There are pros and cons for either demographic: whilst being older may be ideal since not only you bypass age restrictions, you also have the capability on purchasing it with your own money without having to ask parents for that given that you have employment and recurring income. Gaming as a kid gives more time without having to dwell much on responsibilities that adults have to worry about but at the same time are held by school.
I think it’s just as good, just in different ways. As a kid you don’t understand a lot (especially if English isn’t your first language) and if you are old, like me, and didn’t have the internet to help you. It wasn’t so much about completing the games or being good at them, you just had fun and did whatever you felt like. Spent so many hours just fucking around and trying things.
As and adult it’s still as much fun but more about experiencing the stories, fully completing the games etc. there’s also so many more games to choose from and stuff like mods, emulation, remakes etc. I play a lot of indie games too.
Currently playing the Twilight Princess decomp (dusklight), my first time playing the game, and having a blast. I’ve also dabbled in game making, 3d modeling, pixel art, map making etc. and creating my own mods and stuff like texture packs. Also got several IRL friends who are indie game devs (Dennaton (hotline miami), YCJY (keep driving, sea salt, post void) and more) so it’s something I talk a lot about and see part of in my daily life.