adults and older people playing pokemon

[Taemin]

Our oldest member here is in her 80's. xD

Pokemon is a game series, and games are supposed to be entertainment for any age.

I mean, sure it's target audience is kids, but that by no means says that older people can't play, and enjoy them. The bigger part of this community is 15-30. That's really.. definitely not the 10-year-olds that Pokemon originally tried to bring in. Although, some of us (myself included) were 10 at the time. xD;

 

[Timbjerr]

Let's do some basic math.

Pokemon Red/Green was released in Japan in 1996. Assuming the target demographic was the ten-and-under age group, the oldest pokemon fans would be turning 25 this year.

I was eleven when Red/Blue hit America, so while I'm on the older end of the fandom, I'm still perfectly comfortable with my identity as a Pokemon fan. XD

 

[CliveKoopa]

I am 26 and still watch the anime.

 

[jasonresno]

I'd relish it if I were you. If more people were open minded about something this silly I think a lot of people would be happier. I love the game and anime but because I'm 21 and most people think like the OP it's something I have to keep hidden like some shameful secret. I hate it.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

There's nothing that says that adults can't play Pokemon. I know plenty of college age folks who still play and even discuss the games in public. Nothing wrong with it at all.

 

[Yukimi]

I'm sure that will become more common once this generation gets older. Nostalgia makes people do funny things, and we all know how nostalgic Pokemon fans can be.

 

[GlitchCity]

That is like the most awesome thing I have heard today. Well the pokemon games are kinda for all age groups, I guess? Well 20 and 30 year olds are playing it so its not that hard to believe. I even caught my Dad one time tyring to play pokemon yellow.

 

[Aerosignus]

I'm twenty-five, and I'm playing Pokemon Ruby. The first time I played a pokemon game was Pokemon Green, I think, and I was around 13-15 at the time. Then my younger brother lost the Gameboy Color, and him and I promptly forgot about it. I wouldn't have gotten hooked on Pokemon Ruby if it weren't for the fact that I read TV Tropes Pokemon Nightmare fuel page.

Read about the dark side to an otherwise cute and happy game made me want to get a pokemon game and play it again. Sure, I didn't get the exact game I had before, but it still makes me see it all with a new light.

 

[Andrew McKenzie]

Look at it this way.
I'm currently 20, been playing since they came out.
Each game i've had and went through I've passed down to my younger sister, who is now 10.

I'm going to be with Pokemon until it ends or until I die, whichever one comes first.

 

[Shiro]

@ OP: Dude. An older married couple spending a romantic evening playing video games? Just sending the kids off to bed, dimming the lights, lighting some candles, and getting out their DSes and Pokemon cartridges and play all through the night? Sounds like my kind of marriage.

Anyway, I don't really see anything wrong with the older generation playing Pokemon, or any video games at all, really. In the stress of today's world, maybe they just want to go back to something with some childlike innocence and just forget their problems. Or maybe they're still young at heart and genuinely enjoy the games. Iunno. But whatever their reason, power to them.

 

[Zek]

I'm 22 so I grew up with the games and still love them now, alot of people I know at uni still play them too.

 

[Kip]

I'm 19 - die hard Pokémon fan and proud (so die hard that I endeavour to put the é in Pokémon every time, though not quite proud enough to announce it to everyone - sort of social suicide). I've been on the games since their release here in '99 - my first was Pokémon Red ^^

I think one of the reasons that peeps continue to play Pokémon is that it's one of the few kids games that don't patronise you and doesn't treat you like some dumb kid. I think that's what I liked about it even when I was 8 :P It had something for everyone and didn't go too far down one route, so you had the right balance of strategy balanced with creativity and you still do.

Simply put - adults will still think Pokémon is pretty awesome no matter what form of "oh it's for kids" stage they went through in their teens when trying to be cool, and everyone who grew up in the 90s will know the first verse of the Pokémon theme song by heart. :)

 

[Sotaku]

I'm 17, and I've played Pokémon since Red and Blue (Red and Green in Japan). But most people where I live stopped playing at 8 or so, like it was some kind of fad! I can't find anybody who actually knows or even remembers what a Pikachu is here. My father finds the game too childish to play like it's a preschool toy or something. :( But I do know a staggering amount of people who play online, such as this community here. :)

 

[Cathar]

I think that's awesome. I would have asked them what their team is and if they wanted to trade or something ^^

I'm 23 now and I've played the games since Red/Blue when everyone played them.

To me, they are just a welcome diversion from other games I play. I love playing Fallout, Mass Effect and Starcraft, too, but Pokémon has this wonderful light tone all the time.
Any problem can be fixed, noone is ill or really evil. Yes there are the evil teams, but there's no rape, no murder, no unfixable diseases or overpowered aliens or anything like that.

There are the Pokémon, and what you make of them, which is why I think I'll never stop playing the game, no matter how old I am.

 

[jcsimpson]

I am 23 and play pokemon daily and call my brother who is 17 to discuss trading, breeding, game progress and strategies almost daily. My ex-girlfriends entire family each have a DS although only her 27 year old brother plays pokemon.

 

[Sydian]

Nothing wrong with playing Pokemon as an adult. If you like the game, you like the game. You should never be barred for something you find entertaining, whether in the gaming world, music world, hell, the world in general. I'm 18 and have been into Pokemon since 1998. I don't see myself slowing down any time soon.

 

[Kanto_Johto]

It pisses me off to no end when people think you're immature or weird if you play Pokemon past 18. They're games. Anyone can enjoy them.

I'm 18, so technically I'm an adult, and I've loved Pokemon ever since I was 7.

 

[Sydian]

^ That is so true. From what I've noticed about the people around me, the more immature people play Call of Duty and stuff like that. No, I'm not hating on people that play CoD and I'm not saying everyone that plays is immature, but from the people around me that play either games, the Pokemon fans I know are a lot more mature than those that play CoD, which is viewed to be an "adult" game, or a game for the older crowd at least. It's all pretty ridic. Pokemon fans don't get a good rep.

 

[Elder Trainer]

I'm 30 and have been playing Pokemon since the Gen I days. I have other games, but I don't play them as much. I got a red Wii for Christmas, and I barely touched New Super Mario Bros. Wii, yet I'm still glued to Pokemon Diamond.

 

[wobbadude1]

It's a game so theres no age for that.

I agree 110%. You wouldn't find it "strange" or "weird" if you saw adults watch/play football, chess or snooker. They're all games!

Besides I'm 23, so technically I'm an adult!