Over 40 and gaming as much as I did when I was 15 - who else?

[scrapple]

I grew up with Atari 2600, Intellivision and Coleco Vision being my jam back in the early 80's (baseball on Coleco with those crazy controllers is something to behold). Around 1984 or so I discovered my neighbor's Apple ][e and soon begged my father to purchase an Apple ][c for "educational" reasons =). I was soon bringing 5 1/4 floppy disks over to my neigbor's house and she was copying her collection for me (yes, piracy was pretty rampant back in those days as well). Games like Ultima 3, Mystery House, Lode Runner, Karateka, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein and Gemstone Warrior had me up all day and night hooked on gaming. I wish I could find all my hand drawn maps I created for all the dungeons in Bard's Tale, it was insane.

Years later Nintendo and Sega introduced their systems and the rest is history. Eventually around 1991 or so I purchase a Packard Bell 486/sx20 computer and fired up Wolfenstein 3d and I knew PC gaming had returned. Games like Xwing vs. Tie Fighter, Dark Forces and Wing Commander brought back that Apple ][c excitement that I had been missing. I soon created a BBS system for users to dial in and play turn based games like Tradewars and to create a community (before the internet, their was BBS systems that people used 28,8 or 57,6 baud modems to dial into and download shareware games and play turned based games. Later you were able to play games like Doom and Quake over BBS systems against others).

So yea, just curious if anyone else on the forum is over 40 and is gaming as much as they did when they first got into gaming.

 

[Cess007]

Not really.

I'm 31 and my work and house obligations (no wife and no kids tho) takes some of my time. I still play daily, but I can guess that not many will be able to play as much as they did when teens.

 

[Mudo]

Me. 41 and I game now more than ever. Now that I have money and time, and I love RPGs, I basically have a never ending backlog of great games I want to play. I love it :)

 

[Vire]

That’s great, I hope there’s light at the end of tunnel for me. 28 and just starting family life and I have so much less time to enjoy at home.

The sad part is I have a large amount of spare time during my day at work but I can’t Game here.

 

[Aaron D.]

Same. 49 here.

I've been obsessed with gaming since Pong / Atari 2600.

Was into pinball machines even before that.

It's been amazing to watch the medium evolve in real-time since the beginning. It gives great appreciation for where we are and how far we've come.

Small example, when I hear "bad graffix" for a modern title I just chuckle a bit. Man, when Adventure 2600 blew your mind back in the day, it's difficult to get ruffled 'cause the latest Fallout has some graphical compromises.

 

[forrest]

42 and still going strong!

Just finished Hollow Knight with 106% and now I'm playing catch up on Destiny 2 while lightly getting started with Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

 

[KingdomHeartsFan]

25, I'm gaming less than I did when I was a teen, but I can still get minimum 1-2 hrs a day if I wanted.

 

[ghibli99]

OP, sounds like we had similar experiences growing up! As a kid, I remember going to my cousin's house this one time, and he told his mom we were going to play basketball with his friends. No basketball happened, and instead we went to his friend's house where they copied Apple II games... their mom even made us little pizzas on English muffins for lunch while huddled around the computer. LOL He got in so much trouble when my aunt found out later, but yeah, different times I guess. :)

I'm 44 now, and although I can't say that I play as much as I did when all of my non-school time was free, I still play a lot. I finished games like P5 and XBC2 this year, as well as pumping another 150 hours into BOTW Switch after putting equal time on the Wii U. My tastes have changed (I used to love fighting games and local MP), but now I am more about challenging sidescrollers (Celeste, Cuphead, Dead Cells, HK, etc.), the aforementioned RPGs, and narrative-focused adventures (NITW, Dropsy, Thimbleweed Park, etc.).

 

[molnizzle]

32 and I play just as much as I ever did. 20+ hours a week most of the time.

 

[Deleted member 11626]

I don’t have the time but I still love the hobby. Gaming is as good as it has ever been for me and I don’t plan on stopping, even when work, school, kids, wife, and social life obligations are more important. I’m 28 FWIW

 

[Jack-O-Lantern]

I am 43 years old and every night i can play about 2 hours. My wife accepts this hobby and respect the 'need'.

With 2 kids and real life obligations, i need to have some strenght to planify my gaming time, but, the love for gaming is strong as a kid (oh memories on my Spectrum or Commodore 64).

 

[SevketErhat]

I am 43 and cannot live without gaming. I have 77 Platinums which is not bad at all

 

[bonesawisready5]

I’m 31 and married and i probably still play 10-15 hours per week across various platforms. Sometimes much, much more

My wife also plays games and we both try to be accommodating for each other’s hobbies too.

Probably not as much as college or late in high school but that was 100% out of balance, not that i don’t miss it sometimes. I’d stay up until 4 or 5am, go to class at 8-10am depending on what i had that semester, get home after work around 930 or 10 and play from 10 until 2-4am.

I played my 360 so much and was paranoid it would rrod that i would leave my room fan pointed at it when i was away. Lol probably didn’t help

 

[Mik317]

yall some old motherfuckers.

(but glad to see you can stick around this hobby after all).

 

[Orb]

I'm over 30 and I probably game more now than I did when I was a kid or teenager.

 

[FTF]

Unfortunately not...It’s that usual reverse curse where when I was young I had no money and all the time in the world so I played just a few games over and over again. Now I’m in my late 30s and have money and a ton of games to play and in my backlog but no time to play them all :/

 

[MetalBoi]

I'm actually completing more games now than when I was younger. The one downside to getting older though, is that my reflexes and dexterity aren't what they use to be, and I have to work a little harder now. :(

 

[Vire]

I’m 31 and married and i probably still play 10-15 hours per week across various platforms. Sometimes much, much more

My wife also plays games and we both try to be accommodating for each other’s hobbies too.

Click to shrink...

How, how is it possible? When do you get home from work? Do you cook dinner?

 

[Sectorseven]

How do you find the time?

 

[Raven117]

Im in my 30s and playing probably now more than ever. I don't play a ton, but I play a little most nights after work to chill out. There has never been a better time to pick up a controller.

 

[Praetorpwj]

yall some old motherfuckers.

(but glad to see you can stick around this hobby after all).

Click to shrink...

Forty is not old as you will swiftly realise.

 

[ghibli99]

yall some old motherfuckers.

(but glad to see you can stick around this hobby after all).

Click to shrink...

Haha... I think the wrong assumption a lot of people make is that gaming is somehow this thing designed for kids that you outgrow. It's so not that, even back in the day when it was still a pretty new thing. :)

 

[Gunner]

After growing up gaming like you, OP (I'm 44 next week), I fell off once I hit high school. The NES was my "main" machine up to that point, but did not play games outside of Mortal Kombat or arcade favorites here and there until 2001, when I bought a PS2. That re-introduction was the most magical era of gaming for me by far- PS2, Xbox, Gamecube. Once seventh gen hit I was still playing a ton, but about 2012-2013 I noticed my interest began to wane a bit- FPS and racing games on the 360 were my main gigs and they just began to feel "samey" to me.

Fast forward to today- I have a PS4 and an Xbox One X and frankly, I have to talk myself in to turning them on. I don't know if it is burnout, if I'm jaded, or just finally outgrowing gaming but almost nothing even registers on my interest level anymore. I've made the effort- I have a backlog of at least 30 games across the two systems (and PS3), joined Gamepass, etc but I just cannot get back into gaming. The one exception- I played the new DOOM to completion on PS4 when it was released, and the One X once the patch came out. That game, that game captured my imagination like nothing else in over a generation. But aside from that- I just don't seem to enjoy it anymore :/

 

[DaveLong]

I'm 46 and I play less than I did as a kid but that's because of responsibilities more than anything. That said, I play a lot more now that my kids are all late teens and 20. They don't need me nearly as much as they did for the last twenty years before this and I'm divorced so I can do what I want. Feelsgoodman.

I cook, work 8ish to 5ish, clean some... it's not like everything's falling apart while I'm finishing second in Fortnite.

 

[StonedRider]

43 here and playing even more than 20 years ago

 

[PatMan]

Do you people not have more fulfilling hobbies? I couldn't imagine being that old and have gaming as the thing I'd want to do with my limited free time.

 

[Monorojo]

30 here and I have to take my switch to my car during my lunch break to get 30 minutes in a day during the week.

With work, grad school, and significant other /social obligations, it hurts how little I play during the week.

On certain weekends I can sneak 3-4 hour sessions in though which is nice.

My ability to play games has gone down but my desire has probably gone up since I was a kid.

 

[Dee Bill]

Almost 40 but i game a lot less than i used to. I have a wife, 2 kids that take a lot of my time. But, i still try to play the stuff that i want to.

I'm a lot more into Switch because of the hybrid nature, when i'm too tired to go in front of the TV, i just lay in bed and play the Switch and not only that but i love Switch games. I can relax playing Mario or Zelda and when friends want to, i light up the PS4 and play some online COD, Titanfall 2...

I still have to finish God of War before getting into Spiderman which i'm getting day one.

 

[Necron]

I hope to be like you one day, OP.

Hmm, now that I think about it: I probably play more now at 28 than at even 18. Not a lot of money + beginning to study chemistry used up quite a lot of my time back then.

 

[Grettir_the_Swole]

I don't think I'll ever play as much as I did in my teens but I don't mind. I still get 10-20 hours in a week. Any more than that and I start to feel like I'm missing out on bigger and better things. I'm getting a little excited since I'm going back for my JD. I'm not expecting to be free any time soon, but my first graduate degree gave me a hell of a lot more free time at my choice than my current full-time job.

 

[ghibli99]

Do you people not have more fulfilling hobbies? I couldn't imagine being that old and have gaming as the thing I'd want to do with my limited free time.

Click to shrink...

This is a silly assumption that gaming is somehow not fulfilling. My wife calls me a dabbler. I like a lot of things... playing drums, learning bass, anime, collecting/building Legos, reading, dining, etc. One doesn't have to be considered better or more fulfilling than the other. Gaming is just a part of the assortment of things I enjoy, but it's of course going to be the focus here since that's the topic.

 

[GDGF]

Right there with you. At 41 I play my Switch more than I played my SNES actually. Portability and all that.

 

[Deleted member 17207]

Either you didn't play nearly as much as me when I was 15, or you don't have a lot of commitments at 40.

Or you've somehow gained access to this place:

 

[Confusatron]

I'm 39 and still putting in plenty of hours, though not as many as I used to. I started with old DOS games on a 286, then quickly graduated to a NES. I've been a PC and console gamer ever since.

The Switch helps a lot with my gaming these days. I can sit on the couch in the evening and be part of the family (somewhat) while getting shit done in game, currently Octopath Traveler.

Even at 39, I still make some nerdy video game decisions in life. I just took off September 4th, so I can put in a full day of Dragon Quest 11 (Dragon Warrior was my first RPG love).

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

35 and playing more.

 

[JasonMCG]

Not as much, but definitely an enthusiast.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

I'm 36 and while I am still very much into games and play them when I can/want I wouldn't say I play as much as I did. It's not that much less but it's less. Having 2 kids and a wife who doesn't really like games probably makes that the reason lol. I also won't play portable games, I'm sure if I did the time would go up, but no thanks.

 

[Manekast]

41.
Played since Nintendo dual screens/atari2600/amiga/c64
Game more than ever. Never slowed down I’m just pickier now.

 

[veterangamerUK]

47 and still gaming a lot.
Sadly I have a cornea disease which gives ghosting of images in my left eye and my right eye is blind so I have to be choosy what I play because it involves a LOT of concentration. But I refuse to let my disability rule me within reason

 

[Alethiometer]

Not as much, but I still play an hour or more every single day.

 

[Son Goku]

I game more now than when I was a kid. My brother used to hog the damn PlayStation and tried to say he partially owned even my PS3. Basically when we were buying it I paid $600 and he paid $120 and tax. So he said he was buying the games and I had the system which I confirmed verbally with him just to make sure there was no confusion because he always weaseled his way out of letting me play ps2 after we would make deals for playtime. He later tried to take it with him saying that I hadn’t gotten it in writing and saying he was partial owner and older therefore he owned it (I don’t get it either).

Basically though ps4 is the first system I’ve played carefree and especially once I got out of college and had definite hours I’ve been able to game much more heavily and easily find time

Doing it too long does agitate capital tunnel syndrome which sucks but I only notice that afterwards so I just do it as much as I want and wear a thing on my arm as needed

 

[Reckheim]

30, have a wife and a house. Probably play more then I did back in the day tbh. Just gotta find the right one.

 

[Servbot24]

I would like that, but I doubt it will happen. I'm 29 and barely play at all anymore. I want to, just got obligations. :/

 

[ScoutDave]

41 here and i go in spurts. Ill get into a mood/groove and ill spend like two months gaming every day for hours on end. Then ill get in a slow period where i wont even turn any of my consoles on for a month or two. I find my slow periods usually occur more in the summer months. Probably cause im a carpenter so im usually working a lot more during those times. During the winter months when work is a little more relaxed i have a lot more free personal time that allows me to play games.

 

[bonesawisready5]

How, how is it possible? When do you get home from work? Do you cook dinner?

Click to shrink...

Yes to all.

I usually work 830am to 530pm. Maybe 1-2 nights of the week i cook dinner, 3-4 my wife will and Friday-Saturday we usually dine out. We often watch TV/movies until 8-9pm and then we will often play a game for 1-2 hours until we go to sleep around 11-midnight.

On weekends its a free for all, we’ll stay up much later and i usually fit more extended play sessions at night or random afternoons if i’m Not out with friends, skating, etc.

 

[Mercador]

41 and I still play around 5-10 hours a week. However, I cannot sit for more than 30-40 minutes, I guess my attention span is limited. It sucks because I would like to return to CRPGs but can't. Too slow for me. I might try D:OS2 but I wasn't able to go out of the town in the first one :(

Edit: my first console was Intellivision with those damn plastic cards.. ouch.

 

[JeffG]

At 53, I probably play more days, but with less time per session. I get a few hours per night that are my "personal" time. I go in spurts between playing games vs being an independent developer vs just be lazy and watch news/sports. Right now playing Skyrim as a sneaky bow thief. Having fun

 

[JusDoIt]

36 and I game daily, but I can't (or don't even desire) to go all day like I used to as a kid. I think there's room for it along with the other things I enjoy to do with my spare time like reading and watching flicks. Like others have said, there are times when I'll game very little for months on end and times when I'll go all out for weeks. I don't see that changing much as I get older.

 

[vsMIC]

43 hooked since ice climber on nes back in the 80ies. gaming ever since.

within i am still the little boy who just wants to play video games. there is only one having more priority, my 3 year old daughter. but with family, house and job responsibilities my gaming time shrunk immensely. the bottleneck nowadays is time. but so i enjoy every minute of it.

 

[Lysistrata]

I recently turned sixty and though I do not play with the same level of persistence I once did, mainly due to various health conditions, I still engage in several hours of play per day. Being mostly retired has given me more time to try newer types of gameplay rather than falling back into old and familiar pursuits.
It feels fun once more.