Hi I'm old

[Zak]

Well... I'm 24, which can be old in some scenarios.

Actually, this is probably one of the only internet message boards (at least gaming-related) where I can most of its members are older than me. But on Bulbagarden I remember having an active member who was in his (her?) 50's, for real.

But lets make this into a discussion shall we since this is Misc and all. What's your opinion on people being "too old" for Pokemon? Or video games in general?

I find it silly, at least for Pokemon. It seems like in high school it was cool to hate it, but I hear it mentioned in one out of 10 people. It's true the show was made all G and aimed at younger audiences but in the gaming world, it's just a video game like any other.

But as for gaming in general... it seems very rare for someone over 50 to take an interest/activity in that. I do know of someone whos grandmother is into JRPGs, but that's it.
But yet, at the same time, it seems common/acceptable for older folks to indulge themselves in TV, follow complex series, read a lot, and other stuff in the entertainment industry, and even play games like Tetris or Minesweeper on the computer. But it seems the same people who do all of those things, absolutely REFUSE to touch a modern console. Why? Especially if they're retired...

[DarkestLight]

I think its due to generation gaps and what is understood by today's young adults. I remember my mother saying her brothers when they were young, saved up and bought a Calico. They only played it for a fraction of the time I spent playing a damn Genesis. Otherwise, they were running the streets, causing mischief.

Nowadays, they're 50+ and they travel like crazy and lead similar lives as to what they did as they were kids. They're pretty tech savvy, but they feel like playing games isint as fun as living out in the world (which I agree with, but that's why handhelds are made.)

Cue us. I use "us" to represent TPM and the generation we reside in. I'm sure there are those of us that stopped playing Pokemon in general but still have a few holdout series we love. We understand the effect games have and we have figured a way for us to play games within our lives. When we're 50+, we'll probably be playing games with no one to stop us, and prolly force our kids outside to play (or buy their own lolol)

So yeah. 20 years or so, I'll be rocking Xbox 1080 and RE...hrm...10. Yeap.

[Lady Vulpix]

I still play Pokemon, and I've wiped the floor with all the younger kids who have challenged me. No offense meant to any of them. I'll probably still enjoy videogames when I'm 50, as long as I can find the time to play them. My dad stopped playing them when he was around 40, but I think that's because he became fascinated with photography. Now he has hundreds of gigabytes worth of photos both in his hard drives and in many DVDs. And videos too, including digitalized tapes from before I was born.

[Blademaster]

The whole 'too old for video games' thing likely stems from the simple fact that video games THEMSELVES aren't that old. Yes, the earliest video games are a good 60 years old, but pretty much everything before the late '60's and early '70's was either pretty limited in terms of accessibility, or just not really worth the investment. By the time big names like Atari came along and made video game consoles something close to a household item, video games were pretty much dying. Only a small amount of people stuck with them through the crash of the early '80's; sure, after that, Nintendo made video games as common in households as refrigerators, but that was too late to catch many more people before that abrupt 30-40 year cutoff line between video games as a fad and video games as TV 2.0.

Just you wait. By 2030 the average video game player's age will have jumped from 25 or 30 to somewhere around 50.

EDIT: Also how the fuck is ZAK younger than me?! He's a Goddamn Supermod!

[Magmar]

Zak's younger than me too! I'm probably an average-ish age compared to our committed membership, but then again, I was 13 when I joined and I'm 26 now...

..........................I'm twice as old today as I was when I joined TPM o_O;; and more than twice as old as I was when I first got involved with TPM pre-forums. O_o;;

That being said, you're never too old for video games; however the responsibilities of adult life certainly limit the amount of time one can really spend playing them per week. You know, having to do all your own shopping, cooking (I make every meal from scratch with only exceptions for occasional dining out with friends or the boyfriend; he makes everything from scratch too), laundry, ironing, cleaning, yardwork, working out, reading, logic puzzles, personal enrichment like playing bass, etc. I just don't have time to play video games anymore. Other than the occasional Mario Kart and, once in a while, some Final Fantasy XIII fuckingshitup.

[Zak]

Interesting, I actually also thought Blademaster was younger than me.

But yeah I guess I can see what you're saying Magmar about more responsibilities.

It's just, some spend ridiculous amounts of hours watching TV... entertainment as well as news, and still work/get their responsibilities done. So they do have free time and will have even more once they retire.

[Heald]

I remember when I was old enough to hold a controller we had a Sega Master System in our house, and I seem to remember that apart from a couple of friends who had a NES, no one else to seemed to own a console, and console gaming was still in its infancy amongst my cohort as you never heard people taking about Mario or Sonic or anything. A couple of years later I was also PC gaming and was into FPS games, strategy and sims (Sim City and Civilization were two of my favourite games when I first started playing PC). By this time PC gaming was becoming a bit more well known - pretty much all of my friends had some kind of game on their PC, be it Doom, Quake, MDK, Duke Nukem, Descent, Command & Conquer etc. and we began to talk about these, although not in any great depth (topics such as sport, football/soccer and TV/movies were discussed far more). Obviously we didn't have any money to buy games with and we had no real idea of release dates of what games were hot, so we usually just had to wait until to we went round each other's houses to play these games.

Why am I going on about this? Well basically my cohort was the first cohort to grow up as video games had broken into the mainstream. I remember seeing my first video game advert on the TV - Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Video game adverts were hardly ever on around that time, and then slowly but surely they started taking up more and more airtime. Turn on a TV now and nearly every commercial break will have at least one game advert (at the moment it seems to be Assassin's Creed 3 and the London 2012 games). Colleagues at work now openly discuss games like they discuss the game last night. I think I have actually heard the phrase 'Have you played the new...' being said around the office more often than 'Did you watch the game last night', and, given that nearly everyone in my office is a huge supporter of football, that's saying something. Some of the women may not take part in the discussions about CoD or FIFA but they do talk about their iPhone games and try to get other people to download them.

Basically gaming is now mainstream. Perhaps not nearly as mainstream as movies and music but it's getting there. Remember when you were 8 and you were much better than your parents and older siblings at video games? Well if you have kids, that's not going to happen, you're going to be beating them until they turn 30. At the game I mean, not, like, physically beating. Whatever. Shit.

I'm moving house in a few weeks, moving in with my girlfriend at long last. I fully intend to continue playing games and will have my PS3 set up in the living room as well as my PC. Sure, the actual amount of time I will spend gaming will fall, I appreciate that, especially as I'll be working and also taking on other pursuits, but I don't really feel that 'too old to game' is a problem any more. Anyone who says so is a Luddite who hasn't realised that this is now the case. Are you too old to play games that are marketed to children? If the game is fun for an adult to play, go ahead. I'm not ashamed to admit I play Pokemon, any more that, if I see a cartoon or children's film that I find funny, I won't be afraid to admit it either. Changing what you do because you feel you should be acting older isn't being mature, it's being boring. As long as you're not neglecting your real life responsibilities and making sure you put the important things before your hobbies (whether they be gaming, watching movies or listening to music).

I'm just hoping that, by the time any kids I have are old enough to start gaming, that I haven't moved on from gaming, as I feel it's a journey I would want to continue with the next generation.

[Zak]

^This. That's kinda the idea fantasy I have of the next generation.

I forgot to also mention, the irony of this topic is that my first non-PC game console experience (a SNES or NES I think) was at the 50-60 year old CEO of my dad's company when I was 8 and he invited us to his beach house to try and convince us to move back to the states, and I don't think he had any kids.

[ChobiChibi]

Heald, I think you're the first person I've ever met that has also played MDK.

^ That pretty much sums up my first video game experience XD

My dad is at fault for getting me into gaming. He used to play Tomb Raider, MDK, Doom and later Unreal Tournament, and I would sit in the chair next to him and watch. There are two distinct things I remember from this: thinking that the B on the end of Tomb was silent (therefore "Tom Raider" was born) and saying "Use the chainsaw, Daddy! The chainsaw!" when he played Doom.

I think we even had a computer when I was younger than that. It had space invaders on it. I loved that thing.

But yeah, I didn't start actually playing games until I was 7/8 years old. We got a PS1 with Crash Bandicoot, Rayman and a demo of Abe's Odyssey. My brother and I used to fight over it all the time, even my parents would play (my mum loved Rayman and later, Crash Team Racing when it came out). Now I'm the only one who really plays anymore. My bro still has his PS2 which he plays on occasion, and my Dad plays Battlefield 2 and refuses to play with me anymore. I ask him if he wants to play Unreal Tournament on the LAN, he says no because I beat him last time we did Mum took some interest in Professor Layton...

What gets me though, is when my parents take a dig at my gaming. They quite recently said "all you do is talk to your friends on your laptop and play computer games", to which I responded "I coulda turned out a lot worse. I could be a criminal, have no education, no job or pregnant with my third child by now."

My dad has also recently started calling me Sheldon because I bought Halo Reach the other day. Special edition. Anyway, can't be bad being compared to a physicist, fictional or not XP

[Ultimate Charizard]

God i feel so old

[BTPoke]

God I feel so young

[mattbcl]

Chobi, I've got MDK2, does that count?

[ChobiChibi]

Yes, yes it does! Welcome to the very small and exclusive club of people Becki knows that have played MDK! XD

[Lady Vulpix]

Before anyone keeps comparing their own ages to Zak's, keep in mind he was 13 when he joined TPM. Regardless of the age difference, he was fun to talk to back then.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

But where's Zak's Birthday Thread? Happy Birthday Zak!

I'm all for never-too-old-to-play-video-games. I have younger and older friends who play them. If I have an older friend who plays, I can think that even when I'm that old I still can play, and if I have a younger friend who plays, I can think I can't quit playing because I will still have to be able to play when he or she is on my age.

[Zak]

My birthday is in November dood.

Yes I was 13... damn it has really been 11 years, almost half my life! Though I'm pretty sure shazza has been here for a little over half his, not sure if anyone else has (out of those who are still here, obviously, I'm sure there are many users in the database who registered more than half their life ago).

I think I was 16 when first getting super-mod, so that has been what... 8 years? That is, not counting the short time-out that I lost it.

And I still am fun to talk to, I am different on IM than on the board. But sorry for not re-joining Lingo when you asked me, I was mad busy with finals and graduation, but I have plenty of free time now (besides job hunting) is it still active?

[Heald]

I joined in 2000, so I would have been 12...and I was a dick.

It's 2012 and I'm still a dick. But now a mod. Ha.

But now that I think about it, I have been posting here for over half my life now...oh shit.

[Lady Vulpix]

Yes, Zak, it's still active. Feel free to join in at any time!

[BTPoke]

Might I be the little newblet I am and ask what Lingo is? xD

or is that a thing that only certain people use?

[Lady Vulpix]

No, it's a game. You can find it on the Games! Games! Games! forum. Come and play if you like. The more the merrier.

[shazza]

I joined when I was 11. I am now 23.

[Zak]

Are there more than 2-3 people active in it?

[Lady Vulpix]

Are there more than 2-3 people active in it?

Maybe, maybe not. That would depend on whether or not you join.

[Cferra]

Before anyone keeps comparing their own ages to Zak's, keep in mind he was 13 when he joined TPM. Regardless of the age difference, he was fun to talk to back then.

Those were the days, right, Gabi? Haha. I think there are a lot more older pokemon fans than what's commonly believed. Myself included.

Anyway, many happy returns Zak aka spinizak. =P I do remember when you joined the forums. You were so young and impressionable. What the hell happened?

[Magmar]

oh duh! happy birthday, zak!

[Zak]

Oh duh, funny this happens to be one time I actually WISH it was my birthday so I can have someone get me a 3DS and a copy of the new Kingdom Hearts game that hit US shores Tuesday... but I have to wait a week being in between jobs and all...

[Lady Vulpix]

Funny, that game is exactly what I got my brother for his birthday.

[homeofmew]

I am almost 27 and I Play Pokemon TCG, even went to Pokemon TCG Nationals This year

[Becky]

I don't think age is the question. It's great if you played Pokemon when you where 12 and when you're 30. The question is, what else have you done with your life?

How you delegate tasks that are meaningful to your life reveal much about your priorities and enjoyment in life.

[Jay]

I am almost 27 and I Play Pokemon TCG, even went to Pokemon TCG Nationals This year

Do you still dress up in a Pikachu costume?

[Mewfour]

I joined this forum waaaaaaaayyyy back in 1999. I'm practically a living fossil around these parts.

Also I'm 28 and play Pokemon while driving. I am beyond hope.

[Magmar]

Oh honey, TPM didn't have a forum in 1999.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I wonder if FanFics still have closet readers.