Will our generations play games when we’re old?

[retrosega]

I'm a gen x'er and I've been playing since the early 80's. I count myself lucky that I was born right at the start of the arcade/videogame explosion and have seen it all unfold throughout my life.

It's been a great ride and yes, I'll be playing as long as I can see a screen and use a controller.

 

[Sprat]

I doubt I will play modern games. I already mostly just play saturn & dreamcast games. Those two I will probably stick with though

 

[KrillinLikeAVillan]

I just celebrated my 40th birthday and my wrists and hands are in rough shape, even if i want to play games when i get old i might not be able to.

 

[Nameless]

Gen X'ers still seem pretty engaged with gaming, don't see why it would be different for us Millennials and younger.

 

[SeriousCrayon]

I'm 46 and wil continue to play games until you pry them out of my hopefully very old dead hands. Plus I have my kids to keep me up to date when things get weird and confusing to me and I start yelling at clouds for no reason.

 

[Porkepik]

Yup 45 and still like it as much I can see myself playing till my hands or brain don't work.

 

[Mirage]

There are already people 70+ playing games. It's only going to become more common as time goes on.

 

[Aeana]

I'll be playing the games that are still around. The way people these days don't seem to care about preservation means that it'll probably become impossible to play some games, particularly stuff that was digital only when these stores inevitably close.

 

[J75]

With my current skillset, I'm afraid to see how much I'll deteriorate in my 50s+.
Also feel like I'll get fed up with the medium before I reach that age anyways.
Guess that's a no in my case.

 

[FlashFlooder]

my grandma played her gameboy every day (same game - super mario land) until the day she died. She never could get past the flying stage, so one of my last memories with her is when she asked me to play through to the end so she could see what comes after.

 

[ThatCrazyGuy]

I'll be playing in the old folks home, baby. Gotta keep that mind sharp.

 

[mute]

Probably the same old games I'm playing now lol.

 

[MagicJ117]

Yes of course. I do not see me ever stopping to play games just because of age.

 

[Damaniel]

Yes, for sure. Probably not as much as I used to, and perhaps different games, but I can't see myself abandoning games entirely.

 

[kenneld]

Of course. My dad is a boomer and plays games all the time. It's his main hobby. He didn't even grow up with games; didn't even really get into them until his 60s.

 

[Hieroph]

To a point. I see this thread pop up on Reddit a lot and I don't think the posters in it have much experience of care homes or old age.

Will I be playing games when I'm 60? Sure.

Will I be playing games when I'm 75 to 90?
Judging from my grandmother who didn't know where she was, playing Halo won't be on my mind.

Click to shrink...

Aging is a very complex process that isn't all about the numbers. Take good care of yourself, and you could live to be a hundred in relatively good health.

 

[Steve McQueen]

Well tbh, I'm almost 50, started in '77/'78 and never could have guessed that gaming would be around in 2020. Somehow I thought it wouldn't last after the collapse of Atari.

Getting older, I hope I can enjoy maybe 3-4 gens, before it's 'game over' for myself 😉

 

[Yourfawthaaa]

I dont know how good my reflexes will be for PC gaming but ill damn sure own a console.

Gotta keep a playstation in the living room.

 

[lcd]

Yes. Care homes will just be virtual reality docking stations where we are transported in a world where anything is possible.

Click to shrink...

This actually made me think how much I've stopped thinking about the medium/long term future because of how fluid things currently are. Thanks.

 

[mael]

Ahahahahahhahahahahahaha
Have you seen my backlog?
The only way I manage to get through it all is if we manage to find a cure to death!

 

[Ænima]

I dont see myself stop playing games.

 

[MP!]

My gen will ... but your gen would rather watch some blue haired Goob on the internet play instead.
lol
just kidding.
maybe...
Probably not... Nah ... forget it
Get off my lawn

 

[captmcblack]

I'll be playing games in the afterlife.

This hobby is forever.

 

[sbenji]

Yes but simpler games as our hands and minds will start to go.

 

[Huey]

Yes and I will continue reading books, watching films and listening to music as well

 

[TripleBee]

I'll be hooking into my VR sim to live my whole life over again, in such realistic look and feel that I don't even realize I'm gasping for my last breath in the real world.

 

[Deleted member 46948]

If our civilization doesn't collapse until then, which is a hell of a huge IF, then yes. We'll probably spend a substantial amount of time in some form of VR.

 

[calder]

I turned 47 today so... I assume?

Whoa, 40's gang all up in here. There are dozens of us!

 

[RedSwirl]

Man I fuckin' hope decades from now old folks in homes are just chilling in there, playing video games.

Spoiler

...if climate change doesn't fuck us by then and if our generation even gets to retire.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I actually am looking forward to it when I'm retired and get some gaming time back. I hope wireless VR that is slim and light has been perfected by then so I may slip into my virtual escape from our flooded, over-heated world.

 

[Molecule]

Dude, I'll be playing games and getting high when I'm retired.

 

[calder]

I made this joke years ago but it still applies - in the year 2070 a retirement community is going to bring out some old tech into the main activity area to have a fun Fortnite Classic tournament and it is going to get HEATED.

 

[j7vikes]

no way. When I'm retired I'm putting the controller down. I'll be whittling and gardening which I don't currently do but of course I'm not retired.

Come on man I'm gaming until I die.

 

[Deleted member 2317]

KATAMARI AND ME ROLLING INTO THE FUTURE

 

[Lion]

I've been thinking about this for years. The answer is obviously yes. I'm 40 and can't set my self stopping.

I look forward to paying games with my grandkids when I'm 60!

 

[stephbm6]

I'm 49 and still got excited when I secured my PS5 preorder just like I did back when I got a NES in 87.

 

[MrRob]

Am old, still plays games. I will say the type of games I enjoy will continue to shift.

 

[robot]

Even when I think "I haven't been playing games lately" I realize I have and I just didn't think about them. If I do it unconsciously now in my 30s I assume I'm never going to stop.

 

[mentallyinept]

They'll have to pry the controller out of my cold dead hands.

 

[RandomSeed]

Probably sitting down pooping my pants with a VR headset on if I live that long.

But seriously, if we are talking decades and decades, having to hold a controller like now will probably not be a thing, outside of some retro experience. Take that, arthritis.

 

[Bradford]

I will, at the very least.

 

[Total Cereal]

Old people still play games just like us, it's just that video games are much more difficult to comprehend than something like baseball or Chess (maybe Chess is a bad example). If you give an old person an Xbox controller and tell them to play, they won't understand it and will likely get frustrated. On the other hand, we grew up playing video games with controllers so they are natural and familiar, and that won't go away when we're old.

 

[GamerJM]

Video games will be huge in retirement homes if we manage to unfuck ourselves and there's still an industry for that in 45 years. They're actually the perfect activity for elderly people who grew up with them. They're stimulating and time consuming but don't require much physical movement or skill (necessarily, depending on the game). The only reason more elders don't play them now is because they're tricky to get into, they lack the nostalgia for them, and they're not really marketed or designed for them.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

When im in the old folks home it will be video games and D&D all day every day.

 

[Tetryl]

Definitely. 29 here, but I've played video games since I was like 5 and I still enjoy them as much now as I did back then. Can't imagine that ever changing. What has changed is that I can't do marathon sessions anymore. I can go for 2-3 hours, but after that I mentally need a break. That and I'm losing interest in competitive multiplayer. But stopping completely? Can't see it.

 

[Binhoker]

Fuck yes. Hell yes. Though I do wonder about an ageing gaming populace, will there be a market for old man games, is the pixel art indie basically that already.

 

[pswii60]

I'm 39 and I'm not stopping gaming any time soon. Been gaming since I was like 5 and the novelty isn't wearing off. If anything I'm more excited than ever about all the games coming out, from Silksong to Ratchet.

 

[Gilver]

If my brain goes to shit than I will probably die playing some cool future game

 

[ForgeForsaken]

Mia Farrow is apparently a gamer. She's talked about Myst before bur more recently




She's 75

 

[sugar bear]

I turn 50 next year and I'll be jamming the latest Mario games for the rest of my life.