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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:
(# 0) on 09/26/2008 11:26
(# 1) on 09/26/2008 11:28
I see your sarcasm hasn't aged a bit. :)
(# 2) on 09/26/2008 11:34
I'm being serious, the other day I looked in the mirror and found a grey hair. I really made me really look at my own mortality. It turned out that it wasn't a hair at all but rather a piece of thread from one of my shirts but that didn't make it any less harrowing.
(# 3) on 09/26/2008 11:50
(# 4) on 09/26/2008 11:52
We should go grab a beer man. :-)
(# 5) on 09/26/2008 11:58
(# 6) on 09/26/2008 11:58
(# 7) on 09/26/2008 11:59
(# 8) on 09/26/2008 12:06
I love you so much I want to marry someone and cheat on them with you.
(# 9) on 09/26/2008 12:08
(# 10) on 09/26/2008 12:10
I actually don't think there is really any point to my rant above, as most likely the problem is older gamers just don't like playing online as much on consoles. If they do play online they seem to stick to computer games like TF2 and WoW.
As for me, being in my late 20s and about to turn 29, I still look young and damn handsome if I must say so myself. I haven't gotten to that point yet where the clerks in game stores look at me like "WTF are you doing in this store." I'm sure the day is coming though.
(# 11) on 09/26/2008 12:11
Now excuse me while I go and have lots of hot random sex with young women.
(# 12) on 09/26/2008 12:14
(# 13) on 09/26/2008 12:14
(# 14) on 09/26/2008 12:17
Seriously, after Failcast, you creep me out, your voice is just like his!
Also, you're growing senile, seriously. The analog on the Saturn 3D Pad sucks, there's a goddamn spring inside it to make it default to the idle position. I've used it so much that it doesn't have strength anymore.
(# 15) on 09/26/2008 12:21
(# 16) on 09/26/2008 12:23
he'll probably be too busy playing the Wii
owned
(# 17) on 09/26/2008 12:23
(# 18) on 09/26/2008 12:28
(# 19) on 09/26/2008 12:29
(# 20) on 09/26/2008 12:32
Now I'm going to go watch Hot Fuzz...well class, then Hot Fuzz :D.
(# 21) on 09/26/2008 12:33
Congrats Dude!
(# 22) on 09/26/2008 12:37
(# 23) on 09/26/2008 12:40
(# 24) on 09/26/2008 12:43
(# 25) on 09/26/2008 12:48
Aging is a bitch, and it´s worst when you are 25 and you see how your hair starts leaving your head too fast.
(# 26) on 09/26/2008 12:53
(# 27) on 09/26/2008 12:58
"There's two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: "Hey pop, let's say we run down there and fuck one of them cows". The older one says: "No son. Lets walk down and fuck 'em all".
Happy birthday, oh bearded one.
(# 28) on 09/26/2008 13:01
(# 29) on 09/26/2008 13:03
(# 30) on 09/26/2008 13:05
(# 31) on 09/26/2008 13:31
It's awesome that you still play games, I know some older people who just gave up.
Keep in there tiger!
(# 32) on 09/26/2008 13:38
and I honestly could care less how old I get I'll always love gaming no matter what heck I seriously want to go at the ripe old age of 100 playing super mario
(# 33) on 09/26/2008 13:50
At least your back ain't on the fritz like Snake's!
:)
(# 34) on 09/26/2008 14:05
You wrote this originally in February right? So you're birthday was actually in February... or is it actually today?
If it's today, we share birthdays! :D
Thank you for reminding me that I'm getting older.
(# 35) on 09/26/2008 14:09
(# 36) on 09/26/2008 14:21
(# 37) on 09/26/2008 14:30
(# 38) on 09/26/2008 14:36
(# 39) on 09/26/2008 15:28
(# 40) on 09/26/2008 15:30
(# 41) on 09/26/2008 15:54
(# 42) on 09/26/2008 16:50
By the way, Mid Life Crisis will be the hardest game of your life. You only have one chance and it's extremely difficult to bypass :]
Fortunately, the game has been delayed 3 years for you ;D
(# 43) on 09/26/2008 16:55
(# 44) on 09/26/2008 18:41
Paying bills will do that to you.
Can't wait til I'm 21, and finally able to legally drink, but have too many responsibilities and obligations to get shitfaced anymore.
Worst. Law. Ever.
(# 45) on 09/26/2008 20:54
(# 46) on 09/26/2008 23:47
(# 47) on 09/27/2008 02:04
(# 48) on 09/28/2008 03:54
Happy birthday!