The Forgotten Players: Researching Gamers Over 50

Who Are These Gamers Over 50?

Following the video game crash of the early 80s, the industry enjoyed a resurgence. Triggered by the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the home console market grew exponentially. The people who grew up with these gaming systems (i.e. those who were born in and around the 70s and 80s), tend to be the gamers we are talking about - they are the first of the ‘forgotten players’. While it is difficult to pin down an exact figure, estimates put the percentage of gamers in the UK, who are aged 50+, at roughly 25%.

The stereotype of older adults as technologically averse is also rapidly becoming outdated. While many of these players have grown up with games, transitioning from Pong and Pac-Man in their youth to the console, PC, and mobile games of today, some others are late adopters who discovered gaming as a way to connect with family, maintain cognitive health, or simply relax.

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Why Research This Demographic?

Designing for gamers over 50 isn’t just about bigger text sizes and simpler interfaces. Their preferences, motivations, and challenges often differ significantly from younger players, making user research essential:

Accessibility Needs: What many gamers don't initially realise is that they may develop accessibility needs, simply as a result of getting older, or even through a change in circumstances. Issues like sporting injuries or acute illnesses, to name a few, may mean gaming stops being as straightforward as it once was. 

In the image below, accessibility needs can be spread across three distinct categories - Permanent, Temporary, and Situational. So if a gamer over 50 develops cataracts, although not necessarily permanent, it can still give rise to accessibility challenges.

Modern games can also be quite physically demanding - action heavy genres may have mechanics (such as quick time events) that ask a lot of the player. Quite simply, older gamers may come to face unique physical or cognitive challenges, such as reduced dexterity, slower reaction times, or vision impairments, which can impact their gaming experience. With the topic of accessibility in games gaining greater traction in recent years, catering to older gamers is yet another reason to invest in it.

Diverse Motivations: Older players often seek games for relaxation, social connection, or mental stimulation. Unlike younger gamers, they may prioritise cooperative experiences or games that place less pressure on the player to react with split-second accuracy. This may, for example, mean a shift to more local multiplayer gaming (while the industry tends towards more solitary, player vs player, online experiences), or strategy/puzzle genres over those that are more reflex-heavy (like first person shooters or fighting games).

Untapped Spending Power: Gamers over 50 may have more disposable income than younger players, making them a lucrative market for premium games and in-game purchases.

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Challenges in Researching Older Gamers

Conducting user research with older players also comes with its own challenges. Recruitment can be tricky, as they’re often underrepresented in traditional gaming communities and market research panels. Additionally, researchers must always be sensitive to potential discomfort with technology or concerns about privacy. Clients, too, can often fall into writing this age group off when considering their target audience - for the reasons laid out above, it is even more important to push for their representation. 

To accommodate these issues, we could try the following:

• Meet Participants Where They Are: Use recruitment channels outside of typical gamer spaces, like social media communities geared towards older adults or perhaps charities that work with specific accessibility issues. Recruiters that specialise specifically in the gaming space may be able to source participants from this age group.
• Ask the Right Questions: This may seem obvious, but it’s important to remember to focus on their gaming habits, preferred genres, and challenges rather than assuming their needs align with those of younger players.

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‍Designing Games for the Forgotten Players

Insights from user research can lead to design choices that cater specifically to this demographic:

• Intuitive Controls: Games that streamline their control schemes - which in turn will often favour minimal dexterity (over complexity), or could provide customisable control schemes.
• Meaningful Stories: Narrative-driven games that resonate with life experiences and emotional depth. Notable examples include games like Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch, Life is Strange.
• Social Features: As touched on above - options for cooperative play with family members or friends, whether local or online. It Takes Two caused a stir in the industry when it won Game of the Year at the Game Awards in 2021 - in a landscape seemingly dominated by online shooters and sports games, this game championed a very personal story that was, arguably, best experienced in local couch co-op.
• Cognitive Stimulation: Puzzle games, strategy titles, or educational games that promote mental agility. Similarly, developers could add mechanics or elements to games where cognitive stimulation may not be the obvious focal point. Blending different genres together is becoming more and more commonplace in games - take a game like Uncharted, for example - puzzle sections that break up action-heavy set pieces have gone down very well with players.

What next?

We should not forget the fact that around 25% of gamers in the UK are over 50. From a business standpoint, this highlights the considerable market potential and the importance of understanding this demographic. Here are a few logical next steps:

• Deeper Dive into Motivations and Preferences: older gamers may prioritise relaxation, social connection, and mental stimulation - in line with this, further research could delve into specific genres, game mechanics, and themes that resonate most with this audience. This could involve surveys, interviews, and focus groups to better understand their gaming habits, preferences, and frustrations.
• Accessibility in Practice: we have touched upon the importance of accessibility features, but there is room to conduct further research here - specifically on how certain accessibility options are being implemented and their effectiveness for older players. Case studies of games that successfully cater to older gamers, as well as analysis of user feedback on accessibility features, could be extremely valuable.
• Marketing and Community Building: the question remains - how can game developers effectively reach and engage with older gamers? Research could explore marketing strategies that resonate with this demographic and investigate ways to foster inclusive gaming communities that welcome older players. This might involve studying the effectiveness of different advertising channels, and analysing the community features and communication styles that encourage participation from older gamers.
• Longitudinal Studies: to understand how gaming habits and preferences evolve as players age, longitudinal studies that track players over time would be valuable. They could provide insights into how game developers can design for the changing needs of their audience as they grow older. The only downside here would be the relative cost of such studies and the amount of time they would need to be run for.

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Examples in Popular Culture

Here are a few quick examples of elderly gamers who have found worldwide fame:

• The Silver Snipers: The Silver Snipers are the first professional esports team composed entirely of senior citizens - with members ranging in age from 64 to 76. The team secured the World Cup in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) at DreamHack Summer 2019 and aims to inspire other seniors to engage in gaming, promoting cognitive benefits and social interaction. Read more about them on their official site. 
• Hamako Mori ("Gamer Grandma"): After beginning her gaming journey at the age of 51, Hamako Mori eventually launched her YouTube channel in 2014 with the aim of sharing gameplay videos and connecting with gamers worldwide. In May 2020, at the age of 90, she was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest gaming YouTuber. Find out more about Gamer Grandma on her official youtube channel. 
• Grndpagaming: Affectionately known as "Gramps," Grndpagaming is a 71-year-old Navy veteran who, after retiring from the military in 1992, faced several health challenges, including a work-related neck injury, prostate cancer, two heart attacks, and a double pulmonary embolism. He turned to gaming, both as a means to manage the pain caused by his injuries, as well as being a therapeutic outlet. Gramps has since garnered a significant online following - here, you can check out his youtube channel.

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The Future of Gaming and Older Players

As the gaming population continues to age, the industry has a golden opportunity to embrace gamers over 50 as a vital and vibrant part of its audience. By investing in user research and inclusive design practices, developers can create experiences that not only accommodate older players but actively celebrate their unique preferences and contributions to gaming culture.

The forgotten players are ready to be remembered. Are you ready to design for them?