Are Games Getting Too Long?

We all agree that when we sit down and play an RPG or Adventure game, we want to be occupied by a storyline that gradually unfolds over several hours of great game play. But, do we really want an RPG to last 30 to 60 hours? That’s a little long don’t you think? For me, I think the length of Super Nintendo games like Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger were the perfect length an adventure game should be. I get my joy out of beating the games I love over and over again doing better each time, not beating them once and not having the desire to do so again because they were so long. Now that some games are 30 hours or more, I’m a little apprehensive to do so even if I really liked the game. Realistically speaking, we all have lives outside of gaming, at least I would like to think so, and we don’t have such huge amounts of our time to dedicate to a single game. I want to beat it, play something else, and then come back and beat it again and do better. Or, when a game is short, but particularly brilliant like Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, I beat it four times in a row in succession in different modes of difficulty unlocking all of its hidden abilities. You know, this kind of thing. It’s fun! Games are supposed to be fun and not a chore! To make a long story short, developers, PLEASE keep the length of your great games under 30 hours, AT LEAST. Although some of these very long games are great games, we don’t need to drudge through them. There are so many games to play and so little time.