The Gen X(box) problem

2025-04-25

Roger Mitchell, discussing the dangers of sport trying to be something for everyone rather than optimising itself for a specific sub-culture and their needs and wants:

I think rather than this neither fish not fowl, let's find a way to make everybody happy. [they] should split it completely now and say, this is a cash cow product that is for the Grant Williams of the world. He's got a lot of money. He's always going to be loyal.

He's always going to pay for a subscription. We can upsell him. That's a great cash cow business for at least 25 years.

That's how long you live. Over there, you play the mass market. You know, the Minecraft films, the Barbie films.

Jackson Jayanayagam speaking on Future Commerce:

Gen X is under-marketed-to. Go after them. Everyone's talking about Gen Z. I mean, everyone is talking about 13 year olds who literally have five dollars between them. [Yet] the parents are working… They're VP's or they're managers or directors, they are running companies... They're traveling. They grew up in technology.

It's Gen Xers who are their parents. Gen Xers in their early 30s, 40s and 50s are the people who had the most influence at this point in time on Gen Z. And yet no one's talking about Gen Xers. They’re a forgotten generation.

More from Future Commerce:

Nearly half of the 40+ advertisers active on the Joe Rogan Experience have products targeting an aging Gen X population. Those products fit squarely into the base of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: safety, security, health, and food.

[Gen X are] the last generation to grow up in the monoculture of legacy radio and TV networks now have a formidable amount of capital in a world that is not made for them.

It's crazy that there isn't a deliberate and explicit games sector dedicated to serving the needs of Gen X (active and lapsed gamers).

Mark Pincus knows:

I fundamentally believe that the biggest opportunity is to get people like me to play. I'm a latent gamer; it's there, it's just in the background because I'm too busy, and I can't find the time, I can't justify the time. But if you could get it in front of me and you could distill it down to something that I could get into in five minutes, and I could play it with friends and other people, you would have me. It's gotta be short-form, short session, long arc.

The AARP Research: The 50-Plus Gamer of Today and Tomorrow (2023) agrees:

• Gaming is increasing its share of attention. While roughly the same amount of people play games as was seen in 2019, the average amount of time individuals spend playing video games has increased over 40% from 8.5 hours of weekly play to 12 hours.
• Gamers are spending across multiple categories. The number of 50-plus gamers has grown to 52.4 million since 2019. 50-plus gamers spent on average $49 on gaming within a six-month timeframe [January- June].
• Gaming is primarily used as a means of having fun, reducing stress, and passing time. These motivators are consistent across both today’s 50-plus gamers and 40-49 gamers.
• Cost is the biggest inhibitor to playing more for gamers. Gated progress behind advertising and microtransactions is also among the biggest pain points for today’s 50-plus gamers.
• 50-plus gamers feel like an afterthought of the gaming industry. Almost 70% feel games are designed with older players as an afterthought.

And Konvoy.vc goes even further:

Already playing games, highly engaged and paying: The elderly are already playing video games, and this number is growing at a rapid rate. Even prior to the pandemic, the number of Americans aged 50+ grew 26% from 40.2 million in 2016 to 50.6 million in 2019 (AARP). From 2019-2022, the number of gamers aged between 55 and 64 specifically had increased by 32% (Global Web Index).

Samsung UK surveyed 1,000 people aged 65+ who were interested in gaming. They found that 85% of these people who said they were interested in video games play at least once a week (and 36% play every day). This is above the average of 65% across gamers of all age demographics(Deloitte).

The opportunity for 'short form, short session, long arc' experiences that are thoughtfully and considerately crafted for Gen X audience is incredible. Surely someone's going to take it? ¹.