Poll: How do you feel about younger gamers?

[Biosophilogical]

Im 15.
so no.
13 and under should have no mic though

as a 13 year old...i agree with this.

Actually maybe games should come with a test if your voice is above a certain pitch, you get blocked XD
And if you act like a dick you get shot with a crossbow!
ALL CONSOLES MUST NOW CONTAIN CROSSBOWS!

And they contain two back-up crossbows and a sword to make sure you reload the first one after it shoots you.

EDIT: OT: Young people's voices tend to become even higher and more annoying when heard through a mic, yet from my experience younger players insist on talking signifcantly more than any other demographic. So by all means, play online and have a mic, but maybe observe how much everyone else is speaking, halve it to remove any over-estimation, and then only speak that amount.

EDIT v2.0: I like your poll "Do you think gamers under 16 should be banned from playing online?
" "Only if the behave themselves"

 

[bakan]

I have no problem with younger players, I just have problems with your average young player on XBox-Live when I'm at my friends place.
So much flaming and hate, it's unbelievable.

 

[Uzi-Bazooka]

As the co-creator of a group for 14-year-old gamers, this is a topic that speaks to my soul. MY SOUL, BRO.
Most of us younger gamers are just like older gamers, with the same love of video games. The main difference is that a lot of us are not taken seriously.
Now, there is no denying it: some of us are schmucks. Usually, it's the kids who are trying too hard to be respected, and so are disrespectful. It's the same old peer-pressure "I want to be like you, and since you're a jerk to me, I'll be a jerk to you" escalation of conflict you get in any high school. Just more annoying. Thank goodness the mute button will always be there for us.

 

[Chris Barber]

I moderate an online RPG. So I do have to deal with the very stereotypical disruptive 13/14/whatever year olds. And the stereotype does exist for a reason. I'm in no way trying to disrespect young gamers; but I do see a theme in them where often they're around to get attention more so than they are to actually play a game.

Not everyone is like that though. I've seen young MMO gamers conduct themselves very well. People can be really chill or total jerks no matter what age they are.

 

[Richardplex]

While the stereotype is unfair, it exists for a reason: most do fall into that category. I'm going with, if your voice has broken. No offence to those who's voices haven't, but your voices make my ears ring, especially when the shrieking begins. On the other hand, when I played wow, the most mature person I knew (who became the best warlock on the server) was only 14. And I was 15 and one of the least mature people I knew, I was much more childish and annoying than I am now. Then later when I was 17, I met another guy, who was 15, who became the second most mature person I knew. But overall, the younger kids were annoying, including moi. So, I'm going with option 3, but that should apply to everyone. But being anonymous means this won't happen.

 

[Fishyash]

There are idiots of all ages.

Sure there are annoying kids, but there are plenty of annoying adults and people in their late teens who are complete and utter morons a plenty that you can't get away from.

I voted "as long as they behave". The reason for this as I think that this should apply to EVERYONE, not just people under 16. It bugs me that some people think they can act stupid just because they are older.

 

[Zyntoxic]

meh, I'd say I was way more mature when I was 13 than I am now.

but no, I have no atual problem with young gamers, I have a problem with immature noisy pricks, and these are very well represented amongst both adults and kids.

but I can relate to the hate you are mentioning, I avoid using mic or mention my gender because of haters, and idiots.

 

[dyre]

I've been in a few gaming guilds, and I'm often surprised when my reasonably mature (I mean, we don't discuss philosophy or anything, but they're generally friendly and polite) guildmates turn out to be in their early teens.

I don't think it's so much a problem with age as it is a problem with the fact that they're anonymous while gaming. When people (even little kids) are in a guild, they have a reputation to uphold, and they have gaming friends who will think lesser of them if they act like assholes. When you're an anonymous guy with an M4 Carbine and a mic, you have no such restrictions. People do really shitty things when there aren't any repercussions.

I think online games should be regulated the way forums are regulated...mods ban assholes, regardless of age.

 

[Okysho]

As the co-creator of a group for 14-year-old gamers, this is a topic that speaks to my soul. MY SOUL, BRO.
Most of us younger gamers are just like older gamers, with the same love of video games. The main difference is that a lot of us are not taken seriously.
Now, there is no denying it: some of us are schmucks. Usually, it's the kids who are trying too hard to be respected, and so are disrespectful. It's the same old peer-pressure "I want to be like you, and since you're a jerk to me, I'll be a jerk to you" escalation of conflict you get in any high school. Just more annoying. Thank goodness the mute button will always be there for us.

To be fair there are also gamers my age and older (the "gritty-real" demographic, if you'll excuse the HUGE generalization) that are also huge jerks online, (I find that they're mostly PC gamers don't wanna start a flame war, don't quote me on this.) or various series' of "that guy" to quote Mr. Croshaw. Obviously you'll get jerks everywhere (I had one of those elitist PC gamers as a floor mate, he wouldn't play anything newer than 2001 and shunned consoles before even picking up a controler a serious dick.)
I think it's just because high-pitched whiny voices stick out in our minds more, which is why you'll hear more people complain about them.

As someone who used to be a 14 year old gamer, I have no real problem with your demographic, just as long as there's a mute button when we're not in the same room and I can punch the aforementioned whiny douchebags in the face at any other time.

 

[Hellfire00]

i think that kids your age are alright, unless they are one of those kids who spend all day online and bag out people cos they think there better cos they are one level higher or got more kills or whatever.

 

[infohippie]

No, it's cool if you're young. The real rule is don't be an asshole. This includes homophobic and/or racist smacktalk, whining about getting killed, unnecessarily gloating about making a kill, unfounded accusations of cheating, or just generally being offensive.

 

[aba1]

I dont really mind I get a good laugh when you hear the children crying its funny.

 

[cainx10a]

Man-children are even worst than the few "children" (youngest might have been around 15 maybe) I have played with online. But it's pretty funny when their wives come around to knock some sense into them, even heard a few cooking pans flying around once.

 

[Zhukov]

"As long as they behave" obviously.

Besides, it's not like children are the only ones who act like morons over the net. Plenty of 18+ idiots to be found in your average game lobby.

 

[Deadyawn]

Well, I was a young gamer not all that long ago but to be honest this wasn't really an issue for me. My internet connection was so crap that the only thing I could play online without crippling lag was Hal CE. So I didn't really play online much. Still, I think the younger consumer base takes a lot of flak, more than they deserve. It's an irritating stereotype, people of any age can be a prick online. So yeah, ban asshats, not kids.

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

I'm 15 so no, unless they fit into the rascist/homophobic/whiny stereotype. I also think the idea that all of us under a certain age are retarded and only play Call Of Duty is stupid. I was 9/10 when i played Shadow Of The Colossus and Okami and that's about as far away from COD and Gears Of War as you get without venturing into pretentious, pixelated indie game territory.

EDIT: Also this.

Besides, it's not like children are the only ones who act like morons over the net. Plenty of 18+ idiots to be found in your average game lobby.

 

[Peteron]

They are fine as long as they behave. I am not a fan of younger gamers, especially when they scream into the mic with their high pitched pre-puberty voices. However, for each annoying one there is a normal kid, and there are just as many annoying kids who are over 16.

 

[Lenin211]

I think that as long as they don't rage into the mic or act annoying, then yes they can play.

 

[Thamous]

"Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought young than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".
Stupidity and assholerly don't age, that is to say people can be massive pricks at 62 just as easily as 13. Alas, the vocal minority of 13 year olds like to give the rest a bad rap. And in all honesty, I think I have heard maybe...3? annoying high pitched voices in my time gaming. The vast majority of people I end up muting sound like their over 20.

 

[darkfire613]

I think it should be maturity-based rather than age-based. I've been playing games online since I was 10 or 11 back in Star Wars Republic Commando, then when I got a 360 and Live when I was 14. I played the game, the few times I ever bothered to use voice chat I was quiet and respectful. But there are definitely other kids out there who weren't, and some adults who were even worse.