5 cruel realities of gaming as you age
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- čas přidán 16. 07. 2024
- As a man in his 40s now, gaming has changed and not always for the better. Here are 5 cruel realities of gaming as you age.
Anything you would add? Or do you disagree? Let me know in the comments!
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I'm in my mid 50's now and know how you feel - it was happening to me when the PS3 was brand new. Suddenly going from being competent at CoD online to getting beaten be kids not even old enough to own the game here in the UK.
Haha. COD has had to go on the shelf for me now. It’s not a game I can play anymore.
This video should be a public service announcement for and on behalf of all aging gamers 😁
Haha love it. Thanks!
Looking forward to an update when you hit 50 ... where I happen to be!
How is 50? I was hoping as my kids lost interest in me that I may find more time…
@@jaygrice TBH, I'm possibly not that far ahead of you in terms of life experience. My only kid is not quite 10 and my job is also demanding. So little time to play my Switch. Really enjoyed the Guacamelee games though. Simple but huge fun! Since turning 50 I need to stay on top of my fitness and physiotherapy so all those little aches don't become big aches. Best wishes!
I'm 34 this year, with a tough job, a wife, and a 5 year old. Believe me, this hits hard! The only exception is I can play Master Duel / Pokemon on my Switch during my commute. But those reasons you share here are relevant for me. Take my subscribe man!
A little older but gave up games which takes time 😅 but I do maybe buy one game per year on sale. I do want to make also sport. This results in projects like an arcade cabinet. Some people say you can build in in one week.... Ok 4 month mostly at night outside in the winter 😅
Thanks for the comment and the sub. Nice to know I’m not alone.
I can relate! 😁
Love the account name!
I’m 46 and still my reaction time is on point!! Maybe we have this conversation in our 70’s. When the kids were young I had less time but now they are adults and the fuck outta the house. Got alllllll the time
I think at 70, the way I’m going, I won’t be able to hold a controller! But I hope to get some more time in the coming years and maybe practice will bring it back… maybe
Damn this hits close to home!. I entered my 40's last year. Sadly this is all true. I have a backlog of over 1000 titles, stretching way back. I used to dominate the UT99 servers, and even won a championship. Nowadays though, fuck, it hurts just thinking about how bad I am today.
How are you finding your 40s? I found that mentally it hit me harder than I thought. I spent a lot of time contemplating the previous 40 and considering what’s left and how I want to make the most of it.
@@jaygrice I try not to think about whatever time I might have left, as I really can't know. I mean, I could die of a blood clot or have an aneurysm any moment, not to mention cancer and other age related deceases. I think what's important, is to try and live in the moment and appreciate those who are important to us, and that they, and we are still here. Material things have definitely become mostly unimportant to me, it's more about experiences, and the sharing of those experiences with others. I guess what I've mostly paid attention to is my grey hairs, as I started greying at 35, and that's fast picking up speed.
Growing up in my family, I always base what adulthood is from my father. I've never seen him have fun. He's always busy doing his work at the office and when at home, he'll be facing his laptop. So, the thought of gaming when I hit my 40s and beyond feels a bit unusual to me. Despite me loving gaming.
Really interesting thought. I guess I didn’t see that from my parents either. As a generation who grew up with it we are the first generation of parents to have played and want to still be playing. I love playing games with my kids and hope as they get older we can enjoy the experience together.
Some great points there. I totally get the point about big, story-based games - I just don't have the time or inclination for them any more. Having said that when I hit my early 40s (just over the half century at this point!) I got into the Souls games - big challenging games but you don't have to sit there watching cutscenes. Fancy that - a game you 'play'!
Not sure about the reflexes thing. I'm currently obsessed with danmaku STGs (bullet hell shmups) and my reflexes are wiry like a brillo pad.
I tried Elden Ring but found it too punishing but I do feel like I should go back and put more time in to see if it could get me hooked. I know it was loved by so many people.
@@jaygrice Superb game. With that you can just play it how you want. Set off in a direction and see where it takes you. I try to get 30 mins to an hour of gaming in each evening where possible so it lasted me a good while (roughly 80-100 hours game!)
Mid 40's and you are 100% correct.
Thanks for confirming! Haha
Me: 61 and just getting back into gaming. Have put in 860 hours playing RDR2, halfway through chapter 3. Have done everything possible and crafted and filled my satchel with 99 of everything. Will finish it one day lol. Just finished Ratchet and Clank a Rift in Time and starting Robocop Rogue City then it will be Guardians of the Galaxy followed by Resident Evil 4, Control Ultimate Edition, The Last Of Us Part 1, Wreckfest and the single player campaign of Battlefield 1 again. My kids are between 25 and 35 years old so no distractions lol.
860 hours! That’s awesome and you haven’t beaten it yet. Love the planning that’s gone into your queue of games, some great titles in there. Please let me know how you find Robocop, I love the movies and when the game was announced I was really keen to try it.
So true, I have a great selection of games, xbox series x, ps5, Nintendo switch, Steam deck, gaming PC...... But maybe get my teeth into around 6 games a year, with a pile of shame that only seems to grow.
Do you find you play the same games as like comfort food? Or are the 6 games all new ones?
@@jaygrice generally all new ones, currently playing Dragons dogma 2
43 here & this is very relatable 😂
I’m glad I’m not alone!
@@jaygrice oh you are definitely not alone 🤣
31 and I started to feel it. On fortnite it is a struggle, I just can't get building down, but I can still hold my own in aiming and shooting.
I would argue that gaming is not as good now though. The serious lack of innovation and new IPs is why there are so many remakes of games.
I think there is a lot of innovation in the Indys but the big firms do seem to rely on remastering their old work.
100% true this video.... Lawn bowls is just around the corner
Oh god don’t say that! I think I have some time before that threat is real…
Im 56 years young and still knocking up the hours on Assassins Creed Valhalla.
The wife says it keeps me out of her hair. 👍
Does that game actually end? I’ve heard it’s 100s hrs long! Do love the AC series though. Odyssey is on my pile of shame.
@@jaygrice I completed the story part of it und unlocked all the map. I’m now going round trying to collect all the treasure in each region. I think I put around 90 hours in to complete the story. Currently on around 130 hours total.
There still lots to do and I’m almost through all the Templar Order bad guys. I’ve only got one county cleared of treasure and relics and that’s Oxfordshire.
It is a massive game.
I get, "Have you finished? Made in Chelsea's on in a minute!". For gaming I mean.
I understand completely! That’s where something like the PS portal comes into its own. Allowing you to carry on gaming once the TV has been taken over.
I'm 50 and most modern games seem too complicated. My unmarried, childless friend is a year older and has been telling me for years how good the Fallout games are but I could never get into them. I've tried many times since fallout 3 as they look amazing but I barely have time for my own life, let alone, starting another. A different mate visits about once a fortnight and for about a year now, we have been trying to 100% the Mario games from Sunshine to Wonder. I think it was Minecraft that made me first think I must be too old as it was everywhere yet I couldn't understand it
You can’t go wrong with a good Mario game. My son has started really getting into the Switch and we are playing the 2D and 3D Mario’s. Love them! Agree on Fallout, I have heard a lot of good stuff but it’s never been my thing. I like a tighter narrative that guides me through a great story. I think that’s why I loved the Gears games and things like Metal Gear Solid. I just don’t have the energy or attention span for long open world games. As much as I may want to.
im 52, single and live alone. After my last relationship ended I bought my first console (PS3) in 2008. I previously had played original nintendo in the late 80's and I am always grateful for the current list of games. Of the 4 types of gamers I am 95% explorer and 5% achievement. Competitive games are ok but I dont need to prove anything. I currently struggle between reading the books I want to and games. Age has made it where I cannot stare at the TV for long (PS5 now) and a kindle is much easier on my eyes. Since I live alone and have no debts I have a lot of choices. I would gladly keep my current life rather than be a younger person with debt and fast controller hands. So it is a good trade off. I doubt I would love to read as much if I was born after 2000 so there is that.
I love the exploration approach and agree that competitive games don’t have the appeal now. I do really enjoy coop multiplayer games now where you can share the adventure with others. I find the social side stops me thinking as much about the other tasks I should be getting on with.
Never give up - never surrender - we need senior brothers in the pixel wars.
I'm 54 by the way 😁
I just find late night sessions more challenging due to being older and generally more tired after 10 PM.
PVP is also less appealing nowadays, I just don't care so much about being sweaty and number one.
I am a Quake veteran btw - I used to game hard in PVP matches back in the day.
I have been gaming since the Atari VCS days.
I love the idea of the pixel wars! Haha agree, PVP is less appealing as I get older. I enjoy something a little slower paced and more relaxing now.
Time and Energy... If I sacrifice sleep, I can game all night long! Of course one can only handle that so often... Falling asleep while playing is usually the sign.. haha. Often I find it the only time I can really devote full attention to playing a game and get sucked into the plot. (Just gotta not overdo it...)
Finances. Hm. Growing up I could name all the games I had as we compared our collections in school. And I can probably still name most of those lol. But with my modern collection... there's no way. Too many and many I wouldn't have bought if I could do it over again. However, despite thousands, I do still end up with a handful of games that shout, this is it, this is why you still game as a hobby! If only I could just get these favorites on a silver platter, instead of having to dig through mountains... I would save so much time... Then again... maybe this is a bit like digging for gold. Most of the time I just get rocks, but the promise of that glorious shine keeps me going. (Referring to indies for the most part.)
Aging. As for reaction time, my friend and I are always playing co-op on the extreme difficulties to force us to keep in shape xD Push it to the limit! I've gotten better in some ways, and worse in others with time...
Nostalgia. I definitely went back to my childhood games at an earlier older age. But now it's usually subpar compared to modern offerings... And while they continue to dwell in my thoughts, it's the modern games take on the classics that really bring it home imo. Example, I used to play the original Sonic the Hedgehog games on Sega Genesis. And I somewhat recently got around to playing Freedom Planet... and I had a real blast. (Oh man, that final boss was a nightmare though. Wonder how my younger self would have handled it? Had like 30+ lives going into it, and was down to my last life somehow when I beat it xD That made it all the better!)
Here's another cruel reality of aging... Pain. For a long time I had to switch to an ergonomic mouse to relieve the carpal tunnel-like symptoms from way too much FPS gaming in my youth. Fortunately, I can maintain a balance of controller, mouse and keyboard required games, so it hasn't come back.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Really interesting. I have also recently switched to an ergonomic mouse and agree pain should have been a sixth!
Great T-shirt Jay, totally agree with you , finding the controller battery is dead the time I come back to playing
The drawback of the wireless controller. I do love the freedom but batteries are a pain. Especially Bluetooth headsets too!
@@jaygrice I got myself a Nitcore NB20,000mAh Battery Brick for that very reason and can play longer than I can stay awake. It has a USB-C and a USB-A output so would be able to be used for headphones and a controller.
I just hit 30 and to me it's the patience. If the game I'm playing has a lot of text to read or cutscenes, or those boring "walking from A to B because dialog exchange between characters is happening" I just get impatient and just lose interest.
Kojima games won’t be you jam then? Haha. I can see that frustration for sure. Although if the story has me hooked I don’t mind as much. Depends how compelling the narrative is.
I’m basically a game collector at this point in my 41 yr old life 😂 I buy games I wanna play and don’t even have the time to play them
Completely get that feeling! Especially true as I keep buying new games but also build out the retro collection.
39 yo dad hehe, handheld gaming is the answer
That was the motivation for buying the PlayStation portal. Helped for sure.
Altho there are games that did age poorly, there are indeed games that do stand out and test the time even for folks. Considering I end up playing older games the first time decades after the consoles have been discontinued, I did find plenty of games that are fun still, or even captivating since you see game idea and concepts that you don't see replicated in newer games. Not just n64 or ps1 games, but also dreamcast, xbox, GameCube and ps2 era titles. Altho I guess on top of that I suppose I really like the limited or low poly look of those two eras of consoles on top of it.
I still love a classic side scrolling beat em up like the Turtles arcade games etc. sometimes the simplicity of the older games makes them easy to go back to over and over.
Oh I 100% agree with what you mentioned, at the end of my day myself my brain and body is mentally exhausted and the most basic of puzzles my brain just goes 'meh' so I've turned into a massive casual gamer instead, and games you need Jedi reflexes to react, nope, my brain can't do it, and it's not even funny, only games I can handle now are Shadow of the Colossus and Death Stranding, there nice chill games providing I've got the time for it, I swear even when I step on the kids Lego there's a ten seconds delay for me to utter "ouch" co-op games with the mrs I don't mind because then we've at least got two tired brains trying to figure out the most simplistic of puzzles 😅 and once a month we can at least afford to go out for tea, yeah not liking this getting older business, occasionally I can manage a quicker paced game like Devil May Cry or Resident Evil, and I find it's harder to like these newer games that definitely appeal to the youngings more than me, Arise: a simple story me n the misses love, and dang that one pulls at the heart strings and I kid you not that game made us realise how much we love each other, despite arguing over the stupidest of things like where my toothbrush has gone or who left the milk out, I wish there was more games like it, I'll eave it there before Im off on a rant 😂 but like Sam says in Death Stranding "Keep on keeping on!" and that I will, take care and thankyou for putting this vid together it was an interesting and very relatable watch
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I can understand where you are coming from for sure. Really appreciate the kind words on the video too.
Because of less time and energy i play smaller Indië games and more retro games They don't require much hours to finish.
If you have any Indy game recommendations then let me know. Short and sweet are better for me now.
I'm 55, into my retro games up to PS2, but I also feel guilty as if I should be doing something constructive, and if I do make time, I'm just too tired to concentrate after work. I'm single and no kids so I've no pressure there, but I just don't seem to have time or energy. Also like you, if I start a game, by the time I'm able to play it again, I've forgotten the story, the map, and how to control it
I feel you! I wish I had an answer. Hoping someone sees the video and provides the perfect response/approach!
Neat video, but closer to 50 than 40 here and I can't quite relate. The finance side is a boon imho, and some moral compensation for all the games we just pirated in my youth. Time can be an issue, but if one can't make time for their favourite hobbies, I'd say they have a bigger issue than aging. Not to mention that with children, gaming is also a social family activity. You're right though that it does make 20+ hour games more of a commitment. And it does make one grow some extra appreciation for shorter games. As heretic as it might sound, in the metroidvania genre, I'll take Guacamelee over Hollow Knight every day!
Loss of reflexes is fair, but nowhere near problematic for me as of now. By the time I hit 70, I expect it might be different but right now it really isn't a big deal in any action game. Sure, the competitive FPS scene is something else, but here I luckily was never into it, apart from Doom at LAN parties a long long time ago... I tend to prefer solo games, and that includes RPGs, strategy, management, simulation... Reflexes are really only an issue in a small niche as far as I'm concerned. And even in the multiplayer/reflexes genre, co-op games have gone big.
Nostalgia now, and you touch upon it to be fair, is not cruel at all: it's a boon! Going back through MAME ROMs these days brings me back to the days of arcades, just without the quarter munching, and without depending on the local arcade to have or not have a game. Sure it lacks the social side of it, but nostalgia just hits my brain as if it was there, it's great. Same with old DOS or 8-16 bit console games. And well, it's not like I find myself disliking new games either, so it's not locking me out of anything, really, it's just a sweet extra feeling when playing stuff from that era, which I guess is a later one for you as the N64 seems to be high on your list.
Something you didn't discuss, and I'm not sure it's a getting old thing or just me, but I find that after seeing graphics evolve so much, I'm at the point where I barely see or care for improvements to visuals in games. I see review/comments complaining about graphics, frame rate, 4k support, and I realise that I have shockingly low standards compared to younger generations. That's cool though, it means I can do fine with cheaper/older hardware. I found it amusing years ago when I beat Dark Souls (PTDE, not Remastered) on PC for the first time and loving it, to read afterwards that I should absolutely use the community patch to play at 60fps because the game was otherwise "unplayable"... There's something to be said for low standards being the secret to happiness I guess.
Overall, I'm just loving it. I consider myself privileged to have grown playing stuff from the Mattel Intellivision to the current modern games and seen the leaps made in graphics, sound, gameplay... It's far from over, and I say bring it on! I presume that you're just exaggerating each point for the purpose of the video, but if not, I hope that over the next few years, you'll get a similar positive perspective on gaming while getting older.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Some really good points and the one I love the most is the standards on graphics point. I completely agree! I hear people striving for 120fps etc and thinking why!? I never cared or noticed when I was playing the hell out of my ps2 etc. MAME wise I love a bit of Wrestlefest and side scrolling beatem ups like Xmen, Simpson’s and the Turtles. Definately some exaggeration for the purpose of the video, my biggest challenge is time and tiredness, the reflexes piece doesn’t fuss me as I am happy to be done with the twitch games like COD. Really enjoyed your perspectives and that of many other commenters. It’s been great to read about other peoples views as they age as a gamer.
sounds about right
Thanks for commenting and watching!
Fifty Something here ... #TheStruggleIsReal
I have taken heart from the number of 50+ folks who are fighting the fight though. Gives me hope.
@@jaygrice Easy Difficulty is your friend ;-)
Sad now - thx - But rogelike roglights -
Haha. Sorry no intention to depress anyone.
I am 45 and will be 46 this year. I can't relate to any of this. Maybe, the title should be "5 realities when you have kids" Me and my wife chose not to have kids. She's an attorney, and I work for a tech company, we both work a lot. But besides work we have all the time in the world for everything we want to do. Games, travel, side projects, other hobbies, etc....I turned on PS5 today, and turned it off cause there was nothing new I wanted to play, and I have played everything else I wanted to. I not only have plenty of time, but I go for the Platinum trophy a lot of the time. Just got platinum trophy 120, and those are real games, not 30 min platinums.
Perhaps you are right, very different path without kids and it clearly makes a difference. Thanks for watching and sharing. Love the platinum commitment too!
31 years old here with a wife and two kids at 3 and 1.
Gaming had definitely taken a backseat.
I can't play longer nor complex games as I forget most everything in between "sessions" (5-60 minutes) sometimes with weeks between.
I want some chill, easy to get into games.
The Steam Deck has changed this a lot though sith the sleep mode.
Also I'm just trying to clear out my backlog of older, greater games. They're mostly sub 20 hour games and have zero performance issues nor MTX.
I keep away from everything multiplayer and live service these days. Also new releases will have to wait for some years until they are fixed and at a huge discount.
I completely agree with the types of games I want to play now and how hard it is to get into the big new games. My pile of shame just keeps growing though as I kid myself by buying the new games and then never getting to them.
I don't buy the aging argument. I'm older than you and don't think my reaction time has suffered.
I am envious! You have good genes!
Or you’re delusional!
@1:49 Yes, but kids and wives are choices not inevitable circumstances. Take that out of the equation and not wanting to be a yuppie in a mansion, you can sustain yourself and your hobby of gaming with quite a generous amount of time. 🤫
@2:28 That is just you. Opting for the best funk instead of the newest junk make 800 hours+ fly by.
@4:05 Games weren't at its peak in the 80s but there was a peak in quality, 10 to 15 years ago. Now they try to promote their empty but beautiful shells with a few exceptions and try to milk old franchises dry.
Thanks for commenting and all fair points. I think the money men have caught up to gaming and the purity of the experiences are starting to get stomped out in favour of microstransactions or games as a service models. Another comment in the impact of children which is a great point. I may need to do a video on the impact of children on gamers….