Business Week Online has a feature up entitled Attack of the Gaming Grannies, focusing on gamers over the age of 50. According to research cited in the article, over-50 gamers make up 19% of the gaming market; while those numbers do seem slightly suspicious, the number is definitely increasing. The same research states that 53% of current gamers expect to continue playing games for the next 10 years, which is a bit less surprising. The article is a fun read, getting responses from gamers such as the 69-year-old Barbara St. Hilaire (aka Old Grandma Hardcore), who is currently hard at work mastering God of War (PS2).

Old Grandma Hardcore has been firing away since 1975, in the Age of Atari. She started by stopping off at the mall arcade with her kids while shopping. "Then I really got into it when Nintendo came out with Super Mario. I remember playing with my son all night long, competing against each other." Since then, she has played hundreds of titles and worn out a long line of gaming consoles, from Atari to Xbox.

Older gamers have stated that playing video games regularly can help keep their eyesight sharp, their minds alert, and their joints exercised. 68-year-old Liam Murray has no plans to stop playing games within his lifetime. He'll keep up the habit until "the good Lord calls me. It's up to Him when I quit."

Unconfirmed reports have suggested that these "video games" (otherwise known as "murder simulators") are turning the world's senior citizens into killing machines at an alarming rate.