The beauty of video games is that they can be played by anyone of any age and while gaming was once seen as a younger person’s past-time, thankfully that concept has now changed in recent years. In a current survey, it has been discovered that 42% of Brits aged 55-64 and over one in four (27%) of the over 65s have enjoyed playing video games in the past five years.The survey of 2,000 adults was commissioned as part of theMust Play May campaign, that highlights the biggest and best games on the market for everyone regardless of age.
So, what do the over-60 enjoy playing the most of? It seems that over 40% love nothing more than jumping into a strategy game to keep the brain active and to relieve stress, whilst 20% enjoy multiplayer games due to wanting to stay involved with their grandchildren and earning some points as “the cool grandparent”.
Records also show that almost 4 in 10 parents frequently game with their kids and love nothing more than instilling a bit of healthy gaming competition against their offspring which can really strengthen the bonding relationship and incite some memorable, fun moments.
The survey also provides proof that people don’t grow out of video games once they hit a certain age - it seems that they grow with them and probably more passionately. The old saying that “once a gamer always a gamer” couldn’t be more apparent now as 85% of under 35s and 75% of 35-44-year-olds frequently pick up a controller. With these figures in mind, I think it’s safe to say that these figures will only rise in the future, and to that we applaud.
Some people have the image that the older generation sits around knitting or gardening and whilst some do, a group called the “Silver Snipers” are ready to tear down that out-dated stereotype.This group of five 62 to 81 years old gamerslove nothing more than popping some heads together in their very own esportsCounter-Strike: Global Offensiveteam. Their goal is to show that gaming is for the elderly and in my book, couldn’t be more amazing.
If you happen to be aSkyrimfan, you may have come across thelegendary Shirley Currywho is an 82-year-old grandmother who runsher own channel on YouTubeand loves nothing more than jumping into her favorite gameThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.Shirley has recently spoken out about her love for gaming and that there shouldn’t be any stigma or embarrassment about playing video games as an older person as gaming is for everyone, no matter your age.
If you’d like more information on the Must Play May campaign, you’re able to head over to their websiteright here.
