best age or age group to play the best at smash

[red stone]

k, you read the title.

now think a little about it.

could say a 7 year old become a near unbeatable smasher. or perhaps at the age of 8, a person can develop better dexterity. what if at the age of 16, one can track movements better.

how about 19? is that when you have the best mindgames? or let's go all the way to age 24, perhaps you can outread your opponent the best then.

i really doubt many people would be playing smash when they're much older than this because of other responsiblities, but seriously, what is the prime age for smashing?

 

[ThePrime]

ive been thinking about this too, id say maybe 15-20.

 

[Dylan_Tnga]

I think adult smashers >>> young smashers because smash is at the core of it, an intellectual game. WHere bombsoldier may have fast fingers, PC chris still plays a way smarter falco.

 

[CutMet]

I would say around the time that you can drive, I not old enough to drive yet so I've missed out on some smash events that I wanted to go to. I think that just being able to play a lot of people would help your smash game a lot.

 

[MookieRah]

I would say around the time that you can drive

LOL, this is very true.

 

[Professor Pro]

LOL that does not affect if you can drive to if you can play smash i beat someone yesterday who drove to play smash lol

 

[HoshiPuri]

If I were old enough to drive...... -.-;

It's gonna be another few years for me. Maybe I'll have a career in Brawl.

 

[Repryx]

W/e Age I am @ the moment is the best age for me

Look @ it this way If you think you are past the age You Feel like you missed out

If the age is in the Future, You wait till then to take Smash seriously

 

[Rapid_Assassin]

Well, if you aren't old enough to drive, you better have parents and/or older siblings that can... Or live in a city with a lot of tournaments going on.

Most good smashers I know are between 17 and 24, with the average at about 20.

 

[Gerbil]

I find older gamers tend to be better, simply because of experience and their ability to think better (probable?). But getting too old, may reduce this ability, and responsibilities due take over as age comes.

It's a weird statement to make.

 

[Spellbound]

hmm, this is an interesting topic.

i doubt theres any set age where someone could play their best,cuz people are different. But, there is pretty much no one under the age 14 who can play smash decently. I've played younger kids before who were like "i can take you!!!!" and they play so basically that its questionable if they even own the game or not.

I'd say all the decent, good, and amazing players are about 15+.

I'm 17, I'd say I'm decent cuz to alot of the more competative players here, the term "good" can be completely different from what an average player might consider "good" X_x

 

[mood4food77]

i'm 17 (but i look much older....meh), i started being competitive since i was 15, but the best players mostly are around 20-22, which is roughly when the brain is "fully" developed

 

[Deadly'_']

IMO basicly it depends on how smart you are. I would like to think most smashers are a smidge above average intelegence. Most of the pros are good because they play smart not entirely because they have fast fingers and great reflexes. Its just that it would be rare to find a younger person with good mindgames and fast fingers

 

[Reno>]

Children are the future

 

[Zephynazo]

I would say 14+

 

[LeifusYourGod]

general age is hard to say, just depends on how people develope, some develope certain sense faster than other, this applies to mind games and such too. but ingeneral id say 18-22 is the best age

 

[RazeveX]

im 14, but i only got melee about a year ago; im still tackling waveshining, SHL, etc. (btw i play fox)
But i think that if i started playing as soon as melee came out, (not trying to brag) i would be up at FC diamond, four stocking my *** off. Well, maybe not THAT good, but the point is i dont think it matters how old you are as long as your are smart (which most gamers are) and mature.

Prime age, id say 19. But i wouldnt say thered be much difference between a 19yr old and 12yr old who had been playing for the same amount of time.

 

[Team Giza]

Usually I would say older. But my friends little brothers pick things up so quick that I think if they really liked the game, and could play it all the time and apply themselves from proper encouragement they could be just as good as older players. Seriously, I taught a 5 year old how to chain throw fast fallers which Peach and he got it right away, DI chasing and everything. It was crazy.

 

[Psychoace]

Younger people have a tendency to absorb information faster than older ones. Watch a child by the time they are two they have and incredible understanding for their language. Now change to an adult per say it takes us much longer to learn what we learned when we were 2. My sense on it is depending at what time you are exposed to it and hit the point of advanced techniques you are then at your peek, however their are mindgames to be said for. Everyone develops mindgames differently while some employ one a pro may not use it, I think also it takes exposure to certain people be it pros etc. for one person to learn things. Example I don't know a whole lot about Bombsoldier, but i'm sure he was exposed to great smashers which explains his technical prowess.

 

[teeman92]

maybe around 12-20

 

[MookieRah]

@psychoace: Kids pick up things faster than adults when it comes to language skills and retaining information, but when it comes to manual dexterity that is a different story. Also, a child's mind is still developing and I very much doubt in a child's ability to play smart and effectively.

One thing you said is very true, your skill is greatly based around the competition in your area. It's a ****ty truth, but one that is proven over and over again.

 

[Midna]

15-19.
after that, I'd say it's time to return to the real world.

 

[Psychoace]

@psychoace: Kids pick up things faster than adults when it comes to language skills and retaining information, but when it comes to manual dexterity that is a different story. Also, a child's mind is still developing and I very much doubt in a child's ability to play smart and effectively.

One thing you said is very true, your skill is greatly based around the competition in your area. It's a ****ty truth, but one that is proven over and over again.

I agree with you there so I guess you have to include the area where muscle dexterity is in. Sorry if most of that was rambling I was really bored last night.

 

[Che_Lab]

I started playing when I was 10, (im 15 now) and I wasn't very good. But when I turned 11, I started hanging out with this older guy who was like the local pro, and he showed me all these technical things. (wavedashing, DD, Lcancel, FF, etc,) and immediately after that i began to get better than all of my friends, and one year ago, when I was 14, I began to consistently beat the local pro, and in my opinion its because his reflexes worsened as he aged, I learned how to think in battle, learned mindgames and got experienced. I would say 13+ because any younger, and the child will not have the patience to get better. (usually)

 

[xyouxarexuglyx2]

hmm, this is an interesting topic.

i doubt theres any set age where someone could play their best,cuz people are different. But, there is pretty much no one under the age 14 who can play smash decently. I've played younger kids before who were like "i can take you!!!!" and they play so basically that its questionable if they even own the game or not.

I'd say all the decent, good, and amazing players are about 15+.

I'm 17, I'd say I'm decent cuz to alot of the more competative players here, the term "good" can be completely different from what an average player might consider "good" X_x

Pretty much better be defined as not completely. I know one thirteen year old that's good, one that's decent, and there's me.

Only reason that most gamers under 15 usually suck something ****ing awful is because the way most of us were raised, we just have less gamers. Like, the ONLY games that most people of my generation are like, sports games and shooting games. You see how the majority of people on the internet (and by internet, I mean the real internet. As in, 4chan, IRC, forums, etc) are like, 15+?

That's why.

 

[xstompx]

I'd say that a major reason that younger kids would have a harder time mastering a game would be attention span. When you're a young kid you should be spending most of your time hanging outside with friends and getting exercise. As i got older I seem to have migrated indoors, and, thus, adopted video gaming instead of randomly tackling people with footballs (fun, though).

I also think that a background in video gaming helps, as you will already have some dexterity in your fingers. the younger players have less video game experience to fall back on in that regard.

I just think that most of the pros are older because they have the means of getting that good. I think you would see a lot more of the younger kids (I'm talking 14-15 ish by young) being a lot better if they had the same opportunities.

/End rambling

 

[Rohins]

I believe an older person would be unstoppable given they had the opportunity to have the experience that gave merit to their age. This game is not very old, so a 40 year old playing the game could never have 20 years experience on a person who is 18. Think about how much you learned the year you learned advanced techniques. A lot right? Well extrapolate that over 10 or 20 years. You'd be pretty **** good.

To make a far fetched comparison, I used to do competitive kendo back in college. Our school's sensei lives in NY. He's been doing kendo for over 50 years, that makes him in his 60s at best. At my level, speed and strength played a huge role in how well you did. The sensei (obviously) was able to overcome anything we were attempting to hit him with. He was able to read out movements and position himself in such a way that he couldn't be hit.

But, seeing that smash hasn't been around as long as kendo, I'd say 13-14 year olds probably have the best dexterity and ability to learn/adapt. They aren't so young that they lack the capability to learn advanced techs and not so old that they'd have a difficult time relearning new techniques. Also there's no real scientific reason I chose 13 and 14, I just believe the I personally picked up games quickest then.

 

[miller483]

I dunno, i'd say 15+ due to the fact that I'm 15 and kinda ok at Smash (even though i havent played against another human player in about 2 in a half years). Oh and about this driving thing... I have my permit right now so when i hear about tourneys all i have to do is try to convince my mom to let me drive so she can clock my hours(all of that may have been off-topic.)

 

[Spellbound]

Pretty much better be defined as not completely. I know one thirteen year old that's good, one that's decent, and there's me.

yea, pretty much means not completely, cuz there are kids out there that rock at this game, just not that many...
And i dont dont know any personally

 

[mario-man]

It all depends how old they were when the game came out. If they bought it immediately, then they could be like 13 and own ppl.

Btw, when I get older, I'm still gonna be a gamer. Mr. Iwata FTW (E3 press conference)

 

[Vicious Delicious]

yea, pretty much means not completely, cuz there are kids out there that rock at this game, just not that many...
And i dont dont know any personally

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I lost to a boy of about 11 when I first started playing competitively...

Anyway, I'd say the prime age would be between 14-18, although most I've met seem to be around 16-20. 17 imo

 

[Grand Mango]

Just for reference, PC Chris rarely plays Falco anymore.

And, it generally seems that the best smashers are between 17-24, then again I haven't met anyone under/above those ages either who was good.

 

[petre]

you know what would be cool (but would never happen)? someone make a chart of the ages of all the smashers that went to FCD and all that are going to OC3. then we could get a good idea of what the ages of the better smashers out there are.

 

[pikachun00b7]

I do not think age matters. I think it is really experience, and intelligence (Char knowledge, analytical skill, mindgames, etc.) I have met people in their twenties that would be better be suited in 2nd grade. And I met incredibly intelligent children. However not being able to drive is an obstacle to experience(as mookie said). And being 13 with a lazy dad like me will make you suck. A lot.

 

[gkrackerr]

Yeah, pretty much as everyone said; there are young gamers with much potential and a good game, and older gamers who trained and refined that game to where it is today. I'd say that, yes, there can be fantastic gamers who are young, yet those people would be much better and possibly on par with the leading smashers after hitting that point in time where the older gamers had already reached. By that point in time, i mean the point at which they start to think differently and realize even more strategies and tactics that they might not have normally thought of. For some gamers it might take longer, yet imo, each gamer has the ability to reach that point.

Ohh, and as for the drving thing, I completely agree. Being 15 and trying to get better at smash, while having noone to drive me around to tournaments (except for a couple tournaments), sucks balls. It suck absolute BALLS.

 

[hawkts13]

best age is definitely when you have the most time to play, which I'd give to around 19-21ish. You'll be able to do whatever you want in college, so you get your time to play smash. If you drop smash for a while, the new techniques you've been practicing goes away as well, which means you'll have to keep playing to keep up & improve. And also, when you're that old, you're free to do whatever, which means no parental restrictions, or family issues dragging you from tournaments you want to go to to improve. After that age... well, college graduation & grad schools, and family things, and jos... adults won't have time to play at all.

 

[KevinM]

The whole location thing holds a huge amount of weight (east coast yeahhyuzzz)

However there are states that break that mold IE WA and FL