According to a new survey, gamers over the age of 50 feel quite excluded by the gaming industry and believe that their generation is treated as an afterthought when new titles are being developed.
Over 50 gamers spoke out about the difficulties of today’s games and the necessity for tutorials.
Twenty-eight percent of these players use contemporary gaming consoles, so games must be developed with them in mind.
In reality, this older demographic provides a major contribution to the gaming industry.
That being said, however, according to AARP research, they are largely ignored by game developers when creating the newest titles.
According to the study’s findings, 69 percent of gamers aged 50 and up believe that the most recent games are not created with them in mind.
Another 50 percent of respondents claimed that gamers over 50 are not taken into account when creating video games.
The challenge of modern games, according to many older adult gamers, is that they can sometimes be too difficult to figure out.
They value the ability to change the difficulty and they think push notifications and in-game advertisements to be extremely annoying. A tutorial within games was requested by some players over the age of 50 as well.
It seems like the need for a tutorial tailored especially for older adults would benefit this generation’s sense of inclusion and connection too.
Nowadays, the age gap between gamers is widening, spanning from older players who grew up with games to younger players who are just starting out.
Gamers over 50, however, think that the most recent releases are not made for them and that they are increasingly being overlooked during the development process.
This raises serious questions about contemporary development standards and the procedures for including them.
In the future, the survey found that gamers over 50, who now total a significant 52.4 million people, are embracing gaming as a hobby because they see it as a useful and relaxing pastime.
According to the survey, older gamers devote an average of 12 hours every week to their favorite games, spending $49 in total over the course of 6 months on games and gaming related accessories.
It is time that game devs took older players into account when designing games because their continued interest in gaming can result in biannual spending on both digital and physical gaming content of $2.5 billion this year alone, which is a significant amount.
Fortunately, it does look like the accessibility features of the newest games have undergone a significant improvement.
For instance, even though God of War Ragnarok is a fairly difficult game, we have seen a blind person defeat it thanks to the developers’ consideration.
The most accessible @ForzaMotorsport ever.
Accessibility consultant @superblindman shares how he masters hairpin turns using Blind Driving Assists: https://t.co/99wTelS8TB pic.twitter.com/6MJZo0mnQo
— Xbox (@Xbox) April 27, 2023
Additionally, Forza Motorsport has also been recognized as a highly accessible game, enabling a player who is completely blind to thoroughly enjoy the racing simulator.
Hopefully, more and more game developers will follow in their footsteps and start making their future titles more accessible to everyone, including older adults.
