How Our Experience Of Gaming Changes As We Age

Gamers are getting older. Or, to put it another way, we’re all getting older, but some of us are still gaming. The average age of a gamer is now 35, significantly older from what it was in previous decades. What’s more, over 15% of gamers are over 55.

Veteran players

Video games have been popular since the late 1970s, so it should be no surprise that there are now many veteran players around. Yet the stereotype of the typical gamer is still of a teenager (usually male) or someone in their early twenties. While this is certainly the age at which we commonly start playing games, many people continue to play through adulthood and on into retirement. However, their experience, expectations and choices may change considerably as they get older.

Physical decline

One reason that our choices may change is due to declining physical ability. This is one of the unfortunate and unavoidable effects of aging, although there are compensations. Reaction time, one of the most important qualities a gamer can harness, peaks at around 24 and declines by 20% by age 65.

This decline may only be a matter of milliseconds, but in a fast-moving video game, that can make all the difference. Similarly, our eyesight is generally not as good when we’re older. On the other hand, a lifetime of gaming does have benefits. Experience equals accumulated knowledge and muscle memory, which can stand a veteran player in good stead.

Changing tastes

Some gamers stick with their favorite games from their youth, or new titles that are similar. But they lose their appetite for games that are new, novel or more challenging. While it’s healthy to embrace change as we age, older gamers play for fun and have less patience with games that are frustratingly difficult or complicated.

Mature decisions

Older gamers are less likely to enjoy first-person shooters and battlefield games, and are more inclined towards puzzles and strategy games. They may also prefer the traditional table games offered by online casinos which have an atmosphere of mature, sophisticated style.

A sense of accomplishment

When we’re young, doing well in a video game may give us a sense of accomplishment we lack elsewhere in our life. But as we age, we find in-game prizes and scoreboards less rewarding. We want to play for real stakes, which is another reason why we might turn to casino games with highroller bonuses that treat us like adults and give us something we can use.

Different priorities

Time is more precious to us as grown-ups. We just don’t have the space in our lives to play for hours at a time like we did when we were kids. As a result, we turn to games that we can enjoy in short bursts, either in the evenings after we’ve put our own children to bed, or in a lunch break from work, or on the morning commute.

Of course, everyone is different, and while some gamers may find their tastes narrow, others will find they widen. Games they dismissed when they were teenagers now have a fresh appeal. The point is that there’s nothing wrong with playing games when you’re older, or of responding to them differently. After all, if life is a game, then we are all players to the end.