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The Aging Gamer
An anonymous reader writes "There is a short article at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle about the surprising statistic that a large potion of computer gamers are over 35. This actually makes sense, since many of them began gaming in the 70's. A short and semi-interesting read."
---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
I would be more interested in seeing how many of these people are unmarried ... or divorced as a direct result of gaming
I used to (somewhat apologetically) explain to people that I had spent last friday night playing GTA3 (I'm 28). I used to think I was a loser, but it's nice to know I'm part of a larger demographic! :)
Then again, this doesn't necessarily mean I'm not a loser, just not the only one!
With the technology available when these 35-year-olds are 70, they'll be able to have fully immersive games embedded in their walkers.
Now that I am over 35 (egad! Going to hit 28h soon!) I can actually afford the games. The ones I buy would have been a heck of a lot of allowance or lawns in my day. In fact, I think this age thing also has to do with the fact that games are much better than they used to be too - from a hardware and software point. When I first started out there wasn't much available for my $3500 Leading Edge...
"If you are on fire you can just stop, drop, and roll. If you fall into Lava you are just dead." - my 5yr old daughter
What popular games were out on the PC platform in the 70's? Perhaps they're talking about Super Mario or Pacman?
Does this same age group dominate the console market too? If so, then perhaps Nintendo and Playstation should change their target demographics. Stop selling games with "FREE Bike Decals!" and replace it with "FREE Car Insurance Estimate!"
I am sure everyone knows what "Nintendo Thumb" is. Playing so long that you form blisters on top of blisters.
What kind of health hazards do we need to watch out for in the future.
Chronic arthritis of the thumbs is one thing but what happens when we all start gaming in VR?
Look maybe I exaggerated a bit. He has eaten, he has slept - a bit. I read the Korean thing. I'm trying to give him some space while school's out. But I'm willing to consider alternatives, if it will help him to have a happier life.
Geez, give me a break $0 elite; some constructive suggestions would go down well........
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For great justice!
This actually makes sense, since many of them began gaming in the 70's.
Right, this makes sense. If you are 35 and you are gaming, you must have been doing so your entire lifetime.
How about this instead: Someone who is 35 now was in their mid teens when arcade games were really big in the mid eighties. They started playing the games non-stop. Most of them did not play on computers at home, they went out to an arcade.
Fast forward ten to fifteen years. Home game consoles are so cheap and so powerful that they're better than going to the arcade. The same people who went to the arcade started buying the game consoles.
Which brings us to today. Believe it or not folks, I actually know some people who are over 35 years old, and they might actually fool you into thinking they weren't wearing Depends. Most of them still like doing the things they did when they were in their late teens and early twenties, which includes gaming.
Now, if the study had claimed that the average gaming age was 40 or 45, that would have been a little harder to swallow.
Karma: Chevy Kavalierma.
> That is quite scary, considering that gaming is at an all time high right now...so, if in 20 years
> 90+% of gamers are over 35, i wouldn't be shocked....
Ummmm. That really doesn't make any sense. The birth rate isn't plummetting catastrophically. I teach high school - and I assure you that a large fraction of the 14-year-olds on down are quite hooked. They'll be 34 in 20 years, and I don't see any likely reason that gaming would stop gaining recruits. 10 or so to 35 is an awfully big fraction of the population, much more than 10% - even if they WERE underrepresented in the gaming group, they'd claim more than 10% of it. And I see such an underrepresentation as unlikely. A higher fraction of today's youth are gamers, for instance, than were gamers in the 70s.
"REAL geeks think that Y2K happens in the year 2048."
Don't you mean 2038? Assuming of course, that you are referring to the problems that may occur in 2038 when the number of seconds since the beginning of the UNIX epoch will overflow 32 bit integers.
~Phillip
When potion is consumed, 12 hit-dice of computer gamers are summoned in the area surrounding the consumer. Half of the summoned computer gamers will attack the enemies of the party of the consumer, half will form an opposing team and attack the other half (and the party itself). They will remain for 6 turns, until unsummoned, or until the supply of Mountain Dew runs out, whichever occurs first.
1. One moment mom, I just have to save my game!
2. I'll be there soon honey, I'm almost done
3. Damnit Martha where are my spectacles? I can't see the crosshairs and I'm 4 frags behind.
If I can find a game that's not a repeat-concept when I'm 40 I'll be very happy - phorm
Wrong. Being a bad parent would be not even knowing what your kid has been doing for the last two weeks. This guy knows. And if you force a kid to stop whatever they are doing for no good reason other than "because so elite said so" then they're just going to get pissed off at you and nothing's solved. Then the kid's going to be angry and forced to find something else fun to do before he was prepared to which sounds like a good path toward all sorts of problematic behavior.
You sound like you don't have kids yourself and you're one of the armchair parents like the ones that run this country. You know the type, the ones that think that they should have complete control over the raising of every child in the country yet can't manage their own family.
People won't be complaining about the food, they'll be saying "This internet connection isn't any good"
I remember when Quake 3 was all the rage.
in our old folks homes get a loada the way we can press that call button!
Cake or Death? Cake Please!
The smallest fraction with integral dividend and divisor that produces .924 is 231/250. (3*7*11 / 5*5*5*2)
:-)
Empirical observation suggests that your implicit claim that there are 19 (250-231) Slashdot editors that can spell is false, unless you can produce 19 such editors. (Difficult, since the entire universe of discourse is what, six people?)
I suspect something has gone wonky with your math, and suggest you correct it posthaste. Alternatively, you can clarify what you mean by a fractional editor.
For the humorless,
An open letter to the editors of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:
Your articles are only quasi-interesting. Semi-interesting. You're the margarine of interesting. You're the Slashdot of interesting -- only one calorie, not interesting enough!
Thank you.
I told you once
No you didn't
Yes I did
When
Just now
No you didn't.
Look if I argure, I must take up a contrary positionI
yes but that isn't just saying "no it isn't"
yes it is
no it isn't
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For great justice!
...just for the older gamer, like me.
I'm 38, and I still enjoy most kinds of games. Least amused by D&D style games like Neverwinter Nights (great title, though). I still rock with FPS and easily kick the ass of most people my age. Been playing a long time, since the 70's and Mattel's handheld football, the Ataris, and even DEC terminals with Camel and Trek.
Passing time with Diablo II still, getting into some Sims, been really fragging the shit out of some young-ums in Quake 3, and looking forward to showing young meat how to catch a lightsaber when Jedi Knight II comes out for Mac OS X in a couple of weeks.
Yep, card carrying, Excellent Fragging Member of The Old Gamers Club: Where you are never too young to get your ass kicked.
I sincerely plan to be old but still able to hang and beat my grandchildren at whatever marvels show up in the future. I was around during the dawn of the electronic gaming age, and my "Tron finger" is as snappy as ever.
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.