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Today I realized just how old I am. 26, that’s quite a number in gaming. I was reading an article on the retirement of Chef-Koch from Counterstrike 1.6 esport that made me think. Some questions just flooded my mind! How many are there as old as I am? How many family fathers? How many mothers? Hubands? Wifes? How many gamers have children?
I mean everything in my world is directed at settling down with my lovely girlfriend and live a happy life. BUT without gaming? Is that possible for me? I mean, I’ve been around games ever since I can think about it, be it Super Mario Land for the old GameBoy or Boulder Dash on the Amiga. That feels like forever to me.
With this article on a pro-gamer retiring at the age of 29 it struck me just how old gamers might get before changing their mouse and keyboard for suit and briefcase!? Can I keep on gaming my whole life? This is so damn depressing when you think about all the ups and downs. Is a life possible which combines a happy family life, successful career and a life with the games I so much love? I’ve tried it without any games periodically. The last time lasted until today and went for four months. But now I hunger for some plain gaming fun and enjoyment, you get me?!
What do you guys think? Are there any among you who have the same problem? Or those who live a life of gaming AND family etc? Let me know!
Regards
ionize
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I think as you grow older you get more responsibilities so as for just amateur gaming, there's a certain cutoff age where you need to spend less time with the game. I'd say that it's when you're about 25. But of course if you enjoy what you're doing you shouldn't quit, hell I think I'll never quit being a gamer. However I think the toning down is necessary in order have a functioning family and a job that you're managing in a good way. Still I think you can fit in about 2h of gaming in an everyday man or womans life, just think of how many hours that gets wasted in front of the TV. However TV can also act as something social as you can do it with others, but that's the same as gaming. At least when I was a kid I really enjoyed playing with my dad. Now as an 19 year old I think it might be a bit weird. But I know of some parents that still game but it's not a daily thing in the cases I think is ok.
As for getting older = you get worse. I believe there's some things that just slip away from you like reflexes etc. But a guy like whitera and boxer as well is showing that you can do alright even if you're older than the others. It's the same with all sports. There are soccer players that still play in national teams etc at the age of 40 but usually they start to get worse at 30 since the body gets worn out. But they usually continue playing in minor leagues after their "retirement from being pros".
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It's just a hobby but you need to make sure you find a girlfriend who doesn't mind it now because if she thinks it's a problem now she will definitely think it's a problem in the future
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Who the hell says you have to have a family and some huge time consuming career? I sure don't want those things.
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My 2 really close cousins are 25 and 28. The 25 year old has a steady GF who doesn't like gaming but understands it's something he enjoys and lets him do it. He only really ends up playing once a week when he gets together with his friends. During the week his time is spent doing the things he needs to get done. My other cousin (who also happens to be the brother of the 25 year old) is married for almost 2 years now and still games 2-3 times a week with friends. His wife tolerates gaming and will even join in on occasion.
I am 19 and don't have this problem but felt it'd possibly be helpful for me to post this as it's something I've talked to them about. Granted they don't play games like SC2 it's the same sort of concept. From what they tell me is their passion stays but they have to do it a little less. They also told me that it just kind of works itself into your schedual. You make time for what you enjoy doing. That's how they put it. Its just important to keep a balance as they also said. Hope this helps 
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The current and future generations will be different than the past ones. Even some geriatrics now - I mean, 80-90 year olds! - are super into technology and love smartphones, handheld gaming, etc. Anyone born within the last 30 years grew up with gaming and will be more comfortable with it as they age.
While some people live their lives by a script that says you have to give up gaming at a certain age, get married (at all or) at a certain age, have children (at all or) at a certain age, others are more free. Count me in the latter group. I don't think Boxer/White-Ra/Dimaga should ever quit, all that crap about APM peaking at 20 means nothing to their game.
I have dated plenty of girls who, though not mega into gaming, had played consoles in their youth and respected gaming as a viable hobby. I actually find women in their late 20s like the idea of me laddering quietly at home more than me hanging out at Hooters and spending $$$ on beer and wings.
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White-Ra. Over 30 (or exactly 30?), married. Most baller Protoss ever, and he has stuff on the side to earn additional money too. All gaming related. At least a while back, he used to write for a gaming magazine and organized events in the Ukraine.
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Well I have to add, I know some elderly gamers. But they mainly play MMOs. In that genre people tend to be 10-20+ years older on average (just my line of thought).
And I've got to add, my girlfriend accepts me gaming. I was an amateur UT gamer with clan and cups and all when we dated for the first couple of months, and she told me she's ok with that. I mean, she was not happy, but she was giving me my free space so long as I was all hers when she was around.
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When you said elderly I thought you meant, you know, elderly, there's nothing abnormal about someone mid-late 20's/30's playing games IMO.
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On April 07 2011 01:48 jello_biafra wrote:
When you said elderly I thought you meant, you know, elderly, there's nothing abnormal about someone mid-late 20's/30's playing games IMO. Whoops, wrong term. Ok, I change it to old gamers. [Edit] Dang, not possible to change the entry title now. 
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Elderly? Ouch!
I'm 30 years old. I got into gaming because my father was an IT technician, and we always had a computer at home. From an early age, I played games alongside him. I don't intend to quit gaming just because of my age. Of course I have a little less time now that I have a full-time job, but I'd still rather play games than watch TV. I plan on playing computer games with my children if I have any.
And as for pro-gamers, I think if they can earn a living from gaming, there's certainly no reason to quit at an early age. If you need to get a "normal" job to earn money and support your family, then yeah, you probably can't be progamer, as I think you need to practice full-time to be a pro. But if you earn enough from gaming then there's no reason you can't be a progamer well into your thirties. The only thing that might stop them is if they get burnt out or just lose the hunger to win.
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I often think, if you were looking to become a professional gamer, and earn a decent living from it, that it's similar to the trek to being a rockstar. Living off of scraps for a long time, searching for gigs and tourneys, until you nail a tournament or two and make a name for your self. To me, there aren't many older gamers because of this. How long can you go before you finally decide, OK, I can't do this my whole life, and find a real job.
The more responsibilities you take, the less time you have for gaming. I think Boxer could be amazing again, one of the very best, up there with MC and MVP and Nestea, but from what I hear he's got too many other responsibilities and can't practice as much as he needs to.
I'm 27 and still play games all the time. I don't have a wife or GF to worry about though. The group I play with has dwindled drastically though over the years. Back in high school, we had huge lan parties, now there's 3 of us that play regularly, with another 3 or so that come on occasionally. It's kind of sad for me, but everyone has their own responsibilities now and I respect that.
I think you can be an elderly gamer, but you'll be the minority.
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Sure, you can still game, but the amount of time you can spend on gaming will quickly dwindle when you start a family and get more involved in your career. This is actually where most casual gamers come from these days. Ye olde hardcore gamers from the 70s, 80s and 90s that just don't have the time and patience to devote to long gaming sessions anymore because they're hitting those ages where they've got constant interruptions and responsibilities flying their way.
Its even more reason to find a career you enjoy. If you're always looking at the clock, impatient to get home and the highlight of your day is to spend the entire night playing some video games, you're probably not going to be happy. Sure, we all still get super-excited about some big, new release and can't wait to escape the office that day, but if that desire to escape becomes a daily thing, you're going to be absolutely miserable.
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On April 07 2011 02:09 ionize wrote:Show nested quote +On April 07 2011 01:48 jello_biafra wrote:
When you said elderly I thought you meant, you know, elderly, there's nothing abnormal about someone mid-late 20's/30's playing games IMO. Whoops, wrong term. Ok, I change it to old gamers. [Edit] Dang, not possible to change the entry title now.
Okay, fair enough ^^
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Why all the: find a wife/gf who can tolerate your gaming? It's like saying: find a wife/gf who tolerates that you're a runner, or work at a bank, or enjoy skiing.
Doods-- find a wife or girlfriend who understands and appreciate the things you love, even if she doesn't take part in them. (If she does that's even better.) No one is going to appreciate something that takes you away from time you should be spending with your family, or getting work done, but everyone has hobbies and things they love to do in their spare time. If you can get her to play with you, then it's shared time doing something you love. If not, it's a great hobby that you spend time doing and is important to you, and for that reason it should be important to her.
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On April 07 2011 02:43 RedJustice wrote:
Why all the: find a wife/gf who can tolerate your gaming? It's like saying: find a wife/gf who tolerates that you're a runner, or work at a bank, or enjoy skiing.
Doods-- find a wife or girlfriend who understands and appreciate the things you love, even if she doesn't take part in them. (If she does that's even better.) No one is going to appreciate something that takes you away from time you should be spending with your family, or getting work done, but everyone has hobbies and things they love to do in their spare time. If you can get her to play with you, then it's shared time doing something you love. If not, it's a great hobby that you spend time doing and is important to you, and for that reason it should be important to her. A beautiful comment. You hit the spot. I second that!
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This post is super funny.
I am 35-years old, married, two boys ages 4 and 1. There is time in life for what you make time for. I am a Electrical Engineer and poised to be partial owner of the firm I work for in a few years time. So by my own standards, ambition and measure quite successful.
Typical day
6am Wake-up get everyone ready to get out of the house
7am Bicycle the kids to school and daycare
8am Work
4pm Pick up kids
4:30pm Dinner and play with kids
8pm Kids asleep, get 1-hour workout in
9pm Relax (gaming, watch movies, surf internet, spend time with the wife)
Midnight Sleep
So you see there is about 3-hours every day that I have flexible. I choose to spend about 3-4 nights a week playing SC2.
The interesting thing is that since I have been playing video games since I have been 3-years old. That is 32-years of gaming. There are not that many new titles out there that I enjoy any longer. The same content can only be recycled so many times before it loses its interest. I would say that for me the decline in my interest in gaming started at about 25-26, were I would go from having 5 titles in rotation, to 3 to now I pretty much play 1 game at a time.
FWIW.
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@Eeryck Nice comment there. That makes me keep my hopes up. I envision myself a family father of two kids with job, family and everything covered and still gaming. Not massive, but still my couple of hours per week.
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EPT
