Poll: Giving up gaming because you're old

[Jason Rayes]

I recently had an argument with a friend where I completely disagreed with his opinion. He was convinced that after a certain point you have to give up video games, as he put it "When you get old a switch goes off in your head and you just change, you want to do gardening and lawn bowls and things like that. Trust me, you won't want it to happen but it will happen". Apart from thinking he was an idiot, my counter argument was as follows. There was no magic switch that went off in their heads, an 80 year old pottering in their garden grew up in a time, not only before video games, but before television. If they wanted electronic entertainment they had the radio. They don't have the history of the current generation who have grown up with technology as a part of their everyday lives.

I for one intend to game until my hands are too arthritic. By which time I hope we can control games with the power of our minds. Which may suck if I'm senile.

So what do you think, will you give up video games and take up lawn bowls and knitting when you start getting grey hair?

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I am on the border where games are becoming less appealing simply because other things in life are more, but I can't see it going away completely because I never gave up books, or music or movies and I probably won't give up games.

But yes there comes a time where the real life is the more enticing one, we start to feel the need to make our legacy outside of Skyrim.

 

[Zhukov]

I think it's more a case of not having time rather than a magic switch.

If you have a full time job, a house to maintain, a spouse, three kids and any kind of social life it's going to take a serious effort to make time for video games.

 

[PrimitiveJudge]

I am 31, been playing games since 1986. This might seem like the dumbest thing ever, but in honestly video games kept me from gambling, drugs, gangs and jail. I hunt, go to school, perfect driving record and have a job and a house. Sure I drink but I have strict rules on that, only at night and at the times between 8pm and 12pm. I love video games. I will not give them up, hell you join the military and go into a foreign country to fight a war just to make sure your fell Americans are safe and they give you a joystick with orders saying "fly the awesome unmanned drone and fire guns and missiles at those guys" Video gamers are kings at those missions. Anyone can mock us all they want, but no one knows who has the "Button". "evil laugh"

 

[Jason Rayes]

The kids and family do play a role, but my gamer dad friends get some gaming in by making it a family thing. Then "proper" gaming when the kids are in bed. I guess though, that's more don't have time as opposed to "Derp, lawn bowls!"

 

[Genocidicles]

I think I may stop gaming eventually, but not because of my age. More like disappointment at where gaming is going, with F2P stupidity and motion controls probably becoming standard in a few decades.

 

[Applejack]

I think you end up gaming a lot less to the point that it's like giving it up when you start college. After college it's like wow now I'm busy with my career and possibly family. I have gaming phases where I'll play for like 4 months and then stop for about a year. Really I don't think it's an age thing as much as it is a too busy or I have more important priorities now thing.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

i cant imagine what games will look like when im 50.

 

[Palademon]

As everyone has said, it's much more about being too busy with responsibilities when you're older than just not being interested.

My mum plays Animal Crossing and Professor Layton, and my dad said he'd probably be a gamer if he had more free time.

My parents are 60.

 

[Dandark]

I doubt I will ever stop gaming. It is still my favorite way to waste time and I don't intend to stop just because I have gotten older, if anything im happy to game more now, I will however probably game less as I get a job and other commitments but I will never stop completely.

As long as I have free time, A game and a machine capable of playing it then I will continue gaming.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Until I develop awful arthritis or something I doubt I'll ever stop as long as there's spare time.

And why would I? I won't give up on movies or books either.

 

[Macgyvercas]

I'll give up my controller, mouse, and keyboard when they pry them from my cold dead hands.

 

[greasedweasel]

As others have said, I think lack of time is the biggest factor. I have a full time job, just bought my first place, got a wife and a baby on the way.

I don't think I've touched a video game in at least a month. I don't like gaming in short bursts - unless I can devote a good couple of hours to a session, it just doesn't seem worth it. And that kind of time is increasingly hard to come by as an adult with a full set of competing commitments.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

As an MMORPG guild leader for 8 years, I've had somewhere between 50 and 100 members that were above 50 years old, and over a dozen well into their retirement. SO I know for a fact your friend is full of crap! And no, I intend to game until something stops me. Either death, a lack of arms or blindness.

I MAY be playing games less because of joint stiffness. In which case I'll take more walks and start doing drugs.

I agree with you, but I very much doubt you'd see them kicking ass in Battlefield 3 any time soon. It is scientifically accurate that your ability to receive, process, and act on information from our senses degrades over time. Our brains literally start to shrink so it becomes harder to learn new things (or new combos/abilities).

I'm not saying it would be impossible, but it wont be as easy as a teen learning a new video game.

 

[Jason Rayes]

I think you end up gaming a lot less to the point that it's like giving it up when you start college. After college it's like wow now I'm busy with my career and possibly family. I have gaming phases where I'll play for like 4 months and then stop for about a year. Really I don't think it's an age thing as much as it is a too busy or I have more important priorities now thing.

I go through phases too, for a lot of reasons. Normally I will game heavily when something I really wanted comes out then go do something else til the next big thing rolls along. The point is even in the lulls, I know that I haven't given up gaming as such, games are just on hiatus while I do other stuff.

 

[Jason Rayes]

edit: the upside of being senile is that mass effect 3 suddenly becomes worth a replay.

Yeah, you keep forgetting how it ends!

 

[Sonicron]

There is some truth to what your friend is saying, but the magical switch moves both ways. Sometimes people just change their ways, hobbies and all, and while some of us will no doubt give up games at some point in our lives, others who never much cared for them will suddenly start playing once they're old. Heck, back when I played WoW I had some fellow guilders who were in fact a married couple in their 70s. Everything's possible.
That said, I do believe what we do for leisure in the various later stages of our lives is strongly influenced by how we grew up. People usually discover who they are during their youth, and quite a lot of old folks I know today tell me the things they do for fun now are things they grew up with; therefore, I don't think it's much of a stretch to say many of us will go on to keep playing games (albeit different ones perhaps as we age) right up until the Reaper comes calling.