Personal Computing
Should gamers be re-programmed at 30, or game on?
Robert 'Moyes' Haxton | 26th July 2007
Now, I don’t know precisely what the gaming demographic looks like, but we all know that people under the age of 30 are the ones doing most of the gaming. Those who play past 30 tend to dip in and out, distracted by trivial concerns such as careers, mortgages, wives and children. Our gaming habits inevitably change along with our lifestyles, but do we also consider gamers of a certain age to be wayward – deprived of more ‘substantial’ influences in their lives?
Why should 'cool' matter if you’re having fun?
The question is difficult to answer for several reasons, not least because we are often told that we should lead our lives unfettered by what others think of us. If a 30-year-old continues to 'game' then the issue of ‘coolness’ should be neither here nor there. However, we are all conscious of how we are perceived and we adjust our behaviour accordingly. To understand how gamers in their 30s (or – heaven forbid – even older) are perceived, we first need to consider the image of gaming in general.
What would your parents say?
In the UK we have a vibrant gaming industry, home to major developers and publishers, with large numbers of people buying the latest releases. Despite this apparent integration of gaming into our society, I suggest that a major body of opinion-formers (ie, parents) only grudgingly accepts gaming.
If offered the choice, many parents would prefer to see their children abandon their video games in favour of going to the park, joining a club or spending more time studying. Despite parental foreboding, video games are prevalent among young people. There’s a certain irony here: namely that the same people who frown on older gamers also assert that teenagers should have some choice over how they entertain themselves.
There is no 'right time of life' for gaming
As we grow older and our adult responsibilities mount, our enjoyment of video games becomes submerged. After that it only bubbles to the surface occasionally, perhaps being considered 'endearing' by partners or spouses but also being considered unattractive. This reaction might be based on the very success of video games. As the saying goes: “familiarity breeds contempt”. So does the saturation of the teenage market create the expectation that gaming belongs that one short period of life?
Fortunately people’s attitudes change and the games industry is leading a perception change by increasingly catering for ‘older’ gamers. ‘Brain-development’ titles, even MMORPGs, are examples of games aimed at a more mature audience. The Sims successfully bridged the sex-divide in gaming and it’s an example of what can happen once a game aligns targets a previously ignored market.
Gaming and getting older… bring 'em on!
Given the youthful nature of the games industry, perhaps it was bound to take time for its appeal to transcend the generations. We are seeing only the start of this transformation and it will be some time before we see a market that isn’t youth dominated.
This means that a gamer of a certain age is bound to look at least a little out of place for the foreseeable future. Yet, as a pro-gamer myself (at the ripe old age of 26), whilst I don’t welcome getting older, I believe they need not be an insurmountable hurdle to my gaming. As long as the industry continues to serve up dynamic titles that match the level of challenge and complexity my maturing years demand, I’ll be satisfied and I’ll carry on gaming.
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