I've been playing video games for over 20 years, and while my time to play them has diminished, my enjoyment of the medium and interest in the industry still goes strong.
I started with an NES at 7, which basically glued me to Nintendo consoles and games. For the most part, Miyamoto's work sculpted my interests. That is, Mario games hooked me on platformers, Zelda games determined the type of adventures I enjoyed, etc. Pajitov's Tetris blew my mind and gave me an affinity for anything with falling pieces. And finally, a friend introduced me to RPGs in my freshman year of high school, starting with Secret of Mana. By the end of the year, I'd devoured it, Earthbound, Final Fantasy VI, Chronotrigger and Super Mario RPG.
Overall, my interests aren't too different from others with a similiar gaming history or introduction. This does pain me though in that it seems the industry in general no longer significantly caters to gamers like me. The hottest genres are all those which I don't care for: sports, racing, "urban" sandbox, and shooters (both first- and third-person). I know the kind of games I like are still being made, but I recognize they no longer define the industry as they had in the past.
Games I look forward to now include A Boy and His Blob (gorgeous!), Metroid: Other M (striking!), The Last Guardian (need a PS3!), Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (still need to play Partners in Time!), and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (such a long wait!). In the meantime, though, even with my kind of games only coming around every once in a while, my limited playtime has left me very behind, so I'll always have something to play. . .whenever I peel myself off of World of Warcraft, that is.
(Quick note: Wii owners without Boom Blox. . .play it now! Rented it last weekend; will likely buy the sequel soon.)
