I've played video games for literally as long as I can remember.  My oldest memory, if it is even actually a memory, is the stack of NES boxes from which we got that first system.  Since then it's been a staple of my habitual activities.  I've gone through every Nintendo system and handheld; I've written reviews and editorials, started a gaming blog, been across various gaming forums, and was even part of creating one at The VG Press.  The weird thing is that I'd usually prefer to be doing something else.

There's only so much you can do on your own, and you have to do something.  I played in a baseball league for 10 years, but outside of such leagues, there isn't much option for sports.  I never was one for many friends or being in groups, and those friends I did have, our common ground was in gaming.  I was put off of books for a long while as I failed to find novels that I enjoyed, and music was never an interest as it was something rather difficult to do privately, and my sister was the musician, and damned if I was ever going to follow in her footsteps growing up.

So twenty years after I got my first taste of gaming, I've found myself in an odd position.  I don't really have all that much extra time that I need to fill, so unless I consciously decide to play something, the time goes right by without a thought.  The community is what brings me here, and will always keep me here.  But after thinking about a birthday list and how games like Super Mario Galaxy 2, Trauma Team, and Fragile Dreams are all in the gaming spectrum on my highly coveted list, in general I really don't need them.

I enjoy reading now far more than ever before.  I am able to play music in silence.  I can learn about any and all subjects online.  I can create online experiences others can enjoy.  And I have, at least digitally, plenty of friends with which to share it all.

I'll continue to enjoy a slow and plodding relationship with gaming, but for the most part I can move on.  I haven't "grown out of gaming" nor have I grown disinterested, or lost the enjoyment therein.  It's always been a crutch, and now I find my sole motivation not to be for my own sake, but for the sake of sharing it with others.  With that then realised, it's best to be direct and say, I'm out.

Naturally, and I did and have.  Obviously I have no problem with gaming.  I just don't have time that I need to fill anymore.

It's a bit odd with pitching actually, since it's completely against my character.  But I guess since I started when I was 8 or so, it just stuck.  Too bad being able to throw things isn't a very transferable skill.