Today I was told that I'm getting too old to be playing VG's

[PDorr3]

Today in the car with my dad he started telling me how I need to start doing some essays to help with college funds, he then told me "Your getting too old to be playing games all day", menawhile I play maybe 2-3 hours a day.

Now, maybe this would sound better "Your too young to be playing games all day", because kids in school shouldent be playing games all their life, but I'm being told I am too OLD to play games? I'm 17, soon to be 18

Now the funny thing is my dad is like 48 years old, and as I type this he is currently in my room playing ms.pac man (he just died LOL ), he plays that game basicaly everyday, and when he is off from work we are talking a good 2-3 hours of genesis gaming. Isnt it weird that I'm too old to play MY games?

So this topic might mean something to some, maybe you have been told something similar, and to others it might just be some dumb crap you just wasted 5 vmins of your life reading, but I just felt that I would never find myself being too old to play games, because I plan on playing my games to my grave.

[RJ]

Your father's clearly a hypocrite.

& please, you dont have to preface/state in your posts that it may be a waste of time to read, just bc lately some jerks have been sh*tting on other people for what THEY consider crummy posts.

[tritium]

I found your post most amusing.

You're never too old to play games. However, you should probably cut down to a couple times a week when you're in college.

And your dad is funny. Pacman will never die.

[bazariah]

hey nobody is ever too old to play games... videogames are designed for all ages, they keep my 89 year old grandmothers brain active so it's all good

and as long as your getting educated, working and not hurting anybody it's all good

[googlefest1]

well mabey your too old right now but when you get older you are past the you are to old and therefore can play again

it a span of age actually

17 - ? ask your dad to fill in when your no longer too old

[rpepper9]

I'm getting close to 30, and as I sit at work right now I am planning to go play games when I get home. Maybe some Destroy all Humans or Hot Shots Golf 3 will pass the afternoon until my gal gets home and we go to happy hour at TGIF :-P

[MegaDrive20XX]

yeah I got that speech years ago....Now I'm an assistant manager of a GameCrazy store...Who's laughing now old man? :evil: And my mother always told me this shit wouldn't get me anywhere in the work force...

[Darth Sensei]

I hear it all the time on Halo 2 on Live.

I just tell the kids that I'm prolly their father and that shuts them up.

[shvnsth]

i kinda plan on giving up video gaming someday, i mean, in time, all things must pass. its just the way it works, i can't really see myself 40 years old and sitting down to play through a 40 hour rpg.

[tritium]

I'm sure the early generations said things like this about movies... damn kids...

[fergojisan]

I took off on Saturday a few weeks ago to go to Joe's house. My boss asked me what I was doing that weekend, and I told her I was going to be playing video games. Her reply was, "How old are you?" I told her I was 3 years younger than the guy who was having the party. :P (You're 38, right Joe?)

[Gamereviewgod]

Ask your dad if you're too old to watch movies or read books. You'll win that battle. From there, you can figure out how to go from there.

[tylerwillis]

You're never too old. You only have one life, enjoy it.

[Daft Punk]

I hate the your too old line.

It really pisses me off when somone tells me that.

[mills]

Thats stupid, people are stupid, video games were designed by adults, for play for people of almost any age group, when I was a kid my parents and my odler brother always bought me new games, systems, rentals, all the time.

[mills]

Also, I think video games are good for the brain, they seem to develop good problem solving skills, organizational skills, common sense..

[lendelin]

Today in the car with my dad he started telling me how I need to start doing some essays to help with college funds, he then told me "Your getting too old to be playing games all day", menawhile I play maybe 2-3 hours a day.

Now, maybe this would sound better "Your too young to be playing games all day", because kids in school shouldent be playing games all their life, but I'm being told I am too OLD to play games? I'm 17, soon to be 18

Now the funny thing is my dad is like 48 years old, and as I type this he is currently in my room playing ms.pac man (he just died LOL ), he plays that game basicaly everyday, and when he is off from work we are talking a good 2-3 hours of genesis gaming. Isnt it weird that I'm too old to play MY games?

So this topic might mean something to some, maybe you have been told something similar, and to others it might just be some dumb crap you just wasted 5 vmins of your life reading, but I just felt that I would never find myself being too old to play games, because I plan on playing my games to my grave.

I think you misunderstood your father and only hear what you want to hear. Of course the statement that you are too old to play games is not true becasue he plays himself, and I'm certainly playing games and I'm as old as your father; but you put a good advice of a concerned parent out of context.

What he meant is you have to balance your obligations with play. As long as you don't neglect real-life obligations, you're fine. But it seems that your father (correct or incorrect) has concerns that you are playing too often neglecting things important for your future; and two to three hours of play a day on average is a lot. If you're playing at the cost of getting college funds and writing essays, he's correct.

Don't forget....you're young, you are not settled in life, but your father is and has a job. He can play games w/o being concerned about college funds. And I'm sure he had to make decisions in his twenties to get his priorities straight -- such as playing games or going to bars versus bringing a cheque home or changing diapers or watching you kids. :)

[AlexKidd]

I'm going to be 19 soon and I get the same kind of comments from both of my parents about my video gaming as well as riding my bike and watching anime. Interestingly enough whenever I go to my dad's house if he's not working he's playing xbox, I think he's logged 40 hours on fable alone. He needs another system though, i'm getting him a cube for his birthday next month.

[Damion]

There are ALOT of people like your father. Just take it with a grain of salt.

I have to deal with people who still belive Games are for children. When I try to convince them that games are a billion dollar industrie and tell them that hollywood went through the same Stigma of being looked at as underclass. they just scoff and claim movies are art while games are just a passing fad.

It's like the last thirty years never happened to these people.

[squidblatt]

It sounds to me like he's just stressing out like every parent about to take the plunge into financing their kid's college educaion. If he thinks you writing essays is going to help defray the cost, he's probably a bit loopy after contemplating all the money he is no longer going to have. I bet he's just looking for a sign that you're as comitted to your education as he is. Not that you aren't, but you have to cut him slack considering how much he is about to shell out. I mean, he's basically giving his own future to you. Of course, I know nothing about your situation, so maybe none of this applies.

Edit: I just realized that you were probably talking about essays for scholarships. I thought you meant he wanted you to submit them for publication as a freelance writer or something. Didn't mean to suggest you couldn't write or anything. :)

[le geek]

Lendelin nailed it...

Quoted for emPHAsis...



What he meant is you have to balance your obligations with play. As long as you don't neglect real-life obligations, you're fine. But it seems that your father (correct or incorrect) has concerns that you are playing too often neglecting things important for your future; and two to three hours of play a day on average is a lot. If you're playing at the cost of getting college funds and writing essays, he's correct.

[rbudrick]

It is the "all day" part that is key.

However, if he is indeed putting as much game time in as you are, shame on him.

And yeah, the "You're too old to do (X hobby)" is seriously lame.

-Rob

[nate1749]

Yeah, read what lendelin said (as someone else mentioned). I don't understand how the real message went over so many people's heads.

He just wants you to do something with your life, then after you've done that (as he has), then play.

Nate

[bargora]

I'm going to be 19 soon and I get the same kind of comments from both of my parents about my video gaming as well as riding my bike and watching anime.
And what do they think is wrong with riding a bike?

[nik]

I am too old to play games.

Like I give a crap.

Take your pick honey, video games, or PORN, come on, I DARE YA!

:)

[Cmtz]

Let me tell you what to do. I'm 23 years old. Back when I was your age (17) my dad would tell me the same thing. Now I have a job (teacher) and a college degree. Now I go to my room close the door and play 24/7. Well only during summer. That's what so cool about teaching, you have 6 weeks to play video games without anyone telling you stuff and your getting payed. 8-)

[Sam]

Two things I used to hear frequently when I lived at home

"Your to old to be playing games!"

"What? You bought another one? What do you need more for?"

[PDorr3]

Two things I used to hear frequently when I lived at home

"Your to old to be playing games!"

"What? You bought another one? What do you need more for?"

haha I hear that one alot too "you just bought a game what do you need another one for?"

or

"you play the games for 2 days and then you want more"

and I just say, hey, its my money :)

[XxMe2NiKxX]

You're never too old. You only have one life, enjoy it.What the hell kind of game are you playing?!

I don't think there is such a thing as too old to play a videogame, honestly. Quit when you're ready, not because of a silly number.

[Haoie]

Welcome to my life. I get told that almost everyday.

I read somewhere most gamers are over the age of, umm, 28?

[Funk Buddy]

I'm an old guy too and I've been told the same thing many times. I just reply with something like this:

Poker game right? So if I played cards once a week should I quit that too? That shuts them up about games, but not what I spend. :/

[CartCollector]

You're never too old. You only have one life, enjoy it.

Well, you do get an extra life at 10000 points.

[§ Gideon §]

Games are man's attempts to embody fun. If you're too old for fun, then you're dead.

Your dad just had a hot head; that's all. You can get anyone to say anything if they're angry enough.

[Haoie]

I'd like to revise my previous figure.

I'm pretty sure that the age of the average gamer [also I'd still like to note how this survey was conducted probably induced any level of bias into results] was I think 25-28 when I read of it.

I have serious doubts about whether those figures can be relied upon. I'd still pend that the average age, if possible to find, will be lower.

Anyway, old schoolers are cool. You ought to be 1.

[Muscelli]

I own a little business and I have a lot of stock, I guess like 300 games... Every time I buy a game, its always "You have so many games down there, why do you need anotherr one?"

[Rogmeister]

This whole thread reminds me when I was in high school (about 36 years ago) and a teacher asked a friend and I if we weren't too old to be reading comic books. My friend said "Oh, I'm just looking at his..." and didn't mention that I was looking at his. The last I saw of him was when that school year was ending...he said he was going to sell his entire collection because he was saving up to buy an Edsel! LOL

[Streetball 21]

I hear this crap a lot. You're too old, it's for kids, or why do you need so many games? In my opinion, everyone has their own thing and videogames are my hobby. Like I read in a gaming magazine once, why can't playing video games be in the same class as all the other hobbies?

[El Commodore]

Just like what other people were saying youre never yoo old for video games

[Mattiekrome]

Man, thats funny. with your dad playing pac man and all. I'm sure he just wants you to do the best that you can and not have to deal with distractions from gaming... I used to play Runescape (MMORPG) and the rumor was that the #1 ranked player actually dropped out of college so he could play more...

I also hear it all the time from my in-laws about being a VG player/collector (I'm 26)... Its more than apparent that gaming has gone mainstream now and it doesnt seem to be going away any time soon, yet some people still dont see it...

[Zap!]

i kinda plan on giving up video gaming someday, i mean, in time, all things must pass. its just the way it works, i can't really see myself 40 years old and sitting down to play through a 40 hour rpg.

You don't have to play hardcore always. At 40, you can still be a collector. I usually don't play very much, but I'm always reading about games, and always buying old games. And I'm not even close to 40. :)

[imanerd0011]

I agree with most of the replies, you are never too old to play video games, but I think that 3 hours a day is a bit much to tell you the truth. I play around 30 minutes a day, maybe an hour if I'm really into a game or my friends are over, but I try to limit my gaming to around that.

[Lothars]

I've never got that speech but normally my mom is playing bomberman or ms pacman that she plays games when she needs to relax

so im lucky that way :)

[badinsults]

Man, it is never too old. However, when I am in school, my playing time goes down to nearly nothing. My family and friends understand that I collect my snes stuff as a hobby and accept it, as I am quite the eccentric.

[Flack]

It has nothing to do with your age. It has to do with where you are in your life and what you should be doing. I'm sure your dad, like any dad, is a little scared and worried for you. He wants you to be successful, to get a good job and have a good future. He probably spends nights awake, worrying about whether or not you're going to get into a good college. Like it or not, most of us end up in "the rat race" in some form or another -- we're all competing for the same jobs and the same schools. I'm sure your dad is thiking about all the other kids who are busting their butts studying and learning and whatnot, and sees you spending 3 hours a day playing video games, and gets worried or maybe frustrated.

Is 17 too old to play games? No way! At 17 should you be limiting your gaming time a bit and doing some more constructive things with your time? Probably.

Just an alternate point of view.

[Yamazaki]

I'm a collector and gamer. but in the first place I'm a student so sometimes I dont play for weeks!!

[Zilla]

My parents would question my game playing in high school all the time. They figured it was a childs thing to do. Now that they see my collection and realize where gaming is going and what it has become they have come around. They dont play games but they do show an interest in my hobby now. I'm sure it helps that they also see that gaming is just a small part of my day and that I'm doing well in college and living on my own.

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Right. Thing to note: The average gamer is 29.

[CartCollector]

Speaking of gamer age averages, here's one that actually has credibility: Gamespot has a poll to find gamer's ages. Here's the results:
under 18 - 36%
18-25 - 41%
26-30 - 15%
31-35 - 7%
36+ - 3%

link (http://www.gamespot.com/features/freeplay/index.html?story=6128974)

[XxMe2NiKxX]

Keep in mind that that's one site's representation, not a representation of gamers.

If we did something like that, our results would be MUCH different.

[CartCollector]

Well DPers, go over and rock the vote then.

[Haoie]

If you've done any study in statistics like me, you'll know that all online polls are largely meaningless when it comes to quality data. This is as this polls are completely self induced, as in only people who want to vote will vote, hence introducing bias towards those who feel strongly about the poll subject matter.

In short, don't believe everything you read.

[Diatribal Deity]

Life is what you make of it. Do you want to spend the majority of life doing things you don't enjoy? My brother who became a doctor a few years ago still regrets that fact he missed out on some of the prime years of his life because of all the studying, ridiculous hours, etc...(he is laughing all the way to the bank now, however). Will this make up for past spent time, who knows.

I personally believe in balance. Take care of the important things in your life first i.e. family, friends, education, and always keep your options open.

Also it is important to at least take into consideration what other people think as feedback is very vital in life. Ask yourself if you think that your spending too much time playing, drinking, clubbing, gambling etc... You usually are the best judge of that.

Couseling session over (that's $85/hour)---Thank you!