"Too old" to play video games.

[bojackx]

I was about to make a thread very similar to this because of an article I saw in the Metro that made me mad. It was about when you "finally grow up" and it said that men grow up at 43 and women at 32, defining immaturity as things like "making the same jokes again and again, staying silence during arguments, being unable to cook simple meals and playing video games." It was apparently research conducted by Nickelodeon at some university.

So whilst I don't think you can be too old to play games, at least this moronic article seems to disagree.

 

[BakedSardine]

I have this argument with my wife all the time - I'm 38, she's 43, and it's like we are in completely different worlds when it comes to games. She sees it as a waste of time (or as she would put it "I'd rather be doing something else if I was just going to sit there and play a game"), and I recognize it as the valid entertainment medium that it actually is. What is working your brain more - playing through any game where you have to actively make decisions and give inputs or watching House Hunters on HGTV? No contest.

 

[antidonkey]

You're never too old to enjoy the things you enjoy. While I don't play as often as I used to, I still enjoy playing video games as I rapidly approach 40. My father is 67 and he plays them. He's not into COD or anything like that but he enjoys various casino themed games as well as stuff usually labeled as casual. There will always be naysayers but I find playing a video game is a better use of my free time than watching TV.

 

[Artina89]

No I don't believe you are ever too old. As long as you still derive enjoyment from playing games, then carry on playing games. You are never too old to stop doing something you enjoy doing in my opinion.

 

[TrevHead]

My dad is 68 on Friday has a monster PC rig and probably spends more time playing games then I do. I'm also buying him a game for this birthday.

 

[BlackJimmy]

The moment you're too old for games is the moment you're to old to watch movies.

 

[Not Matt]

allow me to laugh at that idea: ha ha ha. okay i am done laughing. Games are a new medium yes, but that doesn't mean you need to be young to use it. You don't have to be old to read books, you don't need to be middle aged to watch tv. It is a medium, open to everybody that wish to be entertained by it. I've caught my dad playing GTA V just enough times for it to start being annoying (he has done half the story missions for me)

 

[Stavros Dimou]

My mother is 57 and casually plays NES games like Bomberman,spending about 3 to 10 hours a week gaming.
It's not a matter of age,it's a matter of taste.

 

[karloss01]

the only people who would consider video games to be for children would be those who hadn't grown up with them. so No you are never too old for video games.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Well...technically Video Games are toys. That being said though, they're also an entertainment medium that provides more interactivity than any other, similar medium (films, TV, etc). I don't like the thought that anyone can be too old to play video games, especially when you consider how just a couple of years ago just about every news network was reporting excitedly how many old people were getting active with this newfangled Wii thing.

When I was a kid I didn't really consider adults to be game players...even though it was my Dad who bought our NES and I'm sure he used it more than I did. He doesn't play the kind of games that are considered popular but he's into hunting sims and pinball tables...wait, what would pinball tables be considered as? Pinball may not count as a video game but there are VG elements in each table...

 

[Hoplon]

No offense, actually, screw the no offense. It's is one of the stupidest questions to ever ask on a gaming forum. Ever. If not the worst. We ALL know what the answer will be by everyone. There is no point in discussing something that has not only been discussed to death, but also is being asked in a forum for gamers. Of course you are never too old to be playing video games, it's obvious.

Sorry, I'm doing this out of love I guess, I'm newer to this specific forum, but I have enough experience to tell a good topic from a bad. This is bad. There is no discussion. None.

To try and mix things up, let me attempt to play the Devil's Advocate for a bit. Now, video games are a medium like books, live action or animated motion pictures. Let's assume one does not ever get "to old" to enjoy works in a given medium.


So you can't necessarily ever get too old for works in a medium. But does there come a point when sticking to low quality material (like most of the stories in the still-short history of video games) or only things with which you are familiar without ever broadening your horizons become harmful? I would say yes this is possible.

If someone only ever reads books in the science fiction genre, they're artificially restricting themselves from some great experiences. Just like people who never play any video games. Similarly, if someone only ever plays a few types of games or plays games to the exclusion of all other hobbies and experiences, that can also be "harmful" over time. Though only to the enrichment/roundedness of the individual. Again, just playing Devil's Advocate, I don't think this is a serious concern in most cases.

Strangely enough, this came up with the new Watchdogs "story" trailer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuAbH8Z8iwk]. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as one of the most horribly cliched run of the mill action plots is rolled out even including a dead little girl as motivation. Because there aren't enough idea's to explore in the expanding scope of surveillance and coupling that with information technology, the ramifications of which are much better explored in something like person of interest.

This game might still be good mechanically (if they ever resolve the AC terrible controls issue) but my god did they have to go so generic?

and the truth is maybe i'm just too old for the game.

 

[legend of duty]

No, but it is still viewed as immature and a waste of time by some people. Then those same people watch Law & Order: SVU for four hours straight.