[ Blogger's Note: What you are about to read I originally wrote on 2/11/08. The funny thing is that every birthday I have, this being my 37th, I reflect back at my past gaming memories like they were yesterday. I felt this old blog still held merit and still captures how I feel, especially today. ]

I awoke up today with my back feeling nice and stiff from playing football with my boys yesterday. Twisting this way and that way, a realization came to me. I'm thirty-six years old. Come September I will be one year older than I am now. Thirty-seven years old. Three years more and I'm officially in my Forties. My forties! Good Lord, I'm fuckin' old. I still remember playing Dig Dug in the Arcades, I still remember the first time I played Mario on my NES. That shit isn't retro to me but living breathing memories. I can vividly recall playing Nights on my Saturn, that analog stick to me was the best ever created. Or every Capcom 2-D fighting game recreated perfectly on that system. Remember Marvel Vs Capcom with the CD and cartridge combo??



Memories of past games flash and dash through my head in a whirlwind of remembrance. The first time I played Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter ( which I hated at the time cause it was all floaty..and now I love the series ), and Samurai Showdown 2. Still my favorite SNK game aside from Metal Slug. I remember the 1st game I imported for my Playstation, Tobal No.2. Still remember my Dreamcast days playing Crazy Taxi over and over again trying to kick out a decent score. Or all the time I put into Samba De Amigo laughing my ass off while "POSE!ing" with those damn Maracas. Or the first time I EVER played a game online with NFL2k....praying that lag didn't rear it's ugly head and knowing it would every three to four minutes like clockwork but the moments of lagfree play made up for it.


BEST. CONTROLLER. EVER.

Good times, Good times. But lately, It's getting where when I go to buy video games the guy behind the counter thinks I'm buying games for my kids. "Can I help you with that , Sir? You do know that game is rated Mature..might not be good for the little ones.." Who the fuck do you think I'm buying this for?? Obviously they assume my kids. It's funny how the general public still has the stigma of video games being solely for teeny boppers and people in their twenties. I think most gamers in their twenties think they're like Duncan McCloud or some shit. Forever young. Lol. Newsflash Kiddies: Time has a way of creeping up on you...quick. Plus Duncan McCloud was in his thirties anyway.


You don't know about this game, son.

Because of these reflections with past gaming excursions, I started looking around trying to see how the ages of gamers in general correlate to game sales. As well as looking to see if there was any info on the average age of most video game players. What I found, to say the least, was interesting. Let me share some of it with you. According to the ESA, The Entertainment Software Association:

Sixty-seven percent of American heads of households play computer and video games.

The average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.

The average age of the most frequent game buyer is 38 years old. In 2007, 92 percent of computer game buyers and 80 percent of console game buyers were over the age of 18.

Thirty-six percent of American parents say they play computer and video games. Further, 80 percent of gamer parents say they play video games with their kids. Sixty-six percent feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.

Thirty-eight percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (31%) than boys age 17 or younger (20%).

In 2007, 24 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.

Forty-nine percent of game players say they play games online one or more hours per week. In addition, 34 percent of heads of households play games on a wireless device, such as a cell phone or PDA, up from 20 percent in 2002.

There are a lot of things in those figures that stick out a lot to me. Most notably the average game player and buyer. Also the percentage of over the age of fifty, My assumption would of been way lower. So why all the stats about age and whatnot. Is it because I just woke up, felt old and decided to hunt for some gaming news that would justify my hobby of video games? Was it a rant about how the youth in general, think us old guys and gals as Dinosaurs or worse yet, pedophiles stalking online for young gamers to entice? Or is it just something as simple as the general misconceptions of us even playing video games still?

To be quite honest this post is about ALL of that. Next time you pass an old guy in Best Buy or Target while your rushing to get that DVD, Anime or video game and you wonder what the hell is that dude doing in this section of the store anyway? The answer may be he's lost, looking for the bathroom. Or it may be as simple as he's there to purchase that Gears of War game or the new Street Fighter for himself and later on in the evening when he gets online he may also be the one that hands you your ass in multiplayer.

Remember youth, like time, is fleeting. And the next time you want to talk junk to the grandpas of the the world, know this: