Saturday, March 12, 2011
Why Do Senior Citizens Play Video Games
I have enjoyed my life so far. Even as I have become a senior citizen, I still am able to find many things that I like to do. I still find enjoyment in doing something that is also enjoyed by a younger generation. When Christmas rolled around this year we were able to surprise our grandchildren with one of the motion gaming systems and with the recent xbox 360 kinect release date we were able to get him something that not all of his friends had, but the amazing part was how much fun it was for me to play the games with my grandchildren.
When I was younger, I remember playing video games. Over the years the way people are gaming has changed a lot. I started with a console that played a game that had two lines that can move up and down to hit a ball of light between them. From looking at the instructions and the advertisements, I was excited at the prospects of the platforms that are being sold today. No longer was I going to have to have a controller in my hand. These games moved as I moved. In order to play the games, we had to get up and move. It was something different that I was definitely looking forward to.
Once the gift was open by the youngsters and after they set it up we all took turns playing with it. When I played, I could feel my heart pumping. The physical activity was exhilarating. Over the course of the next few weeks we joined in to the gaming fun with the young members of our family which helped us decide on something. We had to get one of the game systems for ourselves. We felt that it would help our bodies and would be fun for us to do. It definitely produced the results that we wanted.
There were three different systems for us to choose from, the Nintendo Wii, the Playstation Move, and the xbox 360 kinect, and there seemed to be good things and bad things about each system but in the end we chose the Xbox since that is what my grandchildren already had and they would be able to enjoy it whenever they came over to visit at our house. Along with the platform we purchased a couple of games that we thought we would enjoy and that others would also enjoy.
The first thing we used with our new platform was a fitness title. I was amazed because it seemed so interactive. It was not long before my wife joined me in the exercises. This was an unexpected benefit. Because we were in the comfort of our own home, there was very little to stop us from exercising. One of the reasons we would give for not exercising was because it was cold or raining out. This was not going to work anymore thanks to the games. In just a couple of weeks of using the game we began to see how our bodies were benefiting from the activity. Scientists have long espoused the benefits of following a regular fitness regimen. Another benefit that we found from gaming came when other people in our community came and started working out with us.
Although we got a lot of enjoyment out of playing the games, we found it even better when other people joined in with us. As a gamer in my youth, my time was spent alone when playing games. Gamers now are much more social. You do not even have to be in the same room to be able to play a game with a friend or a relative if you want to. I have a connection with a lot of people that has been started or strengthened through the use of the gaming platform. It is a very pleasant side effect.