For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Join the club
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter
The urge to lock yourself away and obsess over a game for days on end apparently doesn't fade with age. A 91-year-old Ohio woman was recently surprised by a visit from police during an extended gaming session, which had apparently been so absorbing that she'd missed check-in calls and alarmed welfare agents.
As News 5 Cleveland reports, the unnamed Westlake, Ohio woman is part of the city's "Are You Okay?" police program. Members of the program receive daily calls to confirm their wellbeing – a godsend for elderly or disabled people living alone, for instance.
"If the call is not answered, the Police Department is notified and an officer is dispatched to the home to conduct a personal check-in visit," the Westlake police department's website explains.
Article continues below
On Thursday, April 9, this elderly gamer missed her regular check-in call as well as follow-up calls from police and her daughter. So, officers were sent to her home to check on her.
Rather than an old woman in distress, police found a woman with something to prove. Police entered through the garage and found the woman in her room. In a report, a dispatched officer says, "We're here with her now, she's playing video games in her bedroom."
News 5 Cleveland adds that the woman was "trying to beat her record" and thus missed the check-in calls, but was "thankful" for the in-person check-in.
Westlake Police captain Jerry Vogel said, "Everyone got a good laugh out of it." Vogel also stressed that the department's check-in program has "saved lives" in the past.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
The average gamer has only gotten older alongside the medium itself, and we're seeing more and more elderly gamers demonstrate that the hobby can be a lifelong one.
Last year, we spoke to the Elder Lord, Mike Williams, a then-72-year-old gamer who'd put over 700 hours into Elden Ring and cleared it on New Game+7 difficulty. Williams has told me he's now enjoying hardcore games like Marathon, an extraction shooter that kicked my teeth so hard they flew out of my ears. I hope to have the dexterity and acuity to crush FromSoftware games and extraction shooters when I'm in my 70s.
Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
Join The Community
