Does age matter in games?

[theLoser]

Does age matter in games?
Now that the matter of girls Vs boys has been settled.
Does your gaming age matter IMO yes I can play GHII expert all day long But my dad who plays as much as me can only play on medium he is 40.
can older pple play as good as the younger players?
Even if they invest time in practicing can an older game play on an equal level?

Not including players that picked up a controller at age 3.
What do you think?

theLoser

[CrazyIvan]

Depends.

I'm 30, and I literally grew up as gaming consoles came into existence. I have seen the birth of computers, cable, and the internet. I remember the first kid on my block to own an Intellivision, and was the first among my friends to own a NES.

I think when you speak of "older" people, you can't really include the generation before mine, as they just didn't have video games as kids. Heck, for the most part they didn't even have TV's. So asking them to compete against the younger generations in video games is like asking a 10 year old now to dust off a 45 and play it on a turntable. Possible, but it would take a while.

I think what you are really trying to get at is comparing younger GAMERS versus older GAMERS. That being the case, I don't think either have a clear advantage. I could see things like reaction time being better for the younger gamers because... well... because reaction time is one of those things that fades with age. However, it's generally replaced with shrewdness and cunning. Depending on the genre of the game, that could prove to be more important than cat-like reflexes.

Does this remotely answer your question? I have no idea. I think I just rambled. (I am getting old, remember.) Something in there might make sense.

[IrisKandi]

Depends.

I'm 30, and I literally grew up as gaming consoles came into existence. I have seen the birth of computers, cable, and the internet. I remember the first kid on my block to own an Intellivision, and was the first among my friends to own a NES.

I think when you speak of "older" people, you can't really include the generation before mine, as they just didn't have video games as kids. Heck, for the most part they didn't even have TV's. So asking them to compete against the younger generations in video games is like asking a 10 year old now to dust off a 45 and play it on a turntable. Possible, but it would take a while.

I think what you are really trying to get at is comparing younger GAMERS versus older GAMERS. That being the case, I don't think either have a clear advantage. I could see things like reaction time being better for the younger gamers because... well... because reaction time is one of those things that fades with age. However, it's generally replaced with shrewdness and cunning. Depending on the genre of the game, that could prove to be more important than cat-like reflexes.

Does this remotely answer your question? I have no idea. I think I just rambled. (I am getting old, remember.) Something in there might make sense.

I agree with this and couldn't have said it any better.

But there is another aspect of gaming to look at too. Online gaming. To me in the online community, age matters most of the time. I am 21 in college and don't care for most of the punky youth that runs around online. I have no problem with the mature younger generation though they are a rarity so I surround myself with people of my age group. I think that in the online gaming world age affects interactions to an extent. It's just plain and simple that most of the time people of a similar age group stick together because of maturity levels and what not.

But if we are talking skill level, I don't know if older gamers are worse. I think it's similar to the boys vs girls argument personally.

[outofcontrol]

i dont think age matters when playing. have you guys seen that 10 yr(i think hes ten) kid playing GH on expert. freaking insance

[theLoser]

Well thank you all This really helps.

theLoser

[Saltines]

i dont think age matters when playing. have you guys seen that 10 yr(i think hes ten) kid playing GH on expert. freaking insance

Hes 8 but it doesnt really matter... All it is is practice.

[LZ_Reborn]

Depends.

I'm 30, and I literally grew up as gaming consoles came into existence. I have seen the birth of computers, cable, and the internet. I remember the first kid on my block to own an Intellivision, and was the first among my friends to own a NES.
.

Wow you just described my same situation growing up (scary) except I'm 33, and the fact your name is Crazy"Ivan"(even more scary...enter Twilight theme song) you can probably guess why.

But seriously, I also agree with 100%, and just to add something as I as am getting older I having to deal with a lot more responsibilities (work, marrige, children) I get to play videogames less and less, that will get you out of practice. I suppose that's the is has to be mostly. Of course that's just my opinion.

[CrazyIvan]

Good call... errr... Ivan? (That is a very cool coincidence.) Playing time is another huge factor that I forgot to mention. I remember the days I would wake up at 7am on a Saturday, fire up my Genesis, and play Phantasy Star II until my mom would call me for lunch (took me forever to collect the dang Nei items), and then go back to the game until my mom called me for dinner.

Those days are long gone, both in years and in practice. As much as I love gaming, I love my wife and friends a heckuva lot more. Given the choice between playing a game or two of Mario Strikers or going on a hike with my woman is a no-brainer -- the wife ALWAYS comes first, and that's how I like it. Nowadays I get 5-6 hours of play time a week, and I have no complaints about that.

The only exceptions are the GH games, mainly because my wife is even better than I am. So we play pretty regularly. She's practically more excited for Rock Band than I am, which is frickin' great.

Again, I ramble.

Basically, as I've gotten older, I just don't spend as much time gaming. Not that my enjoyment in gaming has gotten less, just that there are other things in life that I enjoy a lot more. And video games are like most things in life -- the more you practice, the better you are. So that is one HUGE advantage I think younger gamers have over older gamers.

[Brad_Lee]

Hes 8 but it doesnt really matter... All it is is practice.


That kids been 8 since GH1 was released lol somethings fishy.

[IbanezBassist_v2]

Other than the fact that some games are rated for particular ages, no it doesn't matter. A game is a game. Age has no factor.

(edit) Woo Hoo! Post # 420!

[tharshmetalUK]

Older people would have been introduced to games when they were in their 20's or older. I'm 22 now and ive been playing games since I can remember.

So if you grew up playing games all your life then you're probably gonna be better than people who started much later. Well thats what I think anyway.

[_GABO_]

Older people would have been introduced to games when they were in their 20's or older. I'm 22 now and ive been playing games since I can remember.

So if you grew up playing games all your life then you're probably gonna be better than people who started much later. Well thats what I think anyway.

So true. I'm fifteen (yeah, wow senior citizen, right?), but I've been gaming since I was three, and kicking arse back then, too. My brother is nine and he's, for lack of a better word...horrible. He didn't get into the gaming scene until a year ago, and doesn't seem to have found his place (genre/expertise) yet(he's bought more than 10 games in the past 12 months, playing each religiously for two or three weeks, then quitting for a couple of weeks, then buying a new game).

The longer you've been playing video games, the better you are. Sometimes that has to do with age, sometimes not. Pretty much going down the same road as the battle of the sexes thread went.

[MrtyMcfly]

Most have already said it, but to sum it up. It's all about gaming experience.

I've been gaming all my life, since atari, you can't expect someone the same age who has very little experience with video games to be able to perform the same.

Video game experience can really build up your problem solving, reaction time, and hand-eye coordination. It would be extremely rare and highly unlikely for someone to be naturally good at games just because they're older.

You won't see a 40 yr old who's never played video games pick up an SG and beat Freebird on Expert their first time.

Age has nothing to do with it.