Senior Citizens Learning to Love Video Games

Move over junior, it's time for Granny to get her game on.

Surprisingly, retirement communities are finding that their residents are increasingly involved with video games.  Simple, casual fare such as Bejeweled and Wii Sports are capturing the attention of seniors who are interested in keeping their minds sharp.

Dick Norwood, a 61-year-old resident of a retirement community in Illinois recently organized a “seniors only" Wii bowling league.  Said Norwood:

In the past, I probably would have agreed that video games are just for kids. But I'll tell you, at our age when you bowl for real, you wake up with aches and pains. Those balls aren't light. But with this you're getting good exercise, but you're not aching the next day.

Sister Jean-Marie Smith, 61, is a retired teacher who suffers from ADHD:

I just could not focus on anything.  I constantly have to find things to keep my attention. But the first time I played Bookworm, and that red tile hit the bottom and I lost, I stood up and said, 'Me and this computer are going to have a talk.’  The fact that it's interactive and also competitive really draws me in and helps me focus.

Physical and mental health gains are an attractive, albeit scientifically unproven, benefit to playing games. So is a sense of community. Said Beatrice Spainer of the popular casual games website Pogo.com:

Baby boomers and up are definitely our fastest-growing demographic, and it is because the fear factor is diminishing.  Women come for the games, but they stay for the community. Women like to chat, and these games online are a way to do that. It's kind of a MySpace for seniors.

While the stereotypical gamer is a young male, some survey results point to a different demographic.  According to research conducted by casual games developer PopCap, 71% of its players were older than 40, 47% were older than 50, and 76% were women.

Via: The New York Times

-Reporting from San Diego, GP Correspondent Andrew Eisen