A generational gap is forming amongst us gamers...

Just think... How long have you been playing video games? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?

Although video games have been around for a long time, it is only within the last fifteen years or so that it has become more mainstream. Hence, why I am discussing a possible generational gap between gamers of disparate ages.

Personally, while I began playing video games in 1998, I never played many of the "classic" PC games, like Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Grim Fandango, Deus Ex, etc. I really started gaming in around 2004 or so, and games from those periods have a far greater emotional weight with me, because I specifically remember playing them. When people refer to games made in the 1990s, I tend not know very much about what they are talking about, hence, demonstrating the generational gap that exists between me and those older gamers who have played such games.

Personally, given that I never played BG2 or any of the games I have mentioned, I often find it difficult to agree with these people who say so, since my belief about what constitutes "the greatest games ever" are dramatically different from their worldview.

On the flipside, however, games like Vampires: The Masquerade Bloodlines, Rome: Total War, Half-Life 2, I remember pretty well and regard them as some of the best titles I have ever played.

And now, we are seeing yet another generation of gamers forming - those fourteen and fifteen year olds who grew up with only PS3s, Wiis, and Xbox 360s in the house. Their ideas about "the greatest video games ever" most likely constitute newer, more recent titles.

Thoughts? Comments?

Gamer since the 80s. Don't mind the new gen, but I certainly have issue when the new sonic games (except 4 and colors) are horrid beyond belief.

Gamer since the 80s. Don't mind the new gen, but I certainly have issue when the new sonic games (except 4 and colors) are horrid beyond belief.

Zanoh

I am sure almost everyone can agree with that. Wel except for those who haven't played the original soncic games.

Been gaming nigh on 18 Years now. i know what i am talking about i have experience which comes with playing many different games throughout the golden era of gaming. I still play games i own lots of games :P Face facts generation gap or not people who have more experience have more experience and hence usually have a better understanding of what constitutes a great game.

Having played BG2 and all other RPGs based on that engine i can safely say it is regardless of recent technology still one of the better RPGs to date. Modern gamers only have different tastes due to the Peer pressure mentality of everyone buying the latest COD. Tho still i know for a fact that there are many younger gamers out in the world who still divulge in different genres.

The generation gap is more telling when it comes to online communitys but us older gamers usually have the buying power so to an extent we still dictate whats put on the shelves.

when those kids grow up they will go "hang on? Call of duty isnt the best game ever made, that game is"

so i wouldnt worry about it, same as all the people that said GTA was the best thing ever, they moved on to other games, same will happen with COD

Generational gaps are a part of moving on. My generation not only to me but many others was the best for music, movies, innovation, "80s"...For me the best movies that define my generation are Star Wars, ROCKY, Rambo, Goonies, Predator,Indiana Jones,Top Gun,Back To The Future...These movies are among the most popular and are the "Gone With The Wind" or my life.

Its going to be the same with videogames..What one generation deams a "classic" the next gen will laugh at it and mock it.

started gaming in 86-87 with the NES.

I haven't given up on new games....YET. lol. like my dad gave up music after the beatles.

my tastes have evolved as I have grown.

I dabbled in gaming with my Nintendo 64 and Gameboy Colour when I was five. Which was around 1999ish I think? Anyway only recently did I really start playing a lot of the classics such as Final Fantasy VI, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Deus Ex, Doom, System Shock series, Half-Life, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and the Warcraft series.

Circle of life. The gap is mostly created when the "older" gamer simply doesn't accept that the "younger" gamers is going to have different tastes than he/she does. Personally I don't have this issue, because I simply like all games, even "bad" ones.i5750at4Ghz

Started gaming with a Monopoly board :o :P and IMO, gaming just keeps progressing with every passing year so I dunno, I guess I'll just say, the more varied games & gamers, the better.

I have been gaming for around 27 years...man I am old. Being old is not bad though. You have more money for your hobbies like gaming. Also, you have a built in excuse when some snot nosed teenager whips your butt at COD...My reaction time is slowing down as I age! Ha! The cool thing about older gamers is that we are breeding a new generation of gamer. My kids love video games (pretty much any game, board, video, roll playing...) and play them all the time. Appreciation and respect come with knowledge and understanding. Go and play some of the classics and you will have both for the generation that came before you.

Circle of life. The gap is mostly created when the "older" gamer simply doesn't accept that the "younger" gamers is going to have different tastes than he/she does. Personally I don't have this issue, because I simply like all games, even "bad" ones.i5750at4Ghz

Just think... How long have you been playing video games? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?

Although video games have been around for a long time, it is only within the last fifteen years or so that it has become more mainstream. Hence, why I am discussing a possible generational gap between gamers of disparate ages.

Personally, while I began playing video games in 1998, I never played many of the "classic" PC games, like Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Grim Fandango, Deus Ex, etc. I really started gaming in around 2004 or so, and games from those periods have a far greater emotional weight with me, because I specifically remember playing them. When people refer to games made in the 1990s, I tend not know very much about what they are talking about, hence, demonstrating the generational gap that exists between me and those older gamers who have played such games.

Personally, given that I never played BG2 or any of the games I have mentioned, I often find it difficult to agree with these people who say so, since my belief about what constitutes "the greatest games ever" are dramatically different from their worldview.

On the flipside, however, games like Vampires: The Masquerade Bloodlines, Rome: Total War, Half-Life 2, I remember pretty well and regard them as some of the best titles I have ever played.

And now, we are seeing yet another generation of gamers forming - those fourteen and fifteen year olds who grew up with only PS3s, Wiis, and Xbox 360s in the house. Their ideas about "the greatest video games ever" most likely constitute newer, more recent titles.

Thoughts? Comments?

The_Capitalist

It's only a matter of taste, yes, there is a 'generation gap' amongst gamers, it's only natural. But you don't know about the 90s games simply because you haven't played them, if you would, you would understand their praise. Many kids that started gaming this generation, also played last gen. games, or older games, and found masterpieces they fell in love with, from a good deal of conclusive observations around. So there is no barrier that does not permit you to play older games.. Except preferance, taste, which is never the same.

The age of the game itself has nothing to do with their entertainment, but what has to do with it are your expectations. Games don't age, but expectations rise, and it's subjective for each. That's why some might consider X game 'outdated', wile i might consider it a masterpiece.

I've been gaming since about 1988. I think this gap takes place about every 10 years. The games you play as a kid and young teen and how you play them plays a huge role in defining who you are as a gamer. When genres rise and fall with the times it can create a very different type of gamer who values very different things. I generally ignore it all and just find the handful of games each year that appeal to me. My little brother is 12 and is the total opposite of me as a gamer. I love points, ratings (like D through S rank), levels and stages. I'm the type who will make a save point at my favorite mission and play it over and over and over and over again. That's how I grew up gaming. My brother hates the idea of levels, stages, missions, rules and structure in general. All he plays are the type of open world games that let you run around and do whatever you want and will allow you to upgrade your character by doing this. Once he hits a forced mission, he usually checks out and loses all interest. I got him Just Cause 2 thinking it'd be the perfect game for him but he put the controller down after about 10 minutes because it starts off with a mission that you can't avoid. Later I saw him online playing the demo over and over. I asked why and he said it was because he could free roam and the demo didn't make him do anything. That type of stuff baffles me but hey, that's how he is. When I hear people list "linear" as a fault in any game of any genre, I assume it's just a new gen of gamers out there. Maybe they grew up on GTA or something so the idea of not being able to do whatever whenever is unappealing, meanwhile basically every game I played prior to GTA was linear so to me it's just a stylistic choice that's neither good or bad. Most of the generational gap doesn't really matter though unless you're in the mood to argue with children or pick fights with old people. The type of games I like aren't the mainstream #1 selling style anymore, but enough of them come out every year to keep me satisfied and it's not like I hate every new type of game. I enjoy wandering around in RPGs like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, although my favorite style of RPG would be Bio-Ware games because they offer you choice in the story but they aren't really open world by any stretch. They feel more like they have a fancy level select screen and as soon as you chose a location, you're thrown into a story that has a programmed progression and doesn't feel like you're just wandering around doing whatever stumbling across stuff. I need a certain level of structure in a game or I'll burn out quickly.Senor_Kami

I started gaming in the mid to late 80s with the NES and I'm with you on the whole linear thing. In my opinion, linearity generally allows for better storytelling and pacing. I enjoyed Red Dead Redemption, but I started getting distracted (unintentionally) with the worthless challenges and almost burned out on the game. However, I can play through every side mission on Mass Effect and never get bored, probably because they are more structured with story. Even if the story isn't great or I don't really follow it all that well (Halo, Modern Warfare), they too are more linear and are able to move you along at a brisk enough pace that boredom doesn't set in. It's also fun to see if you can beat them on the hardest difficulty, requiring a lot more strategy.

Anyway, it is good to find another out there who feels similarly to me!

played n64 then Pc during 1998 till the xbox came out then i played halo and kotor most of the time

Is just the way it is, the same thing happend with movies and music.

Just think... How long have you been playing video games? Five years? Ten years? Twenty years?

Although video games have been around for a long time, it is only within the last fifteen years or so that it has become more mainstream. Hence, why I am discussing a possible generational gap between gamers of disparate ages.

Personally, while I began playing video games in 1998, I never played many of the "classic" PC games, like Baldur's Gate, System Shock 2, Grim Fandango, Deus Ex, etc. I really started gaming in around 2004 or so, and games from those periods have a far greater emotional weight with me, because I specifically remember playing them. When people refer to games made in the 1990s, I tend not know very much about what they are talking about, hence, demonstrating the generational gap that exists between me and those older gamers who have played such games.

Personally, given that I never played BG2 or any of the games I have mentioned, I often find it difficult to agree with these people who say so, since my belief about what constitutes "the greatest games ever" are dramatically different from their worldview.

On the flipside, however, games like Vampires: The Masquerade Bloodlines, Rome: Total War, Half-Life 2, I remember pretty well and regard them as some of the best titles I have ever played.

And now, we are seeing yet another generation of gamers forming - those fourteen and fifteen year olds who grew up with only PS3s, Wiis, and Xbox 360s in the house. Their ideas about "the greatest video games ever" most likely constitute newer, more recent titles.

Thoughts? Comments?

The_Capitalist

If it helps, I got 3 of those 4 90's games when they were new, and I only like system shock2 out of the lot.

Circle of life. The gap is mostly created when the "older" gamer simply doesn't accept that the "younger" gamers is going to have different tastes than he/she does. Personally I don't have this issue, because I simply like all games, even "bad" ones.i5750at4Ghz

I have been gaming for over 25 years. I have no problem recognising that everyone has different tastes in games. My problem lies in the fact that most of the new generation of gamers state unequivocally that the lastest COD is the best game ever made. When they clearly have never played any of the generally accepted 'greatest games ever' from any other generation or platform. But they stand pat on that belief and will not accept any other, until the next sequel.

It's like when you hear younger people talk about how Avatar is the Greatest Movie Ever, when you know that they have never seen Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas. If they had, they would know that Avatar has the same story, just different setting and prettier scenery.

I've been gaming for 22 years. I started in 1988. I don't mind the new gen stuff because I'm still young enough not to mind it.

We older gamers have a name for the younger generation of gamers.....they're called noobs :P

That generational gap does not prevent newer/younger gamers of enjoying the games of the old. I know someone who started gaming in the 2004s and he has gone back and played games like classicvania, zelda 1, metroid, super metroid, ultima, he even quit playing some modern games only to play some classics, graphics dont bother him at all and his favorite game this gen is Minecraft. Despite being a newer gamer it does not he cant enjoy the games of old, many of his favorite games were made in the 90s. Outside of the fact that he doesnt know how to mod his games he is really no different than me when it comes to games.

The gap isn't just with the ability to play the games themselves. That's just half the story.

Games exist within the context of gaming industry events and pop culture...which can be looked up on wikipedia, but the experience simply can't be replicated.

Take for example, arcades in the US. Sure a handful still exist, but in the heyday of arcades, there was a subculture of people that went to them. Social encounters were face to face and entirely different than playing online. I was around for Pac Man Fever and the cheesy Saturday morning cartoons that tried to cash in on the arcade popularity of arcade hits. Parent groups were too focused on the evil of Dungeons & Dragons to worry about arcade games. A widespread, first hand understanding of that era is largely gone.

And a decade or two from now, kids won't have any concept of the mess with Infinity Ward/Activision/West/Zampella/EA and why it mattered. The first PSP will be as innocuous to them as the NeoGeo Pocket is to some youngsters now. They'll just play their new motion control Call of Duty 25 playable on their own personal holodecks. They'll just play with little regard as to how it got that way.

But hey, that's the way of things. People get older and focus on the here and now. Us old farts will wax nostalgic about life without dual analog sticks while the kids will have a fit over the next new hotness.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[QUOTE="i5750at4Ghz"]Circle of life. The gap is mostly created when the "older" gamer simply doesn't accept that the "younger" gamers is going to have different tastes than he/she does. Personally I don't have this issue, because I simply like all games, even "bad" ones.Namgis

I have been gaming for over 25 years. I have no problem recognising that everyone has different tastes in games. My problem lies in the fact that most of the new generation of gamers state unequivocally that the lastest COD is the best game ever made. When they clearly have never played any of the generally accepted 'greatest games ever' from any other generation or platform. But they stand pat on that belief and will not accept any other, until the next sequel.

It's like when you hear younger people talk about how Avatar is the Greatest Movie Ever, when you know that they have never seen Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas. If they had, they would know that Avatar has the same story, just different setting and prettier scenery.

I've been gaming since 1983. Watched it all go down. I will play games till I'm no long physically able too. Love the new gen stuff. I have a warm place in my heart for older titles though. The only current series I don't get is Halo. It's been done so much better in the past by others but Like you said.....new gen hasn't played all the great games some of us older gamers have so they don't know or care to try.

The only thing I don't like about the younger gen is how they have become able to hide behind the internet. They have grown into this world where you don't have to respect others. Back in my childhood and teenage days you talk that kinda "s" and your either getting the "s" kicked out of you or you even getting stabbed or shot. Now it's all about 12 years olds calling you a (blank) because they feel like they can. A world with out respect, honor, work ethics and a world that doesn't except blam is well on it's way for us. I feel sorry for my kids.

I've been gaming since the 70s. I started with Pong.

There is no generational gap forming. Kids mature. Young adults mature. Adults get old. Your tastes may change, they may expand, or you may stop gaming. If you stick with gaming throughout you will notice improvements in graphics and what not, but at the end of the day it is about entertainment. There were some great games then; there are some great games now. There is more to choose from now which is good. Other than that having fun in the 70s is no different than having fun in 2011.

I started in '92-'93 with an NES, SNES and Genesis (Master System). I think it will be interesting in about 10 years when people will be on message boards and the first system they ever owned was a PS3 or 360 and in an additional 10 years they will hold that over younger gamers heads like they're some retro gamer or something.

We older gamers have a name for the younger generation of gamers.....they're called noobs :P

Ilikemyname420

I thought it was newbs

I started gaming around 1996 with the NES. First game I ever played was Super Mario Bros. Man was that game addictive when I was 6 years old. Then I moved on to JRPGs and I lost interest in platformers after that.

Both generations are capable of being jerks. The older gen seems to have it out for anyone who didn't have to foresight to be born earlier, and the younger gen seems to forget games existed before they started playing.

Im REPOSTING this because it got deleted for using one word that describes a man OR woman that likes another man OR woman in a loving sexy way..

Its a sad world..I work fastfood and the girls that work there are normally 20-21 at best. They have no idea about any 80s classic movies, tv, music, and most videogames..Its really sad. Of course im old enough to be their dad, but still..Its like like when you study art. You learn about the old classics the masters. Same goes for music, film..AND the 80s had its fare share of classics. Matter of fact the 80s are looked at as one of the best generations to live in. You know, back when EVERYONE could wear pink and not be looked at as "H-word"..Those were the days.

MODS quit deleting my posts over NOTHING..tks.

Gamer since the 80s. Don't mind the new gen, but I certainly have issue when the new sonic games (except 4 and colors) are horrid beyond belief.

Zanoh

replace 4 with unleashed and 80's with 90's and I agree 100%

Honestly I thought 4 was complete trash, but Unleashed I actually had a bit of fun with especially during the day levels.