I don't consider it time wasted, but I hate when people try to claim that being skilled at games is useful. I don't buy the whole "hand-eye co-ordination" argument. No, videogaming is one of the most useless hobbies one can possibly have, so I'd never boast about how good I am at a game or how many hours I've pumped into it. However, I wouldn't be ashamed to admit that I'm a gamer and it's one of my main hobbies. If you enjoy it, there's no problem.

Playing games like RPGs can make you smarter. Also there are alot of games that deal with logic and thinking. Video games are not a useless hobby, what is a useless hobby is watching TV and even with that hobby you can learn with the history channel. Playing video games like MGS taught me things about various wars and political issues. Playing RPGs encouraged me to further my education as a kid because I wanted to be able to fully understand the story of the game. Anyway, with out video games I would be some drunken TV watching idiot.

I'm a competitive gamer ( PvP in MMO's, ranked FPS games, Habbo Hotel etc. ) so I'd say communication and teamwork are a side effect. I'd also say some of my reading skills come from all that Morrowind back when I was younger ( ~10-12 ).
I don't think it's a very useful hobby, but I wouldn't say it's useless. I'd also argue that gaming isn't a primary hobby for most gamers. Even in the ultra competitive circles of games, these guys have other major interests.

On my days off I either play games at the moment Dragon Age-Awakening or go to the pub

I am sure I spent a few thousand hours idling in some MMO spinning around.

LOL I can shamefully say so have I.

Thousands and thousands of hours.


How's the pool these days. :shifty:

Closed the last time I was on.

Before I quit WoW, the last day of my subscription, I did a /played one last time. 73 days and some hours on my main character. I had a few others at max level but I didn't play them nearly as long. I quit a couple months before the release of Cataclysm. Some days, I wish I could get that time back. Other days, I want to go back and play more. It was fun while it lasted.

Fallout3. I have about 300 hours into it. New Vegas, I have about 80. Oblivion, around 100. Dragon Age: Origins, about 60. My FPS's (I'll lump them together, starting from Call of Duty 3) about 700 hours (Excluding the FPS's I've already listed.)

I'm a gamer, and I have fun doing it. I can't use the time in any other way, and I have a blast, so it's not wasted.

My name is Jerhicco, and I'm a nerd!

I've barely played anything, bar PES2011, this year. I'm in that "I'm not finding games fun" period again.

This comment is predicated on my personal situation so don't take it as a blanket statement about all those who game. Prior to taking up gaming in 2002 I did spend a lot more time out with friends going to their homes, restaurants, theaters, concerts, etc... I was also a lot more physically active. I have a pretty introspective personality in some ways and gaming makes its all too easy to park in front of my PC for hours on end rather than pushing myself to be "face-to-face" social and active. To be honest, I'm sure I'd be a better person (in my definition of "better") had I never taken up gaming.