• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Millennial vs Gen Z Gaming

S

SNG32

Member
Do you think these generations are highly different in tastes?

I noticed gen Z like to play more online games than single player such as Fortnite, GTA Online, Roblox etc. I find that you will probably have more hardcore gamers with Millennials that will play Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Armored Core basically more single player games.
 
Last edited:
Loomy

Loomy

Thinks Microaggressions are Real
SNG32 said:
Do you think these generations are highly different in tastes?

I noticed gen Z like to play more online games than single player such as Fortnite, GTA Online, Roblox etc. I find that you will probably have more hardcore gamers with Millennials that will play Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Armored Core basically more single player games.
Click to expand...
How do you define 'hardcore gamers'? Because the person who spends hundreds of dollars a year on Candy Crush or Marge Manor or whatever the newest mobile craze is, is most likely GenX or older.
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I'm not sure about tastes. I think it's easy to blame gen z on being susceptible to predatory monetary systems in games, but gen z is poor and millennials actually have money to spend in order to eat shit.

What I do know is that younger kids are growing up not knowing how to use a controller.

 
S

SNG32

Member
Loomy said:
How do you define 'hardcore gamers'? Because the person who spends hundreds of dollars a year on Candy Crush or Marge Manor or whatever the newest mobile craze is, is most likely GenX or older.
Click to expand...
I look at hardcore gamers as gamers that know the gaming industry news they know all the exclusives coming out and own every current gen gaming console and PC.
 
Last edited:
R6Rider

R6Rider

Gold Member
SNG32 said:
I look at hardcore gamers as gamers that know the gaming industry news they know all the exclusives coming out and own every current gen gaming console and PC.
Click to expand...
First Half GIF
 
Killjoy-NL

Killjoy-NL

Member
As I an older milennial, I tend to shift more towards online multiplayer and GaaS done right, like Helldivers 2.
But I also need my healthy dose of singleplayer games.

Besides, milennials are the transitional generation that grew up with the shift to the digital-era and internet, so there's a large part that overlaps with Gen Z.

But that's why milennials are called milennials.
 
Gamerguy84

Gamerguy84

Member
First of all gen z are sort of pussies. They come along and suddenly all men are wearing leggings. I'm sure yoga pants for men are next. I feel like Pete Wentz started it.

Also, suddenly men are supposed to have feelings and it's more than OK to cry. Meanwhile women are wondering why guys aren't hitting on them anymore.

Anywho they wouldn't know good gaming if it smacked them in the face.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Just a random guess but I wouldn't be suirprised if they are quite split.
The older Gen Z people (born in 97-99) still grew up with "traditional" games and no smartphones so they might be closer to millennials in their taste, while the younger ones are the generation that grew up with phones, tablets and GAAS
 
Astray

Astray

Gold Member
Gen Z and younger are very, VERY in on GAAS games.

Things like Roblox and Fortnite are games that they all play and they barely look at anything else let alone play it.
 
Sub_Level

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Mister Wolf said:
Us Millennials remember fondly a time where "Games As A Service" and microtransactions weren't a thing. I think we value a good story and a complete package more than the Zs.
Click to expand...

True. On the flip side gen Z cares more about gameplay and fun rather than a game being cinematic. Escape Fom Tarkov, Warzone, Palworld, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, are all about gameplay.

These are broad generalizations of course. There are plenty of millennials who play Fortnite and plenty of zoomers who like a heavily story driven game, but thats what I have noticed.
 
A

a multicultural team of v

Member
Rentahamster said:
I'm not sure about tastes. I think it's easy to blame gen z on being susceptible to predatory monetary systems in games, but gen z is poor and millennials actually have money to spend in order to eat shit.
Click to expand...
Millennials do have the money and they are spending it on $2000 copies of shitty plastic wrapped SNES games and any retro catnip that companies can fleece them on. Once the millennials are done buying retro games the market is going to go to absolute zero because nobody else will want to buy old physical games (because nobody else alive would have ever even played or seen a physical game).

Also that guy has the voice of Howard Stern and actually knows how to speak and enunciate like someone on radio should, is he a streamer or one of the devs?
 
Last edited:
hououinkyouma00

hououinkyouma00

Member
Thick Thighs Save Lives said:
Idk, but anecdotally most of my Gen Z friends are PC gamers (they don't really have interest in getting a current-gen console) and like to play MMOs (FF14, WoW, Palia, etc.) or Live Service titles (Apex Legends, Fortnite, Genshin, Star Rail).
Click to expand...
This my experience as well.

Most play on PC and it's because of streaming. Twitch and Youtube influenced a lot of their choices. Most originally had consoles but wanted to "be better at the game" and moved to PC. Now nobody I know that young play any MMOs, but it's all live service games like Fortnite, Apex, and now Dead by Daylight for some reason. There are a few that just barely are in the age range that have more varied taste because they grew up on games before the switch to these types of games and the rise of twitch.

The majority of millennials I'm friends with are mostly console players with a few having a PC. One of them basically solely plays WoW.

Gamerguy84 said:
First of all gen z are sort of pussies. They come along and suddenly all men are wearing leggings. I'm sure yoga pants for men are next. I feel like Pete Wentz started it.

Also, suddenly men are supposed to have feelings and it's more than OK to cry. Meanwhile women are wondering why guys aren't hitting on them anymore.

Anywho they wouldn't know good gaming if it smacked them in the face.
Click to expand...
What? lol

The only time Pete Wentz would have been popular was during the mid to late 2000s and the vast majority of people that would have been part of that scene are millennial.
 
Men_in_Boxes

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Gen Z understands what fun is better than millenials.

Millenials grew up in an era of one type of game. Gen Z grew up in an era of competition therefore they understand the medium better. Unfortunately, many old people have hearts that have become hardened against creativity, fun, and innovation.

Thank God for Gen Z in gaming.
 
Faust

Faust

Perpetually Tired
Staff Member
Men_in_Boxes said:
Gen Z understands what fun is better than millenials.

Millenials grew up in an era of one type of game. Gen Z grew up in an era of competition therefore they understand the medium better. Unfortunately, many old people have hearts that have become hardened against creativity, fun, and innovation.

Thank God for Gen Z in gaming.
Click to expand...
Found the Zoomer.
 
R

RespawnX

Member
DryvBy said:
I'm an old geezer now and I was enjoying it with my kid. Almost threw up looking at. The store. $44 for a costume?! Back in my day, costumes and maps were free and we got them from Fileplanet.
Click to expand...

Back in your days, maps were focussed around movement and nothing else. Decorative elements were few and design level design wasn't miles away from what games have today. Character models were so low in poly that even a kid had an easy job to create them. I know because I did both as kid, model maps and character models just for fun.

Sure, today's tools also offer a lot. But games are closed platforms, modding was replaced by cheat protection and multiplayer games are dominated by mobile devices and consoles. Gaming has become a multi billion mass medium.Logically, such a market attracts new commercialization methods.

Regarding the input: more natural interaction options such as "touch" have logically changed the nature of the medium. Some people just like to live in their past gaming is evolving since the first game and will continue to adapt. My children can use everything, keyboard and mouse, controller, touch. Why? Because they are tools and interaction methods that can be learned, I leave it up to them how they prefer to play. Some people forgot that there was a hugely successful console called Wii, which became a blockbuster through more natural interaction with the medium.

Let's get over the fact that the "grown gamers" are just a loud minority who live with the illusion of having the sovereignty of interpretation over what "real gaming" is.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Honestly, I don't think tastes are as different as you're suggesting. Yes, millennials liked a lot of the single player stuff, but the equivalent of the current crop of stuff you'd mentioned would be Halo, Everquest, Guild Wars, WOW, Counter-Strike, UT. The newer popular stuff is arguably less skill-based, but I don't think it's worlds apart from what people were into 20 years ago.
 
Arsic

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Millennials are an intelligent breed that purchase things like PCs, Steam Decks, PS5s.

Gen Z get gifted a series S from their mom to play Elden Ring on and think it looks amazing and runs great.

They are a special breed of retarded.
 
Shits_McGiggles

Shits_McGiggles

Member
Gamerguy84 said:
First of all gen z are sort of pussies. They come along and suddenly all men are wearing leggings. I'm sure yoga pants for men are next. I feel like Pete Wentz started it.

Also, suddenly men are supposed to have feelings and it's more than OK to cry. Meanwhile women are wondering why guys aren't hitting on them anymore.

Anywho they wouldn't know good gaming if it smacked them in the face.
Click to expand...
If we break it down, Boomers, Gen X, and Millenials, are all pussies. The Boomers/Gen X are the weak men and women creating hard times, and who do you think made guys weary of asking women out these days? #Metoo and the like didn’t start with Gen Z, it started with Gen X and late millenial women trying to exploit the idea to push their careers. Nobody fought back against the self-destruction put in motion by the “Greatest Generation” after WWII and now it is spiraling out of control.

Gen Z has some shit taste in games, but I think at the center of it they want more gameplay-driven experiences vs the cinematic slop that a lot of millenials want because they have been convinced that games from the past that were more experimental and gameplay-driven are immature and embarrassing to like.
 
Last edited:
B

Beechos

Member
It's just the sign of the times. They don't eat, dress, talk, listen to the same type of music either. This is life.
 
Spyxos

Spyxos

Gold Member
SNG32 said:
Do you think these generations are highly different in tastes?

I noticed gen Z like to play more online games than single player such as Fortnite, GTA Online, Roblox etc. I find that you will probably have more hardcore gamers with Millennials that will play Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Armored Core basically more single player games.
Click to expand...
Well, there were plenty of multiplayer online games before that, so it's not a brand new development. When I was younger I only played cs, halo and unreal tournament. Now I almost only play story games.
 
Last edited:
Little Chicken

Little Chicken

Member
Gen Z don't give a fuck about resolutions, framerates and sales figures, which is why they're all playing shit like ROBLOX on their phones.

Most of the trashy discourse around video games online is made up of 40 year old men.

How many Gen Z are here? I'd wager not many.
 
S

SNG32

Member
Little Chicken said:
Gen Z don't give a fuck about resolutions, framerates and sales figures, which is why they're all playing shit like ROBLOX on their phones.

Most of the trashy discourse around video games online is made up of 40 year old men.

How many Gen Z are here? I'd wager not many.
Click to expand...
They’re all on Era. You guys ran them out.
 
Last edited:
Mr. Mean

Mr. Mean

Neo Member
My nephews have played Fortnite for years and continue to play it to this day. I believe it’s the “social” element of playing with friends and having shared experiences in the game that keeps them coming back. I totally get that, I just prefer totally different kind of gameplay loops and actually finishing the story of a campaign.

I have bought them Crash N. Sane Trilogy, Spyro Reignited, Immortals Phoenix Rising, etc. for birthdays/christmas and they MIGHT play those games twice until they forget and move back to Fortnite
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
a multicultural team of v said:
Millennials do have the money and they are spending it on $2000 copies of shitty plastic wrapped SNES games and any retro catnip that companies can fleece them on. Once the millennials are done buying retro games the market is going to go to absolute zero because nobody else will want to buy old physical games (because nobody else alive would have ever even played or seen a physical game).

Also that guy has the voice of Howard Stern and actually knows how to speak and enunciate like someone on radio should, is he a streamer or one of the devs?
Click to expand...
Streamer. Developer. Used to work at Blizzard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Millennials Spend More Time Playing Video Games Than Gen Z and Teens
2 3 4
161
9K
Zuo replied
Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival? [Guardian]
2 3
120
4K
Guilty_AI replied
60% of playtime went to games 6 years and older...
2 3 4
182
6K
Danjin44 replied
The demise of the Xbox shows the true important of quality, exclusive SINGLE PLAYER GAMES on your platform
2 3 4
198
12K
digoutyoursoul replied
Ypulse: For Gen Z and Millennials, Owning a VR Headset Is as Rare Today as It Was in 2018
2
65
3K
Batiman replied
Top Bottom