[games_access] T-shirt saga + Ageing population stat.

[Barrie Ellis]

No I envisaged you all with your bellies out, having to talk to people from 
inside the sealed up T-shirt(!)


Back on planet earth. Re. The "developers risking loosing large swathes of 
their audience" approach. Another stat for our cause from the Guardian (UK):

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2006/01/17/can_the_games_industry_address_an_ageing_population.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4608920.stm (previous BBC article)

"I was watching breakfast TV this morning waiting for the Golden Globes 
coverage when they ran one of those 'we're all getting really old' stories. 
I can't quite recall the figures but apparently in a few years time a 
quarter of the UK population will be over 60. The report went on to suggest 
that, due to pension shortfalls, we'd all end up working til we're 70 - 
probably in B&Q, a retailer that makes it a policy to employ mature and 
experienced people who can then spend their final days on Earth misdirecting 
customers to the plumbing aisle. I'm not sure what use a clapped out 
technology journalist will be to them in 35 years time, but I'm already 
penning my application letter.
Anyway, the report got me thinking about videogames and how they're almost 
exclusively aimed at young men. Not only does this policy cost the industry 
over 50% of its potential market on gender terms alone, but in a few years 
time, it's also going to cut out a huge audience on the age side of things 
too. I wonder, are forward-thinking publishers already having brain-storming 
sessions in order to address the challenge of the grey gamer? Wired.com ran 
an article this week on how the ageing population in Japan is bringing about 
some major cultural changes. Have Namco, Nintendo, Capcom and Konami et al 
caught the zeitgeist?"

Barrie
OneSwitch.org.uk



----- Original Message ----- 
From: <hinn at uiuc.edu>
To: "IGDA Games Accessibility SIG Mailing List" <games_access at igda.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 6:34 PM
Subject: [games_access] T-shirt saga


>
>>p.s. - T-Shirt thought: What about printing "Inaccessible
> T-shirts and
>>Inaccessible Games are Annoying!" on the front, then sewing
> up the head and
>>arm holes?
>
> hahaha. That's great -- and gets the point across. Only
> thing...should we pin them to our other shirts or what? ;)
>
> Michelle
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>