AARP teaches old people how to play games (badly)

by Kyle Orland { Nov 1st 2007 at 7:42PM }

Who says old people don't understand technology? Well, actually, we do, and this AARP video quick tip (WMV link) on how to play video games just bolsters our case. While the clip is a little out of date (the systems being discussed are decidedly last-generation) the incredibly unhelpful advice contained within is timeless.

Some choice quotes (don't trust the transcript, watch the video and listen for yourself):

"First you need to understand that there's boxes." (Referring to the consoles laid out in front of them)
"The controller actually controls it." (News flash!)
"Most games just use one or two buttons." (Bring back the NES controller!)
"Oh, this is fun." (After about five seconds of making Spongebob run around a bit.)
"This is totally fun." (After about fifteen seconds of moving Spongebob around pointlessly)
"It's as easy as hooking up a CD player to your TV." (Funny, we've never done that)
"This is pretty fun. You're getting me pretty excited about getting better at this ..." (This quote is delivered in perhaps the least excited voice we've ever heard)

Our absolute favorite part, though, has to be the rare, dainty, four-handed control method being demonstrated in the screen capture above. They're handling that controller like some people handle nuclear waste. Priceless.

[Thanks, rikimaru]

Tags: aarp, elderly, games, howto, old

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

gonk @ Nov 1st 2007 7:51PM

haha old people are only good at fighting nazis and playing wii bowling

James @ Nov 1st 2007 7:52PM

LOL!

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 1st 2007 7:55PM

... and at dying.

gonk @ Nov 1st 2007 7:57PM

fuck off frock

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 1st 2007 8:01PM

I was quoting Will Ferrel in Old School =(

gonk @ Nov 1st 2007 8:03PM

bad boy

Sidepocket @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:46AM

Wii Sports: Nazi Edition Confirmed! :D

d-pad @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:10AM

The level of disrespect in this thread is staggering.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:01AM

Staggering, but hilarious.

playwhutyalike @ Nov 1st 2007 8:01PM

I heard the new PS3 is going to give senior citizens a bluetooth anus so they can shit via wireless connection into thier toilet instead of thier diaper.

Sorry, that was just stupid.

playwhutyalike @ Nov 1st 2007 9:39PM

I got voted down? That was comic gold.

I mean, c'mon.

C'mon?

Jerk Face @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:58AM

Holy fuck! That was so awesome. These people don't know good humor when they see it!

Aberu @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:25PM

Funniest post evar imo. Moar old people shit jokes plz.

playwhutyalike @ Nov 1st 2007 8:11PM

Country Kitchen is closed? But it's 6am.

Nick @ Nov 1st 2007 11:38PM

Nice South Park quote. Ooh, that was a good episode.

FM @ Nov 1st 2007 8:21PM

Is that the old Xbox controller that I see?

vidGuy @ Nov 1st 2007 8:31PM

No, at least not in the pic above.

mcatrage @ Nov 1st 2007 8:50PM

The S xbox controller with a memory card. Sadly not a duke. Don't care what anyone says it was a good controller,

DangerMouse @ Nov 1st 2007 8:37PM

If Gran Turismo will improve their driving, them i'm all for it.

colin @ Nov 1st 2007 9:22PM

they better update the specs on buicks, lincolns, and cadillacs.

Joshua @ Nov 1st 2007 8:41PM

This Sandy seems like she knows more than were lead to believe based on the video:

http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/life_online/favorite_video_games.html

colin @ Nov 1st 2007 9:20PM

they're trying to get granny to play WoW http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/howto/online_games_offer_new_ways_to_play.html

Joshua @ Nov 1st 2007 8:44PM

This Sandy seems like she knows more than were lead to believe based on the video:

http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/life_online/favorite_video_games.html

Sam @ Nov 1st 2007 8:47PM

uplodid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpjvQFBqyVQ

colin @ Nov 1st 2007 9:13PM

"the systems being discussed are decidedly last-generation"

i didn't see a wii.

sorry, i couldn't resist.

ToRo @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:55PM

lol burn...

Chris @ Nov 1st 2007 9:32PM

They should teach Joystiq writers to write goodly.

ThornedVenom @ Nov 1st 2007 9:48PM

I feel kinda bad for laughing at this video: the fact that they want to open up to parents who wish to understand videogaming is made of good intentions, right?

hvnlysoldr @ Nov 1st 2007 11:31PM

Well the road to you know where is paved with good intentions...

Dr. Nooooooooo @ Nov 1st 2007 10:10PM

This video was almost painful for me to watch. They really didn't explain anything. For one, it IS complicated, gamers are just used to it. Also, hooking up a CD player to one's TV usually requires Y-cables and fumbling around behind the television. There are some senior citizens that are incredible at games, of this there is no doubt, but games are foreign to a lot of people of all ages (hopefully the Wii will help that situation). There comes an age as well were you really can't learn anything new easily or with any success. This isn't "two buttons" we are talking about, the truth is (OMG!): at least 10 buttons, and combinations thereof, timed presses, button sequences, context sensitivity, HUDs, maps, analogue movement, etc.

It's like teaching someone who doesn't know that aircraft exist how to fly a helicopter.

pixelator @ Nov 1st 2007 11:02PM

For all the disrespect, you'd think people under 30 are confident of their immortality.

Lemme tell you something, from this 39 year old to you: Time fucking flies, kids. One minute you're 20, the next you're looking forward to your 40th birthday. Since I'm not quite there yet, I can only guess than the race from 40 to 50 and then to 60 goes by faster, still.

So be as callous as you want - but you're gonna get there soon enough. And the brats YOU have to deal with then probably will be even less sympathetic than YOU are. Have fun with that.

Tamyu @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:43AM

You know, the thing that terrifies me most is the knowledge that I will reach an age which makes me incapable of mastering some new technology.
I know that day will come, as it`s inevitable for all of us. It scares the crap out of me. The very thought that someday, all the knowledge I have accumulated will be obsolete is truly horrifying.

I`m about to turn 27 - my fears no longer seems so far away.

Smoke_Dawg_187 @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:23AM

@ Pixelator

Amen brother! I completely agree with you.

Time keeps on slipping... into the future...

CaptNink @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:02AM

Damn right man! I'm looking down the barrel of my 31st b-day this month and dreading it. I can't remember what the hell happened to my 20's. :(

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:09AM

Actually, Tamyu, I don't think our generation will ever get to the point where we just don't "get" technology. You got to remember that the elderly people now were in their mid 40's when popular videogames came into existance. They're brains never got wired for interfacing with computers, which is why many elderly people still don't understand how to work the internet or even understand how a folder structure on a PC works.

We are children of the digital age. I'm not saying we'll always be awesome with new technology, just that we'll never have the kind of difficulty understanding technology that the current elderly generation has.

Anon @ Nov 2nd 2007 8:46PM

This thread is now about
SERIOUS
FUCKING
BUISNESS

Grant @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:33AM

Step #1
Don't have arthritis.

Rami Selim @ Nov 2nd 2007 4:09AM

I LOL'd when she said "its as easy as hooking up a CD-player to your TV"

As if you do that everyday...

Bonafide247 @ Nov 2nd 2007 8:35AM

Hmmm...is it just me, or does Joystiq's talkback resemble Aint it cool's bottom of the barrel commentary every day?

baby sea tuna @ Nov 2nd 2007 9:16AM

Ouch, that was really uncomfortable to watch. Actually, it really reminds me of some of the awful Interactive Video Training vids we have here at work. The one thing I did pick up (besides to never get old,) is that Sandy was kind of right, most of HER favorite video games do only use one or two buttons...or none at all.

The "shocking" list follows: http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/life_online/favorite_video_games.html

CaptNink @ Nov 2nd 2007 10:59AM

Bullspit on you Joystiq! Sure, it's easy to poke fun at this video, but at least these old people are TRYING to get other old people to understand and appreciate video games.

Isn't that better than old people trying to convince other old people to BAN video games?

pixelator @ Nov 2nd 2007 11:52AM

I dunno. When I went to see Transformers, I felt like media had finally passed me by. I was floored by how stupid the first 2/3 was and then couldn't follow the last 1/3 of that film at all...

Afterward, I felt dizzy, confused and in need of a glass of Metamucil or some HGH.

Welcome to Teh Old.