I believe we're all creative people, who enjoy immersion into someone else's creations.
There are social reasons to play video games, whether it is to play with them or just have something to talk about. The video game community is also a real thing, meeting people in life, and gaining respect through knowledge and experience in games. A couple of times I've met people who are into video games, and I've been able to talk about games like 'Ocarina of Time' with them, which also gave me credit as a gamer. Sometimes we like to keep up on the latest games, so we can maintain that credit as a gamer, but this is also where gaming takes a wrong turn for me.
At the time when I was playing, say... 'Ocarina of Time' I wasn't playing to be able to talk about it. I was playing because I found it really imaginative, and a great manipulation of what great stories can be told through the medium of video games. I despise what gaming has become to most people these days.
World of Warcraft... Call of Duty... The people who play these day, after day, aren't doing it right. They don't get a new experience, they don't push their imaginations.
This isn't me just complaining about the fact my credibility as a gamer has gone downhill because I haven't got a level 60 Tauren, or that I haven't gotten a 5 kill-death ratio on Black Ops. Although, that disappoints me as well.
I'm glad they're still making games like Mass Effect, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. I can still sort of maintain my credibility through these games, but unfortunately, it's not sustainable enough.
I will be replaying these games many times throughout my life, as I can return to them with the same creative enthusiasm as I had when I first played them. As people leave Black Ops for the newest installment, I'll be able to go back to Final Fantasy VIII and not be offended by the old graphics.