You think you’re passionate about gaming and see yourself playing until you’re old and grey can’t play no more? A woman in Japan is doing just that!
Hamako Mori based in the South East Chiba area, is a 90 year old grandmother who loves nothing more than cutting loose with a round of Call of Duty or Nier: Automata.
Playing every day for 3 hours or more, she has developed a dedicated fanbase through her YouTube channel where she’s known as “Gamer Grandma”. In an interview told to AFP, the pensioner said, “I’m passionate about playing games every day. Every day is an enjoyable day.”
She starts each livestream with a courteous bow and a “konnichiwa” before setting down to dish out some punishment on her PlayStation. Her 43 year old grandchild Keisuke Nagao added, “She always gets into the games. I think she is slightly different. Ordinary old people are not so enthusiastic about video games as she is.”
She picked up gaming as a hobby more than 4 decades ago and currently holds the Guinness World record as the oldest gamer on YouTube. In that time she has played over 200 titles. The first console she laid her hands on was the Cassette Vision which she picked up in 1981 after seeing her son’s fascination with it. She’s also played most of the game heavyweights like Super Mario Bros, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Call of Duty.
She counts Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto V as her favourite games. Mori said, “You can do whatever you want to” before adding that they’re a “motivation in life”. Her YouTube channel has over 300k subscribers and her clips attract millions of views.
She’s in great physical shape but adds that because some games require tricky coordinated button presses, “It’s getting hard. It really is.” But then added, “I won’t put it down just because it’s difficult … It’s better than doing nothing!”
And in true gaming style, she’s now waiting for the Playstation 5 to drop with massive excitement.
“It’s seriously preoccupying me,” she said. “I want one. I really do.”
