wbatl1
05-05-2006, 07:28 AM
This is probably relevant to most of us:D
THE AGING GAMERS
Young at heart find joy with a joystick
By BILL HUSTED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/05/06
Soviet tanks rumble down the tree-shaded streets of Druid Hills with a 54-year-old veteran at the controls.
Meanwhile, in Canton, a 46-year-old pilots a Delta widebody with no worries that the airline's bankruptcy case will curtail his days behind the yoke or shrink his paycheck.
The pilot, the tank commander, a 72-year-old great-grandmother in Peachtree City who plays online games when she can't sleep: They're all part of a trend in the computer world. An over-the-hill gang of gamers that is increasingly important to the industry.
"It's now big enough to be a relevant group," said Richard Garriott, an executive producer for the NCSoft video game publisher. "The average age for gamers has slowly gotten older and older over time."
And as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement — with time on their hands and money to spend — game publishers are becoming more interested in the group. Industry research shows that the average gamer today is 30, far from the stereotype of the 13-year-old with a joystick and the earnest desire to kill dragons or skateboard around obstacles.
These graying gamers have something to offer game companies in terms of sales. But the games also have something to offer older players: eternal youth and the springy legs of a teenager.
Just ask Rayburn Jones of Dunwoody.
"Very much so," he said, when asked whether playing makes him feel younger. "There's a game I play where there are three pits to jump over and you have to be very agile to do it."
Jones' 68-year-old legs easily make the jump.
Jones plays a selection of monster-slaying games that would make any kid proud, including "Unreal Tournament," "Pain Killer" and series of games under the ominous brands of Quake, Doom and Half Life.
Sarah McClure, 72, of Peachtree City, thinks playing online word games helps keep her mentally sharp.
"That's one of the reasons that I tell my children that I do it," she said. "It keeps my brain young."
The other reason — the one she doesn't mention — is that it's fun. Besides, she's good at it. When she's competing with other players of the "Funster" word games (www.funster.com) she asks for no quarter and doesn't need it.
McClure came to the word puzzle games through her interest in crossword puzzles. Now she logs on, sometimes as much as eight times a day, to play against the computer or even groups of online opponents.
Serious players
NCSoft's Garriott says older gamers tend to look for intellectual content from a game and often approach games with the same seriousness that they used to face workplace challenges.
For Jones, that seriousness means "you are always looking for some technological edge" while playing. "I picked up a laser mouse that you can program [to automatically perform some game functions], and it does give you a little bit of an edge."
Besides there is the thrill of danger for the retired Georgia Planning and Budget Office employee.
Any gamer will tell you that other family members — wives and mothers alike — can be more fierce, more dangerous, than any video monster.
"My wife says that my gaming does not bother her so long as I do not turn the boom-boom sound up too much," Jones said. "That is the sound of my game guns chopping some zombie in two."
Family ritual
Jones says most of his friends underestimate the complexity of the battle games he plays.
Jeff Cromwell, 54, of Druid Hills, the vicarious tank commander, has turned computer gaming into a family ritual.
When it comes time for the yearly family vacation on Amelia Island, the computers and networking equipment go along with the swimming trunks.
It's a family tradition — even now that the kids are 20, 18 and 14 — to play together. With the two oldest off at college during much of the year, it's a chance to reunite old teammates.
Cromwell will retire from his accounting job at BellSouth next month. That means more time for games.
But he also plans to go back to school to learn more about something he already knows firsthand: computer graphics.
There's no real digital divide when it comes to skill in Cromwell's family. His family enjoys the series of Command and Conquer games that offer strategic battles between U.S. and Soviet military units.
He and his family stay away from the fast-paced slash and shoot games favored by young players.
"Most of us get dizzy from the motion in first person shooter games," Cromwell said. "That's the problem with playing with relatives. We all inherited the dizzy factor."
Like many older game players, Cromwell prefers games that rely on strategy and logic. For instance, another favorite is "WarCraft," which allows players to take control of a character that advances in skills and powers with experience. All his favorite games depend more on logic than a fast hand on the joystick.
NCSoft's Garriott said that tracks with industry research.
"The younger gamers are pretty much interested in fast-action, shoot-them-up games," he said. "Once gamers cross over into the 30s and older, they are more interested in cerebral games."
Fantasy pilot
John Kendrix of Canton, 46, especially likes the challenge of flight simulators. He joined a group of online fliers (www.deltava.org) that call themselves the Delta Virtual Airline. The group uses Microsoft's Flight Simulator game.
They use voice-over-Internet to talk with online traffic controllers. Pilots come in an assortment of ages.
"That question came up on the virtual airline, and there are a lot of young folks," Kendrix said. "But almost as many in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc."
There is very little childish behavior online. Maybe it's the heavy responsibility of flying virtual passengers in his Boeing 767-300ER.
However, when Kendrix moves from his PC to his Xbox 360, a popular game console that allows online competition, "you meet a lot of people who obviously are having trouble with puberty," he joked.
But, even at 46, he finds computer satisfactions that a 13-year-old would understand.
"My stepson used to be the pre-eminent gamer in the house," Kendrix said.
"I took great pleasure in taking him to school in [the computer game] 'Dead or Alive 4.' This was a big change causing much stir in my family. The consensus logic from relatives seems to be that I was lucky. Ha!"
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/0505bizoldgamers.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild133=EbDyzE3ftmetN4g1pgsRFA18GOhmhrYCd7uYG6bfTmkoUZ0U14mi!722909352&UrAuth=`N\NUOcNYUbTTUWUXUWUZT[UTUWU\U\UZU`UaUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y
THE AGING GAMERS
Young at heart find joy with a joystick
By BILL HUSTED
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/05/06
Soviet tanks rumble down the tree-shaded streets of Druid Hills with a 54-year-old veteran at the controls.
Meanwhile, in Canton, a 46-year-old pilots a Delta widebody with no worries that the airline's bankruptcy case will curtail his days behind the yoke or shrink his paycheck.
The pilot, the tank commander, a 72-year-old great-grandmother in Peachtree City who plays online games when she can't sleep: They're all part of a trend in the computer world. An over-the-hill gang of gamers that is increasingly important to the industry.
"It's now big enough to be a relevant group," said Richard Garriott, an executive producer for the NCSoft video game publisher. "The average age for gamers has slowly gotten older and older over time."
And as the baby boomer generation moves into retirement — with time on their hands and money to spend — game publishers are becoming more interested in the group. Industry research shows that the average gamer today is 30, far from the stereotype of the 13-year-old with a joystick and the earnest desire to kill dragons or skateboard around obstacles.
These graying gamers have something to offer game companies in terms of sales. But the games also have something to offer older players: eternal youth and the springy legs of a teenager.
Just ask Rayburn Jones of Dunwoody.
"Very much so," he said, when asked whether playing makes him feel younger. "There's a game I play where there are three pits to jump over and you have to be very agile to do it."
Jones' 68-year-old legs easily make the jump.
Jones plays a selection of monster-slaying games that would make any kid proud, including "Unreal Tournament," "Pain Killer" and series of games under the ominous brands of Quake, Doom and Half Life.
Sarah McClure, 72, of Peachtree City, thinks playing online word games helps keep her mentally sharp.
"That's one of the reasons that I tell my children that I do it," she said. "It keeps my brain young."
The other reason — the one she doesn't mention — is that it's fun. Besides, she's good at it. When she's competing with other players of the "Funster" word games (www.funster.com) she asks for no quarter and doesn't need it.
McClure came to the word puzzle games through her interest in crossword puzzles. Now she logs on, sometimes as much as eight times a day, to play against the computer or even groups of online opponents.
Serious players
NCSoft's Garriott says older gamers tend to look for intellectual content from a game and often approach games with the same seriousness that they used to face workplace challenges.
For Jones, that seriousness means "you are always looking for some technological edge" while playing. "I picked up a laser mouse that you can program [to automatically perform some game functions], and it does give you a little bit of an edge."
Besides there is the thrill of danger for the retired Georgia Planning and Budget Office employee.
Any gamer will tell you that other family members — wives and mothers alike — can be more fierce, more dangerous, than any video monster.
"My wife says that my gaming does not bother her so long as I do not turn the boom-boom sound up too much," Jones said. "That is the sound of my game guns chopping some zombie in two."
Family ritual
Jones says most of his friends underestimate the complexity of the battle games he plays.
Jeff Cromwell, 54, of Druid Hills, the vicarious tank commander, has turned computer gaming into a family ritual.
When it comes time for the yearly family vacation on Amelia Island, the computers and networking equipment go along with the swimming trunks.
It's a family tradition — even now that the kids are 20, 18 and 14 — to play together. With the two oldest off at college during much of the year, it's a chance to reunite old teammates.
Cromwell will retire from his accounting job at BellSouth next month. That means more time for games.
But he also plans to go back to school to learn more about something he already knows firsthand: computer graphics.
There's no real digital divide when it comes to skill in Cromwell's family. His family enjoys the series of Command and Conquer games that offer strategic battles between U.S. and Soviet military units.
He and his family stay away from the fast-paced slash and shoot games favored by young players.
"Most of us get dizzy from the motion in first person shooter games," Cromwell said. "That's the problem with playing with relatives. We all inherited the dizzy factor."
Like many older game players, Cromwell prefers games that rely on strategy and logic. For instance, another favorite is "WarCraft," which allows players to take control of a character that advances in skills and powers with experience. All his favorite games depend more on logic than a fast hand on the joystick.
NCSoft's Garriott said that tracks with industry research.
"The younger gamers are pretty much interested in fast-action, shoot-them-up games," he said. "Once gamers cross over into the 30s and older, they are more interested in cerebral games."
Fantasy pilot
John Kendrix of Canton, 46, especially likes the challenge of flight simulators. He joined a group of online fliers (www.deltava.org) that call themselves the Delta Virtual Airline. The group uses Microsoft's Flight Simulator game.
They use voice-over-Internet to talk with online traffic controllers. Pilots come in an assortment of ages.
"That question came up on the virtual airline, and there are a lot of young folks," Kendrix said. "But almost as many in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, etc."
There is very little childish behavior online. Maybe it's the heavy responsibility of flying virtual passengers in his Boeing 767-300ER.
However, when Kendrix moves from his PC to his Xbox 360, a popular game console that allows online competition, "you meet a lot of people who obviously are having trouble with puberty," he joked.
But, even at 46, he finds computer satisfactions that a 13-year-old would understand.
"My stepson used to be the pre-eminent gamer in the house," Kendrix said.
"I took great pleasure in taking him to school in [the computer game] 'Dead or Alive 4.' This was a big change causing much stir in my family. The consensus logic from relatives seems to be that I was lucky. Ha!"
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/0505bizoldgamers.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild133=EbDyzE3ftmetN4g1pgsRFA18GOhmhrYCd7uYG6bfTmkoUZ0U14mi!722909352&UrAuth=`N\NUOcNYUbTTUWUXUWUZT[UTUWU\U\UZU`UaUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y