Even though video games have become more mainstream as a hobby, there’s still a stigma against adults playing them, with some people thinking you’re a manchild for still playing video games as an adult.
Are you ever “too old” for video games?
I think there’s an age when you have enough responsibilities that you need to prioritize other things over video games and not everyone is able to recognize that. That’s a problem.
That isn’t unique to gaming though, but I think it might be harder to do with gaming.
It doesn’t mean you can’t play games at all. It just means you need to be responsible.
No. You may lose your fast twitch speed but there is nothing wrong with playing video games. If you live your life worried about what others think, you are going to be unhappy.
Absolutely. It’s the same age where you’re too old to watch TV or go to the movies or read books or play chess or engage in any other leisure activity during your downtime 
People who think I’m a “manchild” for spending my time chatting with friends and shootin’ some dudes (virtually, of course) instead of watching sitcoms or sports all night long are probably boring people I don’t want to impress anyway.
Good answer. I think a big part of the stigma (though not all of it) is against adults who spend too much time playing video games.
I agree. I think it’s the presence of responsibilities and how you deal with them in relation to the gaming that is telling. It really only becomes a manchild thing when video games are taking precedence over responsibilities, and when they’re the ONLY thing you do or can talk about. Which is true of anything else- I know plenty of sports manchildren as well.
The set of people who view video games as somehow juvenile is decreasing, either through age-related attrition, or because video games are becoming more mainstream and people see that all sorts of people play video games.
Primarily this.
When mainstream TV commercials feature middle aged fathers playing video games or getting PS4s or XBoxes or whatever, there is no real stigma. If I saw anybody express any stigma, I would guess they were approaching or already over retirement age.
I don’t know… I’m 47, and there’s still something of an unspoken stigma among people my age. I’m not sure if it’s an anti-dork/nerd stigma or if it’s an anti-video game stigma, but it’s there.
I mean, it’s seen as something you do with your children, not something you engage in as a primary hobby. Or at best, something you do casually, but not seriously or frequently. If I was in an alternate reality where I was not married, I wouldn’t think that mentioning video games as a main hobby would be a neutral thing on the dating sites of today with women my age. Nor would it be something I’d bring up early when dating.
I think it’s more accepted than it was, but I don’t think it’s exactly without stigma yet either.
Not at all. Up until just a few years ago I was still interested in playing role playing games. And I still play an old (excellent) football simulation and with it (as I’ve hinted at a few times on this board) I simulate a Greatest Players of All Time league for every N.F.L. franchise. It’s probably not everybody’s cup of tea but I find it to be quite entertaining!
I’m 46 and noticed no stigma. 1970s kids (mostly boys) grew up playing video games and what’s more, video games grew up with us. I remember the Atari when I was really small (didn’t always have one), but Nintendo brought a lot of quarter-operated cabinet tech into the living room. Then, as PCs got progressively more powerful and cheaper, gaming there transitioned from everything being indy games (I can’t count the number of games I played “way back when” that had credits of less than six people) to the powerhouse it is today. If you roll platform and PC gaming into one industry (totally appropriate, given they are developed using the same tech and there are a lot of title released for both) it is larger in capitalization than the motion picture industry. The nerds went from propeller hat to suit and tie!
I play all kinds of stuff (when I have time). Sea of Thieves on Xbox for fairly mindless mayhem, Civ 6 on PC for more thoughtful, contemplative strategy, and Roll20, 5e Dungeons and Dragons because . . . because DnD, that’s why!
I think the stigma is disappearing. Women in their 30’s are supposed to be the largest consumer of mobile games.
I’m in my fifties, and never mastered the joystick, and I felt I’m too old to do so now. Which makes me sad, because I think video games are the latest new art form: like novels or opera or movies. Revelations of accessible games (for me to enjoy while i practice those skills) would be appreciated.
But most of my single friends play video games, including ones who are in their forties and fifties. I don’t see any stigma. Yeah, if you do nothing but play video games, and you don’t do your laundry or cook your own dinner, that’s shameful. But if you are a competent adult doing the stuff that you need to do, and you enjoy some games in your downtime, I think that’s completely normal.
Oh, I forgot to mention Shirley Curry. Youtuber who casts herself playing Skyrim and such. 86 y/o with over 700k subscribers.
I’m almost 52 and have an XBox One but I fired it up for the first time in almost a year over Christmas break. I play less because I am older and can’t stay up until 4am playing and most of my free time is taken up with the unprecedented amount of great TV available today but there’s other reasons I play less that has nothing to do with age.
-Too few sports and good racing games. I’m not a big adventure game or shoot em up guy, which seems most games are leaning towards. 10-15 years ago I could get rugby, GOOD NASCAR, boxing, college football games. Not anymore. Xbox One doesn’t even offer a good MLB game.
-The download times are obnoxious. I sat down to play a Star Wars game at 230 today, by 530 it hadn’t completely loaded and I gave up. I appreciate the work and graphics that go into these games and that’s why they take so long to download, but I pine for the days when I could just load a cartridge or a disc and start playing immediately.
Nowadays, 99.9% of my video game time is limited to 3-4 card, dice or pool games on the iPad. I GUESS I could buy one of those retro consoles but I know the graphics will blow. I want great graphics AND for the game to start right away!
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Most newer story-driven games have an Easy or “Story” mode where enemies are weak, the player ranges from strong to just unkillable and you get assistance in combat and “twitch” sections (like jumping a platform puzzle). The intent is for you to experience the story even if you aren’t very good at the game aspects.
Obviously this doesn’t hold for games that are competitive shooters or otherwise revolve around being skill tests but those aren’t trying to revolutionize story-telling either.
I’m actually hoping to learn some of those skills, and wondered if there are any suitable “entry level” games. Like MS bundled mines and some solitaire game with the first windows os that required you to use a mouse, to train users on the mouse.
I mean, this is a thread in itself, but a lot of modern games are actually pretty good at easing you in. And the only way to learn them is to jump in. I’d make suggestions but I’m not sure what you’d be looking for!
I’m 55 and female and gave myself a Sega Genesis Mini for Christmas and no one thought it was odd - not even my 20something male co-workers.
There are lots of games that don’t require lots of hand/eye coordination, like the Navy Drew games.
I bought the Sega Genesis Mini myself. I loved the Genesis back in the day and the mini is some good nostalgia. FTR, I’m 52.
When I’m saying there’s a stigma, I’m not saying there’s persecution, shunning, or mockery, but rather that it’s STILL not discussed openly.
I mean, I can think of ONE adult man over about 35 who I talk about video games with who’s not in the following groups- college video game buddies, my brother, or my current video gaming buddies who I’ve played online with for 15 years now.
Every other time a group of men roughly my age get together, the talk seems to always track with sports, food, booze, movies, etc… but not video games. I’m sure plenty of them do play video games, but nobody talks about it. Maybe it’s a self-imposed stigma, or maybe it’s larger than that- I dont’ know.
I also want to draw a distinction between “video games” as a catchall category, and casual vs. more “serious” games. Plenty of people play stuff like Words with Friends or Candy Crush on their phones, but that doesn’t really make them a video gamer in the sense that I’m talking about.