Married with young kids and playing GT5? Please share your thoughts here.

[V12Engine]

Heh dude wait until she get older, you will loose your xbox and stop play or your wife demand a divorce and more money. Why people wants to have kids when they know that Gran Turismo is coming out soon? it's kind of a stupid idea.

Loose your xbox when you are planning to set up a family. Sooner or later it's comes to that.

 

[chippy]

Heh dude wait until she get older, you will loose your xbox and stop play or your wife demand a divorce and more money. Why people wants to have kids when they know that Gran Turismo is coming out soon? it's kind of a stupid idea.

Loose your xbox when you are planning to set up a family. Sooner or later it's comes to that.

Dude, you mentioned the word 'xbox' 129 times in your post. I think you're in the wrong thread.

Oh, and I hope you were joking when you wrote about being stupid for wanting kids whilst knowing that GT5 is coming out. It's either that or you're 12 or something.

 

[RoadRunner99]

Guys, I am in the club.
Happily married with two lovely little daughters.
I bought the PS3 2 years ago waiting for GT5. Besides GT5 I just have Uncharted 1&2 and Assassin Creed 1&2. I bought burnout paradise and gave it 5 minutes... I suppose one can be an arcade or a simulator kind of player.

I have the man cave with a 720p projector and a G27.
I love the game, unfortunately I don't have much time to play it. I would say 7 hours/week as an average (A-SPEC).
I often move the PS3 from the cave to grind some pts/credits with B-Spec.

I like the B-Spec, it's an alternative way to enjoy the beauty of GT5. Especially if you don't have a lot of spare time.
I think they should think about a better way to improve your B-spec level. For now it is just a matter to leave your PS3 on during the night...

Having a F1 car to grind points is a good thing but, if I think a little bit more, is a little bit no sense in certain races.
I suppose they could try to give you more points when you win with a less powered car....

It's a great game in my opinion and for me it's more than a game. The bad thing is that to be a real good driver you need to spend a lot of hours in driving, tuning and so on... Time is not on my side for the moment...

Regarding the title of this nice thread please mind my signature...

 

[Jashmid]

Hi guys

Not married... yet...

But I can see the perspective

Still long working ours, another hobby (slot cars), girlfriend to attend...

Well, I play mainly at weekends in the mornings and sometimes at a bit at night, long races take 2 or 3 days sometimes. So, my B-Spec is more advanced in the game then me... The worst part for me is that is impossible to pause the game in B-Spec mode, it was hard winning Indy 500 in B-Spec, the solution was watch a movie at the same time with an eye in my B-tards ;D

Exactly in the same boat as you. Except for one thing: Our PS3 also happens to be the centre of our home entertainment system. So we'll have to watch the God awful UK Christmas TV. Seriously, Jim Carrey's Grinch has been on for the fourth consecrative day!

 

[Sugar Horse]

Heh dude wait until she get older, you will loose your xbox and stop play or your wife demand a divorce and more money. Why people wants to have kids when they know that Gran Turismo is coming out soon? it's kind of a stupid idea.

Loose your xbox when you are planning to set up a family. Sooner or later it's comes to that.

You sound really bitter. If you would seriously postpone starting a family cause a video game was coming out then you need to seriously grow up. 👍 Real life happens dude and is always more important than the game. Luckily most people can find a happy compromise between their work/family responsibilities and their leisure time.

 

[gee_sp0t]

... I bought the PS3 2 years ago waiting for GT5. ... I bought burnout paradise and gave it 5 minutes... I have the man cave with a ... G27.

Same, same, same here.

I loved burnout revenge on the original xbox, I sold Paradise 2 days after I bought it. I don't actually own any other games for my PS3s, they both are primarily media players and now I use the basement PS3 for my GT5 machine.

 

[narf_44]

No way! That's my story too, 29 yrs old, two kids, and the only time I get to play is Friday and Saturday night, and an occasional 1/2hr here or there, which we all know is realistically only one race after you start up, change your car, and wait the 5 mins for the PS3 to start up!!

 

[Kumaclimber]

I am 25 live with my gf and 2 year old son. I have a but of a strange shift at work so I get home at like 7:45. My gran turismo/me time comes after my gf puts our son to sleep at like 9:30. It's supposed to be us time but she never makes it and ends up going to sleep. I get to let bob grind away while cleaning the house after a full day of hurricane 2 yearold, and once thats done it's a-spec time. Unfortunatly I don't get to pull out my dfgt because by then it's not worth setting up . So that has to wait till he goes to his real dads for the weekend, it gives me time to stay sane dealing with a stressful job and home. I do sometimes take it a little too far and only get 3 hours of sleep. I gotta tell you a 2 yearold is a fantastic alarm clock and no snooze button either. That's how I do it.

This is good to see and tells me I am not the only one that has to sneak in play time lol...

And to the op add me if you want an x2010 s.vettle you deserve it for starting a great thread that has real depth to it

 

[Fastphil96]

I'm 32 with a girlfriend who has 2 daughters, age 6 and 4. I work 10 days on, 4 days off, and I usually get at least one of those 4 days all to myself to do whatever I want at home (read: play GT5) while the GF is at work. A few weeks ago I let the girls have a stab at GT5. The younger one is still too young to figure it out, but the older one loves it! Not to say that she's good at it, but it's a start. I generally don't play when the GF is home because we have lots of other things to keep us occupied.

 

[Agent75]

i'm 35, married with a 1 year old daughter. I stay at home and look after our daughter whilst my wife works full time. I try to squeeze GT5 time in where possible but it's way easier to set Bob off and do housework. Level 26 A spec and 28 B spec. I really want a wheel but not sure I can justify one with no income of my own and limited playing time.

 

[sid77]

Guys, I am in the club.
Happily married with two lovely little daughters.
I bought the PS3 2 years ago waiting for GT5. Besides GT5 I just have Uncharted 1&2 and Assassin Creed 1&2. I bought burnout paradise and gave it 5 minutes... I suppose one can be an arcade or a simulator kind of player.

I have the man cave with a 720p projector and a G27.
I love the game, unfortunately I don't have much time to play it. I would say 7 hours/week as an average (A-SPEC).
I often move the PS3 from the cave to grind some pts/credits with B-Spec.

I like the B-Spec, it's an alternative way to enjoy the beauty of GT5. Especially if you don't have a lot of spare time.
I think they should think about a better way to improve your B-spec level. For now it is just a matter to leave your PS3 on during the night...

Having a F1 car to grind points is a good thing but, if I think a little bit more, is a little bit no sense in certain races.
I suppose they could try to give you more points when you win with a less powered car....

It's a great game in my opinion and for me it's more than a game. The bad thing is that to be a real good driver you need to spend a lot of hours in driving, tuning and so on... Time is not on my side for the moment...

Regarding the title of this nice thread please mind my signature...

Hahaha man cave!? I love that turn of phrase. I posted about my situation a few pages back but I only live in a 2 bed end terrace atm. Space is a premium thats for sure. Looking to move house in the next 2 years though and a "man cave" is exactly what I want! Either the 3rd bedroom or a converted garage will do nicely.

 

[kjb]

Glad to see this thread is still going strong. I just got my son to sleep and my wife is off doing her own thing so its go time

 

[jswilli1]

I'm 38 with a wife and four kids, planned on 3 but got the 2 for 1 deal (twins). I now have 3 PS'3 and we can all play something different, or play something online together! We juggle our gaming time between school, scouts, sports, etc. My wife actively participates when we play Bad Company 2, so watch out for her on the Battlefield! Now if I can just get her on the Track I will have it made!

 

[tazmanuk]

hello all

i am 37 years old with a 4 year old. manage to play most days and love it!!

 

[Minardi]

This sounds all so familiar ! Great to read all these posts. I am almos 40, 2 kids (4 &7), married. I agreed one PS3 evening /week (after the kids are sleeping) and try to sneak in some extra time in the weekend, late at night, or when the wife goes to bed early. With some other hobbies too and some very good other games, my progress on GT5 is very slow. Good to read I am not alone. Let's hope we get more time when the kids grow up, somehow doubt It...

 

[addyb]

Hi all!
1st post on here!

In regards to this topic I'm 34 in feb, married and have a 14mth old girl. I don't do bad gaming wise. I recently just bought a wheelstand pro and a dfgt for gt5 and generally anytime after 9:30pm mon-fri the worlds my gaming oyster!

By this time my girl and wife are in bed so I set my stand up and have a session. I don't do this every night though. I mix it up between watching films or reading, depends on what mood I'm in. Saturday has Been my main b spec day at the moment as my wife works so I have my little girl all day and if were not out and about visiting we play at home and I can kick off the odd race whilst enertaining my child!

Think I'm lvl 16 a spec and lvl 10 b spec. Loving the game so far, especially the seasonal events.
Been a recent lurker on the site and thought it best I join so I can contribute.

 

[sfrench]

Great thread
I am 43 been a GT gamer since the early days. Married with 3 boys an eleven year old and twin 8 yr olds. Just got a DFGT and they all want to use it. Only the 11 yr old has and won at his second go. Have a good set up, get home from work help get dinner ready kids to bed about 8:00, 8:30 the missus settles in for TV. I have the PS3 hooked up to the PC monitor which is also in the living room so can play and not be isolated from my wife. Normally get a couple of hours in of an evening might play late on a Friday night. Don't play much when the kids are up.

 

[JeffF]

29, married, we have a 4 year old and another due in may.......our PS3 is in use ALOT.....wife has ps move and a few games,,, little guy likes to play the move, as well as it's our blueray/dvd player in the living room so all his movies are on there.....I really don't get to play much until he goes to bed.......but thats still lots for me....when he's awake I'd rather spend my time with my boy and my wife then playing games anyway.

 

[xXDoc187Xx]

Im 27 with 3 kids 2 girls 7&9 and my son 1 1/2 i work seasonal so i got alot of time n my hands,my girls are off to school by 7am and my son sleeps in to about 10-11am
which leaves me alot of time for GT5 in the morning then from 3pm to when ever my gf deals with them lol

 

[WWR-Basher]

Hello fellow fathers or fathers to be!

I am 38, father of 4, run my own business and like you all cherish the time I get on GT5.

We started a group called G.B.R.C to find like minded mature racers who simply have to juggle their personal lives around online gaming.

We now have over 100 members who are clean sensible drivers and are in similar positions to you all with young families.

Check out the group section here if you want to find some clean online racing when you find the time!

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/group.php?groupid=227

Look forward to racing with you

 

[MowTin]

Off topic.
Kids nowadays are so lucky with the next gen consoles and lcd tv's to play it on.
i was playing a NES on a Amstrad television back in the days.

So true. When I was a kid I envied my friend who owned one of the first game systems with *gasp* PONG.

Imagine being a kid today with all this multi-player, setting up matches with schoolmates. Must be awesome.

On topic: I used to sneak gametime on weekdays when my wife fell asleep and on weekend when she went out shopping.

 

[Minardi]

Kids nowadays are so lucky with the next gen consoles and lcd tv's to play it on.

I guess this is food for another topic, as I don't agree. I really can't see the gaming experience has become more intense these days than back than. COMMODORE 64, MSX, ATARI ST, JAGUAR. Great memories, great gaming time with friends, all in the same room instead of on line. Sure, graphics etc. are phenomenal these days, but since the 400 m. dash on Decathlon I never had to put more into It to win I love my old game collection, and play It every now and than, for good times sake.

Back on topic.

 

[gee_sp0t]

Is there a dads league being setup? Any info posted yet anywhere?

 

[speedy_2]

I'm in the same boat at the OP, but with a 20 month old and a 2 month old. I probably average a little less than an hour a day, because sometimes I got 2 or 3 days without playing. This is also the reason I can't stand most of the younger crowd complaining how hard the game is or how hard it is to gain XP and credits. lol

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I wondered when you would make an appearance. Digital Nitrate is on hiatus (technically, on vacation in Colorado) and Neal is having another at this moment (hopefully). That left you as the only other frequently active father-gamer I interact with on here.

Popped in to GTP land for a quick update and did a quick search among my friends posts, and saw this thread.

Hmmm... maybe there should be a GT5 Online Playdate Group for our kids...


My kids are 6 and 8, but have not yet played GT5. In terms of racing games I suspect it will be hard to get them interested in GT5. It's not that they don't enjoy racing games, in fact they have a fun time playing MotorStorm and really love ModNation Racers, especially when it comes to creating crazy tracks, mods, and karts... but these are very different kinds of racing games than GT5.

That said, once I can build up a decent garage of interesting cars and museum cards, I hope to use GT5 as a fun way of sharing my interest in classic cars with the kids and teaching them some of the technical and engineering differences between different cars and how those differences impact each car's performance.

 

[nik99]

I'm 38 and, like many, I get an hour or two at the end of the day, and an odd hour or two here and there over the weekends for some 'me' time which mainly I spend playing GT5.

I have a 15 year old step-daughter, who I have occasionally found racing a Mini (wins handily), and a 6 year old son, who used to only race 'Bublebee', but became obsessed with obtaining a 2J the weekend before last (call it the 'box-car'). He saw a picture of it from mygranturismo.net and had to check the UCD after every race (He knew it was white so he checked every car that had a white paint chip).
We found the 2J on Saturday, so I let him buy it, set it up (+tires, +aids) in a race for him and let him have at it. He seemed to have the car under control, so I went about doing the things you've got to do around the house. After about an hour I came back and found he was in practice mode. Still very excited, he handed me the controller and told me that I "had to try this car."

 

[pgagoober]

I usually get a couple hours in after my 4 year old daughter goes to sleep. The problem is I should really be getting some sleep myself as she wakes me up no later than 6am each day. A few times she has sat beside me with encouraging words like "You can do it Daddy!". It doesn't get much better than that When she gets a little older I'm sure some console driving lessons will be in order

 

[PF]

I'm 34 with an 18mth old son and 12yo stepson. The older boy has single handedly got me up to lvl 26 B-Spec. I get about 3 hrs per week to play and have limped to lvl 26 A-Spec.

The young lad is in the phase of mimicking everything, so he'll crawl onto the chair, fling the wheel around violently while yelling at the TV screen and frantically changing gears. Just like his dad.

 

[Calais02]

I'm 31 with a 13mth Son and another one of the way, been playing GT since the beginning. I only use a DS3, and have an old broken one for the little fella - after a a minute or so he realises his isn't working and comes after mine though

 

[Patrocles]

I am a 32 year-old happily married husband and a dad of a 1 year old adorable girl. I also happen to be an avid Gran Turismo player, have been so since GT1. I arrive home from work every evening at around 6:30pm after which I spend like an hour or so playing with my daughter and feed her dinner. At around 8:00ish we put her in bed and my wife stays with her until she sleeps. The latter process usually takes around half an hour or so and it is only during this time that I get like half an hour of ‘me time’, which I, admittedly, happily spend on GT5.

Obviously, half an hour later, once my daughter is fast asleep, my husband duties come into play, and promptly (not always) I turn off my ps3 and and go to have dinner and watch a movie or TV with my wife. Notwithstanding all this, with an average of one hour a day of play time (weekends included), I somehow managed to reach A-Spec level 20 and B-Spec level 14 but at this rate there is no way I can ever reach level 40, get myself an X2010 or take part in an endurance race anytime soon, if ever.

I am not complaining, mind you, not at all – as much as I love my hobby, I am fully appreciative of the fact that the intrinsic satisfaction of being an active father and husband significantly supersedes the short-lived, albeit huge fun derived from GT5, or any great game for that matter. The reason why I opened this thread is to see whether there are others in a similar situation out there who would like to share their thoughts and/or useful time management tips. Fire away guys!

Not as a parent, but as a workaholic, I must say that I feel your pain.

So much grind in this game!