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Over the last few decades, gaming has become a large part of mainstream culture, with the average gamer age getting older and older. I've met hardcore gamers ranging in age from elementary school level to senior citizen. But is there ever a point where you are just too old to call yourself a hardcore gamer?

Techradar is asking that very question with the following list, 11 Signs You're No Longer a Hardcore Gamer. As I've recently had a birthday and am getting up there in years, I figured I'd better go over it and see how many of these symptoms I have.

You prefer playing against the computer.

I actually do! I'm not much of an online gamer. It's kind of blasphemous in this day and age. I have nothing against it, but I would much rather be playing online with friends than strangers. And I still believe that developers should focus more on the single-player campaigns in their games, because that's usually first and foremost what I care about when buying something.

You only play when your girlfriend is out.

My so-called better half and I have solved the problem of "who gets to play?" by having consoles in every room, loosely separated by generation. So no, this does not apply.

You believe that winning isn't everything.

It's not everything, but if I don't win, it means that I'm a complete failure and I suck at life.

It's been days, not hours since you last switched on your console.

It has been about 30 hours, but I was out of town for a wedding this weekend. I'm not sure if that's a good excuse or not.

You’re the oldest person trading in games at GameStation.

Whew, nope, I don't think I need to worry about this one for a little while. Of course, the fact that I'm 25 and look 19 doesn't hurt either.

You like your Xbox 360 and your PS3 equally.

I want to, but honestly, if a game I want is coming out for both systems, I'll usually get it on 360. Although lately, I have been spending more time on my PS3, but I'm pretty sure that's going to change when April 29th rolls around. I think something important might be coming out that day, I'm not sure.

 

You fondly remember a ‘golden age’ of gaming.

I don't know if I have ever used the words "golden age" in regards to gaming, but I do spend a lot of time talking about (and collecting, and playing, and then talking more about even though no one cares) older games.

 

You avoid playing on the Wii because it’s too much effort.

I avoid playing my Wii because of the lack of quality games.

Your FPS experience consists of spawn, run, die... spawn, run, die... spawn…

I'm not gonna lie, that sounds about right. My time playing Halo 3 was mostly spent running ahead of my group and shooting as many enemies as possible before getting blown up. But that's more because of a lack of patience than anything else.

You find the idea of videogames based on board games perfectly acceptable.

I personally don't much care for that, but only because I like playing board games the old-fashioned way: on a board. Also, I had a painful experience with a game of Scene It! on the 360. I'd rather not talk about it.

You've pre-ordered GTA IV but don't mind if it doesn't turn up on launch day.

If I don't have GTA IV on Tuesday, it means that every copy of the game in PA (and probably Jersey) perished in some kind of tragic warehouse fire. 

Final verdict? Don't think I'm quite over the hill yet, although I never claimed to be the most hardcore gamer around to begin with. What about the rest of you? Anyone worrying that you're getting too old for this stuff? Or are you just getting started? Opinions and thoughts are welcome. 

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