Rart
08-22-2009, 02:00 AM
I was doing something random today and it got me thinking.
Will we still be playing video games when we're 50?
Although there are exceptions, the majority of games these days are from the younger age groups. Most "older" people, tend to have other hobbies, enjoy other things, and for the most part don't play video games. Some may have claimed to have "matured" or "don't like video games anymore". But is that really the case?
WoW has a huge player base (majority?) who are probably in the 20, 30, or even 40 age groups. I know plenty of full grown adults, married, employed, even with children who still happily play WoW and lead successful lives. I also see TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, that shows a group of friends, who have by all means established successful careers, still enjoying and playing games with each other. While this is an idealized and dramatized Hollywood, this idea doesn't seem that far fetched. So what's going to make that change? Are we suddenly going to "mature" when we get older and "stop wanting" to play video games?
To me, I don't really see any reason, when you get older, to suddenly not want to play video games. It's just like any other hobby, and if you enjoy it, you will still like it when you get older. I don't see any difference from other hobbies. If you like something, you'll enjoy it and play it when you want to. If you like soccer, you'll play soccer. If you like collecting stamps, you'll keep on collecting stamps. So whats wrong with continuing to play video games if you like video games?
So this got me wondering as to why older people tend to not play video games. Is it really because they have "matured" and "lost interest"? Or was it just, when they were younger, that such technology was not as widely available to them, and now as adults they are unwilling to try it? Since as young children, such widely available and diverse methods of video game entertainment didn't exist, was it just that they weren't simply immersed by it?
And if that reasoning is correct, it would be logical to assume that it is very possible for our younger generation to still play video games when they are older. Since technology is so widely available and accessible at a young age, do you think their trends of playing video games will continue into their old age?
Do we really lose interest as you get older or is it simply because the older generations were never quite exposed to technology as we were when we were younger, and as such don't quite accept it or like as much as the younger generation will?
Will we still be playing video games when we're 50?
Although there are exceptions, the majority of games these days are from the younger age groups. Most "older" people, tend to have other hobbies, enjoy other things, and for the most part don't play video games. Some may have claimed to have "matured" or "don't like video games anymore". But is that really the case?
WoW has a huge player base (majority?) who are probably in the 20, 30, or even 40 age groups. I know plenty of full grown adults, married, employed, even with children who still happily play WoW and lead successful lives. I also see TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, that shows a group of friends, who have by all means established successful careers, still enjoying and playing games with each other. While this is an idealized and dramatized Hollywood, this idea doesn't seem that far fetched. So what's going to make that change? Are we suddenly going to "mature" when we get older and "stop wanting" to play video games?
To me, I don't really see any reason, when you get older, to suddenly not want to play video games. It's just like any other hobby, and if you enjoy it, you will still like it when you get older. I don't see any difference from other hobbies. If you like something, you'll enjoy it and play it when you want to. If you like soccer, you'll play soccer. If you like collecting stamps, you'll keep on collecting stamps. So whats wrong with continuing to play video games if you like video games?
So this got me wondering as to why older people tend to not play video games. Is it really because they have "matured" and "lost interest"? Or was it just, when they were younger, that such technology was not as widely available to them, and now as adults they are unwilling to try it? Since as young children, such widely available and diverse methods of video game entertainment didn't exist, was it just that they weren't simply immersed by it?
And if that reasoning is correct, it would be logical to assume that it is very possible for our younger generation to still play video games when they are older. Since technology is so widely available and accessible at a young age, do you think their trends of playing video games will continue into their old age?
Do we really lose interest as you get older or is it simply because the older generations were never quite exposed to technology as we were when we were younger, and as such don't quite accept it or like as much as the younger generation will?