I really hate it however when younger people try bump up their perceived age by simply yelling homophobic and racist slurs. If they’re going to try and befriend older gamers then try talking like a normal human being?

It’s very difficult for me to be apprehensive of older gamers, for the sole reason that a widening age demographic is certainly a good thing for the whole culture of gaming. We must remember that people of all ages have the potential to suck at games.

At any rate, I don’t play with a headset, so I avoid many ff these problems entirely.

I think online gaming in particular is going to attract a portion of gamers–regardless of age–who are going to succumb to the rule that Internet Audience+Anonymity=Jerk. Even as many cool people you’re going to find at an MMORPG or the like, you’re going to find a large portion of both 13-year-olds who think they can convince people they’re “mature” because of the swear words they get away with because “no one knows who they are” and 20, 30, 40, 50 year olds who act exactly the same who also let their worst character traits take over because they feel they can’t be “caught.”

Wonder what would happen if you were forced to reveal your true age and gender in an online game — not that I think that would necessarily be the right thing to do, re: privacy, but it’d be an interesting experiment.

As for gaming as a whole, I just wish MARKETERS, let alone anyone else, would get it through their heads that the majority of video gamers are in fact over the age of 25 (if not 30, IIRC).

That isn’t to say I haven’t met my share of people my age or even older who insist on playing music through their mike until every single person in the game mutes them.

I also find it strange to see older gamers, but I do understand if gaming is what they like then they should be able to enjoy it freely. I met one person once who I knew was atleast 50 although I never got an absolute number who had 4 decked out raid toons on WoW. If he can keep up, what’s to stop him.

Jon- I totally agree with you about the maturity thing. It just goes to show you that no matter how old someone is, it’s their maturity level that counts. I will ignore an immature message not because I figure the sender is young but merely because I don’t want to deal with immaturity, ignorance, and/or stupidity.

Nime- I’m always surprised when people are accepting just because I would rarely get so lucky when I was younger. Even if I had talked to and played with people online for months and they knew me as mature, once they got wind of how old I was, they’d say, “Wow. I never would have figured,” which I took to be a compliment at the time, but they would slowly stop talking to me thereafter. It was really frustrating and I just wish people would never ask, sometimes. I think if you prove yourself to be mature and skilled, the number, no matter how low or high, shouldn’t count against you. I’m really happy you’ve encountered people who like you for who you are and not how old you are.

Go ahead and do your own content analysis of the family TV time or the popular tween and teen shows, and toss movies in there too. Then get back to me with how often you see a videogame, and how often you see an adult with a videogame. I’d have to go trolling thru LexisNexis (which I don’t feel like at the moment) to find the study, but someone did, and they had another qualifier citing the reaction of the adults to the games and was overwhelmingly negative.

So culture has a big part in it. Especially when more and more in this age we’re only getting our culture from entertainment and advertising. The days in the west of getting your culture from your community are fading fast.

The page with the summary, and the link to the actual report can be found at http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp

The average game player is 33, and 26% of all people who play games are over 50, up from only 9% in 1999, but, as George points out, advertising dollars aren’t picking up on this trend very quickly.

Also, age factoring into online games reminds me of an amazing conversation I had when I was starting one of my very first WoW characters.

A: So, I’m new to this game, and only 13, is there anything I should know about?
Me: Welcome aboard. The game does a pretty good job of explaining things to you as you go, so I wouldn’t worry about it too much yet.
B: And you know, we’re always glad to have an articulate person on board. Some 13 year olds can be way more mature than some 22 year olds.
A: Yeah, thanks! Say, does anybody watch the AFL?
C: afl/ thas gayy
Me: Um… C, how old are you?
C: 22 why
Me: ….

GeorgeR- The Wii has definitely been marketed toward families, which is kinda neat. But even so, that marketing shows adults playing with kids just to satisfy the kids. The commercials make me feel like without kids, the parents would just go back to doing something else rather than gaming. I wish they would show that adults genuinely enjoy video games. The only time I ever see adults playing video games alone on TV or in movies is to poke fun at them; it’s the guy playing an MMO and hiding it from his wife, or something. Come ON! Give games a little more credit!

William- Ah, the classic, “THATS GAY DUDE”. I love it when kids upstage fully-grown adults however they can. More power to them.

I know of at least five married couples who play together in my guild. Three of the five have kids, and play after the kids have gone to bed. It was a hobby before they married and had kids, and remains a fun hobby for them now. I do not get why this is so difficult for people to understand, nor do I understand the assumption that if they are playing MMORPGs together, they are never ever getting it on. Exactly how much time do these questioners think sex takes? It is totally inconcievable that the couple had sex and THEN logged on? Or is going to have celebratory YAY WE DOWNED ARCHIMONDE sex? Or perhaps angry Illidan Stormrage kicked our asses sex? Is the assumption that if you’re not having an all night every-night unf marathon, preventing you from touching a computer ever, that your marriage is not healthy? WHY GOD? WHY?

I also know several parents who play with their kids, and were excited to find some common ground there. One of the married couples in my guild has the entire family online. The grandparents, also a married couple, play too, and both children and their spouses play. This naturally creates friction when they want to run a five-man and have six people, but otherwise they have a great time playing together as a family. I know a lot of families who would LOVE to spend that much time chatting and laughing with their children, but the kids don’t want anything to do with them. One of the couples mentioned above doesn’t play WoW with the kids, but mentioned once on vent that they do play Rock Band as a family of four, and have a great time doing it.

Hee, I hear you. I remember my mother trying to play the original Super Mario Brothers back in the day, and… no. She was one of those people who flung the controller itself in whatever direction she wanted Mario to go, rather than pushing the buttons. I remember thinking it was hilarious.

That was the only time either of them ever really tried. It just wasn’t something they were into, although my mom did peek in on Final Fantasy Seven when I was playing it on winter break, and cried at Aerith’s death scene, mostly because “that little girl with the ugly yellow shoes like your father is so sad!” (She meant Yuffie; at the time my father wore these horrific yellow waterproof duck shoes to work, and she thought Yuffie had similar shoes.)

The only other game either of them has ever been remotely interested in is Microsoft Flight Simulator, which my dad uses as a substitute for the fact that his eyesight was never good enough for the Air Force.

Yeah on XBL, ahhh the kids are hilaaaaaaaarious XD It makes me laugh hearing a high pitched “Fuck you hoe!!” through the mic.. me and my friends get a kick out of their insults.

Although, we did meet up with a guy on XBL who was really really skilled and he’d always play with us so we told him to get a mic. He greets us with this high pitched voice and he’s obviously a youngun (although I still dont know how old he is exactly) but he is AWESOME so we don’t care.. We’ll tease him every now and then but then he shoots a “Well let’s go 1-on-1!!” and that usually shuts us up =P

I find it comical to think that some people assume of others a very young age and at the same time their vocabulary and speech are poor while attempting to domineer. And it makes them look worse the younger the age they suggest of the target, especially in front of bystanders of the conflict. They’re just buildng onto their repulse.

I hate being mistaken for a kid on XBL I swear i don’t sound like i’m 10 in real life! I SWEAR!!!!!