Grandpa Isn’t Playing Around AnymoreÂ
Video games are usually thought of as a young person’s hobby. The old and elderly are not exactly synonymous with gaming. However, that is changing rapidly according to a new study out of the AARP. This study found that as more people enter their 50s they are still playing video games. It also showed that there are more old people are picking up gaming for the first time than ever before.
As the years pass on, video games have undoubtedly grown in terms of social impact. The gaming industry is more profitable than movies and music. So it should be no surprise that some of this newfound influence has found its way into retirement homes and bingo halls. The adult gaming population has grown by 10 million since 2016 and it is only expected to grow as younger generations get older. Many of the adult gamers polled said that they first got into it due to their children, but later became more independent.
The platforms that 50+ gamers use are overwhelmingly PC and Moblie. It looks as though the elderly don’t have time for the console scene quite yet. Not to blow things out of proportion, the genres that old people play the most are things like puzzle, logic, and word games. Grandpa Joe isn’t 360, ladder stall, no scoping noobs yet. But that could always change. That being said, there is the odd senior playing competitive FPS games like Call of Duty or Counter-Strike.
There are no signs that this trend is going to slow down either. As the current generations get older the percentage of the gaming community that is made of people who are 50 years or older is going to grow substantially. One day you’ll have to put your grandchildren is their place.