Why would retired people need their own video games?
Games for the unemployed? Have you not heard of MMOs?
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.
What makes a game “for retired people”?
What a silly premise.
Serious answer? By making a game that targets a vulnerable group that preys on loneliness and declining mental capacity. This speaks less about “what games would old people play and enjoy” and more about “how to leverage abusive techniques to maximize the extraction of wealth”.
Oof. I can respect your cynicism though.
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.
EDIT:
The DLC will add the ability to play as a privileged white woman who gets points for morally policing everyone around her but herself, spreading misinformation, and guilt tripping people who trust her.
EDIT 2:
In case I’m not being clear enough, a Boomer that wants a video game for their enfeebled retired ass can fucking make it themselves, and/or possibly think about why it is the case that the industry has enshittified to the extent that it has.
Who is it exactly thats in charge of all these enshittifying gaming companies again? Oh right yeah, its your 401ks, teaching children how to love their gambling addiction, so that you can retire well.
I mean, it can’t be that hard, right? To make a toy that satifies Boomers? Just bootstrap it yourselves, I’m sure you’ll discover that if you just shake a few hands and burn a few hundred million dollars, it’s just about showing up and doing the job well, or something.
… you want a Boomer game?
It already exists, its Candy Crush, its Words with Friends, its Scrabble Go, its Solitaire.
That’s not even an insult, that’s just literally market research data.
what the fuck? isn’t the dark souls for retired people… just dark souls?
Yeah they have. They’re the same fucking games as before. If you’re not a gamer by the time you’re over 65, odds are good that you’re not gonna suddenly become one.
What about indie games? Lots of good games, also for gray people.
