How did you become a gamer?       

Was doing some reading awhile back, and I happened apon the topic of "Gamers and their age."

As the Industry gets older, so are the gamers who play them. Most people grow out of hobbies like card collecting, comics, stamps, ecetera. I dont remember the statistics exactly but I remember the average gamer Worldwide was somthing like 22- 25 years of age, and that number was getting higher every year. A large part of the gaming community in the US is in the 30's.

I'm 31 now, and have been a serious gamer most of my life. At around 6 or 7 years old, my grandmother would send me to the store ( to grab milk, cereal ect.) She would give me 50 cents to do this for her. I lived in a quiet small community in connecticut where everyone knew each other so this was the norm back in the 80's. I remember spending my money playing arcade games in the little store.  Spy Hunter was my favorite game, and is also resposible for the "Love Affair" I now have with gaming.

Over the years I've had to buckle down and learn to manage my love for gaming. Lets face it, peoples lives ruined by gaming is nothing new to us. Not only is it an expensive hobby, but also can take control of a persons life. Gaming has become a bit stale to me lately and I've wonder why I even do this anymore. Like anything else that I found old or pointless I usually quit doing. Then a game comes along like Zelda, FFVII, SWG, and so many others that resparks the romance between gaming and myself. I often picture myself old and grey, riding around on my Rascal with a laptop fixed to a table accross my lap.

I hope when I'm old and grey and still gaming some of you will be too.

I'm 33 and first got into gaming back when my parents got me my first gaming system, the Magnavox Oddesy 2 and they got it at some garage sale.  As time passed they bought me other gaming systems such as the Nintendo and Super Nintendo.  I eventually bought the Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, XBOX, and the XBOX 360.  As a kid when I wasn't playing console games I was in the arcades "pwning" other people in Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Combat.

The Sega Dreamcast began my online gaming experience with Phantasy Star Online.  I was one of the people using hacks to kill other players in that game.  Anyway fast forward to 2002; I got a room mate in my apartment and he played this amazing game called Everquest.  He was like , "Dude you can go anywhere and do anything in this game!" but all I've seen him do was flail his characters arm around when he cast spells as a barbarian shaman and stab things with his spear.  I tried it and was hooked.  From that point on I was a MMO-gamer.  I got bored of console games and the single player games weren't cutting for me anymore.  

I'm 22 and have been gaming since I was around 5. First started playing NES and then SNES. I still remember the time I almost beat my brother in SNES nba jam when I was 5 and my brother was 14. The only time I ever came close to beating my brother in a basketball game. 17 years later and I still haven't beaten my brother in one. 

I remember when I was in kindergarten and I bought one of the Megaman games for NES. Came home and was very excited to play the game, but at that time I was 5 and didn't know anything about gaming systems. Well turns out when I got home we gave away our NES since we just got SNES. My parents didn't know what we had and only my bro did. Had to go over to my neighbors house to play Megaman since he was in my kindergarten class. Then half way through the year I transfered schools and he moved and we never talked again. Sad times ='[

I'm 26 and started back with the NES. I remember playing Super Mario Brothers when it was still relatively new which I thought would provide me with the year I began gaming but apparently it came out in 1985(the year I was born). My brother is 5 years older and had received the NES about 87 or 88 so I'd say I started gaming between 3-5.

From from what I understand, gaming is becoming something fewer and fewer people are leaving behind as they grow older. Isn't the average age of gamers in the mid 30s?

One thing I think is pretty great is that all the men who started playing video games with the NES (basically my generation) are having kids and raising them as gamers whether they are male or female. In ten or fifteen years, thanks to this and the popularity of IOS games we are going to see a leap in the number of female gamers.

I started...oh...must have been 8 or 9. My papa was REALLY into games like Starsiege, Viper Racer and a bit of Tribes. Which were three of the first games I ever played. Starsiege was our main game though. We played that all day, almost every day...me, my papa and my uncle played way too much of starsiege. Viper racer was tons of fun and lots of laughs when 4+ people were together. And tribes was fun for something different.

So...my Papa got me into gaming. How cool is that :D

He still games btw ;P Not as much as he used to, though.

I turn 31 next month and have been gaming since I was 5, in Japan on family computer system (which was released in the US a few years as we all know to be ' nintendo'.  Super Mario Bros was the first title I fell in love with, which got me to explore other titles which were only available in the Japanese domestic market. 

This led me recieving a nintendo when my parents moved back to the US for Xmas, and then super nintendo, nin64, sega genesis , ps, ps2, xbox, 360 etc.... until I moved out of my house and wasn't until my Chinese roommate introduced Everquest to me, and then I was even more hooked like never before.... leading me into ffxi for many years.  It wrecked my school, a little bit, social life, but hey, I was in my own social network now, something my friends and family couldn't really grasp.

I finally saved up about $3000 and bought my first gaming rig a few years ago and played WAR, and Aion on it.  Yes gaming is expensive, but I guess it's cheaper than going out drinking and getting into trouble, and it's much cheaper than my old auto-racing hobby, which was just a money pit.

I had taken some breaks inbetween to clear my mind and have gone through though stale points in which the OP has stated, but I still find the genre fun, although it is constantly changing, and our audience is becoming harder and harder to please.  I still love and play Aion and am looking forward to GW2, at least that will be B2P.

I think gaming will be a hobby that will never die for me, and it's something I can even do once I get married and maybe even have kids?  I can introduce them to the fun world of gaming, but will probably have to cut back on how much time I spend on them because I'm sure the wife would lay the smack-down.  (unless I marry some gamer chic who is on the same level lol)

LONG LIVE GAMING!!! =D

(I will be that grandpa wrecking 13 year old noobs one day!) =P

Originally posted by ForTheCity

I'm 22 and have been gaming since I was around 5. First started playing NES and then SNES. I still remember the time I almost beat my brother in SNES nba jam when I was 5 and my brother was 14. The only time I ever came close to beating my brother in a basketball game. 17 years later and I still haven't beaten my brother in one. 

I remember when I was in kindergarten and I bought one of the Megaman games for NES. Came home and was very excited to play the game, but at that time I was 5 and didn't know anything about gaming systems. Well turns out when I got home we gave away our NES since we just got SNES. My parents didn't know what we had and only my bro did. Had to go over to my neighbors house to play Megaman since he was in my kindergarten class. Then half way through the year I transfered schools and he moved and we never talked again. Sad times ='[

Get the new NBA Jams and beat him once more!

Originally posted by Goldknyght

Originally posted by ForTheCity

I'm 22 and have been gaming since I was around 5. First started playing NES and then SNES. I still remember the time I almost beat my brother in SNES nba jam when I was 5 and my brother was 14. The only time I ever came close to beating my brother in a basketball game. 17 years later and I still haven't beaten my brother in one. 

I remember when I was in kindergarten and I bought one of the Megaman games for NES. Came home and was very excited to play the game, but at that time I was 5 and didn't know anything about gaming systems. Well turns out when I got home we gave away our NES since we just got SNES. My parents didn't know what we had and only my bro did. Had to go over to my neighbors house to play Megaman since he was in my kindergarten class. Then half way through the year I transfered schools and he moved and we never talked again. Sad times ='[

Get the new NBA Jams and beat him once more!

Haha I've never really been a basketball fan. I should actually buy it and start practicing to beat him since I only play FPS on console. My bro actually really sucks at video games now. He's 30 or 31 (forgot) and he doesn't play much. One day I'll be super pro at NBA JAM of NBA 2k12 and my brother will come over and i'll prove to him who's really best!

Intellivsion back in the early 80s.  When Dad bought one, I was instantly hooked.  Been a gamer ever since!