Older gamers

[RukiaFae]

I'm turning the big 30 this year. Time files so fast I'm glad you posted this. My one good friend in the game stopped playing just before Stormblood. It would be great to find some new friends to head into ShbB with.

[Arrhin]

Oof, nursing home...fite me. Yup, lots of older players now, most ppl born in the 60's had exposure and watch the industry grow. Both me Mum n Dad still plays -something- an they're both in their 70's. Me? I started on Intellivision type stuffs, we never had a OG Nintendo but we got a PS1 an that's when I got into FFVII hardcore. I played all of them after that except anythin after XIII (The firs one) and XI (No money, no internets, peasant). I'm currently playing through VII on PC, and XV is kinda on the backlog because I rather enjoy XIV and VII more xD. FWIW I bin playin XIV since 2.0 I couldn play 1.0 even though I wanted because my computer was a popato at the time, Intel decelerator graphics ftw

[SamSmoot]

Bunch of kiddies here.. Currently 71 myself. (Played WoW since BC, now here). I would have played in my teens, but in the 60's, there were no computers on earth powerful enough to run games like this.

[Arrhin]

Bunch of kiddies here.. Currently 71 myself. (Played WoW since BC, now here). I would have played in my teens, but in the 60's, there were no computers on earth powerful enough to run games like this.

Fook ya! Keep on truckin! Me Da is about yer age, always talks about this 20 meg HDD they had at his work that was the size of an ottoman whilst holding up his smartphone for reference. Even in his 70's he's a huge tech buff, I love it!

[Penthea]

You're too young to be worried about being old... :P

You say that but I have come across some players who claim they're getting old because they hit their mid-20s. When you see that in your 30's it's just -_-

Sometimes younger players tend to assume someone older won't be interested in hanging with them which can lead to unintended exclusion.

Some people mature slower so you do find some in their early 20s who act like teenagers, which can then lead to the older player excluding themselves.

This one isn't a problem for me, but I know it's been a problem for others. Some tend to look at older players as a figure of authority or wisdom which can lead to an unwanted expectation of being a leader or a source of advice, when all that person wants to do is chill and game.

Most tend to not care much for age but people unintentionally making the age gap feel like a negative thing does happen, which then can lead to feeling out of place.

I rarely come across actual issues due to my age, but there have been times in the past when I have felt like I didn't belong because of the above happening. Presently I hang around people who honestly make me forget that I'm quite a bit older than some of them

[Arrhin]

You say that but I have come across some players who claim they're getting old because they hit their mid-20s. When you see that in your 30's it's just -_-

Sometimes younger players tend to assume someone older won't be interested in hanging with them which can lead to unintended exclusion.

Some people mature slower so you do find some in their early 20s who act like teenagers, which can then lead to the older player excluding themselves.

This one isn't a problem for me, but I know it's been a problem for others. Some tend to look at older players as a figure of authority or wisdom which can lead to an unwanted expectation of being a leader or a source of advice, when all that person wants to do is chill and game.

Most tend to not care much for age but people unintentionally making the age gap feel like a negative thing does happen, which then can lead to feeling out of place.

I rarely come across actual issues due to my age, but there have been times in the past when I have felt like I didn't belong because of the above happening. Presently I hang around people who honestly make me forget that I'm quite a bit older than some of them

See, there's three types of gamers I believe. One, where gamers sees their character as an extension of 'emselves, so they build the lil bugger to look like em, an they present themselves as nothin more than themselves in social arenas. The second is where they see their character as someone they wish to be, or project a different aspect of themselves, an introvert bein an extrovert for example. They often RP an have very thought out character customization, play different races or genders. The third is those who are there for the game an just the game, all about mechanics and challenge. These ppl can fall into either of the firs categories as well however. I tend to fall in the second group, I don RP much at all, but I ONLY present myself as my character, nobody gets to know who I am an I find that a comforting shield against the issues you mention. I mean, I do use VC quite a bit, but there's a no real name rule in all our channels an if yer not comfortable in VC then jus listen in an type in chat, we will all see it. Any other information you volunteer is up to you but personal stuffs is discouraged. There are a select group of fekkers that know about me irl but thems the ones I bin playin wit for years an have earned that trust. I'm not advocating one way o'er the other like, but you get the picture

[Lilseph]

Bunch of kiddies here.. Currently 71 myself. (Played WoW since BC, now here). I would have played in my teens, but in the 60's, there were no computers on earth powerful enough to run games like this.

Out of curiosity, even though consoles were very limited back then. How accesible were they for the general public? o.o

[tdb]

Out of curiosity, even though consoles were very limited back then. How accesible were they for the general public? o.o

I didn't live that era, but I know my history so I can shed some light on this.

During the 60s video games were only available on minicomputers, most commonly found in universities or larger companies. It wasn't until the early 70s that the first publicly available video games made an appearance, in both arcade and home console versions. The home consoles were incredibly simplistic, consisting largely of variants of Pong. Most of them didn't even support interchangeable games. By today's standards they weren't very widespread, but they were nevertheless commercial products which anyone could buy.

The late 70s saw the development of the first truly programmable video game consoles, with rudimentary raster graphics capabilities. The Atari 2600 was sold in amounts comparable to some of the current consoles, but has since fallen into relative obscurity.

[Andevom]

Just turned 33 myself, and my FC is mainly comprised of people around my age or older. There's certainly no shortage, we're out there!

[Gemina]

A lot of gamers are comprised of Gen X. This is the generation that grew up playing video games, and their parents only did "adult" activities. They were kids back when arcades were filled with games like Pac-man, Ms. Pac-man, Galaga, Q-bert, Dig Dug, and Donkey Kong. They were also kids/teenagers as games evolved into what they are today. Computer games back then on the good 'ol greenscreen were inferior, but they will tell you that Snakebite, Ping Pong, and Oregon Trail were some of the most fun games they've played.

They were still very young as generation after generation of consoles were released; from Atari, to sega/Nintendo, to super Nintendo/sega genesis. They played the first black n white handhelds, got yelled at from their parents for running up the phone bill calling hotlines, and dumped a small fortune into arcade games like Afterburner, Street Fighter II, TMNT, X-Men, Tekken, NARC, Double Dragon, Golden Axe, Ghouls and Ghosts. We saw the birth of Fatalities and "C-C-C-C-Combo Breakerrrrrr!" They know of the secret code to life aka (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a, start). They will tell you that Ninja Gaiden was the most stupidly ridiculous challenging game to ever exist.

Have I milked any nostalgic tears yet? Allow me to continue...

Loitering at theatres and 7-11's was a thing, and they saw Sony come in and schite on both Nintendo and Sega as they revolutionized the gaming industry with the OG PS1 and games like Metal Gear Solid, FFVII, and Castlevania - Symphony of the Night. Consoles like the Nintendo 64 and Neo Geo tried and failed to compete. Sega, blasted right out of the competition and becoming just a software developer. Arcade games and businesses started to become increasingly redundant as consoles became so powerful. This was ALL prior to the age of the internet and the next revolution of gaming which we know of today as online gaming. The PS2, the last great pre-internet gaming console developed some attachable hardware so they too could get in on the action, and were able to get in on our lovely and memorable FFXI. Console gamers were online for the first time, and green as green can be. And gen x was STILL in their 20's. Still kids learning the ways of the world.

This is why my money is on the majority of the playerbase being in their late 30's and 40's, which if you couldn't tell already, is the range I am in. Being this age today is not the same as it was 30-40 years ago. We still love to play games, because people tend to like to do things that make them feel young, and allow their inner child to come out. We have adult responsibilities now, and many of us have children of our own, and some of you youngins reading this now have a Gen X parent who I am guessing loves to play video games during their pastime.

I took about seven years off from gaming, and when I came back I felt like a vampire in slumber for centuries. The release of PS3/PS4, Game Cube/Wii, and both Xbox systems passing me by. Everything had changed during that time. FFXIV was the game I came into and I was just like, "whoaaaa!" I'm still like that. A lot of what you guys see as standard, I am still learning. Savage Raids?? You mean there's content more difficult than the NM stuff I get my ass handed to me in? That's me. If you don't recognize some of the stuff I mentioned earlier, you're a young buck.

Pssst! Ninja Gaiden is still the toughest effin game ever!