Are we too old to game?

[King Herald]

parabolica said:

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said there, but SP isn’t dead. Tbh some developers/publishers are really bad for pushing DLC/pay-to-win content and I avoid them best I can.

I’ve spent the last year playing Hitman, Deus Ex, Ghost Recon Wildlands, Horizon Zero Dawn, DOOM, Firewatch and Life is Strange - all great single players where DLC is not essential to getting through the game.

I’ve only ever played single player, having spent too many years in countries with internet so slow multiplayer is impossible. I don’t really have any interest in MP to be honest. My daughter plays it, now we are back in Blighty, and she just seems to be running around non stop shooting people, or getting shot. I like a bit of problem solving, some challenges, some slow tricky stuff, mixed in with Uber violent gun play.

[Robster]

RemaL said:

Whats age got to do with playing games? i'm 40 and been playing since my spectrum 48K.

Bought my mum a nintendo Switch in Sept that she loves and replaces her last gen Nintendo

I never give it a thought until it gets posted every 6 months or so on here

Bet you comment on all of them

[Mike335i]

Whilst microtransactions and the prolifigation of excessive DLC is a scurge and a cancer to gaming, there are still great single player stories to be told. I'm really enjoying playing through Halo games (currently on 4) and have not played a single multiplayer match.

[RemaL]

Robster said:

RemaL said:

Whats age got to do with playing games? i'm 40 and been playing since my spectrum 48K.

Bought my mum a nintendo Switch in Sept that she loves and replaces her last gen Nintendo

I never give it a thought until it gets posted every 6 months or so on here

Bet you comment on all of them

you know I may just do that.

[NewNameNeeded]

Just turned 40 and still love gaming, and have a wife and son in to gaming too.

I find it odd that gaming still has a bit of a stigma over it, but sitting and watching Bake Off, Come Dancing, X Factor is deemed socially acceptable and doesn't need justification.

My choice of game has changed slightly over the years - as much as I love sandbox games I tend not to have the decent chunks of time to make much progress in them, so get more enjoyment from games I can pick up and play for a quick blast, then go do something else.

My age hasn't changed my choice of game. I can still give my son a run for his money in COD or Mario Kart.

But a wife, a son, a house, two basset hounds, a full on mental job ... it all get's in the way. And since this is PH - a nice car I enjoy going out to drive!

The Switch has been a revelation in this regard - it's amazing just how much extra gaming time it has brought back in to my life.

[Hoofy]

I wish my desire to play computer games died down as I got older. I probably waste so much time that could be spent doing something more constructive!

[ape x]

NewNameNeeded said:

Just turned 40 and still love gaming, and have a wife and son in to gaming too.

I find it odd that gaming still has a bit of a stigma over it, but sitting and watching Bake Off, Come Dancing, X Factor is deemed socially acceptable and doesn't need justification.

My choice of game has changed slightly over the years - as much as I love sandbox games I tend not to have the decent chunks of time to make much progress in them, so get more enjoyment from games I can pick up and play for a quick blast, then go do something else.

My age hasn't changed my choice of game. I can still give my son a run for his money in COD or Mario Kart.

But a wife, a son, a house, two basset hounds, a full on mental job ... it all get's in the way. And since this is PH - a nice car I enjoy going out to drive!

The Switch has been a revelation in this regard - it's amazing just how much extra gaming time it has brought back in to my life.

I think much of that stigma has gone now, its so mainstream, but like with all mainstream stuff there are many shades of grey under the broad brush of 'gamer'.
It is a culture now, people on youtube making pots of cash just playing games, hell people making pots of cash just opening games and console boxes!
Its madness really. For me its a case of I stopped drinking 5 years ago and have 2 young kids so no longer go out like i used to. I used to say going out getting drunk and chasing women wasn't actually wasting time and money, but it most likely was...fun though.

Point being now, if once the kids are in bed, i want to have an hour or 3 virtually driving cars around famous race tracks all from the comfort of my home then its pretty harmless really.
I get a real buzz from it too.
The older I get the more relevant gaming has become for me actually, it makes sense now more than ever with young kids and short on time
to play pretend driving games rather than doing real racing or track days.

[lazybike]

I'm 55 and given the choice of an hours TV or an hour of shooting/crashing into strangers...well its no contest!

[ape x]

lazybike said:

I'm 55 and given the choice of an hours TV or an hour of shooting/crashing into strangers...well its no contest!

Has anyone else ever noticed how if I am trying to bond with the Mrs and sit down and watch say 1 hour of Downton Abbey or Holby City, it feels like a week.... but when i dodge off to play on the computer when shes watching Downton Abbey or Holby City, 1 hour on the computer seems like 10 mins?!!
Madness!!!

[NewNameNeeded]

ape x said:

I think much of that stigma has gone now,

Definitely still the dark ages in my world (corporate environment).

[ape x]

NewNameNeeded said:

Definitely still the dark ages in my world (corporate environment).

To be fair i'm coming at it from my perspective of being a 'sim racer'. Its almost now an accepted thing that sim racing can help develop drivers skill sets even if that is only for learning a track layout prior to racing or track day.

[captain_cynic]

Nope.

Too old to care about the latest AAA crapfest from EA or Ubisoft though. I remember a time when you didn't have Loot Crated, pay to win, DLC, hats and if you sucked at a game you didn't get better by continuing to suck until you got an overpowered noob tube. If you sucked, you sucked until you learned.

End of Rant.

Seriously though, Cities Skylines, Fallout, Endless Space 2, Stellaris... sunk many hours into these games and barring fallout, these games are still being updated.

I guess I'm old that the game I'm most excited about is the System Shock remake... But I remember playing that in 1995. Yes, you can get off my lawn now, young whippersnappers.

[soad]

Still have the time, responsibilities haven't crept up on me. Most importantly, it's still fun!

[Speckle]

I don't think I'll ever be too old to game, unless my eyes stop working or something! I turned 45 this year and spend a good chunk of my free time gaming. Quite often, I game online with my nephews, who see me as their Uncle who "isn't old" as a result, you just can't buy that kind of kudos

I think mine was the first generation that really grew up with gaming and has seen it's huge evolution over the last 30 odd years. I don't think I have ever been without a means to play video games since we had a ZX81 back in...erm...well 1981.

Long may it continue.

[siovey]

I'm 45 and have been gaming since space invaders came out. I'll never give it up and will be taking whatever the current console is at the time to my nursing home with me!

I have plenty of spare time so play a lot. I can't stand watching general crap on the telly , like the soaps, so I go upstairs on the ps4 while she is watching all that rubbish.

I've recently done 100% on fallout 4 and am on the way to doing the same with skyrim. I'm currently at 49% so lots to do yet

I'm addicted to buying games though so have tonnes bought on the store which I haven't even touched. This is 100% the fault of fallout and skyrim though!

[Rob P]

Tender age of 36.

Pick up the odd PS4 game but unless I know I can dedicate a couple of hours to a game in the evening I don’t bother now. Never buy release date titles or play online.

Of course spending £000’s on flight sim add ons doesn’t count, that’s not a game

If I had the space I would also get back into iRacing too.

[Steven_RW]

NewNameNeeded said:

ape x said:

I think much of that stigma has gone now,

Definitely still the dark ages in my world (corporate environment).

I work in the affluent financial services sector and like you say, nearly no one here will admit to playing games or knowing anything about them unless they are about 25 years old max. If I was to sit at the senior table and start talking about the latest game, NONE of them would have anything to add unless they know one of their kids potentially played it.

I've "embraced the geek" and just accepted that having a pile of games on my desk that I bought at CEX at lunchtime stands out like a sore thumb in this corporate environment.

RW

Edited by Steven_RW on Monday 27th November 16:04

[RTB]

Just about to turn 40 and I've been a gamer since someone gave me a secondhand Atari 2600 in about 1984. Wherever I've been living and whatever I've been doing I've had access to either a console or a halfway decent gaming PC. Just being able to switch off and lose myself in a good game has always been a catharsis.

Although in the last 10 years, since having kids, my gaming time has been very scarce. However, my two boys are now of an age (9 and 5) where the PlayStation is the most important object in the house, my eldest has even started getting into strategy games and flight sims, so the next 5-10 years look like they might offer a gaming renaissance.

I can see myself at the age of 50 still gaming, albeit on my own with my wife making small disapproving noises.......

With regards the professional working environment thing. Up until a couple of years ago I worked in a lab environment in a big Pharma and the geek was pretty strong amongst the lab scientists. I now work in a corporate function and couldn't imagine telling anyone that I spend my evenings playing Rise of Flight with a home made head tracking device taped to my head.

[Steven_RW]

RTB said:

....I now work in a corporate function and couldn't imagine telling anyone that I spend my evenings playing Rise of Flight with a home made head tracking device taped to my head.

hehe.. only the geeks would ask questions about how you made it and how well it works :-)

[RizzoTheRat]

captain_cynic said:

Seriously though, Cities Skylines, Fallout, Endless Space 2, Stellaris... sunk many hours into these games and barring fallout, these games are still being updated.

I picked up Cities Skylines for not a lot on a humble bundle the other week, but have been working my way through Rebuild 3 first that was in the same bundle.

I'm 44 and have no interest in first person shooters (although I did quite like world of Tanks for a while) but do love a good strategy. I've spent way too long over the years on the Civ series, Hearts of Iron, and Kerbal Space Programme. My wife loves all the Lego game on the PS3 but I've never really found any console games I enjoyed.
I do occasionally use a variation of Arma2 at work and have to take motion sickness tablets if I'm going to be doing much on it