Ok brb making a game about being a self righteous asshole boomer who is always correct and its actually everyone else’s fault that he has no friends and his wife and kids dont speak with him.
Call it Boomer Shooter, but its not an FPS, its actually primarily a series of small adventure/puzzle levels with complex branching dialogue options.
You get points for shooting down ideas you either didn’t think of first or don’t like because they might imply that you aren’t perfect.
The rules are made up and the points don’t matter beyond a high score at the end of the bad ending.
The good ending happens when you don’t get that many points, despite the game constantly handholding you and telling you thats what you should focus on.
There, enjoy your retirement.
What about indie games? Lots of good games, also for gray people.
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.
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 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?
I still like my 3D Tetris, though. I was just never able to beat my record that i scored in 1995.
Tetris effect and lumines rise are the replacements.
what the fuck? isn’t the dark souls for retired people… just dark souls?
I got into fortnite with friends over the winter, as I was turning 40. I get my share of zb dubs youngins
I think it’s pretty telling that so many of the people they talk to and a lot of the focus of the article isn’t really about older gamers, it’s about their money.
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.
I’m in that “40+ segment” and I suspect part of the “problem” these companies face is that older gamers have seen the enshitification of so many of the brands we love. Our tolerance for bullshit is basically gone at this point. Micro transactions, season passes, fucking ads in games, all of that bullshit is a quick way to not get our money.
I also suspect “brand loyalty” is basically gone for the same reason. As a kid, I looked for the Electronic Arts logo. If I saw this logo on a game package, I knew I was looking at a good game. I haven’t bought an EA game in years. I don’t expect to buy an EA game any time soon and I basically ignore everything they do. Sure, if a trailer for Starflight 3 dropped, I’d sit up and take notice. I’d also expect it to be an enshitified mess wearing the skin of a beloved series to sucker me in, before pouncing on my wallet.
So ya, maybe just make good games and older gamers will inevitably buy them. I mean, Larian can pretty much say, “hi we’re making…” and I’ll have my wallet out and be pulling bills before they get any further. And maybe that’s your “brand loyalty”. Game companies who make good games and aren’t private equity firms wearing the dead skin suits of brands we used to love.
This sums up my thoughts on it, too.
Before reading it, I was ready to come back here expecting to say I’m glad someone’s thinking about older gamers and joke that I feel attacked (being grey and not feeling my age), but then I saw it went down the “but their juicy wallets” angle and… I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise.
They’re not even couching it in more palatable terms. So now I expect it will be just a patronising nostalgia IP reboot fest designed to extract as much cash as possible. And almost certainly subscription-based, because what company doesn’t these days.
Good luck with that: older people may have more disposable income, but they also have years of experience with marketing and FOMO tricks, along with the exploitation and butchering of franchises they once loved for a quick buck.
So now I expect it will be just a patronising nostalgia IP reboot fest designed to extract as much cash as possible.
Ya, this is one of the big turn-offs for me. For example, I really liked Prince of Persia: Sands of Time back in the day. I’ve got exactly zero interest in the remake. Ubisoft’s logo now looking like a neat pile of dogshit, viewed from above, is pretty apt.
Prince of Persia is a great example! Did Lemmings ever get a reboot? 😄
I kind of want to see what modern game developers can do with old C64 games like Parallax or Head Over Heels, or Amiga ones like Cannon Fodder or Sensible Soccer, but time has taught me 2 things:
- Be very careful what you wish for. You may get it in the worst way possible.
- Nostalgia is sometimes best left in the past.
I do like that GOG, etc, do their game preservation thing. Seeing games like Hexen, Rise of the Triad and Wing Commander running on modern CPUs is kinda fun, but often confirms point 2 above.
I am not quite in that demographic but getting pretty close. I’ve bought maybe a game a year for a very long time now. Most non-indie stuff is complete and utter trash. If I see a AAA publisher logo, I take it as a sign that it’s not worth my time or money.
Most non-indie stuff is complete and utter trash.
Ya, it’s telling that some of my favorite games these days all started as indie games. I do worry about them as they get in bed with larger producers, but I also understand the draw. E.g. I still love Valheim, but they were Embracer’d by private equity. And I’m waiting for that relationship to push them to shit all over their players. Though I understand that publisher backing lets them focus more on development and less on the marketing and distribution of the game.
My dad is in his 70s and he spends most of his time playing open world shooters/rpgs. He just finished borderlands whatever is new and started his 5th or so witcher 3 run. He also plays free to play puzzle games on mobile (to my disappointment)
My point being that I think “games for the retired people” is just games…
I’m old and I agree. I play Elden Ring, Dark Souls, and stuff like Overwatch. I do not want games aimed at old people - just good games. No one wants “Shuffleboard: The Game” or “Pickleball: The Game”. And if they do want those things, they probably already exist.
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.
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
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.
I am almost 50, so not quite retired yet. I like slow casual games. Puzzle games, survival games and CRPGs scratch my gaming itch.
Turn based strategy. Anything that doesn’t require reaction time and too much fine motor control.
Sid 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?
Battery theft simulators.
/S
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
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“Analysts” are a large part of why I abandoned “AAA” games over the decades. Keep them.
As soon as I retire, every single one of the multiple hundred games in my steam library will be a game for at least one retired person… except the ones I don’t like and don’t play anymore, like PAYDAY 2.
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.
