Love how Gustafsson is focused on the money of old gamers.
I’m 47. I would be the prime target for this sort of campaign. Except a I’ve been boycotting shitty companies for so long any nostalgia I might have felt at the thought buying consoles, or a game published by EA, Activision, or Blizzard has been dead for more than a decade.
The enshitification of triple AAA titles by MBAs has driven me away from the space. Keep fucking slapping surcharges on EVERYTHING; day one dlc, microtransactions, always online DRM, the ability to revoke access to the games we paid for, because we never really owned it.
I will continue to ignore your shitty products and purchase small indie titles on PC that take risks and innovate. Withholding my money and refusing to purchase your shit will provide publishers with a sense of pride and accomplishment for retaining their customer base.
Did you manage to retire by 47? Seems like an outlier more than their prime target.
Video game companies are using their product to extract as much profit as possible, mostly young men.
Gambling companies are using their product to extract as much profit as possible, mostly young men.
There isn’t enough money to satisfy both of them, so eventually they will literally go to war, and try to genocide the other. Sounds like it might have potential for a screenplay.
WTF are games for retired people?
Tony Hawk’s Pro Walker 2000
WTF is retiring?
Something the boomers took away from us when they retired
They took it away long before that.
Metal Gear Solid IV duh
There are literally 9000 hidden object games on Steam
Why would older people prefer hidden object games?
Because they’re always forgetting where they left shit, its good practice for them.
Yeah, you have a prejudiced view of older people.
Oh no, are they so old they forgot how to take a joke too?
My guess is that they’re not twitchy and they keep your mind active.
There are so many non-twitchy games, though, and hidden object games are not what they grew up with.
And maybe they like twitchy games. Platformers were among the first games older people played in their youth.
Rather retire and play starcraft
Fuck off lol I’m over 50 currently playing Saros
They already have 62-75% of the wealth that exists. Why not just, you know, let them have everything else they stole and have gaming be the bread and circuses of the younger generation?
“Ageism is cool when I do it.”
But then again, it’s no surprise after the ableism.
Ageism isn’t a thing, asking someone who is displaying difficulty understanding basic social logic whether or not they have a disability that can then be adjusted for in response isn’t ableism.
But I guess it’s easier to defend the gross behavior of generations that objectively ruined the world by defamation than actually engaging with any point being made.
that can then be adjusted for in response
Uhhhh huuuuuuuuuuuuuh. And that’s exactly why you just now deleted the comment. Because it’s so innocent to ask “Serious question, do you have autism?” when someone calls out your BS. “I’m totally innocent, and this is obviously exonerating, but it’s devastating to my case!” Knew you were going to do this, you slimy little ableist, two-faced worm.
And knowing you at this point, I’ve screenshotted your deletion of it in case you try to undelete to make me look like a liar.
😄 that really made my day. ouch and oof. you got him.
Feel free to join me back on topic at any point instead of pointless personal attacks. With your history of slurs I’m just happy you didn’t throw one of those at me.
With your history of slurs
Wow, even I didn’t think you were low enough to accuse someone of a wholly unsubstantiated “history of slurs” as a last-ditch to save face. I mean I hope after seeing what you did that nobody will buy it, but that’s really disgusting, especially given your naked bigotries.
What would a game for a retired person look like? Stuff that isn’t twitchy is all over the place: puzzlers, sims, casual experiences, and visual novels exist by the truck load. The main character doesn’t need to be 80 for it to be a game for the older generation.
Turn based strategy. Anything that doesn’t require reaction time and too much fine motor control.
Sif Meier’s Civilizations series is a great example.
Boomer and Gen X retired people didn’t typically grow up with computers. So, I think part of the challenge is a way to play games that’s easy. Probably games on mobile phones are a good approach because the process of finding, installing and launching those games is easy if you’re not a “computer person”. OTOH, old people’s eyes aren’t great, and they don’t tend to have a lot of dexterity, so while a phone UI might be good, the actual device is maybe too small and fiddly. Games on tablets is probably a much better option.
Steam deck might be ideal, but only if you can bump up the UI font size so that it’s more readable if you’re older. That would give them access to hundreds of thousands of games. But, the problem is most are probably designed for a PC screen, so they’ll have tiny UI elements.
In terms of the games themselves, probably something turn-based would be ideal. I happen to like those kinds of games anyhow. But, as I get older and my reaction speed gets worse, I think I’ll play fewer and fewer games that require fast reactions and good aim.
Another consideration would maybe be something social. A lot of older people are still in relationships, and want to be able to do something together. That also means either multiple steam decks so each person can have their own, or maybe couch co-op games.
So, I think it’s:
- Turn based strategy, or any other turn-based game – visual novels might work, trivia quizzes, detective games, just so long as it isn’t reaction speed based
- A system that’s easy to find, install, and launch games. Even steam for PC is probably intimidating for people who haven’t been on PCs for most of their lives.
- Big fonts for people with fading vision.
- Easy controls.
- Maybe couch co-op for couples to play together
Based on that, I can see why Nintendo Wii games were really popular. The system is very easy to use. It runs on the TV so fonts can be nice and huge. A lot of it is couch co-op so couples can play together. They also have a lot of games meant for kids, but those games are also easy for older people to understand and enjoy. They also didn’t have sexual / violent themes that old people are sometimes more sensitive about than your typical gamer.
It also shows why Nintendo’s follow up consoles didn’t work as well. The Wii U had a gamepad. That’s more intimidating, and not as easy to use if you have poor vision. Then came the Switch, which was even worse if you have poor vision. Plus the detachable controllers are ideal for kids, but old people now have to fiddle with little almost hidden buttons to detach them. Not good.
My mother used to complain that they didn’t make movies for old people. She literally did just want movies with old actors. What, are we gonna watch gamgam go to 6 doctors appointments?
they do make those movies. they don’t make any money, because old people don’t want to see them either and don’t want to look at old people.
And old people don’t have $30 for a movie ticket
which old people?
the ones around me have about 50 million in the bank, but yeah would whine a movie ticket is too much. but they have no problem flying to europe every other month.
Damn I guess I don’t know millionaire old people
the old people around me don’t think they are millionaires, they think they are poor and struggling
Expendables?
I am almost 50, so not quite retired yet. I like slow casual games. Puzzle games, survival games and CRPGs scratch my gaming itch.
Battery theft simulators.
/S
what the fuck? isn’t the dark souls for retired people… just dark souls?
there aremore than enough games in circulation to keep retired people entertained forever
I mean I’m early 50s, so a bit below one of their thresholds, but still in the “older gamers, 40, 50, 60…” bracket used elsewhere in that article.
I’m not sure what’s underserved. There are shitloads of games out there that I’m happy to play. Sure, I’ll nostaglia myself into a coma playing Infocom games in bed on my laptop. But I’ll also sink hours into a good story or walking sim, the single-player campaigns of an FPS, a puzzle game or hell, I’ll keep the kids off my lawn in Fortnite and have fun making them cry. How am I underserved?
I thought that when you turn 40 they just give you a copy of Tetris The Grand Master and that’s all you get to play for the rest of your life?
Tetris effect and lumines rise are the replacements.
I still like my 3D Tetris, though. I was just never able to beat my record that i scored in 1995.
I’m 54 in a couple of months… I’m currently playing BF6 to death. Before that it was Apex. I’ve been playing games since the 8-bit days and just never stopped.
I still care about video games very much but the industry suffers from growing bad incentives. Stop Killing Games is merely the start for me - I want games to catch up with other software and start respecting user’s software freedoms.
i mean they are mostly played by younger people. old people dont seem to interested in playing games.
They do play when given the opportunity, but they have different tastes and interests from the rest of the market.
The argument is they are played by younger people because they are designed for younger people. Older people, the ones coming into retirement age, grew up playing video games. They enjoy and value video games, but have slower reflexes and less time. Retirement solves the latter issue. From the article (emphasis mine):
“Developers have been ignoring older gamers for the same reason it took them decades to discover women,” he says. "The industry has spent 40 years chasing the same narrowly defined audience because it was the safest bet, until everyone was chasing it. Imagine if Hollywood only made movies for 18-year-old men. That’s roughly the bet games have been making.
"The opportunity is substantial. The 40+ segment in the US is on track to grow from $19 billion in 2022 to $43 billion by 2030, a 132% expansion at a moment when the rest of the industry is shrinking. These are players with the most disposable income, the longest gaming literacy, and the highest brand loyalty. They are also the least visible in the industry’s dashboards because the metrics were built around younger players who compete frequently. Older lifelong gamers don’t, but they keep playing, and they keep spending.
“What needs to change is the industry’s mindset. An entire generation has now grown up playing video games and is ageing into a life stage where they have time, money, and the desire to keep playing. The first publishers to actually see this player will capture a structural advantage. The rest will arrive 10 years late, exactly like they did with women.”
It’s not a good long term market because retirees will be gone in 20-30 years and millennials+ will never be able to retire.
Most games are not lasting longer than 5 years anyway, then the userbase is getting so small that the revenue isn’t attractive anymore.
I got into fortnite with friends over the winter, as I was turning 40. I get my share of zb dubs youngins
Games are overwhelmingly made by and marketed to younger generations, argue analysts, while the older demographic is being ignored
They’re busy playing the stuff of their young days.
Any game that relies too much on quick reflexes will usually not be good for older people. Easier difficulties can mitigate that somewhat. Turn based games are perfect for all ages, you can take as long as you want to think your stuff through. You don’t need to make these games “for old people”. I also remember seeing a video that talked about a 70yo man who began playing Asheron’s Call (a 1999 MMORPG) with his grandson and really enjoyed the game, to the point he kept playing until it was shutdown for good.[1]
The industry has spent 40 years chasing the same narrowly defined audience because it was the safest bet, until everyone was chasing it. Imagine if Hollywood only made movies for 18-year-old men. That’s roughly the bet games have been making.
True for big studios, false for indies, who, as always, prove time and time again that you can achieve success with “non standard” formulas, such as Balatro, Stardew Valley, Return of the Obra Dinn, Undertale (some survivorship bias is being applied here, lots of indies, even those that follow “standard formulas” more closely, fail to find success, even with good games)
There is a mismatch between the general investment in tutorials for the first few minutes, relative to where actually the player loss happens,
Make the fucking tutorial OPTIONAL and something you pick as an option in the fucking main menu. This isn’t rocket science.
But that brings you down to other categories that have been growing, like cosy[sic] games, casual games, and retro. And retro has an advantage in that audience in that you don’t need the latest [computer].
There is an important thing to keep in mind here: most casual games are predatory mobile shit. That market has been an absolute cesspool for something like 12 years now, which is almost as long as they existed. Yes, the games are “enjoyable”, because they’ve been finely tuned to be as addictive as possible.
“Give me those 60 year olds who watched Star Trek the original series,” he concludes. “Come on down, play Star Trek Online with me.”
STO? Pass. Unless we can kill this dude:
Found this massivelyop link, but the video is unavailable https://massivelyop.com/2017/01/11/check-out-one-of-the-oldest-asherons-call-players-in-all-senses-of-the-word/ ↩︎
Make the fucking tutorial OPTIONAL and something you pick as an option in the fucking main menu. This isn’t rocket science.
The article isn’t saying you lose players in the tutorial, you lose the much farther in when the level 9 boss too hard to beat for someone who stepped away from the game for 2 weeks.
A lot of people would probably like an optional tutorial, but it’s not the point they are trying to make.
I understand that, but a lot of gamers can figure some games out without a forced tutorial. WASD movement, jump with space, crouch with control, sprint with shift, move camera with mouse, shoot/attack with left click, etc. A lot of designers/developers became so desperate with the possibility that their game might be “someone’s first game of that type” that they choose to force everyone to play the tutorial right at the start, even players that finished the game and decided to start again, and leave it at that.
The tutorial as a main menu option fixes both problems.
I don’t see how the tutorial as a main menu option fixes the problem of someone who played for a while, then had to walk away for two weeks only to come back and have to deal with the ninth boss with degraded skills.
- “I don’t remember how to do that thing, I remember the tutorial showed that”
- Go to tutorial
- Relearn
- Load game back to where you were
The alternative is the tutorial being accessible from within the game, like a manual. In no case the solution is “force the tutorial at the beginning of the game”
