Game On for the Grandparents - Look Who's Gaming
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The phenomenon of the older gamer is certainly not limited to the U.S. When Electronic Arts recently held a gaming day at the Kalliola pensioners' settlement house in Finland, they received a surprisingly strong response; 70 seniors showed up within the first hour to try out the games. Many were first time gamers. As long as they were given enough information when they were introduced to the games, they had very little trouble. "If you roughly know how a computer mouse works, there should be no problem," said Kaiji Ekstam, 72, while enjoying her first taste of video games.
Then there's Sandra Newton. At 62, this Texas resident spends some of her spare time as Dydia Fayrefire, fighting demons and harpies in the online role-playing game Guild Wars. She cites the game's rich graphics, individualized characters, and interaction with people as reasons she enjoys playing.
Meanwhile, in Mississippi, retired members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, a Roman Catholic order, have taken to playing non-violent video games every day at their seven-terminal "Computer Cove" in St. Mary of the Pines, their modest home in the woods. Sister Marie Richard Eckerle, 72, introduced the games. She describes the usual progression of sisters when they see the computers as first, they insist that they can't do it. "And then they can do it," she notes. "And they actually like it."
It isn't just older women who are getting into gaming these days. Dick Norwood, who lives in a 55-and-older community in Illinois, picked up a Wii in December. Then he convinced a local Italian restaurant to host a Wii bowling league for seniors only. It might sound crazy, but now nine couples show up every Thursday. "We got there the first time, and we were there for six solid hours," Norwood recalls.
Wiis are proving to be very popular with retirees. Baltimore-based Erickson Retirement Communities is installing Wii consoles at all 19 of their locations around the U.S. The consoles will serve 19,000 residents, to say nothing of their grandchildren when they come to visit.
Senior citizens are also discovering games online on their own. Jim Karle, a graduate student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, found that out recently. "My mom never played video games, and then I would try to call her last year and could never get through," he explained. "It wasn't that the line was busy. She just wasn't answering. It turned out it was because she had gotten engrossed with a game called Zuma. She's 60 years old, and suddenly she was totally into it."
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