If the "average age" of today's gamer is mid-thrities, how come....

[Stall]

Because the study that generated that statistic could have used a very broad, inclusive definition of gamer. So, the average age of someone who plays a certain game online could be lower since that is a much more exclusive, narrow definition.

Plus, there is something called a "confirmation bias," meaning that you will only notice incidents that reaffirm a certain idea or perception you have (you only notice what confirms your bias). The average age of people on a certain online game COULD be higher, but you only notice young people playing it because you believe the average age to be much lower. Thus your mind is tricking you into believing the average is, in fact, lower because you only pay attention when something confirms this suspension.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I don't use a headset, the only multiplayer game genre I play is fighters anyways and talking in those ruins your focus.


Oh and I'm 23, not quite mid-thirties but not quite 14 either .

 

[Korolev]

Well, it's due to a number of things:

1) Young Kids are more likely to want to talk online. Older gamers tend not to like to converse with strangers - I mean, what would we say to each other? "So... how was your work day?" Older gamers tend to only talk to people they've played a lot of games with.

2) The average gamer age is increasing, but older gamers don't play games as much as younger gamers due to things like jobs, university course work, relationships, grocery shopping, you know all sort of stuff grown ups have to do. If you are playing online, you will notice a lot more younger people who are constantly there because they have nothing else to do.

3) Older gamers play less multiplayer, because in general they become worse at it as time goes by. I know my reflexes have dulled since I was a teenager. Look at all the "e-sport" champions - there's almost none over 30. I also don't have the time to really become good at a multiplayer game. So while I play multiplayer occasionally, I play more single player games than anything else these days. Plus, as time goes by, older gamers are more likely to want something different.

 

[Atobe-sama]

Why would you expect to hear any mature people? I am 25 and play online game, but the only reason I would turn on a mic is so I can set it aside and not have to hear anyone.

 

[irwinemporium]

I think the Peggle/Farmville crowd speaks for itself. That's obviously an older demographic. I was mainly referring to the Xbox Live/PSN crowd.

Humm, i know it will sound trollish and that people might disagree, but maybe switch to PC if you are looking for old farts? I have the impression that the average PC gamer is older, but it might just be because the console gamers i know are 24 yo kiddos and the PC gamers are my age or older.

Meh, I'm not really looking for anyone. To be honest, I'm on my way out of gaming. It was cool when I was a kid, but now it's just lame, not to mention the stigma that comes with being 26, married, and still playing video games. Some gamers won't admit it, but it DOES affect how people perceive you.

As for the gaming itself: the tethering of all things to an online account, the constant DLC, $60 games, etc. No thanks. I miss the golden-age of gaming (aka the Sega days).

haha try being 38 and still playing games, yeah i wont usually admit i play them to people. you immediately get the "they are toys look"

Oh, trust me, I've gotten "that look" before.

 

[tgbennett30]

Sound another vote for a lifelong game fan (41 now) who tired of cheating and obnoxious anonymous online players about 10 years ago (I think Quake 2 was the straw that broke the camel's back?).

Yeah, I'm married, three kids, and have nowhere near the time to devote to gaming like I did in my teens with Nintendo or even the early PC years with Duke Nukem, Quake, etc. I still enjoy gaming, though, and am fortunate enough that my wife *loves* co-op shooters like GoW, Left 4 Dead, etc.

Sure, I suppose that since I have 5-6 friends with 360's who are colleagues at my hospital, and I suppose we could group up and play online with or against each other and it would likely be a lot of fun - but our schedules are so different, I'd be shocked if we could pull 4 of us together for 1-2 hours even once a week.

As a result, we all pretty much play single-player games, and not surprisingly we tend toward RPGs like Fallout 3 and NV, etc., rather than twitch games like CoD du jour, although like I mentioned, a fair number of us do like almost any kind of co-op when sitting in the same room.

 

[Tanakh]

It was cool when I was a kid, but now it's just lame, not to mention the stigma that comes with being 26, married, and still playing video games. Some gamers won't admit it, but it DOES affect how people perceive you.

As for the gaming itself: the tethering of all things to an online account, the constant DLC, $60 games, etc. No thanks. I miss the golden-age of gaming (aka the Sega days).

GL there mate! And yeah... one of my crazy friends is 29, kid on their way and went apenuts on the Valve sell... his wife is very understanding i guess.

Nway, stigma? Dude, i am a nerd that studies his masters in math, has a long distance relationship with an aussie and loves his linux stable and his games on Win... fuck stigmas, i play because it's FUN

And it's still fun for me. The scene? Well, bite me, i find it awesome, and i don't remember a year as good for PC gaming as the past 2 have been like EVER.

If it ever stopped being fun to me? Well, i would look somewhere else, have been taken breaks from gaming here and there due that.

 

[Mysten]

From my own experience and people I know in a similar situation, older gamers are far more likely to stick with their similarly-aged, similarly-minded group of friends. A lot of what goes on in open chat doesn't appeal to older gamers - I know I favour a friendly chat about upcoming releases, what's on at the cinema and the mundane goings-on in my real life over drunken singing, shouting matches between teams and general teen angst.

O'course, that doesn't mean you'll never find people in their thirties who do enjoy that kind of stuff.

 

[genericusername64]

Call of duty player 11-30
"Gamer" that plays angry birds on his android while waiting for a business meeting to start.
Mid 30's onward
Where did you get this information anyway?

 

[Tanakh]

3) Older gamers play less multiplayer, because in general they become worse at it as time goes by.

Do mental exercises in the traffic jam, or in the subway, or in the supermarket. Run a whole match of whatever you love in your head against yourself and imagine pressing the keys, it works, i swear.

Has helped me get back some of my SF mojo.

 

[Tanakh]

Where did you get this information anyway?

Was somewhere on Slashdot a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

I think the Peggle/Farmville crowd speaks for itself. That's obviously an older demographic. I was mainly referring to the Xbox Live/PSN crowd.

Humm, i know it will sound trollish and that people might disagree, but maybe switch to PC if you are looking for old farts? I have the impression that the average PC gamer is older, but it might just be because the console gamers i know are 24 yo kiddos and the PC gamers are my age or older.

Meh, I'm not really looking for anyone. To be honest, I'm on my way out of gaming. It was cool when I was a kid, but now it's just lame, not to mention the stigma that comes with being 26, married, and still playing video games. Some gamers won't admit it, but it DOES affect how people perceive you.

As for the gaming itself: the tethering of all things to an online account, the constant DLC, $60 games, etc. No thanks. I miss the golden-age of gaming (aka the Sega days).

haha try being 38 and still playing games, yeah i wont usually admit i play them to people. you immediately get the "they are toys look"

Oh, trust me, I've gotten "that look" before.

You guys make me sad, being all ashamed of gaming like it's a bad habit or anything. Do you feel shy telling people you watch movies or read books? Games are just the same, they're an art form. Those folks will never open their eyes to their greatness if you agree with them through your conduct that all games are indeed for kids.

 

[irwinemporium]

I think the Peggle/Farmville crowd speaks for itself. That's obviously an older demographic. I was mainly referring to the Xbox Live/PSN crowd.

Humm, i know it will sound trollish and that people might disagree, but maybe switch to PC if you are looking for old farts? I have the impression that the average PC gamer is older, but it might just be because the console gamers i know are 24 yo kiddos and the PC gamers are my age or older.

Meh, I'm not really looking for anyone. To be honest, I'm on my way out of gaming. It was cool when I was a kid, but now it's just lame, not to mention the stigma that comes with being 26, married, and still playing video games. Some gamers won't admit it, but it DOES affect how people perceive you.

As for the gaming itself: the tethering of all things to an online account, the constant DLC, $60 games, etc. No thanks. I miss the golden-age of gaming (aka the Sega days).

haha try being 38 and still playing games, yeah i wont usually admit i play them to people. you immediately get the "they are toys look"

Oh, trust me, I've gotten "that look" before.

You guys make me sad, being all ashamed of gaming like it's a bad habit or anything. Do you feel shy telling people you watch movies or read books? Games are just the same, they're an art form. Those folks will never open their eyes to their greatness if you agree with them through your conduct that all games are indeed for kids.

Well, lets face it, gaming is marginalized, especially if you're in your 30's and up. It's just not socially acceptable. It's fine if you're teenager, but an adult...nah. By the time you're "of age" your interests should have grown beyond sitting slack-jawed on the couch playing useless games. Ya, they're fun (I still play games from time to time) but I do recognize the stigma attached. I'm not trying to pick a fight, just stating my opinion.

 

[Tallim]

I'm 33. All the friends I have of my own age are also gamers. Most of the people I meet play games. Remember this is an average age so there are also much older people playing games. My mother plays games and she is in her 60s.

 

[Baby Tea]

all I ever here in multi-player or co-op single-player are people that sound under the age of 15? I play a wide variety of games, from shooters to RTS, RPG's, etc. But I have yet to hear or talk to someone that sounds as old as myself (26). Where are all these thirty-somethings that supposedly make up the largest demographic of the gaming market?

Well unlike the insecure and douche-bag screaming youths you hear on XBL, we slightly older players would rather mute all of you, or play only with close friends. The only people who have patience for the 'screamers' yelling at their mom about how they don't want to take out the trash, is other screamers.

So we mute them. Or just stay quiet. Or only play with close friends.
Or, as someone else mentioned already, just play Single player games.
The only douchebag in a long game of Civ 5 is the CPU controlled Gandhi.

 

[MmmFiber]

Oh and I'm 23, not quite mid-thirties but not quite 14 either .

23 here, too. Old enough to have a life, but young enough to still play games. I hope it stays that way for quite a while.

 

[Nemu]

It's either a case of arrested development, the other people are bereft of social skills or (in my opinion the most obvious reason) because it is so very easy to be a complete douche bag on the internet. Folks are almost never held accountable for their actions, and it's easier to be a jerk than to be civil sooooo....

 

[intheweeds]

all I ever here in multi-player or co-op single-player are people that sound under the age of 15? I play a wide variety of games, from shooters to RTS, RPG's, etc. But I have yet to hear or talk to someone that sounds as old as myself (26). Where are all these thirty-somethings that supposedly make up the largest demographic of the gaming market?

I'm 32 and i play FPS online all the time. I just don't feel the need to vocalize every little thing. I've noticed the same thing, I just chalk it up to the persons age vs. their willingness to constantly chat about nothing. I just figure young'ins are just more likely to be vocal online.