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

[FuzzyRaccoon]

You know, I did have more then one theory about it so not even sure what you're saying 'No' too. Also, our generation in gaming is aiming for the older audience, since over more then half the games that come out are for 'Mature only'. Not to mention not everyone has siblings to play with like me.. since my older brothers moved out, and I always play alone.

And of course it has to do with games you choose to play haha, why else would there be so many Call of Duty fans? Not trolling or mad, just laughing cause if we didn't choose the games we played, how would we have fun ever rather then feeling like we have no say.

Me: "I want to play Dead Space mom-"

Mom: "NO! You must play Final Fantasy 13!!"

Yea.. I mean that game was okay but really everyone chooses which game to play thus was actually my last theory about why so many young teens choose to play Black Ops, yet many are rude on there too...

I was saying no to the general direction you were taking with your theories. I didn't actually mean it to sound as abrupt as it did though. And it's been talked about a lot that a lot of those that are playing games like that really aren't mature. At most, the ratings are considered something like a guideline, which I strongly disagree with. That however, isn't what we were really talking about though.

I never play with my brother. He lives in California. I live 2000 miles away. I meant that I grew up watching him play games, this sparked my interest in games. Because I have an interest in games, I'm going to by them. My best friends little brother is 14, he's obsessed with Halo and CoD. You see him play online all the time, and when he gears up with HIS best friend, they're insufferable.

Yes... exactly. I'm answering the question he had. You know, about why he's not finding people in his demographic? He might find more people his age if he looked at a game that 15 year olds aren't really interested. Like Warhammer 40K. Or Diablo. Or Metro 2033. Or singleplayer old school RPGs.

Edit: Nah, at first I was annoyed, but I thought about it, and I probably came off like a douche too. So you know, no hard feelings either way. xD.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I'm 29, and I haven't used a mic much in several years. Especially on consoles. I'm usually assumed to be a kid by people much younger than me and constantly given shit, when I do. It's less annoying if I don't even try.

People my age and well into their 30's likely grew up playing games, and it's not as if our hobbies must suddenly change when we're no longer kids. Maybe it's just because I work at a game studio with a lot of older people, but it doesn't seem strange at all to me.

 

[squid5580]

On XBL it is pretty safe to assume that you aren't hearing many voices because of the party system. Most would rather stick with people they know than listen to a bunch of random people.

Ps3 on the other hand requires you to buy a headset. That is a pretty big factor to why they are quiet.

 

[Jason Danger Keyes]

It's because the only people who think other players want to listen to them yammering on are 13.

 

[Merkavar]

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?

probably cause the people under 15 are also the loud mouthed swearing agressive immature idiotsthat scream over the mic thewhole game about every kill or death they get.

and the 30+ people are off actuallywinning the game by going after objectives and not screaming over the mic.

everyone that i know that games are 20-30.

 

[ATRAYA]

I feel sorry for all of the people giving up gaming because of some societal bullshit about games being for kids. In my opinion, if you have friends who think gaming is some sort of disease, or "just for kids", then you don't want friends like that. Abandon them. This medium is rapidly growing stronger, and one day those friends you gave up who hated your "crazy hobby" are going to realize that we are a mature (mostly), sentient, and creative industry. We can do much! Don't give up what you love for the sake of society!

(Note: If you consider this forum, or the gaming community, a society, then DON'T give up your friends. Otherwise you'd just be doing what I told you not to do. lol)

Oh, and I am a young(er?) gamer, but I usually don't wear a headset, due to all the immature kids screaming on the other end. I guess you could say I play like an older gamer.

 

[MordinSolus]

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?

Apologies in advance for the long post, I just wanted to inform you of the modern online gaming world.

There seems to be a problem with your post. The majority of gamers on multiplayer and co-op online are under the age of 8. Regarding trying to meet someone your age, try games that aren't Halo, COD, Gears of War, etc. If you have to think a little in a game (Dead Rising, Resident Evil, etc.), little kids stay away from it or shun it because they suck at it. I found a lot of people over 20 on those games. And if you find a little kid, you can always boot them. And concerning the last part, the thirty-somethings are hiding from the 8 year olds screaming, "Quit f***ing camping you f***ing f***tard n00b! Lololololololololololololololololol!"

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

Thats a good question. I don't have an answer.

The oldest person I know that plays games is 33, and that is only one of my friends. I suppose our average age is 21ish still...

Maybe because the children are the loudest? I've been in good lobbies with people who were obviously older, and they were much quieter and enjoyable games.

 

[The Gnome King]

By the time you're "of age" your interests should have grown beyond sitting slack-jawed on the couch playing useless games.

Exactly, this!

*Everyone* knows that at a certain time in your life, you *must* graduate from sitting slack-jawed on the couch playing useless games, and _graduate_ to sitting slack-jawed on the couch watching useless TV.

Everyone knows this.

Bonus points for adding alcoholism to the mix, taking on a mistress/having an affair, or drowning your life in a pointless-yet-financially fulfilling corporate drone job.

(Yes. That was sarcastic.)

Seriously, people, are we still really that concerned about what people think of our hobbies?

 

[aPod]

By the time you're "of age" your interests should have grown beyond sitting slack-jawed on the couch playing useless games.

Exactly, this!

*Everyone* knows that at a certain time in your life, you *must* graduate from sitting slack-jawed on the couch playing useless games, and _graduate_ to sitting slack-jawed on the couch watching useless TV.

Everyone knows this.

Bonus points for adding alcoholism to the mix, taking on a mistress/having an affair, or drowning your life in a pointless-yet-financially fulfilling corporate drone job.

(Yes. That was sarcastic.)

Seriously, people, are we still really that concerned about what people think of our hobbies?

Humans at their core are social creatures.

OT: I think part of the reason i don't find many gamers my age is because with age comes wisdom, you learn that you save the bs for the birds and if theres nothing worth saying why say it.

Having said that i'm glad i lack wisdom because i love bs'ing.

 

[DestinyDriven]

Online multiplayer is something I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.
I'm not in my 30's though. I'm in my early 20's.

 

[NoNameMcgee]

Because "gamers" are also classed as housewives who exclusively play popcap games and people bored at work playing Facebook app games.. and people who casually play the Wii every now and then. Theres no clear boundary for what is and isnt a gamer.

No, most gamers are not in their mid-thirties. You can tell just by this community and any other gaming community you can find online. I certainly wish it was true though...

 

[The Gnome King]

Humans at their core are social creatures.

OT: I think part of the reason i don't find many gamers my age is because with age comes wisdom, you learn that you save the bs for the birds and if theres nothing worth saying why say it.

Having said that i'm glad i lack wisdom because i love bs'ing.

I'd say two things:

1) With age comes experience; valuable but not necessarily the same as wisdom.

2) Playing games is at its core a far more "social" activity than watching TV.



I'm a 32 year old gamer; gaming being my main hobby in life hasn't stopped me from getting married and enjoying a happy marriage, having time for a wife and partner, running D&D games for a six-man (and woman) group of 30-40something gamers including a couple of disabled vets that have at least a decade of "wisdom" on me, etc.

It's all about priorities and not caving to "social pressure" - I guess the betas might cave to social pressure and stop their gaming when they become "too old"; the alphas always make their own damn rules.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

I'm 33 and a girl - you should see some of the looks I get when people find out how much I adore gaming and work for a games publisher. It's a fascinating expression, generally along the lines of "Oh... right... Really?" Some of them are obviously thinking I should know better and have more responsible things to worry about. Pfft.

Luckily, most of my friends are also gamers. Some of us are married, some of us are engaged, all of us are gainfully employed. None of us have kids though. Maybe we're too busy still acting like kids ourselves.

If I'm playing a multiplayer thing, generally I prefer it to be with people I know. I don't want random kiddies every time. I prefer network games with my friends. I've raided in EverQuest for five years, and that was with a set guild of people - you come to know them and their playstyles so you can work with each other. It's never the same when it's a bunch of six people who've not played together before, all kinds of misunderstandings can happen. Not that they will happen of course, but there's greater potential.

There's also that thing where frankly, the older you get, the more annoying teenagers are when all they're worried about is the number of naughty words they can squeeze into a sentence, teabagging and their own e-peen. I don't care. Got better things to do than listen to that, thanks. It bores me.

The upshot is, I'll happily use Ventrilo or Teamspeak when I know the people I'm gaming with. Otherwise... Nah. And when you don't speak, no-one knows how old you are, or even what you are. Heh, I still remember fondly the day when I first used TS to my EQ guild and half of them had a shock when they realised their raid leader was a woman. Good times.

 

[MorganL4]

Simple, you have 1 108 year old dude that plays video games, and a bunch of 5 year olds........ and those outliers bring the average to 30........yay maths ( btw this post is a load of bollox)

But I have always looked at anything with the word "average" with skepticism. Now if you find me the median age and come up with 30 THEN we can have this discussion.