Editor's note: I'm sympathetic to Bruno's predicament -- I, too, have trouble finding time for games with long single-player campaigns. I wonder if the answer is in episodic content. Could a developer split up a title like Final Fantasy 13 in such a way? -Rob

I used to love playing Japanese role-playing games. Ten years ago, the likes of Final Fantasies 4, 5, and 6; Chrono Trigger; and Secret of Mana easily held me hostage to the screen. I have fond memories of those times. I was also twelve.

Earlier this month, Kotaku reported that Final Fantasy 13 will be a massive 50- to 60-hour-long game -- my heart sank. I just don't have that kind of time to play games like I did growing up.

The last RPG I completed was Lost Odyssey. A great game: an emotional, though cliché, narrative; top-notch cinematic direction, and classic JRPG gameplay. Lost Odyssey really felt like a return to my younger days when I'd sit in front of the television and carefully select the attacks of my characters. I guess I was a boring kid.

Do you know how long I took to finish this monster of a game? More than 40 hours. But as I said, I'm not 12 anymore -- those 40 hours were spread over a full university summer vacation, from May to September, not over a single weekend.

I work, I write, I study, I read, and I watch movies. I also game, but my opportunities to play are pretty sparse these days. I'm currently at the end of my term, and the only times I get to sit down with a video game is on Thursday, when I'm back at my parents house (assuming I'm not buried under papers).

My brother bought Assassin's Creed 2 on launch day. Most of my friends who did the same finished the game by the end of that week. Three weeks passed and I barely even touched Venice.

This is precisely why I don't play JRPGs (or western RPGs for that matter) anymore. How would I put 50 to 60 hours into one game and still have time to play anything else? What I'm going through happens to a lot of older gamers as other priorities or interests take precedence.

Don't get me wrong, now; I still love video games with a passion. But when it comes to leisure, my play time will go to games which either pique my interest (as Assassin's Creed 2 does because of my enthusiasm for history represented through games) or provide quick satisfaction.

What used to be a major selling point to me -- and many others -- just became a warning. It's not about replay value anymore. It's about whether or not I will get to finish the game.

I'm sorry, Final Fantasy 13, but unless your story touches the subjects of traumatic memories, collective history, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, or actual historical events, I guess I will have to pass and invest my time in writing papers.

And I just noticed the irony of writing this instead.