Right on Tek

As I read across the internet I find that no one really acknowledges the “older” gamer. Unless it is in some study or article that gets very little attention. A lot of the gamers in recent generations cannot even fathom that the player next to them in game could be 40, 50, 60 or more and still pwning face.

You see many gamers in your travels across the internet, and for the most part age never even crosses someone’s mind. This is one of the things games are in fact meant to do, break down age barriers. In that “make believe” land, everyone is judged solely on his or her performance in game and knowledge of the game. This brings up the question that maybe the gaming community is onto something here. I mean does it not make grandma 150% cooler if she just kicked your @$$ in game, or pulled off that shot that you couldn’t make?

Your lesson in history : Console games first came out in 1972 with the Magnavox Odyssey. With the advent of simple games like pong and other game consoles entering the market as soon as 1974, this gave families that could afford it, a fun activity, in which the whole family could participate. This places the first gamer generation at or more than 40 years old now. Surely 65 years old is not the most common, but the average age of the gamer is quite honestly past the teen years. In fact a lot of studies and polls point out that the average age of gamers is about 35, and about 40% of them are women!

So it is a common misconception then, that of video games being played solely by lonely teenage boys with obviously no life. All one has to do is look on the shelves of any game retailer to see there are a multitude of games for many ages. Games range from the ones for young children, to those that require an ESRB rating to point out they are definitely intended for a more mature audience. With most of the multiplayer games drawing an audience from all age ranges. I would like to point out an example here, the group I belong to in one of the games I play, has an age range of 14 to 65.

Anyone can point out instances where finding out the person you are playing with is in fact, younger, older,  female or male…..etc. absolutely destroyed a gaming party. Take for instance these questions, from three different game environments, actual dialogue between players, “Wait, you’re a guy (or chick)?”, or “You’re how old?”, or “You’re from where?”… The person with the misconception, the one asking the question of age, gender, location, affiliation, etc… usually gets disgusted and stops playing with the player in question. This is especially true where you have the ability to play a different gender than the one you are in real life, or in games that gender does not matter. I have seen gamers flirt with each other, without even knowing each others gender, and then get offended once they find out the “chick” they’ve been hitting on turns out to be a guy!

Whether the games are for PC, MAC, or a specific game console, they foster their own communities. And like any community, they tend to develop a narrow view of what a gamer is. Without actually asking how old your buddy in game next to you is, you would never know. I still see the surprise in game upon asking another gamer their age, and then find out not only the persons age, but that the crack shot next to you is a girl. This is pointed out in the target audience that the games are intentionally aimed at. Although games and game content have come a long way since those first days, the mindset of most gamers hasn’t changed much.

Considering that 65% of all households play computer or game console games now. The facts state clearly that the gamming population is getting older. Here is a rough breakdown of the percent of gamers by age – 25% under 18, 49% 18-49, and 26% over 50! Very few gaming circles acknowledge the fact that “we” the older generation are still here. We are the ones that were so engrossed in content, or outraged by lack thereof, that it interested us, or disgusted us, to the point of becoming involved in game design. We are the ones that are now responsible for bringing you new games and game content. Whether it be actually programming the content, or responsible for the media buzz that surrounds most games upon release to the public, or even play testing the games before release. We are still here, and like anyone that falls in love with that first game, will continue to be a voice in the gaming community.