Is there a “set age limit” for playing video games

[RedDeadRockstar324]

What do you guys think is “normal age range” for playing Video Games? Is there any such thing as being “too young” or “too old” for playing video games? I would guess between ages 16 and 40 would be my limit?? What do you think? 

[El Penguin Bobo]

It largely depends on what games you're playing. You know, E for everyone, M for Mature, sh*t like that.

[TheSantader25]

Videogames are timeless IMO. I don't care about age restrictions. Never did even when I was a kid. If hadn't played games(even mature ones) when I was a kid I'm sure I would have regretted it because they all seemed much more magical and memorable as a kid. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by TheSantader25

[Mister Pink]

I removed "Xbox One" from the title and replaced it with "video games" because I think you meant video games, and it was confusing. I thought it was a question about setting parental controls. 

 

I don't think there is any age range. I can't fathom why there would be. Why is there a limit? Why 16-40? What's the logic and rationale behind that? They seem like two arbitrary ages. 

 

Last game I played was a coding game. You see an image and you use CSS properties to try fix the image as per the instructions. That's a game, that happens to be educational. But even if a game is purely for entertainment purposes, how is it different than watching a film? I mean, it's just a fun pastime. You are consuming some media for entertainment purposes. Should you stop listening to music at 40 too? I'm just wondering. The only discernible differences, I see from playing a video game and consuming a film or TV show is that the game is more interactive. It' requires user to have pro-active participation. 

 

For fun, lets use extreme examples. Imagine a person just sits on their ass after work watching TV and all the adverts for 4 hours an night vs the another guy/girl that comes home and plays videogames. Except the gamer is in chats, socialising, playing co-op games, using strategy, figuring out puzzles, gaining a sense of achievement from beating parts of the game and doing thing as a team in co-op etc. To me, the gamer is at least being an active participant, using the brain more pro-actively vs the person consuming TV or films. 

 

I think anyone that's playing games as they get older is great. I think they are keeping their brain sharp and perceptive. I don't have scientific evidence for that but in my experience, a new game comes with new controls, new physics, new AI and you have to adapt quickly to thew new environments or you lose. Also, it's harder to socialise or make new friends when you get older. Gaming is way to at least have some sociability online. It's not ideal, and not comparable to meeting a friend for a walk, coffee, food or beer. But if it's raining out, it's 1AM, you want to play, and chat, you can play and chat. 

 

Not to mention, gaming parents can bond with their kids over a shared passion for games. I'm perplexed by that age range though. 

 

 

[Commander S]

Nope - same as how you can enjoy jelly beans and cartoons if you're 70, or costume dramas and prosciutto if you're 7. Just because something's typically marketed towards certain demographics, doesn't prevent anyone liking anything, for whatever reason. That's the same as folk who feel they somehow 'have' to like whatever's current, rather than their favourite films/music/etc. be something that came out decades ago - there's no reason to limit yourself like that.

 

Besides, some things lean towards older audiences, if anything - simulators with a bigger long-term time/financial commitment, strategy games, retro things done in the style of '80s/early '90s stuff, etc. For instance, there a decent number or Elite Dangerous fans who started with the original Elite, back in 1984 - if they were 20 back then, they'd be 56 now. And again, that's a game where you chip away at it as a chilled-out long-term hobby project over weeks/months - perfect for folk unwinding after work, or who might not be working anymore.

 

Come to think of it, I'm reminded of how a lot of early PC games were management/strategy things, because PCs were still designed around being efficient office tools, rather than graphical powerhouses. "PC gaming" wasn't about uncapped framerates and ray-tracing - you bought a PC to do virtual paperwork, and then played games that were basically 'Spreadsheets: The Game', but with a bit of power fantasy involved, which made something like 'run a successful moon colony' more satisfying than 'crunch numbers for your employer'. Put simply, home "computer games" (not "video games" back then) were actually more of a middle-aged pursuit, if anything - if you were younger and wanted something more instant and action-y (and affordable with pocket change), you were talking more about arcade machines.

 

What's changed is the perception of games as 'playthings for a younger, largely-male audience' - so again, you go from PC gaming as 'middle-aged businessmen getting entertainment out of their pricey home office setup' to 'hardcore enthusiast Gamers™', but also consoles going from 'fun for all the family' (remember that the original Nintendo Entertainment System was literally called the Famicom - "Family Computer" to 'this is what teen boys like' (hello, original Xbox design... ). Heck, the same happened with the perception of computers in general going from an extension of secretarial paperwork, and thus seen as something used by women, to being associated with upwardly-mobile men as the financial sector became increasingly reliant on computers.

 

...so yeah, coming full circle, videogames are only 'for' younger people because the focus of marketing shifted younger - which becomes self-reinforcing after a while, but it's ultimately arbitrary, and could easily shift (all it takes is for the under-40s to have less disposable income!). And again, if it's fine to prefer Billie Holiday to Billie Eilish (or like both - or neither, even!), regardless of who you are or what year it is, then why shouldn't that apply to other things you enjoy, too?

[Joe Biden]

Yes there is a limit, you shouldn’t be playing games if you are over the age of 18.

[Is this The Guy?]

 Although I don’t play a LOT of video games I do play some and I’m 35 so it’s always interesting to me hearing people argue about being to old to play video games expecting that we were supposed to grow out of it at some point.  One thing I always bring up though is the fact that video games did not look or play like this when I was growing up so a lot of the sh*t coming out now days is still fairly new as far as graphics and technology etc.  sh*t I was still playing sonic the hedgehog in high school lol.

[trip]

^

I'm with ya.

 

Yeah, I haven't stopped playing and I'm in my 50s.  Lots of people my age still continue to game.  It helps that we don't have kids.  Gaming as you get older can even be beneficial.  Hand eye coordination for one.  It also really helps to keep your brain interactive - just watching a tv or movie doesn't work your brain like gaming does.

 

Now too early...doubt it as long as they are kid friendly 'edutainment' esq type of games.  5 years old might be a wee too young for GTA.

[DOUGL4S1]

No limit at all.

 

My then 85 yr-old grandma (RIP) wasn't a "tech person". She didn't have a computer, a phone, even an email account. She had a blast playing ETS2 with a cheap steering wheel, crashing into everything on her path. It's one of the fondest memories I have of her.

 

People play games to escape their reality in a way, the same reason they watch movies and TV. The reason we might not see a lot of older people playing games could be because it naturally has a higher "entry barrier", as they might not be used to seeing stuff in 3D, controlling their camera and character, or generally understanding what they have to do. That doesn't mean it's impossible for them to do so, it's not like you suddenly forget how to play games at 40.

Edited May 6, 2020 by DOUGL4S1

[Vanzant]

I've heard stories of those who quit professional gaming at 30. However, that doesn't mean you quit playing games period. sh*t, I play Verdun with a guy in his late 50's who WILL f*ck your sh*t up in His late 50's.

 

We will all get old, cannot compete in online multiplayer and have trouble winning at certain single player games....like winning the last triathlon in GTAV. That doesn't mean you quit. 

[GhettoJesus]

2 hours ago, Vanzant said:

sh*t, I play Verdun with a guy in his late 50's who WILL f*ck your sh*t up in His late 50's.

sh*t same with my father. He is 59 and he plays World of Tanks pretty much everyday.

Edited May 7, 2020 by GhettoJesus

[Geisterfaust]

Age limit to play? Only if it interferes with your physical or cognitive abilities, otherwise there is no such thing. Like a probabilities in math, it's all in your head to a certain point, you are setting the limits. I am... god knows how that should be called since even UN are contradicting themselves in definitions of age groups. I am 31 and the only reason I feel boring playing video games right now is the games not really evolving apart from the graphics.

 

I think you should play no matter how old you are, if you feel like playing. I find most of the last AAA games boring, but I do love some Dirt Rally and WRC gameplay and I have spent more on wheel that I should have to.

 

 

 

 

[The N. Bellic Man]

Kids shouldn't play mature games. But other than that there really isn't an age limit for games. Especially for strategy and simulator games. I remember seeing a picture of an actual Russian WW2 pilot playing (or rather testing) IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946. And he must have been at least in his 80's. If I remember correctly it was stated that he enjoyed his experience.

[Badman_]

I don't have the patience to play half of the games I used to plays as a kid nowadays. 

 

Actually, I think this rule apply to recent games as well. If the game isn't great at least I get bored easily.

 

Like... I'd play GTA 5, Red Dead 2, God Of War, Last Of Us etc.

But Days Gone, Mad Max, Assassin's Creed something or COD something I just can't. I tried, but I just can't lol.

[Lotte]

There's definitely a 'too young' because of the obviously stuff, mainly content and themes.

 

But the day you are too old to game is also the day you die

[MarshDanni]

I believe video games are in the same entertainment section as movies and music. There isn't really a too old for games, as there isn't too old for movies or music. It all depends on a person preference. Although I do believe that there is too young for certain games.

[Daz]

Age ranges from 0-150

 

It is pretty ridiculous to assume there are ages that you shouldnt play games. It is all about if the person has any patience with dealing with the technology to launch the game and how complicated the control scheme is. All the rest is out in the open.

 

My nephew has been playing GTA5 since he was 4. And has recently enjoyed Doom (the 2016 version) and has been quoted as saying such things as "It's not that scary". My mum beat the f*ck out of Goro on MK when nobody else in the whole house or surrounding communities could.