At what age do you have to say goodbye to your video games?Should you walk away from yourfavoritepastime at age20? Perhaps 30? How about in your 40s?
Or how about not at all?
Video game blogsare up in arms after a guest on the TODAY Show suggested that men shouldn't play video games after the age of 30. On a segment titled "The Other View: Getting A Guy's Perspective On Love," Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb invited in TV personality Donny Deutsch to address the question: "Is it normal for men to play games in their 40s?"
The anchors and Deutsch agreed that playing games in your 40s was "weird."
"When you're 30, there should be something more on your mind than video games, that's it," Deutsch said. (See above video.)
But why should you stop gaming at 30, 40 or any age for that matter? Why are video games different from, say, golf, tennis or pinochle? Video games are a hobby that can and should be played throughout life by both men and, yes, women too, if that's something you personally enjoy.
If you didn't grow up playing games like many of the people in my generation and the younger generations did, you may not realize that games have grown up as we've grown up. These days, there are games for all kinds of players— just like there are movies and TV shows for all kinds of viewers. Whether you're a kid, an adult, someone who likes lots of action or someone who prefers something more thought-provoking— there's a game out there for you.
In fact, according to a report from the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of today's game player is 37.
Meanwhile, I'd suggest that games are not just mindless entertainment, but a pastime that keeps your brain active as you age. Today's video games challenge you to think fast and solveincredibly creative puzzles. And, of course, there are a whole range of fitness games to keep you in shape and active. Meanwhile, while many adults enjoy a good shooting game (just likemany adultsenjoy a good action flick), there's also some trulybeautiful, artistic and even profound work being done in the gaming medium.
Certainly, I'm well past the age of 30 and so is my husband and we both enjoy playing video games. Andguess what— we both lead productive professional lives and have busy real-world social lives too.
We play videogames with our friends and with our son. And when we've tuckedour kidinto bed at night, it's something we do together (because we find video gamesto befar more interactive and collaborative than watching TV). And get this, when my parents come to visit, we play video games with them too. (They are in their 60s by the way.)
I don't call that weird ... I call that smart, ageless fun.
But what do you think? Do video games have to go after age 30? Or can gamingbe a life-long hobby?
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Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.
Winda Benedetti
