Poll: Giving up gaming because you're old

[BeeGeenie]

I, for one, can not wait 'til I get to say "Get off my lawn, or I'll frag you, Noob!" Dang kids today.

Most people who enjoy gaming will always enjoy gaming.
My Grandma gave us our first PC (Apple II, good times).

My other Grandma gave us our first NES. Games are a lot more complex than back then, and her reflexes aren't great, but I bet she could still accidentally send Mario flying off a cliff, like a little old Boss.

 

[dimensional]

I game less than I used to but thats because I am doing other things (mainly self study) that take up a lot of my time but I still game more than I watch movies or listen to the radio or watch tv (which I gave up 12 years ago because I thought it was almost all crap).

I enjoy gaming and wont stop its just that I game less now its a treat I look forward to rather than something I overindulge in. Really reading and gaming are my two biggest hobbies I suppose and I cant see that changing.

 

[PureChaos]

When I'm old pretty much the only reason I'll give up playing games is because the arthritis makes gets in the way too much

 

[pilouuuu]

Never! I'm 35 and the only reason I could think to stop playing is that there are no more good games for some reason and even then I could go and play some classics.

Right now I feel I bit piss off by the lack of innovation in the industry and stupid things like DRM and always on-line crap, but there's always something interesting and fun to play.

I don't think age has anything to do with your hobbies.

 

[DugMachine]

Unless I get some awful arthritis or lose my hands I don't see myself stopping. Been gaming since I was 3 (now 27) and don't see myself stopping anytime soon. I have slowed down to maybe 3 hours a week though when I get really busy. Sometimes not at all but that's because real life matters get too hectic and I just can't find the time, not because I don't want to.

My parents are convinced that at some magical age I'm going to become a fewtbawl guy and start drinking beer and do manly shit. Yeah if I ever have a kid and have to stop for maybe a year or two they'll think they were right but it's whatever. I know i'll game till I die.

 

[The Funslinger]

I'd look at Rooster Teeth for a prime example of a group of people prepared to game well into their old age.

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"

Um...

No. That's one of the more ignorant things I've read today. And I read radfemhub for giggles.

 

[IndomitableSam]

Ha. No. Never. My sister and I both have issues with our hands (yay arthritis running in the family) and our hands can hurt often, but we still play. Shit, my mother still plays.

Me? I spend my work day on the forums here and elsewhere (and working), go home, shower, make dinner, and 3+ nights a week I play games until bed. Sundays are usually 8+ hours of gaming and Saturdays can be 5+ hours too. Been doing this for years. Will continue to do it.

I have a huge list of games I want to play. Ones not out yet, ones I haven't played yet, and ones I want to replay. I'm always excited about playing and often find real life gets in the way. (I may get some grief from people at the party I'm throwing next weekend as some friends don't get gaming, but some others will look at my new build - the tower itself is a beast - and get excited. The rest are just happy I have a Wii and a Kinect so the kids are distracted if they bring them.)

I'll never give up gaming. It's as important to me as reading.

 

[D Moness]

34 here. I always joked I was born with a controller in my hands(highly likely i will die with one in my hands though).

I have been gaming as long as I remember and still love it. I also love board games and pen&paper tabletop rp'ing(same D&D group for over 14 years now). Though I combine it with my love for movies and animation.

At the moment i am counting down for 2 things:

1) Lego lord of the rings
2) WiiU

 

[Tahaneira]

I put down 'no' because that's how I feel at the moment, but in all honesty, how could I possibly know? Maybe it will happen. Maybe it will never happen.

I guess I'll just have to find out.

 

[Swyftstar]

One of the things I look forward too when I'm really older is that instead of staring at bad tv for hours on end like I've seen some people in care centers do, I will be exploring some cave in Elder Scrolls XXXV. So no, your friend is silly. He is still of the mindset that games are for kids and you eventually grow out of them, just that it will take a bit longer than previously thought.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Depend where I am when I'm old.
I mean one of the reasons why some people had given up on gaming whose were gamers is the past is due to life like starting a family or working in a new ful time job that comsume alot of work hours.

 

[shogunblade]

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.

This, right here.

I'm not into games really now (I have a hella bunch to consider playing, though), but I need something to occupy my time when Schoolwork or life isn't keeping me busy (or, you know, at the end of a long day, which is where I spend most of my game time at)

However, until either the inevitable girlfriend (which is coming up soon, I feel) or my work schedule starts to pile up (also coming soon), I will be fine with putting games up for awhile, but I don't think I'll get rid of gaming altogether. It'll become less and less like something I need to do.

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

All this stuff about Old Folk not being able to learn is bullshit. People often decide one day that they're Old, and then get all sad about life and start waiting to die. If you don't decide to do that, you can do whatever the hell you want, barring disease or whatever. There are 80-year-olds who waterski, hike mountains, play video games, what have you.

So do what you want in your life. If people think you're stupid because you're 60 and play games, tell them to shove off and go back to your game.

Find friends who share your passions. Find a SO or a spouse who don't look down on your gaming. If you decide one day that having kids is more important than video games, this isn't an admission of defeat; it's just a change of life priorities. It doesn't mean you hate gaming or are too old for gaming. It just means you got another priority, like a job or school or something.

It's *okay.* Just go live your life.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I don't see myself ever growing too old for games. I see myself eventually switching to things like turn based RPGs and strategy games if (when) I get arthritis in my hands bad enough to make action games impossible, but giving it up completely? I'd have to lose both arms for that to happen. The whole running out of time thing is already happening -- I've played maybe two or three hours of games in the last two weeks -- but still, if you enjoy it you make time for it.

Besides, whoever said that the kind of old people who putter around in their gardens and play lawn bowling grew up in a different time was right. When we're all in our 80's, we'll be old fossils playing videogames, while the new generation is off enjoying their holodeck or whatever the latest thing is by then.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I can't imagine a world where I don't play video games.

I certainly feel that interest in something can wain over time. There was a time in my life I wanted to play everything, now at 23 thats kinda reeled in. Only like one or two releases a year really peak my interest.

But so long as they keep making games I'm interested in I'm going to keep playing them.

 

[Sampsa]

Of course school and work are taking more and more time, but I've never thought of dropping this hobby. Decreased free time (not surprisingly) acctually makes me appreciate gaming moments even more.

 

[Catrixa]

Ah yes, the old "you're too old for ___!" My parents spent a good chunk of their lives trying to work that angle on me. No, I'm pretty sure you start gardens because you like plants, not because your brain is genetically designed to inevitably want to garden. Not quite sure what the advantage of that would be anyway. If you hit "old" (in 30 years this will hopefully be like, 100 or something) and you're still playing games, there's nothing wrong with you. Likewise, if you want to garden, that's a thing, too. Nothing dictates hobbies; they're all about what you're interested in at the moment. Now, if you hit some arbitrary-double-digit age and pick up wanton murder and destruction, that might indicate something has gone wrong in your head...

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Ah yes, the old "you're too old for ___!" My parents spent a good chunk of their lives trying to work that angle on me. No, I'm pretty sure you start gardens because you like plants, not because your brain is genetically designed to inevitably want to garden. Not quite sure what the advantage of that would be anyway. If you hit "old" (in 30 years this will hopefully be like, 100 or something) and you're still playing games, there's nothing wrong with you. Likewise, if you want to garden, that's a thing, too. Nothing dictates hobbies; they're all about what you're interested in at the moment. Now, if you hit some arbitrary-double-digit age and pick up wanton murder and destruction, that might indicate something has gone wrong in your head...

That reminds me, actually. I was in the car with my Mom the other day, and we were listening to NPR. Someone on whatever program we were listening to mentioned that the average gamer was now 30 years old, and she just shook her head and said "how sad is that?" The older generation never truly accepts the new medium. It's up to those that grow up with it as a fact of life to integrate it into society.

 

[Shifty]

Age - 30

House - Check
Full time job - Check
Missus - Check
Kids - Nope
Studying by night - check
Other hobbies - check
Still gaming - bet your damn arse check

I don't plan on stopping gaming. I enjoy it as a pass time. Unless something better comes along why would I stop doing something I like. Strange thread.

 

[DragonStorm247]

Unless your age physically prevents you from gaming (ie degenerating eyesight, motor control, etc), nothing is going to stop you. The closest thing might be getting a full time job and a family and whatnot that just doesn't give you time to play anymore. But if you maintain gaming through that, hitting retirement age only means you'll have more time again.