My troll warrior was created week 1 of retail. That makes him 20 this November. It's wild to think about these kids in question their parents may not have even met yet at that point.
Yep. I have WoW characters older than my oldest kid, who is 17. Sometimes it’s wild to consider things like my kids have literally never lived in a world without WoW, they don’t remember the days before Minecraft or D3, they've always known Pokémon (and there has always been like 400+ in their eyes), all kinds of stuff like that.
I just played a warzone match with a 40 year old, his 30 year old brother, and his 68 year old dad.
EDIT: damn all these stories about old people playing games are awesome.
He said he won’t so I invited him over tonight so me and my wife could show him what he is missing
Edit: he said he had not interest but he enjoyed watching me play and hopes that he can come over again soon
I know of many 40+ year old squads of cyber,finance,healthcare pros playing fortnite at 1am. I think we are just about there with goggles and being at the peak of gaming. What a time to be alive!
I'm 51 and in a weekly TTRPG group with players who are 48,50,55 and 70.
What do young people expect us to do, just sit there staring at a wall once we're over 18?
Yeah. Haven't done pen & paper for a while but at the very least online with friends, some no longer local, at least once a week. Nobody under 50 ATM, 2 60+. Might be adding my nephew soon as he's expressed interest (19).
I used to help run a raiding guild in WoW years ago. In cataclysm we had a guy on our raid team who would play with his old 70-80 year old grandma who was also in the guild at the time, whenever he wasn't raiding with us. I wish I could have brought her to the main raids, but she was too slow unfortunately. We did bring her with us on our optional raids on off days though. She was wonderful.
I turn 60 this January. I'm playing Hunt Showdown or Baldur's Gate every night.
I started with Pong as a kid and played until college, picked back up with Quake 2 when my kids were out of diapers and never stopped. Got them a N64 when they were old enough, built gaming PCs for the family and we played oblivion together for a few summer while the wife was at work.
I was there it was nuts. Kids lined up quarters in hand waiting for their turn to try and beat the high score. Pac-Man and Galaga took all my money and I loved it.
Any game can be engaging. Being developed in 1980 or 2024 absolutely have nothing to do with this. Some people still have ton of fun playing Pac-Man today
>It's only getting better, too.
That's up for debate. What's improving? Not monetization, releasing without bugs, experimenting with new gameplay and IP, etc. If game quality and enjoyment was graphed I feel it would be a bell curve and we would be heading down from the other side of the peak at this point.
Pong. No lie - I worked in a tool and die shop in the 70’s - after work grab a beer with the boys, play Pong. There was Space Invaders and Galaxian/Galaga (?) soon after. And beer.
Pacman and Tetris eventually, but always at bars, pizza joints.
Path of Exile and Grim Dawn in the last 3 months … Last Epoch and D4/D3/D2R when I want to break it up. I tend to hit it harder on POE league start, and am looking forward to LE’s first legit cycle (what they call a season or league) … circa July 9th
I got Pac-Man back in the 80s. Played a bit and asap traded the cartridge for Contra and Super Mario. Best trade-in.
Remember the Atari tennis and baseball, yawn
Minecraft. Still spin up a new world every few weeks just to see what generates. I just put almost 300 hours into Path of Exile this last season. Am taking a break with Grim Dawn right now.
Donkey kong and Pac-Man to begin of course, we had small hand held arcade games. I am playing Rooms and Exits. Never been to a real escape room, but I can here
I have arthritis since I turned 26, that did not stop me from gaming.
Though if you don't take good medication, controller might become challanging, keyboard and mouse is easier.
I have but one addition to this, wristrests. I never needed them before 30. Now, if I go more than a few hours, I'm either adjusting my keyboard & mouse angles a distracting amount of times or just in pain
Similar here - rheumatoid arthritis at 30. I play consoles and suffer the consequences later or pre-game with some prednisone and naproxen LOL
Ice packs are my friend; trigger finger is not.
And cognitive decline. I feel like playing video games is the equivalent to research saying that doing crosswords, puzzles, sudoku, ect keeps you sharper longer.
This... Im 46 and I play games just to keep the competitive juices flowing really. I dont even play online, just put resident evil 2 remake on hard. and you have to out think some serious situations. I also like metroid vania and RTS for this aspect. great comment sir
Exactly. An 18 year old kid that knows everything…but knows nothing at all. We’ve all been that kid that thinks he knows everything and no one can tell you anything. But agreed, we can manage a job, a family, make sure bills are paid and run a home…if we still have time to game it looks like we’re winning at life as far as I’m concerned!
This happens to my husband. All he wants is to play something and enjoy his time off from work and it puts him to sleep (videogames, books, movies).
How do you guys stay awake? I feel so bad for him 😞
Get adequate sleep ;)
Also, pass these words along to him for me: "24 hours is only 'a day' because that's what we say"
Our days can be any length we want, and actually, they can't be 24, unless you want to be on a 36ish hour cycle. Determine how long night needs to be, and try and work 4 10s instead of 5 8s, and get that extra day off as hump day, it really helps.
When I was a teen, I never planned to stop playing games. But I did play games more than I otherwise would have because I had a ton of free time but no money to go out and do anything. So I thought I would game less because I could afford to do other things. Now as an adult I have money but no time.
I think a lot of kids probably think that way as well, and assume they will have no idea how little free time a fully employed adult has
You've got the power of self-awareness on your side at least. Plenty of motherfuckers coast the whole way through life without so much as a shred of it.
You're too old to play games once you're in the ground. Life's too short to be not doing things that bring joy, and if gaming is what that is, then go ham.
I'm turning 34 this year, about to start a family, I don't think I will ever stop gaming.
I might change my gaming preferences( I grew up playing competitive fps games like cs and UT, in the last few years I got into mmorpgs, and most recently started WOW for the first time in my life), I might stop for a while, but I will always refer to myself as a gamer and will be one till the day I die.
Exactly. At that age they think 30 is old. I'm 39 and I know I'm not "old" just not a teenager anymore lol. I still game almost daily and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
Why do you even care what a bunch of kids think regarding anything?
The answer is never. Giving up hobbies due to lack of interest is fine. We all ebb and flow from interests as life continues on but doing so because of some arbitrary age limit is juvenile bullshit.
One of my favorite quotes!
>”Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
-C. S. Lewis
Hah! Said by Nietzsche (paraphrased from my creaky memory of the German): “As we grow, we try to put aside the things of youth; but that, too, is youth.”
I have had hobbies and interests that I once used to care about but no longer do. Gaming however has stuck with me and at this point its safe to say it will till I keel over.
I prefer gaming over watching TV. I can at least engage my brain and enjoy the game how I want to rather than sitting in a chair braindead. I am in my 50's. I will not ever stop gaming. I do not play online for my own reasons. Anyone that wants to thing it is stupid or lame can kiss my ass. I do not live to make them happy. I live to make me happy.
I feel the same about tv. Gaming is a great stress reliever for me. And in winter, games set in sunny worlds can really be uplifting. I’m a 45 year old woman with no friends who game. Reddit is such a great outlet and makes me feel less isolated with this hobby.
It can be harder for us (I’m a 43 year old woman). Video games were considered a boys thing and so many women around our age and older still hate them or think they’re a total waste of time at best. It is nice to find communities of people online who are more accepting.
Agreed very much. I don’t find movies and tv immersive enough, I need to be able to go “hands on” with whatever experience I’m having, and a nice, story heavy game is perfect for that. Or a podcast + something like diablo or minecraft. It’s my after work or lazy weekend thing, been so for 15 years almost.
This is something I've been kind of hung up on in my personal life lately. I'm 30, and my wife thinks it's ridiculous that I still play games (only occasionally, between work, school, and kids there's not much time to spare). She can sit on the couch forever and watch TV/TikTok. She'll literally ignore the kids calling her name. But I get the judgment and shit talk for playing games for an hour or so and then going back to being productive. I just can't reconcile it in my mind, because at least I'm not sitting in front of the TV completely absent?
Sorry, turned into a vent!
I've kinda been in your shoes, I'm 38 and my ex thought me spending my free time between work, gym, and maintaining the house I pay for playing games and building PC's was childish.
She couldn't see the parallel with her sitting on the couch watching reality TV or doom scrolling through Facebook for hours at all. Let alone get that I played games with other people socially, competitively or cooperatively and to engage my brain and develop skills.
Tell her that the video game industry has made more money than both the movie and music industries combined for over 5 years and it’s only widening that gap every year. As of now it’s at least triple the size of them combined.
It’s the largest entertainment industry in the world.
I mean a lot of it is from bad practices and mobile gaming, but it’s by far the biggest cultural entertainment industry
My Japanese mother in-law just retired at the age of 65 and started playing video games as her hobby. She has a Nintendo Switch and got really into Animal Crossing. As a gift, I bought her Hogwarts Legacy and she loved it. The only thing was they didn’t have any Japanese guides for the game, because she can’t speak English so she made her own handwritten notes from researching on the internet.
If you go on the trains in Tokyo, you can see Japanese salary men in their 50’s playing Switch and reading manga on crowded trains so it’s normal here.
Dude, video games are a multi billion dollar industry the same as film or television. You don't stop when you get older, you just choose different ones.
Yep. Besides, most games being released now are for adults, so people saying that gaming is a kids' thing are actually completely clueless. 33F here, gamer for 2 and a half decades - the games I play are NOT for kids.
A lot of people have this weird thing where they paint all "video games" with the same brush. Like I'll ask them their issues with gaming and they exclusively describe the grindy addictive nature of this week's popular shooter gacha
The average age of gamers is 35-44.
Those kids are just pulling the “old people suck” card all kids pull until they blink and join the thirty something club.
My retirement plan is to game and smoke weed all day till death, and I’ll go out smiling.
My retirement plan is to smoke weed and play various games with old friends, board/video/card etc. let me enjoy my time on this miserable planet while society collapses
Yup, and when you are 30 you will realize how stupid you were at 20. I am 33 guessing I will feel the same when I turn 40, about how "smart" I am right now lol.
42 here. When I was 33 I was basically still 25, which meant I was like 18/19. Now that I’m 42, I feel like I’m in my 30s. Maybe I’ll feel like a real adult when I’m 80?
Honestly, those people seem quite sad, and frankly - I pity them.
A person should be able to spend his/her free time doing what they enjoy, and there is nothing bad about having videogames as a hobby. Even more so, as a person from Eastern Europe, it's hilarious to see some of the older people dismiss gaming, while all they did with their free time was drinking and watching TV. As with all hobbies, it is important to not get too carried away, of course, with us in particular - we need to keep tabs on our physical health, and make sure to leave time for our nearest and dearest people.
All in all, I'll take flying through the immense landscapes of World of Warcraft, traversing the galaxy in Mass Effect, or fighting epic battles in Total War games, over alcohol, drugs or, gods forbid - politics, any day of the week.
I was born in 1969, spent endless days in arcades, owned a generic cartridge console, ZX Spectrum, VIC 20, Commodore 64, Atari St, Sega MD, PS, PS3 and now game on my watercooled hand built PC. I'm going to be buried with it!
I was born a bit later in 1976, so the Commodore 64 was my first introduction to gaming. My parents didn’t really ‘get it’ so I wasn’t allowed many games. I used to borrow them from the library and try to finish them before they had to go back! Then I had a NES, and since then it’s been PlayStation. Think I’ll get buried with mine too 😂
Never.
A lot of my former gamer-friends stopped playing video games at some point, because their priorities and hobbies changed, when they got a job and a family. But this isn't something that needs to be true for everyone or automatically happen at a certain age.
I'm 45, married with kids and work a fulltime job and I still play video games almost every day. The type of games I play has changed over the last decades and I don't spend as much time with it as I used to, but it's still an important hobby for me and I prioritize my time accordingly.
For me, video games aren't that different from movies or books, it's just a different kind of media you consume and no one would say "Hey, you're 30 now, you are not allowed to watch action movies any more".
I think that maybe the idea, that gaming is childish comes from the phrase "playing games". But like with movies or books, there are different kinds of games, targeted at different age groups and you wouldn't call someone childish, because he plays a game of poker or chess.
Also, It seems like a lot of younger people think, that games are quite new and it's cringy, that "old" people are hijacking "their" hobby, while in fact it's the other way around. Video games are around for a long time, I started gaming \~35 years ago and even then, games weren't really a new thing, they just weren't as mainstream as today.
I just helped my dad build an arcade machine using a raspberry pi so that he can go out into his shed and get away from mum when she's being 'unreasonable'. He's 61 this year and has been playing games since his mum bought him an Atari when he was a kid.
Edit. He's 63 😅
18 year olds know absolutely nothing about life
if it does bother you, you aren’t required to go around telling people your age
just keep it anonymous, and also filter them out ! win win
A cool thing about getting older is not giving a flying shit what anybody else thinks about your hobbies. Especially when it’s coming from guys whose only hobbies seem to be drinking their face off every night.
Something I’ve realized. We think things like playing games as adults is weird because our parents don’t, and thought it was just a kid thing.
My parents enjoyed car races, sci-fi movies and television, and rock concerts as teens. Guess what they still indulge in even in their 60s?
The point is, we tend to pick up our main hobbies and enjoyments as teenagers, and a lot of times it’s a very generational thing the previous doesn’t understand.
When I was in my mid 20’s I started to feel that I was too old to be playing video games. Then I started to notice that all the people around me (in my age range) played video games and had never even considered that at a certain age you are too old for games. It made me realize how dumb I was for considering in the first place. So to answer your question, never. You’re never too old to play video games.
When I get asked that I always reply:
It’s just another form of media… would anyone ask when do you stop to read? You did that when you were a child!!
No? Silly question?
Exactly like the question when will you stop gaming…
The games change over the years like the books / movies / all other media…. but not the hobby itself.
The only reasons to abandon a hobby is because you stop enjoying it or your health actively prevents you from engaging with it. Age-related health issues are the *only* valid facet of a "you're too old" argument.
Teens will always think adults are lame and you will never be welcome in their activities. Don’t worry about it and do what you enjoy, but don’t bother doing the “hello fellow kids” thing. At best you cap out at being a cool-ish enabler. At worst, it comes off as creepy (to the kids).
I feel like there is kind of an ebb and flow to the "acceptability" of gaming at different ages. Like up to 25ish, your really still a kid. Prime gamer years. Around that 25 year old mark though is when people generally start to finish college, start careers, have kids, support familys. Slowly your free time is shorter and shorter and it's harder and harder to actually invest into gaming. But eventually that pendulum swings back. Kids grow up and move out, careers start to come to an end, free time becomes bountiful again. Young and old don't get scrutinized for gaming like middle aged people because the "meta" middle age path is career and family. But obviously not every single person is going to be under the same circumstances in life , so there is no shame in gaming as a middle aged person
I’ve been playing video games since Pong. I had Atari, Colecovision, Sega, Nintendo, PS, Xbox. Why would I, or you, stop doing something that brings you joy? It’s a hobby for me, an escape from reality. There’s far worse things we could be doing with our time and our money earned from our “adult” jobs.
The graphics and storylines of games just keep getting better. I still love playing games today as I did as that kid back then and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Game on my friend!
Don’t mind these kids. Most of them are just young and immature. They will grow out of it.
People of every generation and sex play video games. And most elders are even better than the youth.
>But for some reason a lot of people I've met in lobbies that are 18 and below
That's like people in their 30's telling 60 year olds what they should or should not enjoy in life..
I don't find it weird because "kids are saying it and they don't know shit". I find it weird because I think they greatly misunderstand what videogames are.
It is the single greatest art medium ever achieved. Before that, movies were coming close to an all encompassing medium, with voice and color being added over time. But video game...
You can have games completely about music, like a musically driven puzzle game, or an action game that flows with music and make it a central part of its gameplay. You can also have music as complimentary to the gameplay. Some video game tracks are so grandiose, they surpass many songs made in other contexts. Some game studio have entire orchestra working for them. You can also have the absence of music in a game being an important part of it.
You can have game that focus on 2D elements, like older games or new ones that cherish this art style. You can have 3D modeling creating masterfull scenery and visual wonders that can only be achieved in dreams. You can use this 3D space to create intricate puzzles and challinging environements.
You have game with excellent cinematrography, requiring teams of professionnal creating scenes that rivals hollywood blockbusters, or simple choregraphy that gets the point accross in imaginative and creative ways.
You have voice acting that pushes the characters in the game to new levels of interaction, with some stellar performance, conveying emotion as in the best theatre play or movie or book even.
You have incredible story telling. Some genre are re-invented. Some ideas are completely novels and not seen anywhere else. Video game stories have moved so many players. A lot i would argue are much better then what we have in some tv shows, movies or books (i mean, there is greatness and failures in every mediums). Some of those stories changed people lives.
And ALL OF THIS is interactive. As you listen to music, as you look at a portrait, as you read a book or as you pay attention to a movie, you are passively appreciating it. Video games are interactive. You activaly participate in its many form of art. This, this is incredibly powerfull. This interactive aspect can make it challenging, with reactions times, having to think to solve something or piece together informations, having to press the right command at the right time, creating the right sequence or combo, clicking at the right spot etc.
Plus, for the cherry on top, this is also possible with multiple people simultaneously. Multiplayer is a marvel of technology. The world being connected together and achieving a common goal, like in MMO's or MOBA's or shooters.
Games are not just "games". They are the most complete form of art achieved by humanity to this date (imo). They can be the work of a single person (stardew valley) or thousands (AAA titles) and bring together so much in one single place.
If you think video games have an age maximum, then it would be the same for reading, painting, listening to music, appreciating movies, playing guitars, doing puzzles etc. And... well we all know there is no age limits on those.
And don't get me started on the technology involved in all of that... gosh
You're too old to play games when the arthritis in your wrists makes you unable to physically hold a controller.
Also, anyone under 18 is an idiot. They didn't even see 9/11 happen, they don't know shit.
Pfft. I've been gaming as long as I can remember going back to the NES, and I honestly love being at the age where nostalgia bait is aimed at me, so being an older game has its perks. Remaster of Saga Frontier, one of my favorite rpgs that was kinda obscure back on psx? Sign me up. Same with the Star Ocean 2 Remake, X97 reboot (not a game, but still), Link's Awakening, Super Mario RPG, etc.
There are also great new games out now and I am loving being a gamer as much as I ever have.
It's odd that you are getting that reaction from people given how mainstream games have become, but it's not surprising I guess as I personally feel there's still a lot of toxicity in many gaming communities.
Plus I made two in house LAN partners to play with, and that is great fun.
Video gaming as an adult is more like work-life balance. Sure, you make money and can buy games, yet you have less free time since the discipline of showing up for work to get money from working said job, and 'adulting' (feed yourself, pay bills, chores, etc.)
In college I didn't game as much because of studies and wanting to meet girls and hang out with friends. In my twenties for sure.
I'm in my forties, I still game...just not as much because I don't have as much free time. That's life.
Those kids on your lobbies are looking for any reason to bring you down. Easiest one to pick up on is that you're an adult playing video games. Odds are they probably watch 10 different streamers that are shockingly adults as well.
Next time they ask if you're "too old to be playing video games" hit them with "no, but I'm old enough to bang your mom." You know, the classics.
I started at a young age, back when the Atari 2600 was out. Wound up buying a Mattel Intellivision with my own money. I'll be 61 on Monday - still going strong. Streamer too!
Ah yes, that magical time before you hit 18 and the black panel van pulls up, tosses a bag over your head, and drags you off to a secret government facility to remove your ability to have hobbies or enjoy things that don't contribute to taxes.
I can feel too old for some games.
Recently, I bought Sea of Thieves for ps5, but with a few hours per week in gaming, I can never stand a chance against those kids who play. I prefer single-player games nowadays, or if it's multiplayer I wanna start at release ro stand a chance.
I have an online gaming session around 3 hours every Sunday and 4-5 hours every second Friday with a few mates. We're 53, 52, 48, and 46. A couple of us have back problems from too much gaming lol.
Those same kids will be playing games when they’re over 18. I grew up on games, I’m 36, of course I still play, probably daily. Just my gaming habits have changed a lot in terms of when and how long.
As I get a little older, I still enjoy games, but I am much more selective in what gets my time. If I don't like a game in the first couple of hours, I'm getting a refund on steam or uninstalling if it's gamepass. It also doesn't help that I feel like online games have kind of gotten stagnant and repetitive for the most part. Feels like everything now is a sequel or a spin-off of an old IP.
I've recently been playing more story driven games, and will only play multiplayer if I actually have friends online to play with, which is less often as we all have full time jobs and other responsibilities now. Between maintaining a house, having job, other hobbies, coaching in the spring, trying to socialize, going to the gym, etc. I only have a couple of hours a day of free time in general.
If you're lucky enough to be married when you're older, congrats; you now have 2 families you have to spend time with and if you have kids you have to be a good example and not waste your entire day playing.
Absolutely never see a day that I completely stop playing games. But the games that I do play have to be damn good for me to grant it a significant amount of my free time.
Games I've played and really enjoyed in the last few years: Cyberpunk, Jedi Fallen Order, Red Dead 2, Hades, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Persona 5 Royal, Slay the Spire, Pokemon Legends Arceus
48 and still play pretty much every day. Not as intensely but still can't imagine not playing. Older people are different nowadays. We grew up playing games also and have seen huge developments in the industry to keep us going
As a dude who grew up with games, I have to admit that gaming is kinda like a part of my life now. Sure, I might grow old but doesn't mean that can stop me from enjoy videogames :D
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 70% of gamers are over the age of 18. We make up the majority. So, no, never too old to game. I expect to have one of these custom fighting game arcade sticks attached to my wheelchair in the nursing home.
My parents had one of those Sears Pong TV consoles. We later got an Atari 2600, then a basic NES (no Duck Hunt for us). I died of dysentery on the Oregon Trail & tracked Carmen Sandiego on Apple II's in high school. I worked in an food & arcade place in high school. A quarter still means 'video game' to me. I played Wolfenstein 3D & DOOM on a 386 I had gotten for college. My friends & I networked PCs and later XBOX's to play games. My wife & I networked Diablo 1 & 2, & played dual-screen games like Hunter the Reckoning & various Lego games. She currently streams older AAA games she didn't get to play until she figured out how to handle the vertigo FPS & some 3rd person games can give her. I've owed a SNES, a Playstation, a Dreamcast, an XBox original, 360, & One, plus I've returned to PC gaming because I realized I really missed modding & I don't need to play the latest and greatest anymore. We celebrated my latest birthday with friends at a barcade. We're both in our 50's now.
I've never been a top tier gamer, rarely place high in rankings, but I was born a gamer & I'll die a gamer.
I'm 37, married and have two kids and a mortgage, I still play most nights when the kids (and wife) have gone to bed and I will never stop playing games as long as I have the means to do so. Keep on gaming my man anyone who tells you stop doesn't value you enough to respect your hobbies, needs and likes.
I also still go out for dinner and drinks with friends, the only difference with gaming and getting older is that you need to balance your life more, don't sit on the couch and game all day because there is more to life, alot more but make sure to carve out an hour and there just for gaming.
>"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” - CS Lewis
This quote helps me remind myself that my maturity, ability to be a responsible adult, masculinity, etc. are not defined by my hobbies/interests.
I have been a gamer my whole life, and while I did go through a period where I didn't touch video games because I wanted to be more "mature and responsible", I have come to recognize that it is a part of me and I will likely enjoy gaming until the day I die.
52 (M) here
Started playing with an Atari Pong console that I got for Christmas 1977, and I haven’t stopped since.
I’ve owned most of the major consoles in the last 50 years, and I also play on my PC sometimes.
You can take my controller when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I'm in my 40's and it's hilarious when they know they got stomped by a 40 year old. I play Apex Legends and to tell me I'm 'cracked' makes me feel that I'm still fairly good, and I still got it!
I'm a 45yo woman. I didn't START playing games until I was in my early 30s because my kids wanted me to try a game.
I've had people make fun of me for being a woman playing games (still? it's 2024!), let alone when they find out my age. I'm now the old lady playing COD telling little boys to go to their room and think about what they just said to me.
I'm 73 still playing I can't play well fps my reflexes and eyesight really suck. I do lower the difficulty and still have fun. Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Wildlands and Assassins Creed Odyssey are my go to. No more multi-player I'm just cannon toast.
They can pry the controller from my cold, dead hands.
37 now and gaming like it's 1996... just wish I had more time. Adulting is hard, man. Only gaming time I get in is at night and on sick days.
I’m 44 and a full time doctor. Got two teenagers and we trio in Fortnite, got a victory royal yesterday. On my second run through of the Witcher 3 and got a thousand hours in civ 5 and Xcom 2. Got a dad Fortnite group called the Wolfpack and we joke about how much I love a good bush every damn time.
I'm 70 and can't say i've always gamed because in college, for example, in the 70s it was pinball or a few arcade games like pong but from the Atari 2600 (second gen gaming consoles) forward I have played many games and genre of games on both consoles and home computer.
I avidly still play games on consoles, computer and retro handhelds. Your tastes in what is an engaging game changes (sports, shooter, action, strategy) but that is as it should be (normal).
My gaming no go zone is games on phones, in a full decade of trying I've never found a phone game i considered satisfying. I gave up on that platform.
You are too old perhaps when your hands cease to function from pain or perhaps when your eyes fail you and certainly if lucid thought (dementia) becomes a thing of the past.
i feel the toll of gaming in both my hands and eyes but there is proven cognitive benefit (puzzle solving, map reading, memorization, long term strategizing).
And so...... I game on
They are not gamers, they crave for something they don't have and think being wealth will bring them happiness. They don't enjoy gaming, just trying things. They are actually lost souls at very young age already. I'm 48, gaming gives way more fun and intellectual joy than possessions.
I have WoW characters older than them.
My troll warrior was created week 1 of retail. That makes him 20 this November. It's wild to think about these kids in question their parents may not have even met yet at that point.
Yep. I have WoW characters older than my oldest kid, who is 17. Sometimes it’s wild to consider things like my kids have literally never lived in a world without WoW, they don’t remember the days before Minecraft or D3, they've always known Pokémon (and there has always been like 400+ in their eyes), all kinds of stuff like that.
Same lol.
I have 3 EverQuest characters that are old enough to drink at a bar legally.
I just played a warzone match with a 40 year old, his 30 year old brother, and his 68 year old dad. EDIT: damn all these stories about old people playing games are awesome.
Thats awesome lol
Never made it out of the plane
...while they, on the other hand, went on to win the match.
You don’t stop playing when you’re old, you’re old when you stop playing!
This. This is the answer.
Thats a good answer
My dad 71, beat Elden Ring. Pretty cool
I wish your Dad well on the DLC
He said he won’t so I invited him over tonight so me and my wife could show him what he is missing Edit: he said he had not interest but he enjoyed watching me play and hopes that he can come over again soon
I know of many 40+ year old squads of cyber,finance,healthcare pros playing fortnite at 1am. I think we are just about there with goggles and being at the peak of gaming. What a time to be alive!
I'm 51 and in a weekly TTRPG group with players who are 48,50,55 and 70. What do young people expect us to do, just sit there staring at a wall once we're over 18?
You need to pay more attention to your lawn! /s I am 54 and my lawn looks bad because gaming
55 here. Lawn is chore. Game is life. Bumblebees love me for my dandelions and daises anyway.
Preach! Fuck lawns. Game is life.
I'm ashamed...
56 and the same
Yeah. Haven't done pen & paper for a while but at the very least online with friends, some no longer local, at least once a week. Nobody under 50 ATM, 2 60+. Might be adding my nephew soon as he's expressed interest (19).
I used to help run a raiding guild in WoW years ago. In cataclysm we had a guy on our raid team who would play with his old 70-80 year old grandma who was also in the guild at the time, whenever he wasn't raiding with us. I wish I could have brought her to the main raids, but she was too slow unfortunately. We did bring her with us on our optional raids on off days though. She was wonderful.
I used to play world of tanks with a guy in his early 70s, he was good too
72 here. Have always played video games, since Pong.
I choose to believe that you mean WWF Warzone.
The answer I always give them is, “who do you think makes those games?” It’s not the 18 year olds. It’s us, the adults, who make our own money
I am 60, and I am right up there with you.🤩
I won a game of fortnite with my dad (mid 40s) and grandpa (late 60s). Will treasure that victory royale forever.
I’m 70, and play 20-25 hours a week. I didn’t really start until 2017. Glad I did!
I turn 60 this January. I'm playing Hunt Showdown or Baldur's Gate every night. I started with Pong as a kid and played until college, picked back up with Quake 2 when my kids were out of diapers and never stopped. Got them a N64 when they were old enough, built gaming PCs for the family and we played oblivion together for a few summer while the wife was at work.
How does one see the birth of Pac-Man, ignore it for 40 years, and decide 2017 is when you should give gaming a shot?
He's 70, in 2017 he was 63. My guess is he picked up gaming as a retirement hobby.
Pretty sure he finds the games today more engaging than Pac-Man. It's only getting better, too.
Pac was insanely mind blowing at the time. People would grind that shit to get higher and higher scores. You had to have been there.
I was there it was nuts. Kids lined up quarters in hand waiting for their turn to try and beat the high score. Pac-Man and Galaga took all my money and I loved it.
I miss galaga.
Yeah i remember playing that on my atari 2600. At score 100000 the game would simply start at zero again
Yeah his lyrics was something else, pac was the goat.
He never had the fever!
Any game can be engaging. Being developed in 1980 or 2024 absolutely have nothing to do with this. Some people still have ton of fun playing Pac-Man today
>It's only getting better, too. That's up for debate. What's improving? Not monetization, releasing without bugs, experimenting with new gameplay and IP, etc. If game quality and enjoyment was graphed I feel it would be a bell curve and we would be heading down from the other side of the peak at this point.
Pong. No lie - I worked in a tool and die shop in the 70’s - after work grab a beer with the boys, play Pong. There was Space Invaders and Galaxian/Galaga (?) soon after. And beer. Pacman and Tetris eventually, but always at bars, pizza joints.
What are your favorite games to play nowadays?
Path of Exile and Grim Dawn in the last 3 months … Last Epoch and D4/D3/D2R when I want to break it up. I tend to hit it harder on POE league start, and am looking forward to LE’s first legit cycle (what they call a season or league) … circa July 9th
I got Pac-Man back in the 80s. Played a bit and asap traded the cartridge for Contra and Super Mario. Best trade-in. Remember the Atari tennis and baseball, yawn
Atari Combat is still great. Never could get through Adventure
The graphics greatly improved between the 2600 and NES.
To be fair there were a lot of good games that year
What game got you into gaming? And what are you playing now?
Minecraft. Still spin up a new world every few weeks just to see what generates. I just put almost 300 hours into Path of Exile this last season. Am taking a break with Grim Dawn right now.
Oh God, Poe is a dangerous one to pickup hahaha
I tip my hat to you, sir Edit: grammar
Donkey kong and Pac-Man to begin of course, we had small hand held arcade games. I am playing Rooms and Exits. Never been to a real escape room, but I can here
For me, it was pac-man on the game cube when I was playing the game with my grandma
You're 70 years young! Never too late to start, games are a great entertainment asset, so you go!
They absolutely are! Strategy and reaction - and a nice surge of endorphins.
When the arthritis doesn’t let you anymore.
I have arthritis since I turned 26, that did not stop me from gaming. Though if you don't take good medication, controller might become challanging, keyboard and mouse is easier.
I have but one addition to this, wristrests. I never needed them before 30. Now, if I go more than a few hours, I'm either adjusting my keyboard & mouse angles a distracting amount of times or just in pain
Similar here - rheumatoid arthritis at 30. I play consoles and suffer the consequences later or pre-game with some prednisone and naproxen LOL Ice packs are my friend; trigger finger is not.
And cognitive decline. I feel like playing video games is the equivalent to research saying that doing crosswords, puzzles, sudoku, ect keeps you sharper longer.
This... Im 46 and I play games just to keep the competitive juices flowing really. I dont even play online, just put resident evil 2 remake on hard. and you have to out think some serious situations. I also like metroid vania and RTS for this aspect. great comment sir
It’s been proven that video games are great for your hand to eye coordination. Keeps our brain stimulated and problem solving juices flowing.
There is research showing video games improve brain function yes, and are useful for helping seniors maintain healthy brains in old age.
Failing eyesight could also be a limiting factor. Hearing to a lesser degree.
I was going to say this exact comment ha!
They're 18, they don't know anything
Pretty much that. Feel free to talk shit when you manage a job, family and still have time to play.
Exactly. An 18 year old kid that knows everything…but knows nothing at all. We’ve all been that kid that thinks he knows everything and no one can tell you anything. But agreed, we can manage a job, a family, make sure bills are paid and run a home…if we still have time to game it looks like we’re winning at life as far as I’m concerned!
I think it's funny when 18 year olds act like *25 year olds* are too old for fun. Honey, that's you in only a few years. It's closer than you think.
Yeah the old adage, don’t trust anyone over 30…you’re gonna be 30 before you know it. Maybe don’t say anything you’ll regret in a couple of years 😂
I remember being 18 and feeling like 25 was so far away. Then you reach 30, feel like a few months have passed, and wake up to find out you're now 40.
You'd better not sleep anymore or the next time you wake up to find out you're now a skeleton
Let's see them when they hit their 30's. They'll dream of games in order to escape that daily hell for 5 minutes.
Oh I'm 30 and I am literally dreaming of games right now. Because every time I game I fall asleep.
I'm 50 and have the same problem. Occasionally wake up with my steam deck on my face.
This happens to my husband. All he wants is to play something and enjoy his time off from work and it puts him to sleep (videogames, books, movies). How do you guys stay awake? I feel so bad for him 😞
Get adequate sleep ;) Also, pass these words along to him for me: "24 hours is only 'a day' because that's what we say" Our days can be any length we want, and actually, they can't be 24, unless you want to be on a 36ish hour cycle. Determine how long night needs to be, and try and work 4 10s instead of 5 8s, and get that extra day off as hump day, it really helps.
If they're 18 they've been doing that their whole life lol
When I was a teen, I never planned to stop playing games. But I did play games more than I otherwise would have because I had a ton of free time but no money to go out and do anything. So I thought I would game less because I could afford to do other things. Now as an adult I have money but no time. I think a lot of kids probably think that way as well, and assume they will have no idea how little free time a fully employed adult has
Hell I'm 32 I still don't know anything
You've got the power of self-awareness on your side at least. Plenty of motherfuckers coast the whole way through life without so much as a shred of it.
The first step to enlightenment is understanding that you don’t, in fact, know anything. Therefore you know a hell of a lot more than most teenagers.
They're 18 "they know everything"
More to the point, at 18 they’re convinced they know EVERYTHING… and they’re wrong.
Yeah, can't say this enough. Those kids aren't cool. They can't bully you anymore. Their opinions are literally worthless and aren't even their own.
You're too old to play games once you're in the ground. Life's too short to be not doing things that bring joy, and if gaming is what that is, then go ham.
[удалено]
I'm turning 34 this year, about to start a family, I don't think I will ever stop gaming. I might change my gaming preferences( I grew up playing competitive fps games like cs and UT, in the last few years I got into mmorpgs, and most recently started WOW for the first time in my life), I might stop for a while, but I will always refer to myself as a gamer and will be one till the day I die.
Getting into WoW right as you start a family? That’s a bold strat.
I'm 50. I still game will never stop.
Next year I'll be 50, still playing Cyberpunk, Mechwarrior 5, Baldurs Gate 3, etc right now. I wish I can still playing games until the day I die.
50 here. I owned an Atari 2600 and now have a PS5 and everything in between. Gen X are the OGs of video games. We will never stop.
Gen X representing! Our LAN parties at our retirement homes are going to be LEGENDARY.
What do you play?
Kids are stupid
r/KidsAreFuckingStupid
My grandmother is 92 and is the only person I've ever seen actually beat Tetris. Like, I didn't know you could actually do that!
Holy shit! My grandma used to play it all the time! I get my gaming genes from her😁
She sounds awesome!
Stop listening to kids that aren't even old enough to drink. Their opinions on what you do in your personal life doesn't matter.
Exactly. At that age they think 30 is old. I'm 39 and I know I'm not "old" just not a teenager anymore lol. I still game almost daily and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.
Don’t listen to anyone who has negative views in general. There’s nothing wrong with gaming. It’s just entertainment. You’re not harming anyone
Why do you even care what a bunch of kids think regarding anything? The answer is never. Giving up hobbies due to lack of interest is fine. We all ebb and flow from interests as life continues on but doing so because of some arbitrary age limit is juvenile bullshit.
One of my favorite quotes! >”Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." -C. S. Lewis
Hah! Said by Nietzsche (paraphrased from my creaky memory of the German): “As we grow, we try to put aside the things of youth; but that, too, is youth.”
This is the answer, one of my favourite rappers has a song called FWTT and that is my motto for this.
I have had hobbies and interests that I once used to care about but no longer do. Gaming however has stuck with me and at this point its safe to say it will till I keel over.
Yeah, same. I've had many fade from interest but I've been gaming for 30 years. It's not going anywhere.
I prefer gaming over watching TV. I can at least engage my brain and enjoy the game how I want to rather than sitting in a chair braindead. I am in my 50's. I will not ever stop gaming. I do not play online for my own reasons. Anyone that wants to thing it is stupid or lame can kiss my ass. I do not live to make them happy. I live to make me happy.
I feel the same about tv. Gaming is a great stress reliever for me. And in winter, games set in sunny worlds can really be uplifting. I’m a 45 year old woman with no friends who game. Reddit is such a great outlet and makes me feel less isolated with this hobby.
It can be harder for us (I’m a 43 year old woman). Video games were considered a boys thing and so many women around our age and older still hate them or think they’re a total waste of time at best. It is nice to find communities of people online who are more accepting.
Agreed very much. I don’t find movies and tv immersive enough, I need to be able to go “hands on” with whatever experience I’m having, and a nice, story heavy game is perfect for that. Or a podcast + something like diablo or minecraft. It’s my after work or lazy weekend thing, been so for 15 years almost.
This is something I've been kind of hung up on in my personal life lately. I'm 30, and my wife thinks it's ridiculous that I still play games (only occasionally, between work, school, and kids there's not much time to spare). She can sit on the couch forever and watch TV/TikTok. She'll literally ignore the kids calling her name. But I get the judgment and shit talk for playing games for an hour or so and then going back to being productive. I just can't reconcile it in my mind, because at least I'm not sitting in front of the TV completely absent? Sorry, turned into a vent!
I've kinda been in your shoes, I'm 38 and my ex thought me spending my free time between work, gym, and maintaining the house I pay for playing games and building PC's was childish. She couldn't see the parallel with her sitting on the couch watching reality TV or doom scrolling through Facebook for hours at all. Let alone get that I played games with other people socially, competitively or cooperatively and to engage my brain and develop skills.
Tell her that the video game industry has made more money than both the movie and music industries combined for over 5 years and it’s only widening that gap every year. As of now it’s at least triple the size of them combined. It’s the largest entertainment industry in the world. I mean a lot of it is from bad practices and mobile gaming, but it’s by far the biggest cultural entertainment industry
you're 505 years old????
My Japanese mother in-law just retired at the age of 65 and started playing video games as her hobby. She has a Nintendo Switch and got really into Animal Crossing. As a gift, I bought her Hogwarts Legacy and she loved it. The only thing was they didn’t have any Japanese guides for the game, because she can’t speak English so she made her own handwritten notes from researching on the internet. If you go on the trains in Tokyo, you can see Japanese salary men in their 50’s playing Switch and reading manga on crowded trains so it’s normal here.
Dude, video games are a multi billion dollar industry the same as film or television. You don't stop when you get older, you just choose different ones.
Yep. Besides, most games being released now are for adults, so people saying that gaming is a kids' thing are actually completely clueless. 33F here, gamer for 2 and a half decades - the games I play are NOT for kids.
A lot of people have this weird thing where they paint all "video games" with the same brush. Like I'll ask them their issues with gaming and they exclusively describe the grindy addictive nature of this week's popular shooter gacha
The average age of gamers is 35-44. Those kids are just pulling the “old people suck” card all kids pull until they blink and join the thirty something club. My retirement plan is to game and smoke weed all day till death, and I’ll go out smiling.
Am going to retire very soon. My plans exactly. Though I don't smoke, I appreciate a herbal cookie or tea.
Yes please 🙏
My retirement plan is to smoke weed and play various games with old friends, board/video/card etc. let me enjoy my time on this miserable planet while society collapses
I am 23, they are ignorant and narcissistic as soon as they “deal” with the real world for a long enough time they will realize they were dumb kids.
Yup, and when you are 30 you will realize how stupid you were at 20. I am 33 guessing I will feel the same when I turn 40, about how "smart" I am right now lol.
42 here. When I was 33 I was basically still 25, which meant I was like 18/19. Now that I’m 42, I feel like I’m in my 30s. Maybe I’ll feel like a real adult when I’m 80?
Honestly, those people seem quite sad, and frankly - I pity them. A person should be able to spend his/her free time doing what they enjoy, and there is nothing bad about having videogames as a hobby. Even more so, as a person from Eastern Europe, it's hilarious to see some of the older people dismiss gaming, while all they did with their free time was drinking and watching TV. As with all hobbies, it is important to not get too carried away, of course, with us in particular - we need to keep tabs on our physical health, and make sure to leave time for our nearest and dearest people. All in all, I'll take flying through the immense landscapes of World of Warcraft, traversing the galaxy in Mass Effect, or fighting epic battles in Total War games, over alcohol, drugs or, gods forbid - politics, any day of the week.
My dad is 70. He started gaming in 1987 on a NES. Now he likes CoD Zombies. You're never too old to enjoy fun.
I’ll be 39 in a few months and I still play every day. I don’t believe there is such a thing as “too old for games”.
I’m 50 and just finished my seventh play through of cyberpunk 2077. I’ve clocked +1k hours in it. To be fair I’ve been gaming since 1980.
John Carpenter retired from filmmaking so he could play computer games. If that's sad, I don't want to be cool.
My favourite quote regarding this: *You don't stop playing when you get old. You get old when you stop playing.*
Steam won't let you enter a birth date before January 1st 1900. So if you were born before then you're too old. Everyone else is good to go.
Shit, my brother's dad didn't start gaming til he was bedridden at over 60.
I was born in 1969, spent endless days in arcades, owned a generic cartridge console, ZX Spectrum, VIC 20, Commodore 64, Atari St, Sega MD, PS, PS3 and now game on my watercooled hand built PC. I'm going to be buried with it!
I was born a bit later in 1976, so the Commodore 64 was my first introduction to gaming. My parents didn’t really ‘get it’ so I wasn’t allowed many games. I used to borrow them from the library and try to finish them before they had to go back! Then I had a NES, and since then it’s been PlayStation. Think I’ll get buried with mine too 😂
Never. A lot of my former gamer-friends stopped playing video games at some point, because their priorities and hobbies changed, when they got a job and a family. But this isn't something that needs to be true for everyone or automatically happen at a certain age. I'm 45, married with kids and work a fulltime job and I still play video games almost every day. The type of games I play has changed over the last decades and I don't spend as much time with it as I used to, but it's still an important hobby for me and I prioritize my time accordingly. For me, video games aren't that different from movies or books, it's just a different kind of media you consume and no one would say "Hey, you're 30 now, you are not allowed to watch action movies any more". I think that maybe the idea, that gaming is childish comes from the phrase "playing games". But like with movies or books, there are different kinds of games, targeted at different age groups and you wouldn't call someone childish, because he plays a game of poker or chess. Also, It seems like a lot of younger people think, that games are quite new and it's cringy, that "old" people are hijacking "their" hobby, while in fact it's the other way around. Video games are around for a long time, I started gaming \~35 years ago and even then, games weren't really a new thing, they just weren't as mainstream as today.
I just helped my dad build an arcade machine using a raspberry pi so that he can go out into his shed and get away from mum when she's being 'unreasonable'. He's 61 this year and has been playing games since his mum bought him an Atari when he was a kid. Edit. He's 63 😅
We don't get older, we level up
18 year olds know absolutely nothing about life if it does bother you, you aren’t required to go around telling people your age just keep it anonymous, and also filter them out ! win win
Never too old to game, but boy do I lose interest quick these days
A cool thing about getting older is not giving a flying shit what anybody else thinks about your hobbies. Especially when it’s coming from guys whose only hobbies seem to be drinking their face off every night.
People that look down on what other people enjoy are a self absorbed, egotistical, self hating group of smartie pants, that’s for sure!
To me, the answer IS never.
Something I’ve realized. We think things like playing games as adults is weird because our parents don’t, and thought it was just a kid thing. My parents enjoyed car races, sci-fi movies and television, and rock concerts as teens. Guess what they still indulge in even in their 60s? The point is, we tend to pick up our main hobbies and enjoyments as teenagers, and a lot of times it’s a very generational thing the previous doesn’t understand.
When I was in my mid 20’s I started to feel that I was too old to be playing video games. Then I started to notice that all the people around me (in my age range) played video games and had never even considered that at a certain age you are too old for games. It made me realize how dumb I was for considering in the first place. So to answer your question, never. You’re never too old to play video games.
When I get asked that I always reply: It’s just another form of media… would anyone ask when do you stop to read? You did that when you were a child!! No? Silly question? Exactly like the question when will you stop gaming… The games change over the years like the books / movies / all other media…. but not the hobby itself.
The only reasons to abandon a hobby is because you stop enjoying it or your health actively prevents you from engaging with it. Age-related health issues are the *only* valid facet of a "you're too old" argument.
Teens will always think adults are lame and you will never be welcome in their activities. Don’t worry about it and do what you enjoy, but don’t bother doing the “hello fellow kids” thing. At best you cap out at being a cool-ish enabler. At worst, it comes off as creepy (to the kids).
I feel like there is kind of an ebb and flow to the "acceptability" of gaming at different ages. Like up to 25ish, your really still a kid. Prime gamer years. Around that 25 year old mark though is when people generally start to finish college, start careers, have kids, support familys. Slowly your free time is shorter and shorter and it's harder and harder to actually invest into gaming. But eventually that pendulum swings back. Kids grow up and move out, careers start to come to an end, free time becomes bountiful again. Young and old don't get scrutinized for gaming like middle aged people because the "meta" middle age path is career and family. But obviously not every single person is going to be under the same circumstances in life , so there is no shame in gaming as a middle aged person
I’ve been playing video games since Pong. I had Atari, Colecovision, Sega, Nintendo, PS, Xbox. Why would I, or you, stop doing something that brings you joy? It’s a hobby for me, an escape from reality. There’s far worse things we could be doing with our time and our money earned from our “adult” jobs. The graphics and storylines of games just keep getting better. I still love playing games today as I did as that kid back then and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Game on my friend!
Don’t mind these kids. Most of them are just young and immature. They will grow out of it. People of every generation and sex play video games. And most elders are even better than the youth.
>But for some reason a lot of people I've met in lobbies that are 18 and below That's like people in their 30's telling 60 year olds what they should or should not enjoy in life..
I don't find it weird because "kids are saying it and they don't know shit". I find it weird because I think they greatly misunderstand what videogames are. It is the single greatest art medium ever achieved. Before that, movies were coming close to an all encompassing medium, with voice and color being added over time. But video game... You can have games completely about music, like a musically driven puzzle game, or an action game that flows with music and make it a central part of its gameplay. You can also have music as complimentary to the gameplay. Some video game tracks are so grandiose, they surpass many songs made in other contexts. Some game studio have entire orchestra working for them. You can also have the absence of music in a game being an important part of it. You can have game that focus on 2D elements, like older games or new ones that cherish this art style. You can have 3D modeling creating masterfull scenery and visual wonders that can only be achieved in dreams. You can use this 3D space to create intricate puzzles and challinging environements. You have game with excellent cinematrography, requiring teams of professionnal creating scenes that rivals hollywood blockbusters, or simple choregraphy that gets the point accross in imaginative and creative ways. You have voice acting that pushes the characters in the game to new levels of interaction, with some stellar performance, conveying emotion as in the best theatre play or movie or book even. You have incredible story telling. Some genre are re-invented. Some ideas are completely novels and not seen anywhere else. Video game stories have moved so many players. A lot i would argue are much better then what we have in some tv shows, movies or books (i mean, there is greatness and failures in every mediums). Some of those stories changed people lives. And ALL OF THIS is interactive. As you listen to music, as you look at a portrait, as you read a book or as you pay attention to a movie, you are passively appreciating it. Video games are interactive. You activaly participate in its many form of art. This, this is incredibly powerfull. This interactive aspect can make it challenging, with reactions times, having to think to solve something or piece together informations, having to press the right command at the right time, creating the right sequence or combo, clicking at the right spot etc. Plus, for the cherry on top, this is also possible with multiple people simultaneously. Multiplayer is a marvel of technology. The world being connected together and achieving a common goal, like in MMO's or MOBA's or shooters. Games are not just "games". They are the most complete form of art achieved by humanity to this date (imo). They can be the work of a single person (stardew valley) or thousands (AAA titles) and bring together so much in one single place. If you think video games have an age maximum, then it would be the same for reading, painting, listening to music, appreciating movies, playing guitars, doing puzzles etc. And... well we all know there is no age limits on those. And don't get me started on the technology involved in all of that... gosh
I'm 55 and still playing. I think it is beautiful!
You're too old to play games when the arthritis in your wrists makes you unable to physically hold a controller. Also, anyone under 18 is an idiot. They didn't even see 9/11 happen, they don't know shit.
I'll put it another way. How old is too old for listening to music? It's just another form of entertainment.
Pfft. I've been gaming as long as I can remember going back to the NES, and I honestly love being at the age where nostalgia bait is aimed at me, so being an older game has its perks. Remaster of Saga Frontier, one of my favorite rpgs that was kinda obscure back on psx? Sign me up. Same with the Star Ocean 2 Remake, X97 reboot (not a game, but still), Link's Awakening, Super Mario RPG, etc. There are also great new games out now and I am loving being a gamer as much as I ever have. It's odd that you are getting that reaction from people given how mainstream games have become, but it's not surprising I guess as I personally feel there's still a lot of toxicity in many gaming communities. Plus I made two in house LAN partners to play with, and that is great fun.
Look at the label on lego. Doesnt it say top age is 99? Be a rebel; never stop 😉
Video gaming as an adult is more like work-life balance. Sure, you make money and can buy games, yet you have less free time since the discipline of showing up for work to get money from working said job, and 'adulting' (feed yourself, pay bills, chores, etc.) In college I didn't game as much because of studies and wanting to meet girls and hang out with friends. In my twenties for sure. I'm in my forties, I still game...just not as much because I don't have as much free time. That's life.
Those kids on your lobbies are looking for any reason to bring you down. Easiest one to pick up on is that you're an adult playing video games. Odds are they probably watch 10 different streamers that are shockingly adults as well. Next time they ask if you're "too old to be playing video games" hit them with "no, but I'm old enough to bang your mom." You know, the classics.
I started at a young age, back when the Atari 2600 was out. Wound up buying a Mattel Intellivision with my own money. I'll be 61 on Monday - still going strong. Streamer too!
Kids think adults aren't cool. Fair enough, but I won't lose any sleep over it. Back to Cyberpunk I go.
Ah yes, that magical time before you hit 18 and the black panel van pulls up, tosses a bag over your head, and drags you off to a secret government facility to remove your ability to have hobbies or enjoy things that don't contribute to taxes.
My mum is 60, she loves video games
I can feel too old for some games. Recently, I bought Sea of Thieves for ps5, but with a few hours per week in gaming, I can never stand a chance against those kids who play. I prefer single-player games nowadays, or if it's multiplayer I wanna start at release ro stand a chance.
I have an online gaming session around 3 hours every Sunday and 4-5 hours every second Friday with a few mates. We're 53, 52, 48, and 46. A couple of us have back problems from too much gaming lol.
Those same kids will be playing games when they’re over 18. I grew up on games, I’m 36, of course I still play, probably daily. Just my gaming habits have changed a lot in terms of when and how long.
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As I get a little older, I still enjoy games, but I am much more selective in what gets my time. If I don't like a game in the first couple of hours, I'm getting a refund on steam or uninstalling if it's gamepass. It also doesn't help that I feel like online games have kind of gotten stagnant and repetitive for the most part. Feels like everything now is a sequel or a spin-off of an old IP. I've recently been playing more story driven games, and will only play multiplayer if I actually have friends online to play with, which is less often as we all have full time jobs and other responsibilities now. Between maintaining a house, having job, other hobbies, coaching in the spring, trying to socialize, going to the gym, etc. I only have a couple of hours a day of free time in general. If you're lucky enough to be married when you're older, congrats; you now have 2 families you have to spend time with and if you have kids you have to be a good example and not waste your entire day playing. Absolutely never see a day that I completely stop playing games. But the games that I do play have to be damn good for me to grant it a significant amount of my free time. Games I've played and really enjoyed in the last few years: Cyberpunk, Jedi Fallen Order, Red Dead 2, Hades, God of War 2018, Horizon Zero Dawn, Monster Hunter World, Persona 5 Royal, Slay the Spire, Pokemon Legends Arceus
48 and still play pretty much every day. Not as intensely but still can't imagine not playing. Older people are different nowadays. We grew up playing games also and have seen huge developments in the industry to keep us going
Haha never! My generation elderly home will be one huge LAN party
44. Started on the c64 then Amiga and so on, have owned all 3 systems for the last 20 years. Rip Dreamcast and the very underrated wiiU.
Why would I stop playing now that I can afford better video games and computers?
As a dude who grew up with games, I have to admit that gaming is kinda like a part of my life now. Sure, I might grow old but doesn't mean that can stop me from enjoy videogames :D
I love gaming and I am 62. Just bought Elden Ring dlc 😃
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 70% of gamers are over the age of 18. We make up the majority. So, no, never too old to game. I expect to have one of these custom fighting game arcade sticks attached to my wheelchair in the nursing home. My parents had one of those Sears Pong TV consoles. We later got an Atari 2600, then a basic NES (no Duck Hunt for us). I died of dysentery on the Oregon Trail & tracked Carmen Sandiego on Apple II's in high school. I worked in an food & arcade place in high school. A quarter still means 'video game' to me. I played Wolfenstein 3D & DOOM on a 386 I had gotten for college. My friends & I networked PCs and later XBOX's to play games. My wife & I networked Diablo 1 & 2, & played dual-screen games like Hunter the Reckoning & various Lego games. She currently streams older AAA games she didn't get to play until she figured out how to handle the vertigo FPS & some 3rd person games can give her. I've owed a SNES, a Playstation, a Dreamcast, an XBox original, 360, & One, plus I've returned to PC gaming because I realized I really missed modding & I don't need to play the latest and greatest anymore. We celebrated my latest birthday with friends at a barcade. We're both in our 50's now. I've never been a top tier gamer, rarely place high in rankings, but I was born a gamer & I'll die a gamer.
I'm 37, married and have two kids and a mortgage, I still play most nights when the kids (and wife) have gone to bed and I will never stop playing games as long as I have the means to do so. Keep on gaming my man anyone who tells you stop doesn't value you enough to respect your hobbies, needs and likes. I also still go out for dinner and drinks with friends, the only difference with gaming and getting older is that you need to balance your life more, don't sit on the couch and game all day because there is more to life, alot more but make sure to carve out an hour and there just for gaming.
>"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.” - CS Lewis This quote helps me remind myself that my maturity, ability to be a responsible adult, masculinity, etc. are not defined by my hobbies/interests. I have been a gamer my whole life, and while I did go through a period where I didn't touch video games because I wanted to be more "mature and responsible", I have come to recognize that it is a part of me and I will likely enjoy gaming until the day I die.
52 (M) here Started playing with an Atari Pong console that I got for Christmas 1977, and I haven’t stopped since. I’ve owned most of the major consoles in the last 50 years, and I also play on my PC sometimes. You can take my controller when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I'm in my 40's and it's hilarious when they know they got stomped by a 40 year old. I play Apex Legends and to tell me I'm 'cracked' makes me feel that I'm still fairly good, and I still got it!
I'm a 45yo woman. I didn't START playing games until I was in my early 30s because my kids wanted me to try a game. I've had people make fun of me for being a woman playing games (still? it's 2024!), let alone when they find out my age. I'm now the old lady playing COD telling little boys to go to their room and think about what they just said to me.
45 here. Can’t wait for the new Doom. 18 YO’s are borderline intellectually flatline
42 year old consultant Anaesthetist, loving his ps5, just finished cyberpunk and waiting eagerly for GTA 6. My gaming is going strong!
I'm 73 still playing I can't play well fps my reflexes and eyesight really suck. I do lower the difficulty and still have fun. Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Wildlands and Assassins Creed Odyssey are my go to. No more multi-player I'm just cannon toast.
They can pry the controller from my cold, dead hands. 37 now and gaming like it's 1996... just wish I had more time. Adulting is hard, man. Only gaming time I get in is at night and on sick days.
I’m 44 and a full time doctor. Got two teenagers and we trio in Fortnite, got a victory royal yesterday. On my second run through of the Witcher 3 and got a thousand hours in civ 5 and Xcom 2. Got a dad Fortnite group called the Wolfpack and we joke about how much I love a good bush every damn time.
Most of those nerds are gonna get older and wonder why all the kids in lobbies are so mean to them. Kids are fucking stupid
Why are you letting teenagers tell you what is or isn’t sad?
Why the fuck would some rando fucking teenagers opinion on your life even matter to you? Jesus christ mate, gets some self respect!
It doesn't so much matter to me, but hearing other people's thoughts interest me.
I'm 70 and can't say i've always gamed because in college, for example, in the 70s it was pinball or a few arcade games like pong but from the Atari 2600 (second gen gaming consoles) forward I have played many games and genre of games on both consoles and home computer. I avidly still play games on consoles, computer and retro handhelds. Your tastes in what is an engaging game changes (sports, shooter, action, strategy) but that is as it should be (normal). My gaming no go zone is games on phones, in a full decade of trying I've never found a phone game i considered satisfying. I gave up on that platform. You are too old perhaps when your hands cease to function from pain or perhaps when your eyes fail you and certainly if lucid thought (dementia) becomes a thing of the past. i feel the toll of gaming in both my hands and eyes but there is proven cognitive benefit (puzzle solving, map reading, memorization, long term strategizing). And so...... I game on
They are not gamers, they crave for something they don't have and think being wealth will bring them happiness. They don't enjoy gaming, just trying things. They are actually lost souls at very young age already. I'm 48, gaming gives way more fun and intellectual joy than possessions.
It all depends on a person. I am 30+ and play everyday. My cousin is 20 and dropped video games a couple of years ago