Does getting older make u a better smasher?

[★Chaos★]

Does getting older make u a better smasher?
i was just wondering about ^

 

[ETWIST51294]

No,

proof: Hax$ in melee and Ultimate Razor in brawl.

 

[Lucario1337]

Nope. a 13 year old could win a lot over a 25 year old

 

[¯\_S.(ツ).L.I.D._/¯]

@OP: I'd say no. I don't really know the exact ages of a lot of top smashers, but they seem to be mostly from the 16-21 range. I mean obviously a 5 year old isn't going to be very good. But on the other end of the spectrum, I don't think a 99 year old would be winning tournaments either.

EDIT: @Lucario: And I could become president of the United States.

 

[BurningSoul]

Although this has been and could said many more times and in many more ways, age and skill are indeed independent of each other. Skill in a smash bros game is dependant only on strategy and experience (provided the match is being fought on a simple stage with items turned off)

 

[JOE!]

age could give the advantage of having grown up wtih the other smash games, giving you a probable edge over others, and being older usually means your brain is more developed and can make better strategies, etc.

That being said, there are allways exceptions as some young'n is just a natural

 

[Cinnanmonny]

MoJoe is 12

 

[Veril]

Yes, age does matter. Almost anyone who says otherwise is... probably a kid or knows a young pro and thinks this reflects the general competitive population. Assuming you had played smash when younger, aging (from early teens to 20s) will improve your ability to play smash from a cognitive/neurological perspective.

The young savants are exceptions to the rule. A lot of kids play smash, of course some will be amazing.

 

[Inaphyt]

Age matters, i've come back to games i thought were impossible as a child. But with more wisdom and thought processes becomes a breeze.

I don't deny that kids bought up around the gamecube will probably be better than newcomers towards it no matter how much they practise it.

It will be more like an extension of their body rather than something they try to be good at. I truely believe this, makes me feel special considering i was playing guitar at 2. lol

 

[Zodiac]

not at all, actually, most younger people are better cause they don't have any obligations like job/college and just play smash in their spare time.

 

[$Lil' Gerald Is In Dat Style$]

Age don't matter, it's all about skill if you know what you're doing.

 

[Kuraudo]

Age plays a factor in your skill. But only if you've spent part of that age investing in Smash. More experience = a better player, after all.

So in a way? Yes. Getting older does make you better.

[EDIT]

Though some are just more skilled naturally, even at a younger age.

 

[Apollo$]

Nope, it all depends how fast you can understand how the game works.

 

[sammy p]

NOOOOOOO!!!! ive grown aout 2 years since i got brawl, and i still suck just as much as the day i got it

and believe me... ive been trying

 

[WolfReflection]

I wouldn't think so. I've consistently beaten people almost twice my age, and I've lost a good several games to people younger than me. This applies both locally and to AiB.

 

[N.A.G.A.C.E]

it can up to a point. if a 13 year old is great now in a couple of years he could become a lot better due to him being older. on the other hand someone who is lets say 17 might not get better just due to age. while on the other hand (yes three hands) if u are lets say 26 a couple more years could make u worst with slower reaction time and other things that happen when u get older. So yes age can make a difference and kids who are beating older people now could still get better with age.

 

[ShadowPhoenix951]

Age can be both beneficial and detrimental to a player. If the player has grown up with the game, then, through experience, he will naturally have an advantage. Also, people tend to learn patience as they grow, an aspect critical to the game. However, age can also be detrimental. As people grow older, they tend to become more habitual, leading to predictability, leading to less skill. Also, people generally have slower reflexes as they grow older. So, in short, aging does improve players, but only to a point.

 

[llamapaste]

Age gives people an advantage because those people are often more experienced and probably played melee etc.

 

[A2ZOMG]

I don't know how age affects reaction time and motor skills, but I would assume older players have an advantage through skill and observation assuming they have invested time into games.

Although I have a hunch that younger players are more likely to have better reaction time.

 

[Neo Exdeath]

I think both age and skill factor in to how good a player is. Sure, there are some good young smashers, but those are rare. People that are older tend to have more experience and therefore, skill.

 

[Mota]

No dice. Do you see 80 year olds winning tournaments?

 

[AvariceX]

Mango is like 17 or 18... Ally was 17 last time I talked to him, which was a while so probably 18 now... FOW and Clouderz are like... 10

I'm 23 and I'm terribad.

 

[JOE!]

I don't know how age affects reaction time and motor skills, but I would assume older players have an advantage through skill and observation assuming they have invested time into games.

Although I have a hunch that younger players are more likely to have better reaction time.

yeah, they usually have better reaction time, but how many of them have the mental capacity to put it to good use?

 

[Zodiac]

Experience makes you better, its just how much time you spend playing the game and how good the people you play are. Thats why kids that don't have any other responsibilities other than school do nothing but play smash and are good.

 

[n88]

All the Smashers I know are in the same age group, so I can't really say.

I saw a guy who was ~50 years old kicking *** at Tekken 5 in an arcade the other day, if that helps.

 

[ChuteTheMessenger]

I say there's a specific age. I'm a lot better at video games now then when I was 10. However, when I finish college and get a job (pretty long while away XD), I'm pretty sure my skills will go down after that as I would need to get a job and everything. So the best age range would be 12-18 IMO.

EDIT: But then again there are a lot of exceptions to this, like really smart younger kids or adults who love gaming.

 

[Luxor]

Once you get to the point where you're not physically improving (reflexes, fingers, whatever) it's all experience. I guess intelligence could be a factor as well, but that's another topic.

 

[JOE!]

i guess to sum up the answers, yes age matters, but it is a sort of see-saw:

the younger you are, the better reflexes you probably have, yet you most likley lack the experience or technical/mental ability to put it to good use.

The older you are, the opposite: You are experienced and have good technical skill and can read patterns/etc better than a younger person can as your brain is more developed, yet your reflexes and such go down.

of course there are exceptions, but in general I agree with luxor in saying the 12-18(maybe even 20ish) range is the ideal age, with the upper spectrum there being the best usually

 

[HQ5]

I don't think age matters quite as much as the time invested in it (therefore the skills developed over time) and common sense (which usually develops along with age but can stagnate in some people XD).

 

[mars16]

I don't think so although being older it could make you think smarter in getting out of trouble or nowing when you've mate your match.

 

[theunabletable]

Mojoe is like 12, and FOW is like 14.

I'd say it doesn't make any difference. There are just more people playing in the 16-22ish range so there's bound to be more really good players around that age.

 

[Super_Smash_Kid]

I think age does matter but not so much, its more dependant on skill than anything else, like others have said.

 

[LSDX]

iirc, there's a child prodigee in Melee who was 8 or 9 years old who ***** all the tourneys he went to.

 

[GreenFox]

I think its more time spent playing the actual game which older people normally have gotten to the series in general more then the younger ones

 

[Phantom7]

I think it depends. If you're 20 years old and pick up the game for the first time, you're not going to be as good as an experienced 14 year-old. However, I think if you play as you mature, the maturity growth and thought process growth helps increase your level of play. But only if you continue playing consistently.

 

[Balet]

At around 20 to 30 is when people have the quickest reaction time, best eyesight and other senses. Brain development helps, too.

 

[Vonzar the Soulrender]

All the best players I've seen are in the 18-22 range. I think that older players are usually better if they've invested the time into the game.

 

[Phantom7]

^ That's generally because they have a lot less time to play at older ages. It's really simple. It seems a lot of players play in college a lot because they don't have much else to do in their spare time.

Btw, I saved your sig to my flash drive!

 

[shadyf0o]

Any motor-vehical survey on the effects of age on driving performance will show that age impacts reaction time. However, considering that we don't have very many people over 30 playing smash, I don't think any current smashers have lost their skill due to their age.

According to psychologist Jean Piaget and his theory of cognitive development, there are four stages of mental develpment: sensorimotor (age: 0-2), preoperational (age speech begins - age: 7), concrete operational (first grade - early adolescence), and formal operational (adolescence).

In the formal operational stage (about age:12), a child learns to use logic and think through hypothetical situations. It is my opinon that someone who has not reached this stage is incapable of playing smash, or any other game, competitively. Or at least not very well. However, this doesn't mean that anybody under 12 can't succeed at competitive games. Different people reach the formal operational stage at different ages. There are young kids under 12 who have succeeded in competitive gaming. Example: Halo 2 pro, Lil Poison and the aforementioned nameless Melee prodigy.

The funny thing is: only 40-60 % of people reach this final stage of cognitive development 0.o . Yes, that means not everybody can be good at this game, even if Nintendo tried to make it that way

Source: Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development....duh

The question isn't: are you old enough to play Smash; the question is: has your mind developed enough. Who knew all that schoolin' would help you land that Smash attack? lol

 

[BlackLightning90]

Nope. I'm 14 and I beaten everyone that has a higher age.