Editor's note: A round of golf with an elderly couple inspires Derek to think about the long-distant future of gaming. Besides holodeck-like experiences, I can't imagine what games will be like 50 years from now. I just hope that I'm not wearing my pants like this on the golf course at that point! -Jason

A few weeks ago I was paired with an elderly gentleman and his wife on the links. He was somewhere in the range of 150 years old to 180 years old, give or take…I’m not good with ages. I’m not sure how old he was, but his pants were around his nipples, and he smelled like bacon. Anyway, both he and his wife were characters right out of a 1950s sitcom. I knew right away that it was going to be a very long -- but entertaining -- day of golf.

As he slowly selected his driver from his bag and struggled to remove the head cover, it occurred to me that someday, God willing, I'll be that old. My deep thoughts dissolved when his wife barked, “Harold, hurry the heck up or we’re going to have to hold your funeral in a sand trap.” Harold responded, “I’m not that lucky.”

I spent the rest of the day laughing at their antics, cringing at the slow pace, and crying because they had a better round than me.

On my drive home I wondered what activities I'd be doing when I'm that age. It seems outrageous to think it, but I assume that I’m going to still be playing video games when I'm elderly. I can’t quite get that picture in my head; none of my grandparents play video games.

I kept wondering about what changes Harold has seen in the game of golf and what innovations I'll see in video games. Carts and cart paths, titanium clubs, and even wooden tees -- none of these existed when Harold first played golf. They seem insignificant, but golf is the same game played by the same rules, and still it's seen dramatic changes. On one hole he said, “When I was your age, I was able to clear that tree with my driver.” And like they’d been doing an act for 60 years, his wife quipped, “When you were his age that tree was a bush.”

I’ve been trying to think about what games will be like in 50 years. It’s a concept that I can’t seem to imagine. Games have come so far already in such a short amount of time.

I remember finding the Intellivision in the attic when I was 5 and having to screw those two prongs into the back of the TV. I played a game where I was a frog on a lily pad trying to eat flies. Now I’m hooked up to the TV via HDMI and running around fully fledged worlds battling monsters and having conversations.

I wonder what the people who made Intellivision games thought how games would look like now. Visions of the future seem to be based on concepts of the present. Just look at any '80s movie to see that we aren’t good at envisioning the future.

In 50 years I expect dramatic social change in video games. There'll be video game stars and paparazzi-laden tabloids that follow their every move. Game actors will give their opinions on politics and poverty, and little girls will have posters of tween game idols. Games by all accounts should become the forefront of entertainment. Instead of a game accompanying a movie, the norm will be movies accompanying the game. It’s a natural progression. Movies and TV beat out radio because they have picture as well as sound, and games add another interactive dimension.

My thoughts are more muddled when it comes to gameplay. When I’m 80, will Mario still be around? How many Mario titles will I've played, and how many times will I've bought Super Mario Bros. 3? Will they still make World War II games, or will a new war supplant WWII's place in gaming? If there's a new war, will I want to play a game about a war that happened in my lifetime?

More importantly, will I be any good at games? Will I have the benefit of growing up with the technology, or will I struggle to understand the very idea of what games have become? Even if I’m able to understand the concept, will my reflexes allow me to play? When I’m 80, will I really want to listen to some sex-starved 13-year-old berate me with high-pitched insults?

Even if I'm still playing games, will I have any interest in new games? My dad watches TV Land and only TV Land. In his mind TV shows peaked 20 years ago, and there's no reason to watch any of the new “garbage.” The same goes for people who still listen to the music of their youth but deplore anything new.

I guess that I don't have any answers to my questions. But in 50 years I’ll comment on this post, and then this may actually be worth reading. Bitmob better stay in business for a while....