My advice would be to forget game programming right from the get-go as that is the most contested area, prone to the deathmarch at the drop of a hat, you'd likely need to start at the very bottom and besides, the wages are just lower than other "normal" programming jobs.
Keep it as a hobby by all means (so it stays fun) but look for something more stable to pay the bills, and where you can still use your coding skills.
What language(s) you learn is upto you but I would suggest tooling yourself to be able to creat web solutions as well as Windows applications & a mixture of both.
C# would be a bloody good bet (for ASP.NET web sites, web services, Win apps, smart client, well everything really - and that could include games with Managed DirectX).
Its fairly easy to start with but plenty of scope for you to grow into it as you gain experience as a coder. It can be easy or it can be hard, by that I mean when you start you can use it like VB and just "glue" everything together (object a fits into object b style), but when you get good you can harness more power like C++ with pointer arithmatic etc.
Also its only a hop and a skip and you know Java & Javascript too as they are very similar. Oh and Perl & PHP in a way.
However, right this minute - there is probably still more demand for VB6 or VBScript ASP programmers, so you COULD find that by learning VB6 you could clean up after all the exodus to .NET has finished - what I mean is that if all the coders moving from unmanaged to managed code now want .NET jobs - there will be a lot of lonely VB6 apps and ASP classic sites out there, looking for someone to look after and extend them. And its just possible you could command good money just because no one else wants to do it
Y'know, kindof like the cobol programmers were in demand in the run up to 2K, where everyone ran off to program in more exciting higher level languages, all this old cobol code needed looking at because of the feared meltdown come new years eve.
Also get yourself some training with a leading database engine, like SQL Server, so you can be well rounded as a front-to-back "solution provider", then, if need be you could operate on your own.
If you can manage it - get a Microsoft certification MSCE or something like that, although it'll be tough to do that in the time you have - maybe you could start down that route and impress at the interview(s). Use your web skills to set yourself a site up and advertise yourself, show demos of your work etc. DO NOT use naff, off the shelf graphics - keep it business like. Spend the time to design something simple but tasteful, or get a friend to do the design work if that's too much.
Remember that good software developers are sought after, and just because you're not programming the next AAA game doesn't mean your work can't be totally absorbing and fulfilling, while still allowing you to grow and develop your skills.
So get yourself kitted up and you'll be golden!
I wish you luck but to be honest, if you're determined enough, make some good choices, you'll make it, despite your old age :=P (j/k)
