What do you think? Options

[Happy_Dingo]

I came across this article today and I was curious as to what you guys' thoughts about it were. Do you agree with the people of The Today Show, or do you agree with the author? Does this anger anyone?

I'm not over 30 so I guess it doesn't really apply to me, but I know it applies to some of the people on this site and even people under 30 probably have an opinion about it. So... what do you think?

[Noviwan]

I find that funny the today show really is out of it honestly games are not just for kids helk who's running the gaming industry people in the 20's and up so of course ...

never mind incomplete thought im too hungry!

[IdlersDream]

Well... I half agree with this. Most people in general {even women} grow out of video games. Like now, and I'm only 19, I have no interest in playing any video games really, every once in awhile I may play something but I've just lost interest in them and they really don't do anything for me any more.

Most guys who are over 30 and still play videos games a lot, is a bit weird. Probably means they have no true relationships. You just have to think if you're in your 30's, most people have their steady job {even if it's packing groceries, you usually have that job for awhile}, maybe a long term relationship, maybe even kids, you probably don't have the time or want to spend a few hours playing a video game.

I just find it odd imagining a 30 year old man in a dark room with a headset on going "THERE'S A F-CKING SNIPE, DUDE" before he goes to bed.

[Noviwan]

I just find it odd imagining a 30 year old man in a dark room with a headset on going "THERE'S A F-CKING SNIPE, DUDE" before he goes to bed.

I dont I have a friend hes a teacher he and his whole family (wife and kids) are gamers hes like 40+ though

[Mizukithepanda]

I don't know about growing out of video games, Idler. I'm 21 and still play plenty of games. Also, my parents - both 53 - play video games when they have the time to. It's a great relaxant, and is far more stimulating than watching television.

Now, it's not like they're spending all day, every day playing video games, but there's nothing wrong or weird about getting immersed in a game over the age of 30.

[Darth-Paper-Boy]

A few friend's parents that are well over 30 play video games. s'a hobby like anything else. I agree with the article-guy that it's basically an awkward social stigma that still exists for the same reason watchdogs get up in arms over an "M" rated game having content not suitable for kids.

[KittyOtaku]

My entire family must be weird. Over half of them play World of Warcraft or Zelda in their free time.

[Suiko]

I'm 21 and video games aren't as fun as they used to be to me, I still enjoy and play a lot but nowhere near as much as I did 6+ years ago. When Pokemon B&W came out I tried playing it but just got bored and lost interest, I thought maybe the game was just poor but nobody seemed to agree and it was a sad moment realizing I had outgrown a franchise I loved for over a decade

Idlersdream's scenario would be weird but I suppose that's more down to his immature behaviour than anything. I probably will have grown out of video games by then but I do acknowledge that it's wrong to look down on someone for doing something they enjoy and that doesn't hurt anyone regardless of age

If there was an obese dude wearing a vest covered in sauces and drink stains while sitting in his mother's basement crying down a headset because his team lost I'd think the fact that he was playing a video game was the least of his problems

[Happy_Dingo]

Yeah, like the guy said in the article, were it TV, movies or books no one would think anything of it but in reality video games are just another form of entertainment. Yeah some people take it too far, but the some goes for some people who watch movies and TV. Everyone has their own hobbies. For some it's collecting things such as coins or stamps, some listen to music, some people go for walks in the park, and some play a game. I think it all comes down to the stereotype that all "gamers" (ugh... for some reason I hate that term) are weird men with no social skills that the media seems to force upon us. case in point (yet another article from 1up.com).

I think the big question is as follows:
"Is interactive entertainment really a juvenile concept?" If it is then I imagine that the future is going to suck because it's only going to become more popular

[Pumpkin Patch]

I agree with the article. It plenty of people over 30 play video games and I'm sure not all of them are the stereotype of what a "gamer" is.

My daddy plays video games when he gets the chance. He used to play WoW before giving it up because he was too obsessed with it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lalaexdee.gif) . Now he just plays Halo and Age of Empires or something like that.

Hopefully I'll have other things in my life when I am 30 but it would be great to still have time to play video games. That's just what I do for fun.

So many games are very intense M rated games. So no I don't think the gaming industry focuses on juvenile concepts.

[IdlersDream]

Okay, did I say first of all there was something wrong with them playing them for a bit each day? No. I was referring to the guys who spend hours during their day only playing video games. It's odd.

And a lot of people grow out of them, Mizuki, you're just not one of them. I know a bunch of people, some people more my brother's age who used to play video games every day and once they hit their 20's they just grew out of them and started having different interests.

[Hasfusel]

My uncle who's like nearly forty used to play almost as much as I do until like last year when he moved back to France and got a bigger job meaning he wouldn't have time anymore. He played basically the same stuff as me too, minus the DS games.

Also, my dad who's about fifty-three or something used to play loads and loads of this fantasy turn-based strategy game until he got a girlfriend a couple of years back. I sort of regret introducing him to it though since he wasted so much time with it that it became sorta unhealthy.

So yeah, older gamers are hardly super rare from my experience. And my dad's a complete loner anyway but my uncle had loads of friends here and they didn't see his gaming as a weird nerdy hobby or anything.

(also my science teacher who's in his late thirties used to play games until recently when his kid got born like last month. I added him on Steam before then and we played TF2 with a bunch of other people in my science class which was pretty cool)

[Happy_Dingo]

Whoa simmer down there Idler. I don't think Mizuki meant any offense.

[Noviwan]

I can understand if someone's no lifing on games at that age unless they get paid too lol then it is weird

[Oscar]

I kind of wish my parents would play video games, haha. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lalaexdee.gif) Or some uncle or something.


Well, I don't think it's weird at all. It's a hobby and used for entertainment purposes. I can't believe they said it's only okay if the adult is playing with a child. So, adults can't find Little Big Planet fun and want to play on their own?


BUT it is a problem if that individual is letting video games interfere with their responsibilities. It's still a hobby and when that hobby becomes an obsession, then that's when it can get to the "weird" part. As long as their life isn't suffering because of it, then it's totally cool!

[Celia]

They must be real shallow people who live under rocks, because I know many people over 30 who still pick up a video game to play when they have time and have nothing better to do.

There's plenty people who grow out of it, but there's thousands at, or over, age thirty who still play, making it strange anyone'd say something like that.  It's nothing new.

It's when they place it over things more important, like visiting their grandma in the hospital or attending their sister's rehearsal, that it gets out of hand.  And I wouldn't consider the gaming part odd behavior.  It'd be the obsession over it.  But that goes for any age gamer.

Saying it's something weird to do is like saying that they shouldn't be watching television or listening to music, otherwise they're weird.

Though different styles of media that reaches different audiences, who's to say one form of entertainment is weirder than the other, that you have to grow out of?

I've played video games since I was really young, and it's never been top priority, but I don't think I'll ever grow out of it.  At least not for a couple more decades.