Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category:
DS Brain Training No Good Says Study
A study has come out that makes me feel a bit less guilty about never playing anything that came with my DS copy of Brain Training 2 other than the Dr. Mario game they included for relaxation. Nintendo and cognitive researcher Dr. Kawashima have long been touting the ability of some of their games to increase ones brainpower.
Alain Lieury, professor of cognitive psychology of the University of Rennes in France has published a study that suggests Nintendo’s claims might be nothing but air. He conducted a study that tested the memory of two groups of children, one who attempted to hone their mental capabilities via the DS and one who didn’t. There was pretty much no difference between the two groups, leading professor Lieury to conclude that the game has no effect beyond sheer entertainment value.
Study Finds Games And School Shootings Not Linked
Ever since the first school shooting tragedy at Columbine the possible dangers of video games have been brought to the forefront of the public’s mind. Since then the possible linkage between video game violence and real world violence has been debated by consumers, campaigned on by politicians and studied by psychologists.
Professor Christopher Ferguson, a researcher at Texas A&M International University has published a study that goes a long way towards illustrating that the link between video games and violent crime is nothing more than worry and speculation. He points out that the methodology of previous studies is quite often seriously flawed, and that many researchers in the anti-game camp fail to acknowledge any of these flaws in their research, as well as ignoring any previous research contrary to their own viewpoints. He also discusses the fact that most video game critics are older (35+) and that many are elderly. Most of these outspoken critics are very unfamiliar with the medium, displaying their ignorance in interviews and writings, such as the incident with Mass Effect last year and critics who claim that players are awarded points in games like Grand Theft Auto for committing antisocial acts.
He discusses the idea of ‘moral panics’ and ‘culture wars’ being largely responsible for this debate, with some politicians attacking video games as a way to say they’re taking action against violent crimes without actually having to address the more complex, multi-layered causes behind them. News media has long been known to do better by reporting alarming, negative news than positive news.
Couple Arrested Over Gift Brawl
If you celebrate the Christmas tradition of giving brightly wrapped gifts then chances are you’ve gotten a few bad ones here and there. I had a relative who never understood that at age sixteen I wasn’t terribly interested in the Power Rangers anymore. I once received a can of WD-40, probably my most surreal gift of all time. One couple from New Hampshire found their Christmas day ruined by what seems like it wouldn’t be a bad gift at all.
Randi Young purchased a brand new Nintendo Wii for her boyfriend, twenty-six year old Heath Blom. When that fateful day arrived he unwrapped it, hoping for a remote-controlled airplane. Instead of feigning excitement or simply thanking her for the generosity and then asking if she’d kept the receipt, he threw a temper tantrum. Ms. Young promptly punched him in the face and set to pack her bags. Blom attempted to block her exit and after she hit him several more times he seized her by the hair and dragged her down the stairs. The police were called and both of them were arrested when the police noticed that they were both bruised.
Study Says Playing RTS Will Keep Your Old Brain Healthy
Here’s a little thing I will have to remember for when I get older and wiser. A study has revealed that playing RTS games will improve your old brain’s performance. The study was published in the medical journal Psychology & Aging and it shows that real-time strategy will help the elderly maintain their ability to reason and their short term memory.
I am not sure that our grandparents can adapt that fast to an RTS game but I know our generation will be able to do it when we get older.
via physorg
Iowa State Video Games And Violence Study Comes Under Attack
Recently a study was published from Iowa State University in Pediatrics that claimed to conclusively and definitely link video games to aggressive behavior in children. One of the arguments that proponents of video games have long made is that despite video game playing being a global phenomenon, levels of violence and aggression are vastly different by culture. Violent crime rates in the USA are far higher than those in Japan where gaming is universal.
Craig Anderson, one of the co-authors of this study says that they showed that Japanese children are just as affected by video game violence as American children. While many in the media took the story and ran for the presses, many in the gaming industry as well as the academic world are criticizing the study.
Christopher Ferguson an associate professor of Psychology from Texas A&M wrote a letter to the publication citing flaws in the literature review, methodology and conclusions that in his opinion raise questions about the validity of the study.
“The authors here simply ignore a wide body of research which conflicts with their views … the authors link their results to youth violence in ways that are misleading and irresponsible … if anything it is remarkable how little effect that violent games had on trait aggression [in the study], considering that other relevant variables were not controlled,” said Ferguson.
The study was also condemned by the Entertainment Consumers Association who said that they have been waiting for years to see a study that gives a definite, indisputable answer on this debate one way or another.
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Study Shows Positive Effects Of Gaming For Teens
Anti video-game crusaders often like to mention the ‘countless studies’ that ‘prove’ the causal relationship between video games and violence (despite the fact that no studies ever claim to do so). That’s why it’s a ray of sunshine whenever a study comes out that gives some definitely positive arguments for the gamer side. A Pew Internet & American Life Project study has come out that illustrates not only how widespread gaming is, but many of its benefits.
The study of 1,102 youths aged 12-17 showed that ninety-seven percent of them play video games. The findings also shatter the image of the sad, isolate teenager brooding alone in his bedroom and playing video games as the vast majority of the youths surveyed reported playing games with friends or family some of the time. Unsurprising given that Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution were the top #1 and #5 most frequently mentioned games when teens were listing their favorites.
While many would be discouraged by the fact that many teens, especially males, listed action titles (which almost always contain some level of graphic violence) as in their favorite titles, the fact that these teens aren’t all running into the streets, schools and shopping malls gunning down their peers shows that the violence-inducing effects some claim these titles to have is spurious. The positive effects were many however as teens reported considering moral questions and social issues while playing games.
It’s a 76-page PDF so this simply scratches the surface of the report. If you’re interested, check out the full write-up.
A Harsh Lesson
We’ve all been in this situation. You’re walking into the grocery store to pick up a few things and as the sliding doors open you’re greeted by two things: a welcome blast of air conditioning and the less pleasant screams of a child whose parents have just refused to buy him or her a candy bar/box of cereal/toy/etc. Walking by you have to shake your head and mumble to yourself “I wouldn’t let my kid get away with that”. Sadly lots of parents these days do. It seems many of today’s adults are reluctant to ever say no or do anything to upset their children, which in many cases is leading to lazy, spoiled children. It’s nice to see when parents take a stand for good behavior.
Nothing brings out aggression, competitiveness and bad language quite like sibling videogaming. Heated arguments and even full-blown fights can arise out of what started as friendly game of Mario Kart. One particular trio of boys had been warned several times about their behavior while playing their Xbox. It seems they thought mom and dad were all bark and no bite, because one day they came home to find their punishment: Dad ‘borrowed’ their Xbox to use in a modern art piece which should be entitled “Fatherly PWNage”. Medium: tree, xbox, nails.
Parents Fear Video Game Exposure More Than Sex & Drugs
Parental gaming resource “What They Play” published some study data that shows parents are far more concerned about their children’s exposure to video game content than they are about their children being exposed to alcohol, violence and pornography. The official press release said this:
Nearly 3,000 respondents in two separate What They Play polls concluded that drinking beer and watching pornography were less objectionable activities for children than playing certain video games. Further, viewing violence was more acceptable than seeing content involving sex and sexuality within games.
Sadly most of the results of the study show that the parents are far more worried about video games often because the threats of sex and drugs are known and much easier to deal with. Given that crime rates are lower than they used to be while kids are having sex at earlier and earlier ages these days as well as drinking and doing drugs younger and younger, it seems that parents should still be focusing on the things they ‘know’ how to deal with. Unfortunately due to media extremism regarding violence linked in even the remotest way to video games many parents are much more concerned about little Johnny playing Grand Theft Auto and its virtual hookers than they are about him sleeping with the girl next door.
40% Of Gamers Women, Average Gamer Age Is 35
The ESA has released a study on the makeup of the gamer population. Although the stereotype of the acne-ridden teenage boy huddling in his bedroom in front of a tv likely persists in the mind of many, it seems that it’s become increasingly less true.
The popularity of casual games has contributed strongly to the rise of female gamers; 40% of the gaming population are female. It’s also hugely widespread; 65% of households play computer and video games and 38% of homes own a console. While there are definitely some people who consider giving up video games a part of that inevitable ‘growing up’ process, it seems that plenty of people are still gaming long after achieving adulthood. The average age of gamers has risen to thirty-five. Women eighteen years or older actually outnumber the younger male teenage population at 33% to 18% respectively.
Parents are also much more involved with their children’s gaming lives than all the frightened activists and politicians would think. 94% of parents report being present when their children purchase or rent games (likely because most parents buy games for their kids or drive them to the store/mall) and 88% report monitoring their childrens gaming habits. A mere 15% of the games sold in 2007 were rated M for Mature.
2008: Best Gaming Year Ever?
Last year was touted as the best year for gaming. There was an unusually high amount highly anticipated games such as Halo 3, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Bioshock, just to name a few. The idea was that after Halo 3, the would be a steady flow of triple-A titles that would keep gamers occupied for the rest of the year, and then some. So what happened? The article will examine several reasons why 2007 didn’t quite live up to the hype and why 2008 will take the title as best year ever for gaming.
PS3 Uses More Power Than a Medium-sized Fridge
Ever wondered why your electricity costs went up when you bought a next-gen console? According to a study by Australian consumer group Choice, consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 consume up to five times more energy than a medium-sized refrigerator.
The group found out that a 12 cubic feet volume refrigerator will cost $50 a year in terms of power usage while the PS3 will cost $250 a year; the Xbox 360 came in a close second. Quite unsurprisingly, the PS3 uses over ten times more energy than the Wii.
If you have quite a few consoles at home, maybe it’s time to unplug them to save both power and money.
Failed Foot-based Controllers
Besides the fat kid who got called fat by Wii Fit, the whole world is going crazy for the balance board peripheral for the console. This, apparently, brought back memories for GamePro editors who have cooked up a list of seven failed foot-based controllers, some of which are truly atrocious, to say the least. Here’s a snippet:
7. Fragpedal Gaming Footpedal
At first glance this contraption appears to be some sort of foot massager, but it’s actually a keyboard that you can control with your toes. There’s nothing more appealing than a pair of sweaty feet fumbling over two slab pads pressed against two protruding rubber buttons. You can look forward to some serious foot cramps if you plan on using this pedal for driving games, and don’t expect to get many frags or any respect if you decide to take this expensive piece of equipment to your next LAN party. Come to think of it, anyone taking their shoes off at a LAN party is a bad plan.
Yes, there are worse ideas that hardware makers tried, including the venerable Sega. What do you guys think are some of the worst controllers out there, foot-based or not?
Jack Thompson Found Guilty of 27 Counts of Misconduct
Infamous anti-games lawyer has it coming, as the judge presiding over his professional misconduct trial has recommended that the attorney be found guilty of 27 counts of misconduct in Thompson’s recent Florida bar trial.
GamePolitics reports that Florida judge Dava Tunis issued recommendations of guilt related to the lawyer’s participation in several videogame related cases such as Strickland vs. Sony, where Thompson represented families of two police officers and a dispatcher killed by Devin Moore, a reputed GTA fan.
If found guilty, disciplinary action will be taken against him, such as disbarment, among other things. Tunis will also preside over a disciplinary hearing for possible sanctions against Thompson on June 4.
Misconduct charges brought against the attorney includes knowingly making a false statement of material fact or law to a tribunal, employing tactics meant to embarrass a third person and engaging in dishonest and fraudulent behavior.
Why No MMOs on Consoles?
Tons of MMOs are in development for PC, but where are the console versions? Pirates of the Burning Sea producer Joe Ludwig detailed several reasons why we don’t see MMOs on consoles.
His first point is that platform holders would demand a cut of the revenue, which he points out to be between 25 and 35%. “With one more player getting a piece the revenues shrink for both the publisher and the developer and it becomes harder to turn a profit from a ‘modest success’,” he writes on his blog.
He also mentions that while there are about 19 million Xbox 360s worldwide, as well as the countless numbers of Wiis and PS3s, there are closer to ten times that number of PC equipped with graphics processor, making the PC install base larger and more lucrative than consoles.
Ludwig also points out the lack of a built-in keyboard, long certification time for patches and long development times as the reason behind the absence of MMOs on consoles.