The average age of gamers

[Harrison]

Has anyone else noticed that as the gaming industry continues, the average age of gamers is also moving along with our age group?

When computers first started to be used in the early 70's I imagine the average age of computer users was somewhere in the 30-40 range. But when home computing first took off and was affordable the average age group using computers and playing video games quickly dropped.

I was first into gaming in the very late 70's in the arcades and on a few friends home consoles and handheld video games, but it was really in the early 80's, and on 8-bit platforms, when the average age of gamers and computer users was something like 8-16. Then with the 16-bit era this started to shift upwards and also expand the age range slightly, with something like an average age range of 12-20. But since the 16-bit era the average ago of gamers seems to be fixed to our generation and moves along with us as we get older.

Look at the PS2 gaming generation in the late 90's and early 2000's. The average age of gamers was 18-26 or something, and now with the current generation it is something like 24-36 year olds.

Can you all see the pattern here? It is our generation that continues to be the average age of the current gamer with each new generation of system. We have grown up with video games from their initial invention, and continue to buy and play the latest games from the current generation of platforms. Yes, younger people and older people are playing games too, but the concentration of gamers seems to always be with our age group.

Is this a good or bad thing? I don't really know.

The developers are also mainly in the same age range too, meaning many have been in the industry since the beginning, so know how games work and have a passion for gaming. And it explains why games keep getting more realistic, graphic, violent etc... because as games developers also get older, their interested obviously become more adult orientated too.

What does this mean for the future of gaming? Not sure myself.

Will our generation continue to be the average age group playing games? Does this mean than in 20+ years time the average age of gamers will be in the 50's?

Is it due to the shortening attention spans of the youth of today, and a poorer education system, that not as many of them seem to be playing games as much?

[Buleste]

Because some of the new console manufacturers have concentrated on the 20 - 30 year olds they have lost ground to Nintendo. They've forgotten that the 20-30 year olds who played on the PS1, PS2 and XBox have gotten older and probably have families with whom they want to enjoy gaming and whilst both Sony and M$ concentrate on adult gaming they've lost the family gaming market to the Big N. They may be the brands that big kids want but the family that Wii's together stays together (or at least until dad cheats and the kids go off in a sulk or dad gets beaten and takes the console away).

The other thing you're forgetting Harrison is it's far easier and more acceptable to get recreational drugs and get your 14 year old girlfriend pregnant nowadays than it was when you and I were 18.

[Harrison]

Ah! You are right, I completely forget that important last fact! These days education is actually important, because their family planning lessons teach how to plan the right time to get pregnant for that free flat/house, and their GCSE maths comes in handy to work out how many children they need for enough benefit money to live without needing to work! While still being able to aford SkyHD, broadband and a two week holiday in the sun.

[Stephen Coates]

Some people in my class last year regulaly played Unreal Tournement on the Library computers. Why it was installed on them all I don't know. Recently some of them were playing it whilst a couple of people were doing work and I was playing Solitare. Both me and the people playing unreal Tournement got remotely logged off.

I think one reason why gaming might not be as popular with younger people is that too many people spend too much time on Social Networking sites. Also the fact that you do not get a BASIC interpretter every time you switch on the computer, which means not as many people will want to learn any programming language to make their own games, as well as play other people's games.

[Harrison]

That is very true. When we grew up with more basic computers we had to learn how they worked in more depth to even load a program. Now it is very much hand holding so they never learn how the computer is actually working.

I wonder how the average internet user age compares to gamer age? Anyone know of any accurate stats?

[Buleste]

I don't know of any stats for average age of internet users but here's another reason why the age of gamers is going up.

A four-year-old boy has shot his babysitter because he was angry with him for stepping on his foot.

Teenage carer Nathan Beavers probably thought the youngster was joking when he said he was going to get a weapon.

But the child from Ohio, USA, came back into the room with a shotgun and fired into the babysitter's arm and side.

The eighteen-year-old had been looking after the child in a mobile home in Jackson county.

He was rushed to hospital along with another teenager who was also hit by the gunfire.

Neither died from their injuries, reportedly because the ammunition was bird pellets rather than bullets.

The boy's father is said to be shocked that his son knew how to load the weapon.

Jackson County Sheriff John Shashteen said authorities were investigating the attack but the child had not been charged.

Why play Quake III when you've had experience of shooting someone with a real gun. Plus had that been loaded with shot then that would have been one less 18 year old gamer out there.

And the Republicans think Gun control is a bad thing. Go figure.

[Harrison]

The US scares me. Full of idiots (as Top Gear proved ) and all armed with firearms. I'm staying in the UK!

[Stephen Coates]

They didn't charge him?

Did they arrest the 4 year old?

[Buleste]

Due to age and culpability they couldn't arrest a 4 year old. It's only after the age of about 12 that you are judged to have culpability for your actions.

They were going to call in Supernanny but her punishment is 1 minute in the naughty corner per year of life and that just didn't quite cut it.

If it had been in one of the southern states and the 4 year old had been black well that would have been a different gether altomatter.

[v85rawdeal]

What about the 6 year old that drove his parent's car so he wouldn't be late for his PE class.

His parents AND THE POLICE said it was because of the games he played, including GTA!!! I ask you, what do you make of a country that doesn't bat an eyelid at a 6 year old playing a M rated game...