Video games have brought entertainment to many: from a grandpa playing Pac Man on an old arcade machine, to a teenager playing fortnight on a PlayStation 4 in 2019.

“My favorite video games were, Space Invaders, Crash Bandicoot, racing games, Dukes of Hazards and Tetris, and I played them on a Atari,” said Chemistry teacher Andrea Holland, “I still play to this day, Tetris and Crash Bandicoot.”

Video games have been around since the early 1970s, and finally generation x is passing down

The controller. Generation X consists of 35 to 55 year olds, and this was back when video games cost a quarter and home game consoles had wood paneling.

The most played genres of this generation include action, puzzle, casino and sports games.

“I used to play video games, but not much any- more. I played a lot of sports games on a saga genesis,” said History teacher, Brandon Barger.

Since Generation X did not have the kind of technology back then, it was easier for them to say goodbye and move on. According to Nielsen Media Research, Generation X is the most mature and experienced in the business industry, and now accounts for 51 percent of leadership roles globally. With an average of 20 years of workplace experience, they are primed to quickly assume nearly all-top executive roles.

“Now that I am older I am busy: from coaching, teaching, and starting a new business I don’t have time to play video games. But if I do use it’s mostly to just watch movies,” said Barger.

Sony introduced online gaming to the PlayStation 2 in 2000. The millennial generation aging from 18 to 29 makes up 67% who play video games. The Pew Researchers found that men in this age group are more than 3 times as likely to play vid- eo games than women.

For many millennial males this was a huge shift. From moving from four-player Mario Kart or Golden Eye on Nintendo 64 to playing Call of Duty against thousands of players around the world.

However, for many Generation Y males, this game-changing innovation roughly coincided with their birth. They have grown up with a controller in their hands, a high-speed Internet connection at the ready and a social circle around them al- ways ready to “hop on the sticks.”

In a recent study from Nerdy to Norm: Generation Y Connects Via Gaming conducted by Whistle says that 68 percent of Generation Y males agree that gaming is an important part of their identity. For Millennials, gaming is no longer just a hobby is in fact a primary means of identifying themselves, a vital facet of their social lives, and a component of their media habits.

The video games preferred in the current generation are action, shooting, and strategy games.

Generation Z, which ranges from kids ages 13-17 have never experienced a world without video games.

“I usually play video games for about 5 to 6 hours,” said Junior Shane Grafing, “and I think I will still play them as I get older.”

Pew Research found that 81 percent of teens age 13-17 either have or have access to a game con- sole such as PlayStation, Xbox or Wii. Of those, 91 percent of teen boys own game consoles and 70 percent of teen girls say they have or have access to a console.

According to YouGov, the most popular video games with Gen Z are: The Legend of Zelda, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon, Minecraft, or CS:GO.

Junior Evan Fiegenbaum said his favorite was guitar hero which is “an oldie but a goodie” as he puts it.

As technology expands from playing on an old arcade game to competing in video game com- petitions, and talking over a headset playing a multi-player game, the gaming world will evolve for new generations and will continue for years to come.