Yahoo news wrote:
Barbara St. Hilaire spends about 50 hours a week wielding a machete, dismembering demons and battling a slew of thugs, zombies, and other nasties of the video-gaming world. Having recently nailed a 100% score in Outlaw Golf 2, she's now focused on mastering the top levels in God of War. It's a passion that has earned St. Hilaire, 69, the moniker "Old Grandma Hardcore."
"If you saw her in a grocery store, you would see an old, Midwestern diabetic with thick glasses leaning on a crutch or shopping cart," says her grandson Timothy St. Hilaire, who launched a blog recounting her gaming exploits -- and her colorful expletives. "She's a polite mother of five and grandmother of 12but get her in front of a game, and she becomes a monster."
St. Hilaire represents the new older face of gaming. Despite the common perception that most gamers are busy coping with acne and adolescent awkwardness, many are instead concerned with getting their Social Security checks on time.
Some 19% of gamers are over 50, up 9% in five years, according to Peter D. Hart Research Associates. And 53% of game players expect to be playing as much, or more, 10 years from now. To the aging gamer, this isn't a fad -- it's a permanent part of their lifestyle. And with total U.S. hardware and software sales nearing $10 billion, it's eating up a growing portion of their entertainment dollar. PricewaterhouseCoopers projects spending on the global video-game market to reach nearly $55 billion by 2009.
"If you saw her in a grocery store, you would see an old, Midwestern diabetic with thick glasses leaning on a crutch or shopping cart," says her grandson Timothy St. Hilaire, who launched a blog recounting her gaming exploits -- and her colorful expletives. "She's a polite mother of five and grandmother of 12but get her in front of a game, and she becomes a monster."
St. Hilaire represents the new older face of gaming. Despite the common perception that most gamers are busy coping with acne and adolescent awkwardness, many are instead concerned with getting their Social Security checks on time.
Some 19% of gamers are over 50, up 9% in five years, according to Peter D. Hart Research Associates. And 53% of game players expect to be playing as much, or more, 10 years from now. To the aging gamer, this isn't a fad -- it's a permanent part of their lifestyle. And with total U.S. hardware and software sales nearing $10 billion, it's eating up a growing portion of their entertainment dollar. PricewaterhouseCoopers projects spending on the global video-game market to reach nearly $55 billion by 2009.
Link to the full story.
I think that's pretty cool, actually. So, who among us plans to still be gaming by the time Geritol replaces Mountain Dew as the LAN party preferred beverage? I fully intend to.
Edited, Thu Oct 20 13:45:13 2005 by Saboruto
