21st-Century Shooters Are No Country for Old Men

[PMS Goosechecka]

I just this amazing article about "old" gamers (gamers over the age of 21).

It's a really interesting read about how "older" gamers are aging out of the shooter market, especially with games like MW2 and MAG.

If you're an old gamer like me (24 years young baby!) and you've got a moment, this is a great read.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/02/no-country-for-old-men/

[PMS NJ]

I have the soul of an old gamer then. Haha. I love team work. That's why I love my PMS ladies.

[PMS Goosechecka]

I think the author hit it right on the head with the comment about trash talking. Whereas some younger players can get 12 hours of gaming in a day, I''m lucky if I manage that in a week. Since my time is limited, it holds more value and I'm less likely to waste it doing something where I get taunted, called a 6-year boy, ect.

[A Hero In Orbit]

I feel like this most complex of shooters may only be navigable by younger players with the free time to learn how to handle a hundred human foes.
Or someone who implements cover into their plan of attack *rolls eyes*


“They’re too good,” said the birthday boy. “And now they’re killing you with knives before you even have a chance to shoot them. It’s bullshit.”
Don't blame the age of the players. Blame the developers for putting in a perk that will allow you to knife someone 5ft away from you.



Everybody in the bar agrees: Young gamers are somehow better than older gamers. Is it because they have fewer responsibilities and more free time? Or is it their youth that keeps them sharp?
I feel sorry for whoever these people are playing with. The age of most people that can take me to school on shooters were 25-30. I added half of them to my friends list.



And what the hell can us old-timers, with one foot in our gamer graves, do about it?
Umm how about opening a new tab and watching some Youtube vids on FPS tactics while you write your little blog. Your age is not to blame, only your lack of motivation to go out there and educate yourself on how to improve.



The world’s top Quake players are 16, 17 and 20, he says, and their raw reflexes give them the edge.
It's called inceasing your sensitivity, so that once you get use to it, you'll be playing at a much faster pace.



It’s tough to argue that free time, or the lack of it, isn’t a factor. Jason Thompson, a 30-year-old South Carolina middle-school teacher with a wife and a 6-year-old, struggles to find a spare moment to play Modern Warfare.

“It is frustrating to come back to the game and feel like I’ve been left behind,” he says.
Agreed, not everyone has time to game constantly. But it's how you view things that I disagree on. When I came back from my time on Ft. Sill, I totally expected to suck online. You don't go in with the expectations that you're gonna be "hot stuff" in a couple of matches. It took months for me to get a fraction of my skill back, but I knew it was going to be like that and was totally content with it.



“We mostly play ‘Domination,’ which is a tactical game,”
You play a game where you capture 2 flags and force the other team into a certain spawn point for you to spawn-kill them... Very tactical *Rolls Eyes*



“Most younger players,” he says, “are so obsessed with keeping their kill/death ratio high that they rarely play correctly in tactical games.”
I'm sorry, please enlighten me on the 'correct way' to play a tactical game. If you have everyone focused on the objective, it's going to end up like that match on MAG. You need these "young players" to keep the enemy busy long enough so that the objective-focused people can capture the objective without meeting a large amount of hostile force from the defensive team.



Online, it pits players against each other in teams: four humans versus four infected zombies. The situation seems crafted to suit older gamers like myself, who would rather play together than die alone.
Actually, in my experiences on L4D, I found that younger players offer better teamwork. Sure they may be annoying at times, but they will stick with you. Now I know a lot of older gamers (some in RL) that would just be so focused on the level, that they would wander off constantly, to the point where I just want to ditch him/her. I can understand games like Mass Effect or Oblivion which promotes level exploration, but not a game like L4D where the only thing behind that van all the way in the back is a hunter waiting to pounce on you.



I jump into a match. The chatter in my headset makes me feel like I just climbed onto a prison short bus in Mobile, Alabama. My knuckle-dragging squad mates drawl insults at each other, make fun of my handle and call everyone’s sexuality into question.
Why do you think the quick-mute option was brought to many online games. Get over yourself and take the 3 seconds to mute them.

[PMS Goosechecka]

@ Hero

You seem pretty offended by this article. I apologize, that was not my intent.

[A Hero In Orbit]

@ Hero

You seem pretty offended by this article. I apologize, that was not my intent.

Lol, I'm sorry, I'm not offended. If I don't fully agree with something I have the tendancy to debate it lol. My feelings towards the topic do not match up with the same 'heat' as my opinions, lol. Great article find btw, even if I don't agree fully with it, he did pick up on many great key points.

[PMS NJ]

I think the author hit it right on the head with the comment about trash talking. Whereas some younger players can get 12 hours of gaming in a day, I''m lucky if I manage that in a week. Since my time is limited, it holds more value and I'm less likely to waste it doing something where I get taunted, called a 6-year boy, ect.

I don't get the point of trash talking. I remember someone saying, "I love how these people automatically all hate each other." Why can't people be nice? Haha. It gets worrying sometimes. Oh well.

[A Hero In Orbit]

I don't get the point of trash talking. I remember someone saying, "I love how these people automatically all hate each other." Why can't people be nice? Haha. It gets worrying sometimes. Oh well.

I actually took some time to think of the general reason of why people automaticaly talk trash. My main theory is that they view XBL as a vent for all their anger and things they wanted to say aloud to people, but couldn't because it would affect their lifestyle (IE: Cussing out your boss = you with no more boss OR job). I find myself telling my own team to shut up whenever I get online in a bad mood. So I took my own experiences and compared it with others. This is just a theory of course.

[PMS NJ]

I actually took some time to think of the general reason of why people automaticaly talk trash. My main theory is that they view XBL as a vent for all their anger and things they wanted to say aloud to people, but couldn't because it would affect their lifestyle (IE: Cussing out your boss = you with no more boss OR job). I find myself telling my own team to shut up whenever I get online in a bad mood. So I took my own experiences and compared it with others. This is just a theory of course.

Yep. Repressed in real life. The anonymity factor also adds to the whole thing. Now I wonder how they pick who to pick on. Do they just randomly go, "HA HA! I'm better than you! You all suck! I rule!" or whatever. Haha. People truly are weird. I should do a study on this or something. Haha.

[A Hero In Orbit]

Yep. Repressed in real life. The anonymity factor also adds to the whole thing. Now I wonder how they pick who to pick on. Do they just randomly go, "HA HA! I'm better than you! You all suck! I rule!" or whatever. Haha. People truly are weird. I should do a study on this or something. Haha.

I usually just go at random, but then I target the people who take offense and 'fight back'. It's easier to continue on them because I can use their hostility to fuel my own. And by the end of the day I am the happiest person alive. XBL is such a great stress reliever ^_^

[PMS NJ]

I usually just go at random, but then I target the people who take offense and 'fight back'. It's easier to continue on them because I can use their hostility to fuel my own. And by the end of the day I am the happiest person alive. XBL is such a great stress reliever ^_^

Haha. Thanks for the insight.

[Darkshowers]

This article has some good points but I don't totally agree. I feel as I grow older (I'm in my late 20s) that I'm a smarter gamer than I was when I was young and had more time to play. In MW2, I have a 1.17 K/D ratio which is pretty decent and better than most of my friend's list who play the game. I do well in most MW2 games even going up against younger gamers.

However, pro players like MLG guys have much more time to dedicate to gaming and faster reflexes so they have a major advantage over older gamers who don't have any desire to go pro.

[The_SAD_Assassin]

How come is it that most people I meet on MAG are 21+. I mean hell half my friends are 27+