Can a 30, 40, or 50 year old become a pro starcraft gamer?

All the pro gamers I see playing SC are teenagers or in there 20s. And a lot seem to be Korean.

I've never heard of any people age 30 or above being in the highest ranks. Why is this? If anything they have the option to have more time and experience in the games.

Can an older person play SC2 as well as teenagers?

 

Probably not since they would have slower reaction time - this is an explanation I've heard in some of the korean sc tournaments I've actually watched a few minutes of.

 

Err, he didn't say "as well as koreans".

The term "pro" is a little vague. A "pro" is a player that's usually good and has perfect understanding of the game.

All that matters is that you have the basic game rules in your head and your mental checklist aka what's going on in your head as you play. I'd say even a 40-year old can keep up with a good 100 APM and still play darn well.. APM is NOT that important. Timing is the base for all good play in an RTS. White-Ra's pretty old. Just look at him go.

 

"pro" as in "professional" as in "being paid to play starcraft" pretty much means you WILL be facing off against the koreans at some point in your career.

people of nearly any age can be good at starcraft, but it's doubtful that people in their 40's and up will be able to handle it.

 

If you're a pro it doesn't mean you get paid, what kind of annalogy is that?

 

they probably can, but they got other things in life like you know....jobs and taking care of kids and stuff right?

 

WhiteRa is like 35, right? I think it was different in BW, where I a higher apm is needed. WoL is more about brains, IMHO

 

I agree, teenagers usually don't have much time on their hands anyway which is why they can practice alot to become professional
But for adults I'm pretty sure they have other important things on their hands besides starcraft lol...

 

Younger people are better for sponsors (especially in Korea)

/endthread

 

Sure why not, age shouldn't matter too much (yes reaction times slow, but not THAT signifigantly, and crystalized intelligence increases, so... the experience in strategy *can* make up for some of the micro/macro loss) it *is* more difficult for older people to learn though, this might be a factor. Also, take the number of 20 y.o's playing sc, and compare it to the number of 20 y.o. pros playing starcraft.... now take the number of 40/50 y.o.s and you MIGHT see why there aren't enough people playing at this age level to find them at upper level play. Let's say 1 in 10 000 is good enough to be "pro" while there are 10 million 20 y.os playing and only 10 000 50 y.o.s .... so there would be 1000 20y.o. pros : 1 50y.o. pro. My conclusion would be that in theory, yes, a 30/40/50/even 60 y.o. could become a very skilled player. Are you ever going to find one? Very unlikely.
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I believe it is possible. The 20 year olds you see playing pro games now is because its easier to sell it to a younger age group if people your age are playing. I'm sure if someone took the time they could take a 50 year old and make him pro.

 

....really dude? That's exactly what pro aka professional means. Someone being paid to do something is pro someone not being paid to do something is amateur.


What do you guys think happens to people in their 30's? Slower reaction times? Guffaw.

 

Instead of "pro", let's say someone who plays well enough to win money in tournaments. That's what I want to do.

I'm 40 (no one thinks I look it most think I'm 30 or so ) and I just started playing SC a couple months ago. I doubt my reaction time is much worse, but I don't believe you need 300 APM to win, you need to make good choices.

Learning to play, what to counter with, and what to build are things that don't rely on age, they rely on experience and knowledge.

 

Thankfully, starcraft 2 is focused more on strategic thinking and an understanding of the game so yes, a 30+ year old player could have enough success in starcraft that they can win money from tournaments.

Their old, wrinkly faces wouldn't make for nice marketing but that is beside the point, they cant keep your winnings from you just because you look old.

As long as you can control the mouse well enough to do what you want to do and have the brains to know what it is that you should be doing, you can be good at starcraft.

 

I used to play the Golden Tee Golf video game. It's an arcade game, like in bars and video arcades and such. Not on PC or Xbox.

A few years ago, they'd have tournaments every month, and if you scored well enough you could win cash money. The game machines all had an internet connection for tournaments. They had a game machine locator on their site, so I went to about 8 game machines in my area and picked the best one to play my games on.

They had Gold, Silver and Bronze classes. I won $25 several times in Bronze, but then they started making the Bronze prize pool smaller and smaller. One month there'd be 5000 paid places, then 4500, then 2500, then 1500, then 1000, etc.

I was good enough at that game to shoot 8 to 10 under par, but with only 1000 paid slots you had to score even lower. So I quit playing it and I used to rant on their message board a lot about it. It was fun.

 

it's not an analogy. it's the definition.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/professional

the definitions #1, 5, and 7 all apply.

also, this is a pretty sad study:
http://gizmodo.com/5495086/this-is-your-faulty-brain-on-a-microchip

just about everything other than accumulated knowledge goes down starting from your 20's.

 

Slapaho (oh, I just got it after writing it), I'm surprised you're not defending that someone in their late teens/early 20's has no mental edge over someone in their 30's or 40's. I'm 23, but have made enough older friends from work. None of them are exactly loosing their clarity.

I'm not sure why people think 30 is so old....maybe it's all perception. Kinda like how I would consider a 16 y/o to be a little kid even though they can start driving in most states at that age. The biggest disadvantage someone in their 30's or 40's would have is their schedule. Full-time jobs, wife/husband, and possibly a kid or three.

LOL, Golden Tee Golf. I never played, but I know exactly what you're talking about. I've always wanted to play golf with a track ball.

 

That's true, I'd agree that a 20 year old would not have a mental edge over a 40 year old. At least, not THIS 40 year old!

I thought I knew things when I was 20. When I was 25, I thought about the attitude I had at 20, and I just had to laugh at myself, I didn't know JACK.

When I was 30, I thought the same thing about when I was 25. Since then, the learning curve has flattened out somewhat, but I still enjoy finding new things to learn and giving myself new mental challenges. Starcraft 2 is one of my newest ones.

I think younger players might have a somewhat better reaction time, although this varies from person to person, and they have more free time to practice, but that's about it.

I have googled the Korean starcraft pros living conditions, and it's almost like a sweat shop.

It makes me think of the old Speed Racer cartoons, where the Japanese mentality was made very clear. "I've GOT to WIN, I've GOT to prove to everyone that I'm the BEST". Those words were actually spoken in some episodes where Speed had to win a race and was having troubles.

 

My grandmother was a pretty good zerg player. Her lurker guardian combo was legendary.

 

It is easier to learn things when you are young, (and have more spare time), but i can see no trouble in 20 years, that people aged 40-50 still could play starcraft 2 as "pros", since i think it is the "learning" problem that keeps people from playing competively as 50years.
Anyways, professional PC and console gaming have come forward the last 10-15 years. Your way of living is often laid when you are about 20-30 years old. Therefore, people at the age of 50 have little to no interest to competive gaming.