Anyone who has ever been to Gamescom or another gaming trade show can quickly get the impression that game developers have a heterogeneous target group, at least in terms of age.
The aisles are full of teenagers and young adults, and even people over 30 are almost like the Red Panda that adorns the Firefox logo at Koelnmesse, unless Gamescom takes place digitally due to pandemics. We know it exists, but it’s rarely seen, and if it is, it’s only in the zoo.
But if you think that gaming is a “young person’s thing” that boomers and pre-boomers shake their heads at, at best, without understanding, you’re far wrong. In fact, the group of over-50 gamers is now larger than that of under-20s. Of the 34.4 million people who gambled at least occasionally in 2020, 10.8 million were over 50. By contrast, only 8 million were under 20. But who are these mysterious gambling pensioners? It’s high time we started looking for clues.
A text by Matthias Schneider
The average gamer today is 37 years old. In 2014, the average age was 31. This makes it clear that, along with the population as a whole, gamers are also getting older. There are two more or less simple explanations for this. Those who “grew up” with games in the 1980s and 1990s often simply stuck with them. The medium has grown up along with its consumers. Gaming PCs and consoles moved from children’s rooms into student digs, chic city lofts and even into the break rooms of many companies.
Today, anyone who is 30 or 40 years old and identifies themselves as a gamer no longer has to fear being considered an oddball. And just like the “toy boxes” that were once reviled as children’s toys, numerous game series have survived the decades and are now revered almost cult-like. The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear and Resident Evil still regularly produce successful sequels or reinvent old classics in the form of remakes. And even if the finished product doesn’t lead to storms of enthusiasm from all fans (I’m looking at you Final Fantasy VII Remake!), it’s still significant when adult people are happy as snow kings to be able to relive such a classic of their childhood when a corresponding announcement is made.
But that alone doesn’t explain the rapid increase in age; after all, a lot of young players are growing up. So there must also be people who, even without nostalgic childhood memories, suddenly reach for the medium of games. There’s a reason for that, too – or rather two. Smartphones and tablets. While PCs and consoles are expensive and not always easy to use, mobile devices have now found their way into the pockets of many senior citizens, and with them games.
Mobile games are usually easy to install, easy to use, and they cost much less than their “big” siblings on PCs and consoles. So today, a much larger group of people has at least potential access to the games market. The International Computer Science Institute in Berkeley found that digital versions of actual analog games (Skat, Chess, Sudoko) are most popular with seniors. So while grandma used to play chess with her friends at the kitchen table or grandpa went to the pub to play skat (greetings from the 1950s), today they both play on their smartphones.
And even if this explains only a relatively small part of the increase in the number of seniors playing games, the Nintendo Wii also graces many a TV room in senior citizens’ residences today. The innovative motion control system is easy to learn, fun to play and keeps people fit. The health industry has also recognized this and has been researching so-called “health games” for some time, i.e. games with a therapeutic effect. Even the renowned Hans Basedow Institute is now conducting research on this topic. However, the focus is not only on senior citizens. The institute’s general aim is to demonstrate the potential of games for health promotion. This involves both games that aim to maintain or even increase physical fitness and games that impart health-related knowledge. Wouldn’t it be practical if surgeons could be trained or educated using a simulator in the future? – No problem! And I’m not talking about the Surgeon Simulator, which is entertaining, but probably not suitable for doctors, but about realistic medical and surgical simulation. Apart from medicine, numerous industries have recognized this potential and are using games and the know-how of game developers to find solutions to problems. One particularly noteworthy project is called MiKompanion, which aims to take away the fear of treatment for children with cancer through augmented reality. Even before therapy begins, they can playfully deal with the aspects of radiation therapy in a virtual environment. The potential of games here is seemingly endless and far from exhausted.
The Fusion Campus, which was founded in June 2021 and is based in Düsseldorf, deals with precisely this topic, i.e. with the question of how gaming know-how can be used in other industries. Managing Director Stefanie Waschk, who is already well-known in the gaming industry, describes her work at Fusion Campus as follows:
“The medium of games has, as the saying goes, “arrived in the middle of society”. Not only has the possibility of location-independent playability on mobile devices increased its presence in everyday life, but the mechanisms contained in games are also increasingly moving into our focus. Aspects such as motivation, challenge, ambition, self-realization, feedback/reward, and curiosity are also important for companies in other sectors of the economy. After all, these mechanisms stand for the virtues that enable change and that can demand and promote a (necessary) transformation process and innovation in business. Knowledge from many fields, including the psychology of learning and the cognitive sciences, is applied here. The set of rules of a game, sets the basis for the necessary knowledge and competence building. In many cases, this is only possible if players act not only on their own responsibility, but collaboratively or with the support of others. The correlation to the organizational context arises.
These aspects are not the only ones that make games so interesting outside the gaming industry. Games make use of advanced technologies, analyze user behavior, and (especially in the online gaming sector) are designed to continuously evolve based on the data information they receive – a foundation of modern customer centricity.
To summarize: Games are not only highly technologized, but above all innovative, creative, user-oriented and capable of building and motivating networks; they stand for development, change and progress. And that is exactly what makes them so interesting for business, science & research, and politics. For this reason, it is our concern to bring the different players together with the Fusion Campus and to actively support them in order to make these potentials usable.”
But what can we learn from it? Whether young or old, regardless of gender, whether on a PC, console or smartphone – almost anyone can play games nowadays. And after all, Schiller already knew that people are only really human where they play. So GG Boomer!