I am 33 and I have to admit I am loving this Pokémon game. I was a little embarrassed picking up my pre order. When I hear Pokémon the first thing that comes to mind is "kids game". The new graphics are way more entertaining than the old and I think have some fo do with my enjoyment of this version. Anyway, help me stop feeling like a big creeper and admit that you are old and secretly are playing this game. It may also give me someone to trade with since im not comfortable connecting with children on the internet. "Hey kid, wanna see my Pokémon? " um no.

I'm about to be 27. I remember feeling the same way as you back when Diamond/Pearl came out. Now, I don't really give any thought to what someone would think of me for enjoying Pokemon. I'm looking forward to playing X or Y once I have the cash money to buy it.

Enjoy your enjoyable game, fun haver.

Can't im afraid to be put on a list somewhere.

Shrugs. Would not feel bad or think of what others thought about me in the least. Seeing as most of the world has tossed cute little birds at cute little pigs once or twice. There is no such thing as kid games. Most anyone with a smart phone has played a game that is aimed at the same fun appeal as Pokemon.

I played my first Pokemon last year when I was 28. My girlfriend's 10 year old daughter said all her friends play so I told her to invite them over haha It was awesomely pedophileriffic.

I'm 30 and I picked it up the other day. The age sort of thing never bothered me. I'll be playing games til my last breath.

I'm not quite 30, but I pretty much got over those insecurities awhile ago. There was a period in my teens where the idea of playing Pokemon was embarrassing and I didn't want to admit I was still playing them, but since then I've realized who gives a fuck. There are plenty of older gamers that still play it and it's not like I'm creeping around playgrounds asking kids to trade their Pokemon with me.

I'm only 22 but I wouldn't give a shit if I was still playing that at any other age.

27 and bought it. It's just a game. I have no insecurities with buying anything I like. If they give me a weird look I give them a weirder one back and act like they are weird for not liking it. It always makes them confused.

Heh. I'm in my thirties and I did chuckle awkwardly when I ask the lady at the shop to give me a copy of Pokemon alongside my Beyond, a bit like you throw your condoms after your aspirin.

To be fair, Pokemon IS a children's game, it's just a good one that kind of holds up at any age. I'm no more ashamed to buy it than I am of going to watch an animated movie, but much like Skylanders there's something about how brazenly aimed at selling toys and merch the whole thing is that makes it feel... adult-unfriendly.

I'm 21, and I'd like to think I'm too old to care what the person behind the counter thinks of my buying the game.

I'm 37, and I don't care what anyone thinks about my gaming habits. The idea that you're supposed to grow out of gaming--or certain kinds of games--at a certain age isn't really based on anything. It's not much different than saying that boys can't wear pink or that girls shouldn't play baseball. Sure, it's not the norm, but that doesn't mean you can't do it.

The only effect that getting older has had on my gaming habits is that I don't have the time for open world shit anymore. Missing out on GTA V and feeling it, but I just can't break off the hours right now. That's it.

Love Pokemon too, but kind of the same thing there. Just too busy right now.

Play the games you enjoy and forget what other people think .

Who cares?

I'm 21, and the last time i went to GameStop (roughly 6 months ago), the guy behind the counter asked me if I'd like to preorder pokemon with my purchase. He went on to say "you know you're gonna say now that you don't want it, but when it comes out, you will". I feel like GS employees for the most part understand that Pokemon in particular is an age-independent game, so don't worry about being judged. Just don't visit your local elementary school with your 3DS looking for kids to battle. That's why WiFi exists.

I too passed up on GTA5. Just dont have the time. years ago I would have made time I baught a wiiu a few weeks ago to play mario. The older I get the less hardcore my game choices have become. Im looking for rhe more quick causal fun now a days.

@professoress: That YouTube resolution may be actually worse than a vertical phone video.

So I'm 23 and I still enjoy my Pokemon. I don't really see anything wrong with it, and I also like seeing animated movies in theaters. I really wish we'd just purge the animation age ghetto and judge things on a case-by-case basis. Yes, Pokemon is marketed to children. But, so is Mario. I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two.

@scullinator: Welcome to the club. It's great fun. Don't let your age limit your ability to appreciate good things. :)

If you're 33, then you were 18 when Pokemon red & blue came out. If I were to be buying games based on children's TV shows that were popular when I was 18, I suppose I'd be buying...

I don't know, what was popular with kids 5 years ago? Probably not much I'd imagine I'd be way into 10 years from now. But hey, I've always figured my love of Pokemon was nostalgia-based, but maybe it is timeless fun for all ages?

I'm 31. I was a teenager when the original game came out, and I'll probably keep buyin' them.

I feel like this about all games. I buy them through the internet.

I've played basically every Pokemon game (all the ones in the main line, plus Colosseum and Colosseum 2), so I give zero fucks about what people think of me playing Pokemon.

It's just one of those games for me that I can play whenever, and no matter what, have fun. Like, pure fun.
Until the 2 hour mark on catching a Legendary. Then I could strangle something adorable.

I haven't played Pokemon since I was in high school- never been a big fan.

I have been trying to think of a kids like game I've played recently- to console you- but I cant think of anything.

Oh well, I guess you're going to hell :P

Who cares how old you are? It's a fun series and I know I'll be playing these games well into my adulthood.

When I went to pick up my game, there were dudes older than me. Pokemon is for all ages, and no one cares if you're buying it.

@toowalrus said:

Coincidentally, that hypothetical you've given pretty much covers most of the GB staff aside from Patrick, which is why they are so very apathetic towards the series.

@bisonhero: indeed

Well, I still watch shows mainly aimed at children, like Regular Show and Adventure Time. So I don't think still liking Pokemon games is anything to be ashamed about. I would've bought it if I owned a 3ds, and I'm 27 :)

i'm err near that range and about 5 other twenty somethings at my work bought it too :|

I'm in my mid/late 20's and i'd probably play this if i had a 3DS and got the game for cheapo

I am in my thi.... I am 25.... will always be 25. I bought Y on the eshop at 12:04 AM on release day, got my copy of the X cartridge in the mail today, and play Pokemon on my lunch break at work. It appeals to kids sure, but it has more strategy, planning, and community tools in it than almost any game I have played all year. It may have a bunch of cute fuzzy creatures but the competitive side of it and the RPG mechanics backing it work, they work real well. It is a great game for all ages, hell it is a great game, period. The only people who have complained about me playing it so far are the ones who are jealous cause they don't have a 3ds to play it.

@toowalrus@bisonhero : Just as an aside guys.... the show is based on the Game, not the other way around.

I'm 29. If at 29 I still give a fuck what people who I don't know or care about think about me buying a video game I need to seriously re-evaluate my life.

It's a good game. I'm not going to miss out on it for the sake of wanting to see cool. Life's too short.

I'm 32 next month, and I haven't played a pokemon game since Yellow.

But somehow I got into buying this one.

I'm not really a Pokemon guy, but I've never thought of them as kid's games. I mean fuck. They're turned based JRPGs. That's not a genre I associate with simplicity and accessibility.

But I really liked that last Animal Crossing, so what the fuck do I know?

Starting out they were much simpler than they are now. Still JRPG, but with kid-friendly themes. Text-wise it was appropriate to a primary school student's reading level. That you see the games as more complex than they seem speaks more to the ability of the designers, I think.

I mean, I was in the target demographic when Red/Blue came out, so...

I am 31 and I can relate to the story Alex gave on "Scoops and The Wolf." I feel like I was too old to really get into Pokemon at the time it first came out. I did not have a functional GameBoy at the time, so my hatred probably came out of cognitive dissonance.

This is the first real Pokemon game I have ever played for more than a few hours and I enjoy it. I can already tell that I am not going to attempt to catch them all, but I will most likely finish the game.

@notdavid said:

I don't know, JRPGs generally may not be explicitly targeted at kids, but some of my earliest gaming memories are with JRPGs. I was playing Shining Force and Shining in the Darkness on the Genesis in like early elementary school, before Pokemon was even a thing. (Granted, it was many years later until I actually finished Shining in the Darkness.) If you approach Pokemon from its most basic levels its still pretty straightforward and accessible.

But I think some people have a hard time differentiating something that's "for kids" and something that is actually "suitable for all ages". Just because kids enjoy something and it has kid friendly marketing it doesn't mean adults are not supposed to enjoy it. You could kind of look at it like the Pixar or Disney of video games. If you're comparing it to the gameplay rather than the story anyway.

I've played jrpg's since the mid 90's and I like rpg's in general. I should give this a bit more time but I got to the first town and so far it's been nothing but battles. Over and over again. The areas doesn't look very exciting to me either. I don't know. The online functions are cool. It's my first pokemon and I'm not sure I need to catch'em all. I never liked anime style looking games or drawn anime either. The characters remind me of ni no kuni and that's a game I could play instead. What's the appeal here?

I'm 29 and I bought this game. It's not a big deal. I grew up playing pokemon when I was younger so it's only natural to want to see how the series is developing.

I'm 26 here and I remember playing Blue in 6th grade. I recently got back into Pokemon when my younger brother-in-law showed interest (he's 9). Now I'm more into it than he is!

The show is based on the games. And you wouldn't judge Zelda based on the old cartoon, right?

When did age start to matter when having fun?
Like did someone one day just go "Well, today I go from being 29 to 30.. Video games are fucking terrible now. Ugh, fucking disgusting filth", no.. of course not.
I'll be playing the next Pokémon game, picking between starters and going to the same places we've been to for decades now even when I'm 80

Over 30? What do I look pathetic? Bro, I'm 29. BIG DIFFERENCE. Seriously though, this game has been really good so far.

@wintersnowblind: This is just about the dumbest thing I've ever argued about, I'm not sure it matters which was based on which. In the US at least, the cartoon aired before the game came out. The Zelda cartoon wasn't anywhere near as much of a cultural phenomenon as the Pokemon anime was and ignoring the Zelda cartoon and judging the original Legend of Zelda on it's own merits- that game isn't very good.

I don't have X/Y yet, but do plan on getting it hopefully sooner than later, but might be late to the party anyway since I don't really like paying full price for brand new games too much anyway. Back on topic though, I'll be 36 this month and played Blue when I was in my freshman year of college when I borrowed the game from my younger brother b/c I just had to try it and see what the huge fuss about it was that made the then new game at the time so damn popular and I loved every minute of it! After that I've never failed to get at least one of the versions of ever sequel since then. I never did get into any of the anime or card games or any of that stuff, although I did try the card game with my brother and watched a couple of the toons with him, it's just that has always been the kiddie stuff to me and not worth my time, but the games with all of their deep strategy and all are very appealing to me and I how old I am, they're fun to play and I'll always play them.

I'm 32 and have never played a Pokemon game before. The buzz around how good this is convinced me to grab it from the eShop today. I have no idea what I'm doing, but it's fun so far.

And I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks of my gaming habits. Fun is fun.

I have no shame, I'm 51 years old and been playing pokemon since Red and Blue. My son is 21. I have played pokemon with him most of his life. we are playing X/Y now. I'm playing Y, he is playing X.