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

3sexty on 28 March 2016
KingCherry said:
greenmedic88 said:
...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. 

Baby Boomer generation? Crikey! That's from 1946 to what, 1965?? I'd say they are, in general, way out of the equation 51-70 year olds?! That was my whole point, those folk don't seem interested as they weren't brough up on them.

There's no doubt in my mind, that the reason there are so many older gamers is that people have grown up with them, from mainly the mid Eighties onwards. That's 30 years of gaming history drilled into people. I see so many blokes in their thirties now who game, and it increases all the time as they get older. Games are more and more catered to be inclusive of all ages, keeping people involved.

I'm guessing, but the type of person who bu inclination would be a gamer, doesn't necessarily include the casual COD / FIFA GTA types who play nothing else. I reckon they'll probably tire of gaming.

Millenials & Gen X, two very broad age ranges there, I'm straddling both and that cover a 40 year span..

a 51 year old for example would have been around 6 years of age when the famous Atari 2600 came out in 1977 and younger when pong or other earlier consoles came out in the early 70's. So technically they could have grown up with gaming of sorts. Just not as we know it today.



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Madword on 28 March 2016

What 20 somethings forget, is that us 30,40's + people, not only played lots of games in the day (Amiga, Early PC awesomeness), but also I buy lots more games than most people because we have the disposable income, so us older gamers win every time.

Not only have we got the hundreds/thousands of classic games we also have all the modern ones too.

It's like talking to a 20 year old about movies and going, have you seen Poltergeist or Total Recall, and they have a blank look in their face, but they've watched the latest marvel movie and think they are some kind of movie expert :D



Making an indie game : Dead of Day!

Conina on 28 March 2016
peterdavid12345 said:

Also, some of the people in here have a biased criticism toward the young and new generation tbh. You can't just judge a small group of vocal annoying kids and think that is the whole generation. That's generalizing.

Followed by a lot of biased criticism and generalizing of the '80s and '90s. ;)



Rogerioandrade on 28 March 2016

I´m 40 and I think that today we may not have so much variety in gaming as we had years ago. Games are a lot more easier too.
For me, the late 90´s and early 20´s was the best period of gaming ever. The generation of the PS, N64, Saturn and its transition to the next generation with the PS2, GC, DC and Xbox. We had so much variety in gaming, new trends every couple of months, so many breaktrought achievements in gaming design, controls etc. Huge variety of themes and characters.
Today, I feel that games are too similar to each other, both in visuals and gameplay. I miss the huge variety we had back then. Racing games, rhythm games, puzzle and strategy games, arcade and multiplayer games, 2d fighting games ( how I miss them!).....
I´m not saying that gaming today isn´t good, but it doesn´t impress me as much as in that generation. Specially from the so-called huge developers ("AAA gaming") and their dumb insistence in yearly iterations and microtransactions.
Today, I sense a great flow of creativity in the indie game scene, and to tell you the truth, most of my interest in gaming today is coming from those small developers and its inspired productions



peterdavid12345 on 28 March 2016
Conina said:
peterdavid12345 said:

Also, some of the people in here have a biased criticism toward the young and new generation tbh. You can't just judge a small group of vocal annoying kids and think that is the whole generation. That's generalizing.

Followed by a lot of biased criticism and generalizing of the '80s and '90s. ;)

o_O ???? Read it again, please. I said ''some of the people ".

Unlike  SOME people in here, out straightly saying stuffs like "kids these days" which is as much as generalizing as it can get :P.

 

SvennoJ said:
peterdavid12345 said:

Yeah, they most certainly aint much physically appealing but their super gaming skills cannot be denied ;).

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Also, some of the people in here have a biased criticism toward the young and new generation tbh. You can't just judge a small group of vocal annoying kids and think that is the whole generation. That's generalizing. There are lot of talents and skillful players in their 20s or even younger. Infact, as i just showed in previous comment, all top 10 highest paid gamers are all within their 20s or younger. 

Last but not least, is the golden age of gaming. Tbh, this "golden age" is debatable. Lot of you would argue that the golden age is the 80s, or 90s. But i beg to differ. For me, the golden age will always be the Present.

1. Becuz let's be honest here, gaming is become more mainstream and socially acceptable than ever.  Y'all 30s and 40s know how it feel, Right ? When you playing video games back in the days, let's admit it, it wasn't a proud thing to claim that "I am a Gamer" or told your parent  "I want to playing video games for a living". Sure people still criticizing on gaming, but only if it's on an extreme level like that's ALL you do for life or just being a lazy F! and aint getting a job.

2. You have plenty of choices. Range from Arcade to home consoles to handhelds to smartphone and ofc, PC! P.E.R.S.O.N.A.L C.O.M.P.U.T.A.R.R.R! Heck, and now we have VR! A legit Virtual Reality!

Yes, we have PC games in the 90s like Starcraft, Age of Empire, DOOM but it aint a STEAM era!

3. Reviews and walkthrough.  Those who live in the 80s or 90s, know that lot of the time the reason u bought a video games becuz some friends told you that 'it's a great game" or just buy it cuz the cover looks nice. And with that, lot of the times, you come out with disappointment and frustration becuz the game is either not your type or just straight RIP-OFF. Ofc, Games can be rip-off or just plain bad  and buggy these days too. But atleast you will get warned. Like for instead, The Order 1886, Animal Crossing Amiibo, etc.

So don't blame on anyone for your ACTION! That's just as bad as some parent let their kids watch deadpool and blame it for "too violent" or 'too sexual" "gone wrong", "gone deadly" ....

LEL.

4. Online Multiplayer!  Try to play "multiplayer" with your friends on PC.... yeah, good luck with your LAN games, lol.

But ofc, this is nothing more than my humble opinion. You're more than welcome to diagree but please be respectful :). Thanks, (if you actually have the time to read everything XD!)

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, which is why we call it the present.” - Bill Keane

Ok, I'll respectfully disagree because I know how to spell because :p

1. Never had that issue, games were seen as something new, exciting and great. My dad invited friends over to play a text adventure together in the living room, pretty much how his parents invited the neighbours to come watch tv. Games didn't start off for kids, I don't know how they got that stigma. Leisure suit Larry and Police Quest weren't targeted at kids.

2. Arcades are gone. I used to have several arcades near me to marvel at new tech. Arcades nowadays are mostly retro except in amusement parks.
Plus the excitement of new types of games and new tech on a yearly basis or even faster is long gone. There used to be yearly trade shows in my local town with all the new gadgets, tech, and games on display. I used to go there to pick up some new games or a new soundcard etc.
Lol Steam era, we didn't have copy protection! Plus we had the demo scene, mod music scene, shareware versions, magazines with game discs, harmless viruses that did silly things, no adds!!!

3. We had reviews in the 80's and 90's via magazines and word of mouth ofcourse. Plus all games were ahem 'free'. We didn't have morals back then, combined with no copy protection or easy access to remove that and plenty of deep copy tools. It was exciting to try new games without knowing anything about them. I used to go over to a friends house and try out a bunch of new games together on Amiga 500, and try out a bunch of new pc games when he came to visit me. The best reviewer is yourself. Zero prior knowledge, best way to experience something new.
For example, my nr 2 best game of all time, Civilization. A friend from school brought it over (I had never heard of it before), copied it onto my hdd, we played untill 7AM in the morning crowding behind the keyboard, then had to go to school, oops.

4. We played multiplayer daily, together behind the same pc or console. Most games had local co-op or competitive play and solo games were enough fun to watch and take turns. Later on LAN play >>>>>> online multiplayer. Online multiplayer, even with friends, is a poor substitute.


But true, VR is finally here, about damn time. Plus it took forever to download dithered porn pics at 9600 baud, that is if you could connect to your favorite BBS first, busy tone, try next one until you finally got in.

Thanks for the reply,

 Anyways, we STILL have magazines, beta, demo, etc. We STILL can play local AND LAN MP.  And yes, we can STILL share the games, borrow it, or even sell it.  Infact, you can even refund ONLINELY thanks to Steam refund. These things i listed aint a replacement,  They are additional.

Yes, they don't make anymore new arcade games (except in Japan i believe) unfortunately. But you can STILL enjoy some, if not all of the classic :).

And you were talking about "free" games, sorry but what do you mean by this ?

Tho, even for that, video games are "free-er" now than ever tbh, just look at how many free games on mobiles/tablets and/or PC, lol. (and let's not hating on free2play now, some of the most popular games in the world right now are free2play like LOL, Dota 2, CSGO) But if you refer to priced games then well, thanks to Torrents, it's easily and faster to pirate gamez now than to buy it on Steam/PSN/XBL.... But i won't go much into this :3.

My point's dat in this gen, you have

more Choices. PC/Consoles/Handhelds/Android/iPhone/Tablets/Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Ouya and even arcade.

more Games.  bad or good, they're still games!

more Transparency. Reviews & Walkthroughs on YouTube/Twitch, Websites like these to keep up with the news, Twitter/Facebook to connect with the developers etc and etc.

more FREEDOM. Get tired of gaming companies fvck with your favorite franchise or tired of the BS gaming companies policy ? Now you can fund your favorite developers to make your favorite games come to life! (Star Citizen, Mighty No. 9, BloodStained, etc). Oh and Emulator too btw ;).

Don't get me wrong btw, im highly respected the 90s and especially the 80s/70s. Becuz they created the FOUNDATION that lead us into to this gen. Without the past, none of present and future could exist. So of course the 70, 80s and 90s are as Amazing as this gen, if not more thanks to nostalgic ,lul. That's why i said all ages are awesome :).



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AsGryffynn on 28 March 2016
celador said:
Well one way younger players are better is in terms of reaction times.

I've see the odd older gamer on forums talking about how they sometimes have to play on an easier difficulty than they used to. Hopefully that doesn't happen as young as 50.

I doubt it... My 66 year old uncle was a game changer in Halo 3 and 4... He doesn't have a One though, so I can say if anything's changed... 



Conina on 28 March 2016
peterdavid12345 said:
Conina said:

Followed by a lot of biased criticism and generalizing of the '80s and '90s. ;)

o_O ???? Read it again, please. I said ''some of the people ".

Unlike  SOME people in here, out straightly saying stuffs like "kids these days" which is as much as generalizing as it can get :P.
  • "let's be honest here, ..."  
  • "Y'all 30s and 40s know how it feel, Right ?"
  • "let's admit it, it wasn't a proud thing..."
  • "Those who live in the 80s or 90s, know that..."

You present your biased opinions as facts or that it is the opinion of most people.



Anfebious on 28 March 2016

There is no certain way to know when you are going to die. You could die tomorrow! And that 50 year old fogey could play a lot more than you could ever play! Your point is dumb.

Then again no age demographic is better than the other. We are all a bunch of stupid nerds.



"I've Underestimated the Horse Power from Mario Kart 8, I'll Never Doubt the WiiU's Engine Again"

joshin69 on 28 March 2016

I'm 42, lucky anough to remember the atari, zx81, c16 & 64, amega, nes etc etc. That is the coolest. Born at the perfect time to have seen and played from the beginning



 

 assumption is the mother of all f**k ups 

peterdavid12345 on 28 March 2016
Conina said:
peterdavid12345 said:

o_O ???? Read it again, please. I said ''some of the people ".

Unlike  SOME people in here, out straightly saying stuffs like "kids these days" which is as much as generalizing as it can get :P.
  • "let's be honest here, ..."  
  • "Y'all 30s and 40s know how it feel, Right ?"
  • "let's admit it, it wasn't a proud thing..."
  • "Those who live in the 80s or 90s, know that..."

You present your biased opinions as facts or that it is the opinion of most people.

Oh ok, that was indeed generalizing since i have no evidence to support it, my apology to you and the rest :)

But, with all that being said, i need a solid evidence that most of the people back then, was indeed proud to be a gamer. And that gaming was indeed socially acceptable, oh and i wasn't talking about kids btw. Since kids and teenagers playing video games is a natural thing (i was a kid in the 90s and ofc, i played some back then), im talking about grow-up (20yrs to 40yrs) people playing video games in 80s and 90s. What the public think of them ? And how the Media view of them ?

 Not trying to debate, im just trying to learn here.

Thanks.