A True Gamer Never Quits

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Business Week Online has a feature up entitled Attack of the Gaming Grannies, focusing on gamers over the age of 50. According to research cited in the article, over-50 gamers make up 19% of the gaming market; while those numbers do seem slightly suspicious, the number is definitely increasing. The same research states that 53% of current gamers expect to continue playing games for the next 10 years, which is a bit less surprising. The article is a fun read, getting responses from gamers such as the 69-year-old Barbara St. Hilaire (aka Old Grandma Hardcore), who is currently hard at work mastering God of War (PS2).
Old Grandma Hardcore has been firing away since 1975, in the Age of Atari. She started by stopping off at the mall arcade with her kids while shopping. "Then I really got into it when Nintendo came out with Super Mario. I remember playing with my son all night long, competing against each other." Since then, she has played hundreds of titles and worn out a long line of gaming consoles, from Atari to Xbox.

Older gamers have stated that playing video games regularly can help keep their eyesight sharp, their minds alert, and their joints exercised. 68-year-old Liam Murray has no plans to stop playing games within his lifetime. He'll keep up the habit until "the good Lord calls me. It's up to Him when I quit."

Unconfirmed reports have suggested that these "video games" (otherwise known as "murder simulators") are turning the world's senior citizens into killing machines at an alarming rate.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    October 20, 2005 1:09 PM

    "The same research states that 53% of current gamers expect to continue playing games for the next 10 years..."

    I would expect something like 99 percent of people playing games today will continue to play for the rest of their lives. Do old people suddenly stop watching TV or movies or stop reading books? What would make someone stop playing games besides arthritis?

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      October 20, 2005 1:12 PM

      Even at my relatively young age, I have tons of friends who used to play games and now never do.

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      October 20, 2005 1:13 PM

      You hit a wall around 34 trust me.

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        October 20, 2005 2:45 PM

        It's not nice to call your wife "a wall."

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        October 20, 2005 2:49 PM

        [deleted]

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          October 20, 2005 3:27 PM

          I actually know several developers who no longer really play games, except for when they have to play the ones they're working on. I'm not saying that's what usually happens or anything, but people can definitely get burned out.

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            October 20, 2005 6:49 PM

            Ditto. It's not all of them, but the guys I talk to sure get jaded when they're thick in the business. The ones who seem happiest to play games again are the ones who have gotten out from a big company and are doing the indie thing.

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          October 20, 2005 8:53 PM

          You want to make playing games your career?

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      October 20, 2005 1:18 PM

      I would like NOT to quit games. But the variety of games coming out are really lacking. I've been playing for 20 years and work in the industry. If the majority of my game playing future is FPSs (just getting bored of them), I might just have to become a hermit.

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      October 20, 2005 1:19 PM

      Games are different though. I'm only 23 and I play way fewer games than I did even 5 years ago. I'm probably in that 53%, but I can't see myself spending hours playing Grand Theft Auto 17 when I'm 65 like I did when GTA:SA came out. Probably will be a more casual thing like a handheld virtual hologram glove or something weird like that. The future is nuts.

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        October 20, 2005 1:36 PM

        don't forget that you'll be on 'old people drugs' all day long.

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