Simtropolis Age Poll

[47ply 1,100]

at 49 years of age this game is just my speed. but i havent been beat at GT4 yet

[APSMS 1,892]

 

Furthermore, we do have an explicit policy that you must be 13 or older to be a member here and this IS enforced.

 

Hmm. I understood that it was possible to have an online account and be under 13 with appropriate parent permission. Site rules, of course, are different from US law, which is fine.

 

If Blue Lightning's age listed on his profile at SC4Devotion is to be taken accurately, then I guess as long as you keep your mouth shut... (he would have been 12 when he made his accoutn here, but if he'd like to stop by and correct me).

 

At any rate, the age range here seems to widely vary when it comes to active members, though I've heard that most of the site's demographic is between 16 and 24. Need I mention much of the best content for the game, and a lot of the very high quality CJs seem to belong to people outside that age range? Simgoober, Paeng, and Nonny (for the forums) seem to be the most obvious examples. I think the same goes for SC4Devotion as well, though the technical nature of the site might make that a given.

 

I fall within the expected demographic, at any rate. Currently in college.

[zombie615 9]

Well I'm 25 an already done a few things in life that many my age haven't even thought about. I been to war. I've been to college. I've gotten married. I am paying a mortgage an I have 1 child to be born April 4th. I've been painting her room for the last 2 days. I get up at 3:30 every morning an I'm in bed by 9pm.

 

Technology is growing at such a rapid pace these days that even someone my age who used to be up to date on the latest an greatest can get left in the past within a year or two if we don't try to keep up.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

I'm going to be 33 in about a month.  No, LESS than a month.  I may get a Kindle for my birthday.  It would be nice to read something [in English] and not have it feel like homework [like in Japanese].
 
SimCity has been out for a long time, it does not surprise me at all that such an interesting game would have fans my age and older.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, in the last analysis, this is not really a game.  It is an open ended exercise in problem solving supported by a game-like simulation.  If it was really a game it would have a way to win, eh?  Instead, there is only one (cynical) way to lose.

 

Just keep in mind that it has very limited capability, has an internal purpose of getting a Sim to his job and back home, and has such a beautiful open-endedness that we've been able to add things to it for over a decade without really breaking it.

 

The demographic is quite interesting.  It is almost like an on-going meeting of the Howard families (see Methuselah's  Children by Robert A. Heinlein).  With this group, I suppose I might qualify to be Lazarus Long (I was born in 1937.  Is anyone here older?).

 

Meg has a good point.  Everyone born after 1980 has been living in the world of the personal computer and the Internet.  In the bad old days it quite often took over a week for a major international event to arrive in the daily newspapers.  And, of course, in the 1940s it was all censored.  You never found out about ship sinkings until months after the event.  Propaganda was everywhere, and the Mounties were watching our next door neighbour who was a German national.  We've come a long way, babies.

[blade2k5 1,523]

It's interesting that several 30+ persons are playing this game...

 

Why is that interesting?

[Cool_Z 1,547]

 

It's interesting that several 30+ persons are playing this game...

 

Why is that interesting?

 

 

Because gamers tend to be quite young... but Simcity is a different kind of game.

 

It is :

 

- A simulation game

- A strategy game (in some ways)

- A building game

- A giant-sized virtual train set with much more than trains to play with

- A way of telling stories for some here with amazing CJ

 

etc etc etc...

[Bdub01 201]

Just cause I'm 40 it doesn't mean I can't like games. Sim city is more than a game as the post above me wrote. But I also love Civilization as well.

[blade2k5 1,523]

 

 

It's interesting that several 30+ persons are playing this game...

 

Why is that interesting?

 

 

Because gamers tend to be quite young... but Simcity is a different kind of game.

 

It is :

 

- A simulation game

- A strategy game (in some ways)

- A building game

- A giant-sized virtual train set with much more than trains to play with

- A way of telling stories for some here with amazing CJ

 

etc etc etc...

 

 

 

I know more older gamers than I do younger ones and i know a lot of people.  Video games have been around for over 30 years now so most of the original players are now middle-aged or older.  Just because we've aged doesn't mean we quit playing games, any kind of video game.  So your comment about most gamers being young is just simply not true.

[The Pennsylvania Turnpike 252]

i'm probably one of the younger ones at 14 years young. I like how people of all ages can experience this masterpiece of a game

[Cool_Z 1,547]

 

I know more older gamers than I do younger ones and i know a lot of people.  Video games have been around for over 30 years now so most of the original players are now middle-aged or older.  Just because we've aged doesn't mean we quit playing games, any kind of video game.  So your comment about most gamers being young is just simply not true.

 

 

I know people my age who play video games too, but I know a huge amount of people my age who don't.

[coolwiththecool2 827]

From my point of view at 28, almost everyone I know who is younger than me doesn't play games like this because it takes too much time, or is really boring. I was one of those until one of my classmates in college convinced me to try a city building game when I was 21. I myself am still surprised that people over 50 or people under 12 play any simcity game. Its not a stereotype, I just thought people those ages would play more fast paced games...

[mrbisonm 1,620]

I think one of the nice things about SimCity is that it attracts people of all ages. There are a lot of young people here, but also a lot of older people, and a lot of the important members here are actually old. It's not very often that you get teenagers spending time with 40, or 70, or 90 year olds, as peers.

 

I guess ,I'm not old, so I must not be important.........

 

It is so true, it just makes the age difference so "small" when playing games.

 

Well, no secret or guesses about my real age, I was born in the same year as this 1951 Buick below, one of the best years of Buick. And I love playing this game and others.

 

 

 

Fred

 

[Wiimeiser 444]

I'll be 24 this April.

[GMT 389]

 

 

It's interesting that several 30+ persons are playing this game...

 

Why is that interesting?

 

 

Because gamers tend to be quite young... but Simcity is a different kind of game.

 

 

I'd like to challenge that.

There's several studies on games, gaming and gamers that all agree that the average age lies somewhere between 25 and 35 in general and, depending on the individual genre of games/gamers, you can even add a couple years to the average age.

basically you can say the more casual the game is played and/or the more laid back the game is, the older the gamer is on average.

Your typical hardcore gamer is an early tween, student or in job training and prefers action.

 

gamers are young because gaming is young, that's sort of right, but keep in mind the history of gaming that started after WW2 already and began to bloom in the 70s and that the vast majority of the first gamers already have gaming kinds themselves which puts them in a certain age per se.

 

the demographics in gaming change, recent studies seem to find a lower average age (more stressful life after college leaves less room for fun I guess), but I guess once the first generation of gamers are gone and gaming has "fully" arrived in society as an entertainment-genre (it is already but older generations tend to have their difficulties still which I think is mainly linked to not growing up with it) you find just the same age distribution as with everything else

[jmsepe 2,038]

Age is just a number, it barely defines you and what you can do. As for all the arguments here, I find it very inappropriate to be hostile toward the seniors. I myself at 18 find that they should receive more respect. Not everyone at such age has the time to play computer game or simulation (depends on how you like to call it), the mere fact they are alive in this thread and forum means they are giving and dedicating a portion of their busy world. As what Jasoncw said majority of those battlers, moddlers and old living CJ forumers are actually already in their median or older age. Ins't that even more amazing? 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Hey, when I was very young I used to play cops and robbers with the neighbourhood kids, but that developed into good-guys and NAZIs by the end of 1945.  After the war and our fathers came home (some did not), things got to be a lot more serious and there was more family stuff to do.  Gaming isn't limited to electronics.  Arcade games came first in the electronics genre because home games were not affordable.  I think the first home electronics game I saw was something like Space Invaders that ran on a Vic 20.  I remember helping my nephew fool with that one because it was in GW-BASIC.  Hard to think of that little kid as grown up and married with kids of his own.

 

Those of us who were around then know that the GW stood for Gee Whiz.  Programming was fun in those days.

 

The difference between the men and the boys is the price of the toys.  When I grew up my toy was a sailboat.  Go price a 30 foot sailing cutter with accommodation for four, and you'll see what I mean.

[mrbisonm 1,620]

Age is just a number, it barely defines you and what you can do. As for all the arguments here, I find it very inappropriate to be hostile toward the seniors. I myself at 18 find that they should receive more respect. Not everyone at such age has the time to play computer game or simulation (depends on how you like to call it), the mere fact they are alive in this thread and forum means they are giving and dedicating a portion of their busy world. As what Jasoncw said majority of those battlers, moddlers and old living CJ forumers are actually already in their median or older age. Ins't that even more amazing? 

 

May I call you "My Friend" now? lol.

 

Big and wise words from a youngster as You astonish me every time. Like my father always said" You go a long ways with your hat in your hand",

 

Fred

[Duke87 1,070]

Video games have been around for over 30 years now so most of the original players are now middle-aged or older.  Just because we've aged doesn't mean we quit playing games, any kind of video game.  So your comment about most gamers being young is just simply not true.

 

I'd say it likely depends on the person. People who are serious games will most likely maintain that status as much as they can find time to throughout their lives. But then you have a lot of people who enjoy video games a lot at a younger age but then find at older ages that they don't have time for them anymore, or simply lose interest.

 

I would say I fall into this latter category: I played a lot of video games when I was in middle and high school and the trend continued into college. But in the past few years my interest has really trailed off. I'm at the point now where I've pretty much stopped caring about any new games, I only still have a fondness for games that I played when I was younger. Otherwise I would say that, as a person, I have simply grown up and moved on. Due to working full time, and needing to perform other tasks to take care of myself which used to be done by my parents, I don't have as much free time as I used to. And the time I do have... I spend doing other things, many of which I could not do when I was younger.

[Alejandro24 575]

I'll reach the 22 years old on this april.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Age is just a number, it barely defines you and what you can do. As for all the arguments here, I find it very inappropriate to be hostile toward the seniors. I myself at 18 find that they should receive more respect. Not everyone at such age has the time to play computer game or simulation (depends on how you like to call it), the mere fact they are alive in this thread and forum means they are giving and dedicating a portion of their busy world. As what Jasoncw said majority of those battlers, moddlers and old living CJ forumers are actually already in their median or older age. Ins't that even more amazing? 

 

You are a good person for one so young.  I for one backlash any youngling who bad mouths a senior and quickly put them in their place.  If young people want respect, they have to learn to give it as you have.  I tip my baseball cap to you.

[Mary Maurine Mayo 984]

I am around 40.. I don't play the game anymore.I mostly paint or draw these days.

[TheCjm1999 11]

I fall into the 13-18 year old category.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, I still play at least four or five times a week.  This game is a great time-absorber for persons like myself who are retired and of limited mobility.  Other games I play are mostly logic or simple simulations with much older graphics. 

 

I used to play text games like Adventure but after I had beaten it a couple of times it became boring.  It was all the rage in the 1970s.  Written in fortrash 66, I used to have the source somewhere, but no longer.

 

Games I have pinned to my launcher are: Xwelltris (3D tetris with lots of twists), AisleRiot Solitaire, Iagno (a version of reversi), Angband (Simple D&D), and SC4.  Many more are available, but most don't hold my attention. 

 

I have GNU chess but don't play often enough to last long against it.  I used to be a pretty good player, but if you don't play much you lose the ability.  This particular Chess implementation is really good and plays around the Candidate Master level  at full bore.  Has a very good opening book, so anyone who wants a good chess program should try it.

 

So, you see, maybe I am a statistical outlier, but some elderly people do play games.  Keeps the little gray cells operating.

[Mary Maurine Mayo 984]

If I play games it is farmvill and farmvill2 on face book used to play simcity social but seems to be gone from facebook.

the only other game i play is Zelda on my playboy.. older playboy.

mostly watch movies.

[Titanicbuff 1,262]

I'm 32- Most on this site think I'm younger then that- but really I'm in my 30s- got a few grey hairs to prove it.

[BLANKBLANK 4,414]

I'm 32- Most on this site think I'm younger then that- but really I'm in my 30s- got a few grey hairs to prove it.

 

And a wife to.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

 

I'm 32- Most on this site think I'm younger then that- but really I'm in my 30s- got a few grey hairs to prove it.

 

And a wife to.

 

Well, I hope she is not the reason for the gray hairs.

[Ep1ctetus 46]

I hit age 60 this year.  If it wasn't for a 'super bug' illness I struggle against, I think I would still feel young at this age.  But the illness saps energy from me, physically and mentally.  I'm often quarantined and am so thankful for the game SimCity4 and Simtropolis and all those selfless guides, Lot editors and BATers out there as well as everyone involved in the site itself, which seems to be a labor or love.  Greetings to A Nonny Moose too, my friend and guide!

[AkemiAzula 280]

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