Poll: At what age does liking video games become sad?

[theevilsanta]

Yeah, I'm the only guy I know that likes video games anymore. They all like pro sports or whatever. I'm also the only one that likes reading fiction. It's really why I post on sites like this. A bit of solidarity.

Oh and my fiance loves games and fiction too. Yeah. I'm pretty fantastically lucky. Right now she's mad at me because I haven't bought the next Neil Gaiman Sandman volume.

 

[Tsaba]

Sure, but that's true at any age, whether you're someone in their thirties showing up dead tired for work because you stayed up to three in the morning playing Dragon Age (well, okay, but it only happened once), or a kid in highschool neglecting their homework so they can play Dragon Age until three in the morning.

And we're all less pathetic than this poor chap:

Oddly enough this reminds me of people marrying animals....

Ahhh, how I love the internet, there's always someone more pathetic than that person you know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-animal_marriage

On target now, I don't believe it's pathetic at all to play games at any age, if you feel you need to get a better social life, go out there and get one. If your neglecting your real life for a virtual girl friend you need to be beaten to the brink of death with fricken lead pipe.

 

[ilspooner]

Never! No one should feel bad about enjoying video games! If a ninety year old guy loves video games, who am I to judge?

 

[Random Fella]

I love how everyone says it's never too late xD
I'd say 30-40 but who knows maybe i'll never quit.

 

[BoredDragon]

Video games are just another medium like T.V. or radio, so there is nothing pitiful about liking it at an older age. There are, however, 2 cases that make it sad:

1)Hearing a 3 year old on Modern Warfare (trust me its not funny, the kid was really 3 years old)

2)Being older and yelling at 12 year olds for tea-bagging your body

I list the latter because once you get about 16 and above you should really stop talking to little kids online, to ***** at them or not.

 

[ChupathingyX]

You're never too old to like something and have fun.

 

[squid5580]

I belonged to another forum back in the day. And I used to talk to someone quite regularly about gaming. And she was in the loop. DMC being one of her fave games. I eventually found out she was over 60 years old. Coolest damn grandmother ever

 

[Jack Macaque]

I'm 22(not single ladies, sorry) and I still game often enough, I still play Diablo 2 with my friends, I play Xbox as well, I don't see anything wrong with it, nor do the people in my life.

Now you might have stopped at the Diablo 2 comment lol...yes I still play it often enough with my friends, for us it's more of a social thing than anything else.

We all have girlfriends, we all work or go to school, it's just something we enjoyed doing in our spare time that we still do here and there.

As for Xbox, Cod, GTA and Rock Band are my games, I play split screen or online CoD with my friends, I play GTA because well you know GTA hooker this murder that, and Rock Band has just always been our favorite thing to do thanks to it being so awesome.

And who do I play with? All people around my age, then theres people like my cousin T who is in his late 30s and pwned my ass in Fable 2 and 3, he's Ok at CoD too, but hes got a gaming library at least 10x bigger than mine, oh man he's gotta be the best MK vs. DC player I've ever seen too.

So hes got a successful career, wicked wife, huge house, and still plays damn Xbox like me.

That is awesome, and will never become sad, just like playing video games until you are 75 will not be sad, people just hate.

For the Diablo2 players...
Dragon-Firestab@USEast

 

[tharglet]

One of the nice things about WoW when I went thru my long stint of playing it, was there were people of all ages. OK, some of the time it was a bit annoying when you got someone who was just too young and didn't have some of the main life experiences yet, but it was nice to play with a varied age group within a guild.

Whether it is sad or not depends on your friends. If you're in a gaming community, you're just one of the community, if you're in a mixed social group, some of them are bound to find you a bit odd.

If you're going to LAN parties, why not branch out a bit and get some chat goin'? You might find some people you can talk to about games, and hang out with. It's a liberating experience to find people to chat to, with the same interests. Part of the reason I can be found on The Escapist's IRC channel lol

 

[Tssha]

Hey, if anyone gives you trouble about it, just razz them about any hobbies they have which you don't share. Not too much, just a little but enough to make the point that your hobby isn't any weirder than theirs. If the point needs to be spelled out then do so, but be polite (he or she is a friend, you know).

Of course, if no one's giving you grief about it then I think you're worried about nothing. It's one of your things. If you ever lose interest in it, then you can give it up, but don't give up before you're ready. I gave up Power Rangers when I was a kid because a friend of mine persuaded me it was uncool. That was the age to really enjoy it too...he introduced me to Star Trek: TNG though, so I forgive him...but it still sucked.

As for an objective analysis as to whether gaming is uncool...I have a friend who I have no idea why he considers me a friend, as he functions on a whole different level of cool from not just myself, but most people I know. He plays Guitar in a metal band, he can command the cheers of an audience that has been heckling the live theatre show we've just been putting on, commanding half the audience to cheer and then cutting them off, then doing the same with the other half, silence a similar audience the year before with a word: "SILENCE" (though that year he was playing a bombastic villain)...this year he played Robin in da Hood, doing white rapper like it was cool the whole time and no one noticed it until he showed up. The character was a parody, of course...it's a comedy show, after all.

This same guy took my written direction for a character I wrote a few years ago and did a perfect imitation of the Battlecruiser Captain from Starcraft. A character whom I only gave that accent to because I was slipping a Starcraft 2 joke into a comedy stage production (though the joke had a nautical bent as well and a russian or french accent would not have been out of place).

Finally, Rock Band with friends NEVER goes out of style. EVER.

 

[radioactive lemur]

Depends what kind of game, really. Almost nothing is sad if you're doing it with buddies over or online with people you know IRL. Even alone, I don't see things like COD, ME, or AC:B as sad provided you don't average more that 10 hours a week or so. However, stuff with Dwarves, Paladins, Mages, and +42 Broadswords become sad at around the same age it is sad to still be a virgin. Not entirely by coincidence, either.

 

[D Moness]

However, stuff with Dwarves, Paladins, Mages, and +42 Broadswords become sad at around the same age it is sad to still be a virgin. Not entirely by coincidence, either.

As an active D&D player (for many years(and love fantasy)) and a virgin as well I find your post very offensive.
Sad to see people think it is cool to have sex and look down on people that don't.

I reckon never but if your in your 40's addiction to video game is dangerous for your health and if you have a family you need to learn to moderate gaming.

Addiction is not good at any age.

 

[Ace of Spades]

You're going to get a majorly biased sample from this poll. Since this is a gaming website, most people, including me, are going to opt for the penultimate option. It's never sad to enjoy playing games. Video Games are a legitimate form of media, the equal in every way of movies, books, or any other one.

You, sir, win my respect. A proper use of the word "penultimate." I wish more people understood how to use it.

Thank you. I enjoy using words like that in normal conversation/posting on forums.

 

[Tohru_Readman]

I plan to be a little old lady gamer, I can't picture a time when I will not be spending at least some of my free time playing games.

 

[tigermilk]

i'm pretty sure John Cleese likes videogames and he's got to be in his 60's by now. he's still awesome.

so, in answer, 700 years older than John Cleese

I couldn't agree more 771 (John Cleese is 71*) is indeed the age it becomes sad to play video games. You have illustrated the fundamental flaw in the poll there is no option for 771 (or 772 when he turns 72 in October).

*Yup I googled him.

 

[pspman45]

We live in a different Generation, the generation of gamers, those who have had video games introduced during or before our childhoods. we grew up with them, it has had a major cultural impact, as millions sign into online to shoot each other almost every day. my parents didn't have video games when they were children, not until their college years, which is why they are so surprised by their impact on society as a whole, and rejected games entirely.
i think that the new generation will be game friendly, as all the sissy parents who never played games, but reject them out of ignorance will be long gone, and the new generation will be greatly influenced by games
So no, you can never be too old for Video games, its just that the people that age now are to ignorant to embrace new ideas

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Never. You don't look sad when you're reading a book or watching a movie at age .

 

[Trolldor]

Hi,

It occurred to me the other day, that out of all my friends, I am the only one who likes to play video games alot. I am 23 years old, and so are all my friends, yet I am the only one who will look forward to a LAN party.

I must admit, I've had 2 girlfriends in my life thus far, I know what sex feels like, and it hasn't deterred me from liking video games. If anything, it has made me like them more since I don't have the distraction of wondering if I am missing out on anything..

Kind of makes me sad really.. I really gotta find a social group to hang out with which are into video games.

Actually, it's the type of video games.

The Japanese fan service games become sad once you hit about 20.

 

[KhaoticOne]

Why should it be sadden? To like one's own hobby or even life passion.

Liking Video Games isn't sadden, its how one let Video Games negatively affect their reality, that's concerning and even pitiful.

It goes like this for any "recreational" hobbies, nothing inherently wrong with with most of them, its just a matter on how you let it affect your own life.