Who is the Oldest FPS Player in the World?

28th July 2010

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I’m pretty sure that PlanetPhillip.Com has a higher average age than most gaming sites. Regular readers will know that grey gaming is something that interests me, not just because I am a “going grey gamer” but because of the idea that gaming was only for youngsters.

So, last night I was watching my town’s annual parade, where people from the town dress up in themed costumes and walk, dance, roll, jump, “fly” and skip along the streets. The last “float” was full of wrinkles and it was very funny.

That got me thinking, at 45 I am definitely not the oldest player and I know a few PP readers are in their 60s and 70s, but how old IS the oldest FPS player. Would make a great story.

So, here is the deal….

Let’s find the oldest FPS player in the world.

The only “rules” are they must play regularly, say at least twice a week and they must have been playing for at least 3 months. Any FPS game counts, SP or MP, it doesn’t matter.

Ask around, post on your favourite forums (don’t forget to check back here), send emails, tweet it, FaceBook, podcasts, ask friends, colleagues, ANYTHING, but let’s start looking.

I will interview, assuming they agree, the person and see if we can get a story going, maybe even something in some national newspaper and some of the bigger sites.

34 Comments

  1. SPY

    hahaha, love this idea Phillip!!
    but I can’t asnwer it, the olderst FPS player that I know of is,….. myself, lol.
    no realy, i’m almost 47 in 4 months and all players that I know of are younger. but I am sure that there is one somewere around that will be past the 70 years of age. and it would not surprice me when it is a regular visitor of PP.

    leon

  2. Not me! That’s a relief.
    Have you posted this anywhere else Phillip?
    If not, I will at all the gamers” forums where I’m registered including steampowered.

    1. Jasper, Please feel free to post everywhere you can think of, hopefully others will follow your lead.

        1. Bother.
          I can’t post Off Topic at forums.steampowered “You must have 10 or most posts to participate in Off Topic.” (sic)
          I’m darned sure I have but can anybody else help, please.

          1. Don’t worry Jasper, thanks for trying.

            1. Done.
              Except at forums.steampowered “Off Topic’

  3. Herr_Alien

    I won’t join, I’m just 29. But a friend of mine might fit the category:

    Enter Hellraiser. As he describes himself:

    ” Well I’m a 58 year old (old man of the clan as im called) with 6 kids and 8 grandkids.”

    He is quite the avid player of both AvP2 and the new one (AvP). During beta testing for AvP2 Team Fortress he logged countless hours, attending our test sessions from 2008 well into 2010.

    If he wins, I’ll put you two in contact πŸ™‚

  4. old man crabs, he loves half life 1, opposing force, blue shift. all the hl1 mod’s and really likes planet phillip, he likes half life 2. course he cant drive the air boat or car to save his life. but, says that’s what F6 is for.
    he is just a snip away from 60.

  5. Herr_Alien

    Thumbs up for old man crabs!

  6. I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard of somebody in their late 70’s, so I am expecting the winner to be in their 80s.

  7. Dear me. All these youngsters.

    I’m 62 and A.I. reckons he’s even more ancient!
    I doubt that either of us qualify.

    It’s quite interesting to find that ‘maze War” 1973 and ‘spasim” 1974 are accredited as the ist FPS games.
    However, “Wolfenstein 3D” by ID in 1992 is credited with starting FPS as we know it today.

    So anybody who started, say, aged as young as 60 and still bitten by the bug would be 78 now.
    We might be looking for someone over 80 πŸ˜€

  8. Bill

    Well I just turn 60 and have been gameing since the days of Pong. I play at least 1hr a day if the wife will let me get away with it. lol
    I am an old Cobol programer and PC tech. If you go to dosgames.com I have owned just about all of the FPS’s there. I love FSP not into MP so this is what I love about this web site. The authors of the map and conversions are so good. I have virtego and sometime the maps look so good it makes me dizzy. lol Not much of a poster more of a reader. So just keep up the good work.

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  10. Bob

    At 54 it’s nice to read comments from those older than me who enjoy gaming. Many of my friends (some in their 60’s) also game regularly and it’s become a normal pastime and hobby. Because I’ve found it easy to lose waaaay too much time on a game I’ve had to limit myself. I only play the Half Life series now but enjoyed RTCW and the Doom/Quake games. I also enjoy many of the single player HL2 mods that folks post here.
    Bob

  11. Michael

    I play many types of games, more often strategy than FPS, but perhaps I may still be the “winner”. I will be 75 in two weeks time. As an aside, I may set another record: my game collection contains 945 games, if one includes expansions. As a rough estimate, I may also have about 400GB of mods, the vast majority of which remain to be played. Having such a large game collection at my age may the triumph of hope over expectation!

    At the moment I am playing Batman Arkham Asylum and 1701 A.D., but I still have Half-Life 2 and Portal installed so a new mod sometimes catches my interest.

  12. AI

    Michael, YOU ARE nominated!! I’m glad to hear your not letting the “youngsters” take over your enjoyment!! I’m 64 1/2, and still playing! I have all my collection from 1983 on up(I have PONG also)plus all the “retro” stuff from a friends BBS that was here in Minnesota! I’m not sure if I have collected as many as you, but I have filled a 500GB WD backup drive recently! I’m currently playing a new one called “Singularity” — What a ride!!! πŸ˜‰

  13. Zekiran

    Man, I wish you guys could tell my mother she’s missing out… I mean, I’m 43, and she’s 82, and every time she sees some of the stuff I play she’s all “when will you grow up!” :/

    Mom! Games are made BY adults! For adults! sheesh!

  14. Da Fat Cat

    It’s probably me, I’m 15

    1. Gradius

      Maybe in dog years? πŸ˜›

      1. Da Fat Cat

        I think dog years apply to cats also, so I’ll take it πŸ˜›

        105 baby!

        1. πŸ™ That makes me 434! Ouch

  15. tungsten

    well sad to say I was 68 yesterday and still a half life nut cant wait for new mods to appear,i do try other tpes of games ie:playing sniper ghost warrior at the moment but would abandon it for a new mod posted by phllip,hope my health and sight hangs on for the release of half life 3 ??,still mafia 2 it soon to be released so that will hopefully fill the void

    1. LoneWolf65

      Don’t be sad tungsten,I hit the 70 mark last June and I am still a HL nut and a few favourite games I play on Steam!I visit planet phillip every day and I am very anxious for HL2 episode 3 to come out.My health is fairly good but my reflexes are not what they used to be. I’m proud to mention that I can still keep up with today’s young warriors online and do my share of damage!!!LoL!

      Have a nice day!

      1. You are the oldest so far. Please accept my hearty “Well Done!” for playing.

  16. Anon_225354

    69 in October but feel I have been here on PP for over a 100 years.

    1. Mel

      I will be 69 this year and hope to be around a lot longer to enjoy PP.

  17. MileHigh

    Greetings All,

    Love the site and check regularly for new mods, I’m 47.

    Cheers

  18. tungsten

    thank you lone wolf65 for your comments nicely said keep well and we will hopefully say the same when we hit 80 and phillip will be nearly 60!!!!!

    1. Pedro The Swift

      It appears I am still a youngster at 50!
      Nice Question Phillip πŸ™‚

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  20. Duke

    Fair shout…I’m a mere 56 (and a half (life ?))…glad to know I’m not alone..anyway, theres always hair dye…lol…been grey, well silver actually since my 20’s…no wories….

    1. “silver actually since my 20’s” What did you do marry young?..lol… Had a friend in high school we called Bear.. Full beard and stache since he was 15.. Guess who we sent to the liquor store..lol He even had a white strip an inch wide in the beard…No one ever asked him for ID..Not even the state liquor stores. Yes..STATE…Utah was a weird place.. still is..

  21. 48 and have no intention of EVER giving up HL and HL mods. I always search for mods new and old.. Vintage or yesterday’s additions. I LOVE mods.

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