she actually cares about you, it shouldn't bother her that you're into video games.

[Moviefan2k4]

I think it would depend on WHY she wanted me to get rid of my games. If she felt that I was placing my games ahead of her, I'd also want to know why she felt that way. In the end, I highly doubt such conflicts are about the games themselves. That discussion's just a symptom; treat the source and both people should be fine.