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Harry King started to play video games with his grandson Hugo during Melbourne\u2019s pandemic lockdowns.<\/p>\n
Back then, it was mainly just online chess. This Thursday at Federation Square, alongside gamers of all ages, it\u2019ll be Mario Kart.<\/p>\n
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Harry King, 76, and grandson Hugo, 12, began playing games together during lockdown to stay connected.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Joe Armao<\/cite><\/p>\n So, why did King, a 76-year-old retiree from Brighton, pick up a Nintendo Switch controller?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful way to learn about your grandkids and what they think,\u201d King says. \u201cWe have a lot of fun doing it, and it also provides mental stimulation for me. Over periods like the lockdown, it was a great way to keep interacting.\u201d<\/p>\n He isn\u2019t the only one.<\/p>\n Numbers of grey video gamers have boomed, according to an Interactive Games and Entertainment Association industry group report released in August which surveyed 1249 households.<\/p>\n The majority of Australians Harry\u2019s age \u2013 58 per cent of 75-84 year-olds \u2013 now play video games. That figure was only 31 per cent in the previous year\u2019s report.<\/p>\n Australians spend $4.21 billion on video games annually: $2.65 billion for console and PC games and $1.56 billion for mobile, the report says.<\/p>\n And 91 per cent of parents reported playing games with their children.<\/p>\n Ange and Stella Hanson share the fun of gaming before the main event at Fed Square in the coming week.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Joe Armao<\/cite><\/p>\n The report puts the massive hike in numbers to older people learning how to use game consoles during lockdowns.<\/p>\n But also, because for over 65s, digital puzzles such the word game Wordle, which they can play on a phone, are now extremely popular.<\/p>\n After picking up the hobby, King has learnt his grandson is \u201ca lateral thinker. And a great teacher which, for a 12-year-old, I find amazing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a very smart kid \u2013 way smarter than me,\u201d King added. \u201cHe takes the time to explain things to me that must seem so simple to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hugo Gill said his poppy might\u2019ve only got slightly better at the pair\u2019s favourite titles, including the Australian-developed simulation game Moving Out<\/em>, but that he enjoyed the time spent with him.<\/p>\n \u201cI like being able to teach him something new since he teaches me about things all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pair will join an age-eclectic array of video gamers at Fed Square for the major highlight of Melbourne\u2019s International Games Week, which runs until October 8.<\/p>\n Punters at the Big Games Night Out can play everything from FIFA (now FC, EA\u2019s soccer simulator) to board games at the sprawling night festival \u2013 which also features a fashion show, esports tournaments, media presenter Myf Warhurst and pop singer Montaigne hosting a live music stage, plus a Melbourne Fringe show.<\/p>\n Arieh Offman, video games curator at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, said Cult of the Lamb: The Ritual<\/em> would use projected art and giant puppets for a performance inspired by its namesake \u2013 a smash indie game developed in Melbourne.<\/p>\n Harry King says, \u201cI refuse to get old\u201d.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Joe Armao<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThe stereotype of who plays video games has been blown out of the water in the Australian sector,\u201d Offman says.<\/p>\n Roz Rogers and her grandson Noah, plus mother Ange Hanson and her daughter Stella, were also enjoying connecting via button-mashing a Nintendo Switch when The Sunday Age <\/em>visited the Fed Square festival site this week.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an ever-growing pursuit, which Offman says has catapulted dozens of Australian businesses to the top of burgeoning global market as an international beacon of indie game development.<\/p>\n After picking up the passion alongside him, King says he\u2019s seen his grandson mature \u201cunbelievably\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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