So I'm over 30. In fact, I'm closer to 40 than 30. I've been gaming since my older brother and I got our first console for Christmas of '79, an Atari 2600. (Other notable presents: Kiss Double Platinum and Alive II. On LP.)

Since then I've been hooked on gaming. I haven't owned every console, and I don't really care for handheld gaming, but I've played basically my entire life. What I don't get is people who think this is ridiculous. They seem to think that once you leave high school, gaming stops and you get serious about life, you go and do adult activities.

This, of course, is total bull. Granted, I can't always spend 2+ hours a day and almost the entire weekend playing games anymore, but I still get my time in. I use games to relax, experience a story, and generally have a good time. I've seen people I know go out and purposely drink themselves into a stupor. They'll blow $60-100 on alcohol and food for an evening, puke it up on a sidewalk somewhere, and then wake up with a splitting headache. In the meantime I can spend $60 on a game like Mass Effect 2 and get 30-40 hours of interactive entertainment plus great story. And I can replay it if I wish. 

It seems to me I get more for my money doing this "childish pastime" of playing a game rather than doing the "adult" thing and going out to the bar with my friends. Don't get me wrong, going to the bar has its place, and can be very enjoyable, but I don't see how it makes me more of an adult.

Once you reach a certain age, if you mention you still play video games in a group of people, you are guaranteed to get a few surprised looks or a dismissive smirks. It makes me angry, but I also feel sorry for them in a way. They'll never know the joy of taking down a boss and saving a world. Or finding a group of guys in multi-player who somehow just KNOW how to work as a team and destroying all who dare challenge you. Or the agnony of knowingly sending a teammate out to die for the greater good. 

Too bad for them. They are missing out.