Spotlight On: the Grey Gamers
By Burbie52, as a special contribution to HSM
Home isn’t just for kids.
When I say, “typical Home user,” what image comes to mind? Male? Teenage? Sagging trousers? Poor punctuation?
Home isn’t necessarily a place you’d associate with older users. But they’re all around you. They just typically keep to themselves – because what does a working adult with a house, bank account and investment portfolio have to say to a cornrowed teenager who’s younger than her own children?
Sony, however, ought to be paying attention to these older gamers, and for one very specific reason:
Money.
You tell me which is more valuable: ten users who have to rely on mommy and daddy for a digital allowance, or one graying gamer who’s hooked on the freedom of this online playground and has the means to purchase every virtual commodity in sight?
This is not to say that there aren’t many wonderful, young people on Home; however, in an online community with an average age that would get carded when trying to buy liquor, it’s important to point out that there are a lot of older users in Home, too.
And, sociologically, this brings up an interesting question:
To anyone born in 1990 or later, the world has always been digital. The internet has always existed. It’s just part of your life.
To anyone born prior to 1980, however, you grew up in an analog world. Now let’s try 1970. 1960.
1950?
1940?
What is so compelling about Home that this group of people, who have lived the vast majority of their lives in an analog world, would voluntarily choose to spend so much time – and money – in a digital community?
Groups and clubs are a major part of the Home experience. Humans are a communal species; we like to associate with people like ourselves. And now it’s time to give you insight into one of the most interesting groups in Home – a group which in time may have more de facto financial clout than any other user group around.
The Grey Gamers.
I founded this group in August of 2010; the idea was to have a place where Home’s older gamers could get together with each other and form lasting relationships. The Grey Gamers hail from all walks of life; our ranks include blue-collar workers and professionals alike, with members from as far away as Hawaii and the United Kingdom.
Within three weeks, word of mouth filled the club with 31 members. A few left and others joined, but the core group has stayed together. Since that start, a second North American chapter has already formed, utilizing clubhouses generously donated by some of the group’s members. The growth has been exponential.
I asked several of the Grey Gamers what brought them into Home in the first place – what drew them to a virtual world, and what compelled them to stay. The overwhelming response: curiosity.
On Home, young or old, we are all gamers at heart. It’s the one element the entire Home community has in common. And for the Grey Gamers, many of us started in our teens with Pong – the very first video game you could play on your television – and progressed from there. So, when we bought PS3 systems and began to explore more than just the Blu-Ray capabilities, we discovered Home.
As to what made us stay in Home, the responses were nearly unanimous: relationships. All of us were lucky enough to make some very good friends in Home. We truly enjoy talking and playing games together on the network. Home has become a place where we can connect with people from all over the world, and have a great time doing it. 
Another rather common sentiment which popped up: “In real life I’m middle class, but in Home I’m a millionaire!” We love to dress like we never would (or could) in real life, and own beautiful homes as well. I know that I personally love to spend time decorating my personal spaces and dressing my avatar in a variety of great clothes.
When I first proposed this story to HSM, the editor asked why our group frequented Home over a more adult-oriented service such as Second Life. And, indeed, a couple of Grey Gamers are also members of Second Life as well as Home. I asked them why they come back to Home when they have a significant amount of time and energy invested in Second Life; predictably, “relationships” was again cited as the primary reason.
However, another reason came up: graphics.
The graphics in Home, and the level of avatar detail, are much better than those in Second Life. With a group of gamers who are more interested in the social aspects of Home – who truly do lead virtual lives within it – the graphical superiority of Home is a major draw.
Gaming, of course, is the overarching theme that unifies the group. It’s great to have friends who can talk intelligently about their favorite games from the Atari 2600 or NES days. Also, many Grey Gamers enjoy the public gaming areas in Home – the bowling alley, Dragon’s Green, Midway, and especially the EA Poker Rooms (before they disappeared).
We’ve even organized two large Home events of our own so far. One such event was called “Zombiefest” – we all dressed up as our favorite zombies and descended upon various public spaces in Home en masse, like some sort of undead flashmob. There were about 45 Grey Gamers at that event; we started at the Resident Evil 5 space and ended up at Irem’s Seaside of Memories. Yes, even the undead need a tan.
Shortly thereafter, we organized a masquerade ball in the Assassin’s Creed personal space, which was quite a hit. We all got to wear those formal clothes that Home sells, but doesn’t really offer anywhere to show off. Eventually, the party swelled and grew until it had to be taken to a public space – over fifty people were participating – and we ended up at the Godfather 2 space.
(A good friend of mine from Hairbrained Ideas – Gideon – loved the concepts and filmed both events for us. The results can be found on YouTube if you want to see them.)
Future Grey Gamer events include a poker tourney (despite the aforementioned loss of the EA Poker Rooms), as well as some fun and games involving the Villain’s Lair personal space which I’d best not get into…
Some days, it really does feel like you need a social calendar to keep track of all the fun events in Home, particularly as many of the Grey Gamers are active in other groups in Home, such as the Homelings.
But let’s get back to the money.
The Grey Gamers – indeed, older users on Home in general – are a silent economic force in Home. Most Grey Gamers own at least five different personal estates (I own fourteen, personally), and there are several members of the club who own all of the estates that have been created. And this doesn’t even touch the money spent on virtual furniture, virtual clothing, or virtual games such as Sodium One, Novus Prime or Midway.
Older users have one massive advantage over their younger brethren: in general, they have their own credit cards – and higher limits. It is the hope of all the Grey Gamers that Sony take notice of this economic force we represent and perhaps offer more spaces and clothing geared to a more mature audience. There are many groups in Home vying for clout, trying to have a say in what happens with Home; I would humbly suggest that Sony simply measure the economic activity of older users in Home and decide for themselves where the beef is.
One idea that has come up repeatedly within our group is the concept of an “adults only” area in Home, perhaps similar to the PS Plus “members only” space being implemented in Home Europe, or a more restrictive version of the SingStar VIP room. Rumors suggest that Sony community authorities have the ability to age-restrict public areas, and we would very much welcome such an experiment.
Keep in mind that this “adults only” area isn’t because we want more adult content – Home would never go for something so salacious anyway – but rather because we simply want respite from being harassed by the kids.
(Although, I should mention, adding a few new avatar abilities such as couples dancing or holding hands would be much appreciated.) 
The other request from the Grey Gamers – and it’s a request repeated ad nauseam in Sony’s own message forums – is that Sony improve the blocking system. There are, unfortunately, a great many number of users in Home who seem to get a great deal of enjoyment out of being a nuisance. How is it fair to those of us who are polite and conscientious to have to spend a disproportionate amount of time in public spaces blocking and reporting the troublemakers? It would be wonderful if Sony could implement an enhanced blocking feature that not only mutes the offender, but makes them disappear from the screen entirely. Empower the users to take care of the problem at the source, and you have less of an overworked moderation team trying to cover everything.
So: if mature conversations, congenial friends and fun events attract you, why not consider the Grey Gamers?
About the author: Burbie52 is a 58-year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video gaming in its many formats. She has one son who is in his mid-twenties.
January 7th, 2011 by Burbie52 | 22 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
I LOVE this article! You hit every point, burbie. Let’s get the word out.
Very nice article. Hopefully Sony will “listen” to the economic clout of older gamers and take steps to make our experience of Home more enjoyable.
An 18+ or Playstation plus members only room would be AMAZING.
Because both of my grandfathers were/are World War Two veterans, something about the second picture in this article had me grinning just picturing two elderly gentlemen reliving the air battles they fought over the Pacific via Battlefield 1943.
This article brings up an excellent point, and let’s face it; none of us are getting younger, so naturally the number of Grey Gamers is only going to increase. Sorry to be so blunt about it in my stating of the obvious, but it’s true. It’s only natural that as the generations age, there will be an increasing amount of the population who consider gaming as a part of their everyday life, and who have done so for some time.
And while the kids like to strut about, emptily thumping their chests as they believe they are the prime marketing demographic and the inspiration for every cutting edge development in technology, not just in gaming but in everyday life, they forget that they are, in fact, not the first ones to have believed this. Not to mention the economy isn’t where it’s at for many middle class families who, not too long ago, were getting whatever their child desired. Nowadays, it’s more like what the generation that I come from -- the last of those born to an analog world -- can recall; you want that CD player/NES/Computer? Great, here’s the classified ads, good luck.
Your very last point -- the one where you mention about improving the block feature to not only block text bubbles, but to block the viewing of the avatar altogether -- is a subject very near and dear to my heart and it’s something I’ve wanted to see Sony do for two years. I imagine the it’s not as easy as we think it ought to be, from a programming perspective, as each avatar occupies a piece of digital “space” otherwise we’d be running and walking through each other all the time. So it probably will take a lot of testing on the backside before they include it in any upcoming version updates.
So while I’m not a grey gamer yet, I am a greying gamer (though I must confess, the only grey hair I have seen to date is in my right eyebrow, and I usually pluck the sucker), and it would be prudent of Sony to take a good long look at the demographics of their buyers. Mind you, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if, five, ten years down the road (should Home still exist in this format), you’ll see an article complaining about. “back in my day, the Cabin personal space was only five dollars!”
Was a pleasure making your acquaintance last night, Burbie. Am certain we will meet again (perhaps in a less chaotic setting).
*bows*
Sodium is a far cry from “You sunk my battleship!”. Excellent article Burbie, good points and fun to read
very well done burbie.makes me even prouder to be a member.and its true my level of disposable income has increased greatly since i turned 50.
I have been logging on to PS Home since 2009. My name is Jujutsuka7, but most of my friends call me Juju. I am a proud member of the Grey Gamers. I am 65 years of age, a “Baby Boomer.” I am equally proud to call Burbie52 my very good friend, though we live in different states and we’ve never met in the so-called “real world.” For those of us who have taken up residence in Home, the relationships that we form there are every bit as real as those that we form elsewhere. Friends are friends, even in cyber-space!
Great job, Burbie! Let’s hope Sony takes heed.
A very enjoyable read, and I REALLY liked that picture of those two guys playing the PS1 (least, that’s what it looked like), brill!
This article is just so on-the-button it’s uncanny. While I’m “only” 31 I know that I’ll never stop gaming (unless arthritis gets me!) for as long as I live, and the money I have invested already in Home is inconsequential to me because of the social fun I can have with it. I just wish I was old enough to join!
Actually, I believe Burbie accepts Home users into the Grey Gamers if they’re thirty or older (with exceptions made for younger users who are older than their years).
krazy you are old enough to join lol 31 is over 30 lol. Feel free to contact me if you really want to.
Sorry for the exremely late reply Burbie. I’d love to join, also, is that your PSN user name? So I might send a friend request?
Although, you’re probably at your limit no doubt!
You willl be welcome to join but send the add to burbie_52 as you are tight I am full on the other acct.
He’s already tight at this hour of the day? Definitely our kinda guy.
Good one granny, I meant right lol, typing without my glasses isn’t a good idea!
Two fabulous groups for ‘mature’ gamers hungry for intelligent conversations and rowdy fun are Grey Gamers and Homelings. I am proud to say I was accepted for membership in both. And now they are stuck with me. Only grounds for dismissal are ‘gross moral turpitude’ and I can no longer handle the gross variety. Join ‘em both KrazyFace.
Thank you, Keara! It’s the intelligence and maturity of the Homelings that attracted me to the Collective in the first place. Now that I’m a Commander, I have the joy of luring glorious beings such as Keara onto my growing MotherShip 16. And now that I’ve seen what the Grey Gamers are up to, I’ll be joining them as well. (If nothing else, it will give me somewhere to wear my furry avatars!)
Great article Burbie!!! Indeed. I have to agree with EVERY word!
A few notes about a few of the topics… and some.
MUTE: Mute doesn’t always work. I agree wholeheartedly that if a feature that erased the offending user (both words and avatar) FOREVER would not only be awesome, but I’d even buy it. Personally the type of people I would mute or ignore are the type who aren’t going to change their actions the next day. It would be nice if the feature you mentioned was PERMANENT (that would also disallow stalking, which some tell me is a serious problem on Home).
FORCE FIELD: this may sound silly, but as a person who dresses as a female some, nothing is more annoying than some guy’s avatar dancing in your face. It would be nice if you could have an option that kept all users at a couple avatar’s space away. Kinda like a “stay back” button. WOOT!
Adults only room… It would be great if this feature were (as you and I discussed) accessible by some type of protected source. A great example of this would be a credit card. We’re already using it anyways. And I would also love to see a NO FRIENDS of the adult rule. In other words do not allow anyone in the room to bring a friend. Your mature friend might bring in a younger trouble maker. It would also need to be secure. Ever noticed how fast codes pass?
And since there is much talk here of the Homelings, I’ll just add that both the Homelings and the Gray Gamers are a serious asset to Home. If both were eliminated, I would log off and never return. (Though returning as a Hamster could be a possibility…..)
I wasn’t able to get into Grey Gamers, I was a little late. But since I have started a 2nd Childhhood group and since many of the PSH people seem to come and go in spells, for even weeks on end, this seems to hinder new members coming in. So I have decided that with the new group and club house (2nd CH) that criteria to remain as a member, one would have to stay active oh PSH. I spend a whole lot of my time on PSH (hours daily & weekly) and love to meet older (my age ) people and just have some great fun dancing and sharing friendships with others. I am actually attending my first Valentines Dance this year and excited about it. Wow I have spent the money on my gown for sure LOL.
Ching Ching!!$$$
I hope some day that maybe 2nd Childhood and Grey Gamers can one day unite and just maybe there will be a SeniorsPSH. LOL But I have yet to see any handicap accesses in PSH. Time to go take my Geritol!!
Cheers Burbie and to greygamers I love what we do listen sony do you know where’s the beef? we do contribute the most mature people spend mature money.
Are the Grey Gamers still around? I wanted to see about joining but could not find anything.
Thanks
Yes we are stil here and going strong. We have weekly get togethers in public now as we have long since out grown our clubhouses. I will contact you on PSN and give you details if this is the right ID for you. You are welcome to join us anytime.