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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Why 20 year old gamers are better than 50 year old gamers.

soulsamurai on 26 March 2016

.....so younger gamers are better, because older gamers will die sooner? Great logic....



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ReimTime on 26 March 2016
SvennoJ said:
Soundwave said:

20 year old gamers are better, c'mon, 20 is the age where you likely game the most. 

If you're 50 and spending large chunks of your life gaming, you likely need to rethink your priorities in life.

What should your priorities be in your fifties?

I would assume that when you're 20 you have better things to do than gaming, like studying, finding a good job, paying off study loans, good place to live, perhaps find a partner for life. Compared to 50, steady job, kids about to leave the house or already gone, plenty time for gaming.

20 is the age where you should game the least :p

In your fifties you must:

-Buy a Corvette

-Dye your hair and buy some nice sunglasses with a flame design

-Cruise down the street blasting 80s hair metal

-Hit up the clubs on the weekend to chillax with all the hip kids

Clearly no time for video games!



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Skratchy on 26 March 2016

Lol. What a moot argument.

I grew up playing Atari and NES. The games WERE harder back in the day. There's no way you can deny it. You are just used to different kinds of games, also much EASIER games.



Metallox on 26 March 2016

So younger players are better because they will be able to play games that aren't here right now? I see.

To me, the question should ask which demographic plays better the games that today we have at our disposal.



My bet with The_Liquid_Laser: I think the Switch won't surpass the PS2 as the best selling system of all time. If it does, I'll play a game of a list that The_Liquid_Laser will provide, I will have to play it for 50 hours or complete it, whatever comes first. 

Skratchy on 26 March 2016
HylianYoshi said:

Gamers in their 30s are still the luckiest. They've been around since before or at the beginning of the NES. They've effectively gotten to experience every worthwhile generation to its fullest, without sacrificing much of the time left that people in their 20s have.

Good balance.

 

Being 32, I can't help but agree with this XD

 

I missed out on Coleco Vision and the Odyssey, and I didn't really play in arcades much, but I grew up on the Atari and NES. There is something about growing up with gaming; being a part of it as it all evolves. You get to play a greater variety of games over time. Being older doesn't make you a worse gamer in any way.



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umegames on 26 March 2016
HylianYoshi said:

Gamers in their 30s are still the luckiest. They've been around since before or at the beginning of the NES. They've effectively gotten to experience every worthwhile generation to its fullest, without sacrificing much of the time left that people in their 20s have.

Good balance.

I'm 27 going on 28 and that's what i was thinking. Only downside is as a kid, i didn't have money to buy games, only rented or had what parents and grandparents bought me. around my teen years PC emulation took off and i got to play alot of gems that way (Earthbound, Megaman, Chrono trigger, Pokemon, ETC) That's one reason i like the virtual console now.



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greenmedic88 on 27 March 2016
KingCherry said:
greenmedic88 said:
While it would make for an interesting sociological study to see the retention rates for gaming into middle ages with the average quoted gamer age being 31 years, my guess is that a not insignificant chunk of current 20 year old gamers won't be playing video games by the time they're 50.

Those who are currently pushing into their later middle age and still gaming probably represent a rapidly diminishing demographic for their age group.

So, you're basing the current average age of gamers, being 31, to future logic? The average age of gamers will steadily increase as years go by and stabilise in maybe 15-20 years.

Middle aged gamers are those who've grown up with video games, from the Pong era / early arcade machines... Above that, people maybe 50+ were never brought up on them, it was never their culture. In 20 years, you could potentially see a significant number of 70 year old gamers, something that seems totally ridiculous now. 20 years ago, 50 year old gamers would have looked quirky, not now though.

Every decade, the age of gamers has increased as gamers have got older. When I was a kid with a ZX Spectrum and an NES, it was very rare for anybody over 25 to be playing games, as they just weren't brought up on them, it wasn't their thing. Yes, older people played them if their younger brother or son had the relevant machine, or maybe they had an adventure game on their business computer, but it wasn't something that was part of their life.

When I did work experience years back before Uni, nobody apart from me and a couple of upstarts played games, now, I see 35-45 year olds happily discussing what games they're into, their PS4's, etc. That was so unheard of in the late nineties.

No one really knows. Considering that anyone who is 50 and is still playing video games on a comprehensive level (meaning they play a fairly wide variety of titles as opposed to the odd mobile game on their phone) has essentially played through the entire history of video games and more importantly, experienced it as it was happening in time, there is no population model to reference that predates any Baby Boomer generation gamers. 

I can speak from my own experience as someone who started gaming during the first generation of consoles in the late 70s up to present, but this doesn't validate any opinion that most or even half of Gen X is still gaming in any significant capacity. 

I'm inclined to say that there could be a higher percentage of Millenials still playing video games as a form of entertainment same as any other form of visual entertainment (TV, film) until death, but whether that has anything to do with having grown up playing video games is pretty open to debate. I grew up playing video games from a very early age, same as many of my friends. I think I'm in the minority of my peer group who still prefers it as a form of visual entertainment. Then again, it's hard for me to say personally as the majority of my friends are Millenials rather than Gen Xers. 



miqdadi on 27 March 2016

Each generation got something the other doesn't have, but you are right cos there is the job, the family
50 gamers most likely will only play a couple of games and most likely won't risk new gaming experiances



peterdavid12345 on 27 March 2016

Well, i think all ages are awesome :). But without a doubt, the best generation of players in term of skills, are usually in their 20s or Younger.

http://www.businessinsider.com/15-of-the-highest-paid-professional-gamers-2014-5?op=1

I don't know anyone that crazily good at playing video games while being 40+.



Soundwave on 27 March 2016

Gamers in their 30s are the luckiest. If you missed the NES and SNES/Genesis era and the early part of the Playstation/N64 days .... you really missed out.

Not only on these consoles but man ... you'll never know what arcades were like in the day of Street Fighter II, Virtua Racing, Mortal Kombat, you missed the PC era where thing like DOOM were born and the FPS created and the general magic of the Nintendo-Sega era ... today it's just not the same. Game consoles have kinda become bland and "same-y".