The Forty-something Gamer (and Proud of It)
Why gaming is a big part of my Electronic House and should be in yours too.
I just love the looks and comments I get when I tell people that I am a gamer. Most of those in my age group surely think something must be wrong with me. So what if I just leapt over the “middle age” marker? Immature? Nope. Peter Pan syndrome? Hardly. I consider myself a responsible and functioning adult. Youthful? I can think of worse things to be labeled. Geek? OK, so there’s probably some truth to that. Call me what you will, but in my house videogaming is here to stay. In fact, it’s just as critical a component in my setup as my HDTV, digital cable, DVD player and audio system. And from the research I’ve been reading, it appears that I am not alone.
Gamers are aging. In fact, the average age of a male gamer is climbing into the 30’s. But where are they? Hiding behind their children, most likely. Just admit you’re nearly as excited about the upcoming release of “Grand Theft Auto 4” as your teenagers (and they shouldn’t be playing it!). The most ashamed gamers prefer to bash the game for its violence and political correctness in public, but then snap it up on release day and play into the wee (not Wii) hours of the morning. I’ll save my “GTA is a quality game” tirade for another column, but the point I’m trying to make is, you wouldn’t be afraid to engage in a water cooler conversation about last night’s episode of Lost, so you shouldn’t be ashamed to admit that the bags under your eyes are a direct result of trying to obtain the 67th star in Super Mario Galaxy the night before.
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[Link: electronichouse.com]
