Age Discrimination in The Gaming Community

Why is there so much age discrimination within the gaming community?

We often hear of people complaining about children on Xbox Live, How the wii is 'Kiddy' (I Have also said this), and im pretty sure that most gamers know that there is a certain stigma against older gamers (40+) generally. Let us ask ourselves why it is this way. Shouldn't people of all ages who can consider themselves gamers unite together, and not be prejudiced against each other because of thier age?

I Have often heard of people making fun of older gamers (40+) and generally not wanting to play with 'kids' (Usually 13 and younger), i dont mind playing video games with children, we were all children at some point, and i have been gaming since i was born ( i beat super mario on NES, and i think super mario 3 before i was even fully potty trained).

/discuss

Im 16 btw if its relevant.

Because if you havent noticed, human beings act differently at certain ages.

9 times out of 10 a 12 year old is far more annoying than a 20 year old.

Descrimination by age happens online because, well, most of the age stereotypes are true.

I'm 17 if it matters to anyone.

I dont think its a matter of age discrimination as it is of maturity discrimination and the stigma behind it.

Younger immature people tend to not like to play with older people because they are reminded constantly of being called out immature. Even if the older person doesnt say it, not laughing at the little kid's fart jokes implies it.

Older, more mature crowds dont like to be with younger immature players for the same reasons. They are also a huge source of all the dumb trashtalking that comes.

Theres occasionally young, but mature players, and older, but immature players. I've never seen a 15 or 14 year old kid kicked out of a match that wasnt acting stupid. I've never seen an older player kicked out either after hearing him talk. But i've seen both cases of immature versions of them being booted for stupidity.

I'm 25... and I feel really odd playing online (if they're mic'ed and talking) with anyone less than 15.

Nothing against the kids playing, but I'd prefer to play with someone in my age group or older.

Because if you havent noticed, human beings act differently at certain ages.

BigDizz

Well, we got our winner way too quickly.

Kids tend to be annoying, especially when playing mature games. I mean, I wouldn't mind a kid playing viva piñata with me... but when you start playing an M game against some immature racist bigot whose voice sounds like a mouse found a damaged loudspeaker, you start to think that maybe a grown up only group would be nice.

Being "immature" is an insult for a reason, you know.

As for why people discriminate against older people, I will never know, but frankly, I've never seen this happen.

My dad is 45 and still plays the occasional video game, he really loves Guitar Hero and some of those fun games that are easy to pick up and play and dont require you to spend a lot of time playing in order to enjoy it. I myself am almost 21 and I dont think anyone should be hating on kids or older adults for playing video games. I have two younger cousins who are like 8 and 10 and they love playing sports games and other games targeted towards kids. Sure they may be more casual since they love the sports games, but its what makes them happy and the fact that the games are fun is what matters to them, as well as me. I remember when games were about pure enjoyment and now people seem to squabble about graphics being the only thing that makes a game good even though that is nothing more then a complete load of garbage.

When I was younger, games were about having fun and playing with your friends, the N64 was easily the console to play when I was 13 because the games were loads of fun and no matter how many times my friends and I played a game, we never got sick of them and we had a blast doing so. While I think the advancement of technology is making for longer and more immersive games, it is unfortunate that a lot of games have become nothing more then eye candy and lack the fun that older games have. I think that is what Nintendo is trying to bring back as well. While the GC had fun games like Smash Bros and Mario Kart, it really was lacking in the fun multiplayer department. Add in the fact that Nintendo is trying to bring in more non gamers and trying to get people to play together more then just on their own, in the long run it could be a big payout.

Kids should notbe playing games online though, at least not ones that they are too young to be playing like Gears of War and Halo (no offense lemmings). However I think thereis also another side to the argument of kids not playing games, they should not be allowed near mature video games and I am sure some people would agree. Kids screaming online is annoying yes, but maybe they do not need microphones then. It is kind of a two sided coin really.

I don't like playing with kids to be honest. Not all are bad, but some just don't shut up on XBL. They don't "talk" like adults do, they just kind of....have words come out of their mouth....yet none of it means anything. It's so irreleavent. Worse still some of them sing and make noises for no good reason. Then you get the ones that act immature. I don't want to feel like a babysitter when I play XBL. On other systems it's not as bad because they don't have access to the mic and so you don't have an idea that they're just kids.

I've let my brother try some online games with me before (he's 12), but everytime he asked to use the mic I said no for this very reason.

Once again I should point out that not all are bad. I did see some good young people, though they were in the minority....but a lot of people on XBL don't bother speaking into the mic, so there's a good chance that the kids that aren't annoying don't do it either, which is why I never notice them.

[QUOTE="BigDizz"]

Because if you havent noticed, human beings act differently at certain ages.

Grive

Well, we got our winner way too quickly.

Kids tend to be annoying, especially when playing mature games. I mean, I wouldn't mind a kid playing viva piñata with me... but when you start playing an M game against some immature racist bigot whose voice sounds like a mouse found a damaged loudspeaker, you start to think that maybe a grown up only group would be nice.

Being "immature" is an insult for a reason, you know.

As for why people discriminate against older people, I will never know, but frankly, I've never seen this happen.

ive heard things such as this alot in world of warcraft and on xbox live..."Lol why is this old guy playin video games shouldnt he be like with a wife and kids or working or something, he must have no life" directed towards older gamers

ive heard things such as this alot in world of warcraft and on xbox live..."Lol why is this old guy playin video games shouldnt he be like with a wife and kids or working or something, he must have no life" directed towards older gamers

kcm_117

Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I've never seen it personally, and that I don't really find a good reason why it would happen.

[QUOTE="Grive"][QUOTE="BigDizz"]

Because if you havent noticed, human beings act differently at certain ages.

kcm_117

Well, we got our winner way too quickly.

Kids tend to be annoying, especially when playing mature games. I mean, I wouldn't mind a kid playing viva piñata with me... but when you start playing an M game against some immature racist bigot whose voice sounds like a mouse found a damaged loudspeaker, you start to think that maybe a grown up only group would be nice.

Being "immature" is an insult for a reason, you know.

As for why people discriminate against older people, I will never know, but frankly, I've never seen this happen.

ive heard things such as this alot in world of warcraft and on xbox live..."Lol why is this old guy playin video games shouldnt he be like with a wife and kids or working or something, he must have no life" directed towards older gamers

I am a causual warcraft player and I have seen some pretty messed up people. Ive had a person say he had to leave because his is wife was giving birth and guild mate say that we were the best friends she ever had. Stupidity knows no age limit

Because moronic people love to feed their egos and their superiority complexes.Spartan070

If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. DA_B0MB

Exactly, age doesnt matter at all to me. There are immature and annoying people at all ages, I remember when I played wow, I encountered several 13-14 year olds and some were extremely immature, while a couple acted fine and you wouldn't know their real age unless you heard them on teamspeak or ventrilo. People usually just assume that the 12-14 year old gamer is always immature.

[QUOTE="kcm_117"]

ive heard things such as this alot in world of warcraft and on xbox live..."Lol why is this old guy playin video games shouldnt he be like with a wife and kids or working or something, he must have no life" directed towards older gamers

Grive

Not saying it doesn't happen, just that I've never seen it personally, and that I don't really find a good reason why it would happen.

You don't find a reason but ufortunately tons of moronic gamers do.

If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. DA_B0MB

"Act your age, not your shoe size" would be the proper term for that really.

I'm 25... and I feel really odd playing online (if they're mic'ed and talking) with anyone less than 15.

Nothing against the kids playing, but I'd prefer to play with someone in my age group or older.

BloatWare

I fully agree with this statement. (I'm 24 myself)

[QUOTE="DA_B0MB"]If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. DSgamer64

"Act your age, not your shoe size" would be the proper term for that really.

What if your age just somehow happens to be your shoesize? Of course, this unique sitution will only occur with younger people, but still...? Either way it will be the same.

[QUOTE="DA_B0MB"]If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. DSgamer64

"Act your age, not your shoe size" would be the proper term for that really.

For me it's pretty difficult playing video games with younger individuals; there's an air of sympathy I have that forces me to let them win ever so often. Otherwise it's "you cheated" or "I don't want to play anymore." Not to mention it's the preteen and below crowd that talks the most smack.

[QUOTE="DA_B0MB"]If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. DSgamer64

"Act your age, not your shoe size" would be the proper term for that really.

-Not intended for Europeans :P 12 year olds acting like35 year olds would be the end of the world

For me it's pretty difficult playing video games with younger individuals; there's an air of sympathy I have that forces me to let them win ever so often. Otherwise it's "you cheated" or "I don't want to play anymore." Not to mention it's the preteen and below crowd that talks the most smack.

DementedDragon

Call me mean if you want, but I was taught by my family as a kid that you should never play down to your competition. They exercised that with me, and while it was frustrating that I lost at whatever game I was playing with them most of the time, it was truly fufilling when I -did- win. Now, that's not to say that I'm going to hunt them down and kill them time and time again, but if I see them out in the open, I'll kill them the same way I would anybody else. I know a lot of people are different, but I was raised on and live by a Steve Spurrier-esque personality, which is essentially: " If you don't like losing/getting killed, get better. "

[QUOTE="DSgamer64"]

[QUOTE="DA_B0MB"]If you're 13 and sound 13 it's not all that bad unless you act like you're 13. Eponique

"Act your age, not your shoe size" would be the proper term for that really.

-Not intended for Europeans :P 12 year olds acting like35 year olds would be the end of the world

:lol: So true.

Kids bring this upon themselves. They asked to be made fun of with the way they act in online games.NobuoMusicMaker

My biggest issue with XBL is the censorship for the sake of said kids. I don't know about you guys, but I've started keeping my mic off because people get mad at me cussing every other word during your average game on LP or GeOW.

[QUOTE="DementedDragon"]

For me it's pretty difficult playing video games with younger individuals; there's an air of sympathy I have that forces me to let them win ever so often. Otherwise it's "you cheated" or "I don't want to play anymore." Not to mention it's the preteen and below crowd that talks the most smack.

JzkBoxer

Call me mean if you want, but I was taught by my family as a kid that you should never play down to your competition. They exercised that with me, and while it was frustrating that I lost at whatever game I was playing with them most of the time, it was truly fufilling when I -did- win. Now, that's not to say that I'm going to hunt them down and kill them time and time again, but if I see them out in the open, I'll kill them the same way I would anybody else. I know a lot of people are different, but I was raised on and live by a Steve Spurrier-esque personality, which is essentially: " If you don't like losing/getting killed, get better. "

Well I was raised around those principles as well, but being one of the few people in my family who plays video games as a hobby; I really didn't have much competition other than my Uncle (who showed no mercy.) Other family members (younger one's) were really bad, so I had to give them SOME hope. I don't have the same problem with my friends (since all of them are gamers); but heh, I don't know, I kind of fill guity when people are consistently unsuccessful in winning against me. :oops: