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Ben Walters

Were video games to blame for massacre? - Technology & science - Games - msnbc.com - 0 views

  • The shooting on the Virginia Tech campus was only hours old, police hadn't even identified the gunman, and yet already the perpetrator had been fingered and was in the midst of being skewered in the media.
  • Video games. They were to blame for the dozens dead and wounded. They were behind the bloodiest massacre in U.S. history. Or so Jack Thompson told Fox News and, in the days that followed, would continue to tell anyone who'd listen.
  • But whether Seung-Hui Cho, the student who opened fire Monday, was an avid player of video games and whether he was a fan of "Counter-Strike" in particular remains, even now, uncertain at best.
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  • Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the school shootings and the finger-pointing that followed, game players and industry advocates say they're outraged that the brutal acts of a deeply disturbed and depressed loner with a history of mental illness would be blamed so quickly on video and computer games. They say this is perhaps the most flagrant case of anti-game crusaders using a tragedy to promote their own personal causes.
  • "It's so sad. These massacre chasers — they're worse than ambulance chasers — they're waiting for these things to happen so they can jump on their soapbox," said Jason Della Rocca,
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      'common sense tells me'
  • When Jack Thompson gets worked up, he refers to gamers as "knuckleheads." He calls video games "mental masturbation." When he's talking about himself and his crusade against violent games, he calls himself an "educator." He likes to use the word "pioneer."
  • On those rare occasions when a student opens fire on a school campus, Thompson is frequently the first and the loudest to declare games responsible. In recent years he's blamed games such as "Counter-Strike," "Doom" and "Grand Theft Auto III" for school shootings in Littleton, Colo., Red Lake, Minn. and Paducah, Ky.
  • He's blamed them for shootings beyond school grounds as well. In an attempt to hold game developers and publishers responsible for these spasms of violence, Thompson has launched several unsuccessful lawsuits.
  • "It disgusts me," said Isaiah Triforce Johnson, a longtime gamer and founder of a New York-based gaming advocacy group that, in response to the accusations, is now planning what is the first ever gamer-driven peace rally. 
  • Microsoft did not create "Counter Strike" but did publish a version of it for the Xbox.
  • authorities released a search warrant listing the items found in Cho's dorm room. Not a single video game, console or gaming gadget was on the list, though a computer was confiscated. And in an interview with Chris Matthews of "Hardball," Cho's university suite-mate said he had never seen Cho play video games.
  • "This is not rocket science. When a kid who has never killed anyone in his life goes on a rampage and looks like the Terminator, he's a video gamer,"
  • And in a letter sent to Bill Gates Wednesday, he wrote: "Mr. Gates, your company is potentially legally liable (for) the harm done at Virginia Tech. Your game, a killing simulator, according to the news that used to be in the Post, trained him to enjoy killing and how to kill."
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      See how bad his research is, the only possibility of him ever playing a game was on his computer, yet he blames Microsoft, who created a game for the Xbox (which would be incompatible for a PC) for directly and massively influencing these events.
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      Counter Strike, the game he blamed for these killings, has two objectives. Protect an objective from a bomb that the team of terrorists are going to try to plant, or to plant this bomb. Neither of these objectives have to include murder, or solo missions.
  • Fed up with the scapegoating and lack of understanding, gamer groups have begun to get increasingly organized in their attempts to change public perception of their favorite hobby.
  • While Thompson concedes that there are many elements that must have driven Cho to commit such a brutal act, he insists that without video games Cho wouldn't have had the skills to do what he did. "He might have killed somebody but he wouldn't have killed 32 if he hadn't rehearsed it and trained himself like a warrior on virtual reality. It can't be done. It just doesn't happen."
  • Dr. Karen Sternheimer, a sociologist at the University of Southern Calfornia and author of the book " Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions About Today's Youth," disagrees. She believes that it didn't require much skill for Cho to shoot as many people as he did. After all, eye witness accounts indicate many of the victims were shot at point-blank range.
  • And for all of Thompson's claims that violent video games are the cause of school shootings, Sternheimer points out that before this week's Virginia Tech massacre, the most deadly school shooting in history took place at the University of Texas in Austin… in 1966. Not even "Pong" had been invented at that time.
  • Sternheimer says the rush to blame video games in these situations is disingenuous for yet another reason. Although it remains unclear whether Cho played games, it seems nobody will be surprised if it turns out he did. After all, what 23-year-old man living in America hasn't played video games?
  • "Especially if you're talking about young males, the odds are pretty good that any young male in any context will have played video games at some point,"
  • "I think in our search to find some kind of answer as to why this happened, the video game explanation seems easy," she says. "It seems like there's an easy answer to preventing this from happening again and that feels good on some level."
  • The blame game
  • Jason Della Rocca agrees. "Everyone wants a simple solution for a massively complex problem. We want to get on with our lives."
  • As the leader of an organization that represents video game creators from all over the world, Della Rocca knows the routine all too well.
  • Someone opens fire on a school campus. Someone blames video games. His phone starts ringing. People start asking him questions like, "So how bad are these games anyway?"
  • Of course, he also knows that this is far from the first time in history that a young form of pop culture has been blamed for any number of society's ills. Rock and roll was the bad guy in the 1950s. Jazz was the bad guy in the 1930s. Movies, paintings, comic books, works of literature…they've all been there.
  • Still, Della Rocca believes that people like Thompson are "essentially feeding off the fears of those who don't understand games."
  • For those who didn't grow up playing video games, the appeal of a game like "Counter-Strike" can be hard to comprehend. It can be difficult to understand that the game promotes communication and team work. It can be hard fathom how players who love to run around gunning down their virtual enemies do not have even the slightest desire to shoot a person in real life.
  • "It's the thing they don't understand," Della Rocca says. "It's a thing that's scary."
  • "You cannot tell me — common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they're on a mass killing spree in a video game, it's glamorized on the big screen, it's become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high. And we're going to have to start dealing with that."
  • the members of Empire Arcadia — a grassroots group dedicated to supporting the gaming community and culture — have been so incensed by the recent attempts to blame video games for the Virginia Tech shootings that they've begun planning a rally in New York City with the assistance of the ECA.
  • "There we will protest, mourn and show how real gamers play video games peacefully and responsibly," organizer Johnson wrote on the group's Web site. "This demonstration is to show that gamers will not take the blame of this tragic matter but we will do what we can to help put an end to terrible events like this." Johnson says that, ultimately, he hopes the rally — scheduled for May 5 — will help people better understand video game enthusiasts like him. "We are normal people," he says. "We just play games."
Ben Walters

Violence and Video Games - 0 views

  • As the level of violence in video games has increased, so has concern for the effects on those who play - especially those who play a lot. Many are quick to point out that most school shootings in recent years have been carried out by avid gamers, and their games of choice were always dark and violent.
  • But it begs the question: Which comes first? Can aggressive and violent behavior be attributed to violence in video games? Or do those who play already have violent tendencies which draw them to violent games? It's a type of "chicken or the egg" debate that has strong advocates on both sides.
  • The more lifelike they've become, the more interest there has been in the correlation between violent games and violent behavior.
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  • In order to play and win, the player has to be the aggressor. Rather than watching violence, as he might do on television, he's committing the violent acts. Most researchers acknowledge that this kind of active participation affects a person's thought patterns, at least in the short term.
  • Another factor that concerns both researchers and parents is that violence in video games is often rewarded rather than punished.
  • If played frequently enough, games like this can skew a young person's perception of violence and its consequences.
  • In 2002, researchers Anderson and Bushman developed the General Aggression Model (GAM). Often considered one of the greatest contributions to the study of violence and video games, the GAM helps explain the complex relationship between violent video games and aggressive gamers.
  • The GAM takes some (though not all) of the heat off video games by acknowledging that a gamer's personality plays into how he is affected by violence. Anderson and Bushman refer to three internal facets - thoughts, feelings, and physiological responses - that determine how a person interprets aggressive behavior. Some people's responses are naturally more hostile, making them predisposed to respond more aggressively to violent video games.
  • Short-term effects were easily identified in the GAM; the most prominent being that violent games change the way gamers interpret and respond to aggressive acts. Even those who aren't predisposed to aggression respond with increased hostility after playing a violent video game. The game becomes what's called a "situational variable" which changes the perception of and reaction to aggressive behavior.
  • No long-term studies have been conducted to date, so there are only hypotheses.
  • Anderson and Bushman theorized that excessive exposure to violent video games causes the formation of aggressive beliefs and attitudes, while also desensitizing gamers to violent behaviors.
  • Parents would be wise to monitor the amount of time their kids spend gaming and watch closely for any negative effects.
Ben Walters

Part 1 - How video games are good for the brain - The Boston Globe - 0 views

  • How video games are good for the brain Concerns about violent programs persist, but researchers are discovering that playing can boost cognitive function and foster positive behavior
  • In his speech to America’s schoolchildren last month, President Obama had a clear directive about video games: Put them away.
  • But the latest science shows that there’s a lot more to video games than their dark reputations suggest.
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  • “There’s still a tendency to think of video games as a big wad of time-wasting content,’’
  • “Games are a medium. They’re not inherently good or bad.’’
  • After years of focusing on the bad - and there are still legitimate concerns, for instance, about the psychological effects of certain violent games - scientists are increasingly examining the potential benefits of video games. Their studies are revealing that a wide variety of games can boost mental function, improving everything from vision to memory. Still unclear is whether these gains are long-lasting and can be applied to non-game tasks. But video games, it seems, might actually be good for the brain.
  • The very structure of video games makes them ideal tools for brain training.
  • games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems.’’
  • This adaptive challenge is “stunningly powerful’’ for learning, said John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at MIT.
  • Most games involve a huge number of mental tasks, and playing can boost any one of them. Fast-paced, action-packed video games have been shown, in separate studies, to boost visual acuity, spatial perception, and the ability to pick out objects in a scene. Complex, strategy-based games can improve other cognitive skills, including working memory and reasoning.
  • Researchers now know that learning and practicing a challenging task can actually change the brain.
  • Richard Haier,a pediatric neurologist and professor emeritus at the School of Medicine at the University of California at Irvine, has shown in a pair of studies that the classic game Tetris, in which players have to rotate and direct rapidly falling blocks, alters the brain. In a paper published last month, Haier and his colleagues showed that after three months of Tetris practice, teenage girls not only played the game better, their brains became more efficient.
Ben Walters

Video Game Addiction - Internet Gaming Addiction - 0 views

  • Anyone who has experienced it knows all too well – video game addiction is real.
  • Although gaming addiction is not yet officially recognized as a diagnosable disorder by the American Medical Association, there is increasing evidence that people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are facing very real, sometimes severe consequences associated with compulsive use of video and computer games.
  • it’s not surprising that some teens would rather play the latest video game than hang out with friends, play sports, or even watch television.
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  • Of course, all gamers are not addicts – many teens can play video games a few hours a week, successfully balancing school activities, grades, friends, and family obligations. But for some, gaming has become an uncontrollable compulsion. Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization’s criteria for addiction. Just like gambling and other compulsive behaviors, teens can become so enthralled in the fantasy world of gaming that they neglect their family, friends, work, and school.
Aneesh Mysore

Why video games are good for kids - 0 views

  • There is a lot of controversy about how bad video games are for children, in regards to violence, and general obsession with playing, so much so that nothing else matters to them. Having been quite involved in more than one video game in my time, I can attest to the fact that they can become quite addicting and there is a kind of obsession that drives you to keep playing until you’ve won the game
  • Video games have many benefits to children which most of us never even think of. Video games promote good eye-hand coordination, problem solving skills, critical thinking and competition.
Ben Walters

The Entertainment Software Association - Industry Facts - 0 views

  • The best-selling video game of 2007, "Halo 3," took in more revenue ($170 million) on its first day of sales than the opening weekend receipts of "Spider Man 3," ($151 million), the highest-grossing movie opening ever.
  • computer and video games to meet the demands and tastes of audiences as diverse as our nation's population.
  • Today's gamers include millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds.  In fact, more than two-thirds of all American households play games. This vast audience is fueling the growth of this multi-billion dollar industry and bringing jobs to communities across the nation.
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  • U.S. computer and video game software sales generated $10.5 billion in 2009.
  • Sixty-seven percent of American households play computer or video games. 
  • The average game player is 34 years old and has been playing games for 12 years.
  • The average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 40 years old.
  • Forty percent of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (33 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (20 percent).
  • In 2010, 26 percent of Americans over the age of 50 play video games, an increase from nine percent in 1999.
  • Forty-two percent of heads of households play games on a wireless device, such as a cell phone or PDA, up from 20 percent in 2002.
  • Eighty-two percent of all games sold in 2009 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+.
  • Parents who have children under 18 with a gaming console in the home are present when games are purchased or rented 93 percent of the time.
  • Sixty-four percent of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives.
Ben Walters

Part 2 - How video games are good for the brain - The Boston Globe - 0 views

  • A type of scan that illuminates brain activity showed that at the end of the three months, the girls’ brains were working less hard to complete the game’s challenges. What’s more, parts of the cortex, the outer layer of their brains responsible for high-level functions, actually got thicker. Several of these regions are associated with visual spatial abilities, planning, and integration of sensory data.
  • Does this mean that Tetris is good for your brain?’’ Haier said. “That is the big question. We don’t know that just because you become better at playing Tetris after practice and your brain changes . . . whether those changes generalize to anything else.’’
  • Generalizability to non-game situations is the big question surrounding other emerging games, particularly software that is being marketed explicitly as a way to keep neurons spry as we age. The jury is still out on whether practicing with these games helps people outside of the context of the game. In one promising 2008 study, however, senior citizens who started playing Rise of Nations, a strategic video game devoted to acquiring territory and nation building, improved on a wide range of cognitive abilities, performing better on subsequent tests of memory, reasoning, and multitasking. The tests were administered after eight weeks of training on the game. No follow-up testing was done to assess whether the gains would last.
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  • Now that researchers know these off-the-shelf games can have wide-ranging benefits, they’re trying to home in on the games’ most important aspects, potentially allowing designers to create new games that specifically boost brain power.
  • “Until now, people have been asking can you learn anything from games?’’ MIT’s Klopfer said. “That’s a less interesting question than what aspects of games are important for fostering learning.’’
  • Do students learn more with a more narrative game?
  • is assessing whether games that are novel, include social interaction, and require intense focus are better at boosting cognitive skills. McLaughlin and her colleagues will use the findings to design games geared toward improving mental function among the elderly.
  • Other researchers are hoping to use video games to encourage prosocial behaviors - actions designed to help others.
  • an international team of researchers, including several from Iowa State University, reported that middle school students in Japan who played games in which characters helped or showed affection for others, later engaged in more of these behaviors themselves.
  • Researchers also found that US college students randomly assigned to play a prosocial game were subsequently kinder to a fellow research subject than students who played violent or neutral games.
  • Unlike, say, movies or books, video games don’t just have content, they also have rules. A game is set up to reward certain actions and to punish others. This means they have immense potential to teach children ethics and values
  • (Of course, this is a double-edged sword. Games could reward negative, antisocial behavior just as easily as positive, prosocial behavior.)
  • Some off-the-shelf games already contain strong prosocial themes
  • he classic Oregon Trail, which make players responsible for the well-being of other characters and feature characters who take care of one another.
  • “Ultimately, the video game needs to be an entertaining experience,’’ Seider said. “The game has to be fun.’’
Aneesh Mysore

Video game controversy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • There are three types of aggression, measured along a mild-to-violent severity continuum: physical, verbal, and relational. Violence refers to physical aggression of which the victim is likely to suffer serious physical injury.
  • One study did find an increase in reports of bullying, noting, "Our research found that certain patterns of video game play were much more likely to be associated with these types of behavioral problems than with major violent crime such as school shooting
  • On April 20, 1999, 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher in the Columbine High School massacre. The two were allegedly obsessed with the video game Doom.
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  • a 19-year-old Thai teenager, stabbed a Bangkok taxi driver to death during an attempt to steal the driver's cab in order to obtain money to buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Ben Walters

Does game violence make teens aggressive? - Technology & science - Games - On the Level... - 0 views

  • Can video games make kids more violent? A new study employing state-of-the-art brain-scanning technology says that the answer may be yes.
  • brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention.
  • he does think that the study should encourage parents to look more closely at the types of games their kids are playing.
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  • “Based on our results, I think parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.”
  • he scans showed a negative effect on the brains of the teens who played “Medal of Honor” for 30 minutes. That same effect was not present in the kids who played “Need for Speed.”
  • And it’s also not known what effect longer play times might have. The scope of this study was 30 minutes of play, and one brain scan per kid
  • But what about violent TV shows? Or violent films? Has anyone ever done a brain scan of kids that have just watched a violent movie?
  • Kids in his study experienced increased emotional arousal when watching short clips from the boxing movie “Rocky IV.”
  • Larry Ley, the director and coordinator of research for the Center for Successful Parenting, which funded Mathews’ study, says the purpose of the research was to help parents make informed decisions. “There’s enough data that clearly indicates that [game violence] is a problem,” he says. “And it’s not just a problem for kids with behavior disorders.”
  • But not everyone is convinced that this latest research adds much to the debate – particularly the game development community. One such naysayer is Doug Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association.
  • “We've seen other studies in this field that have made dramatic claims but turn out to be less persuasive when objectively analyzed.”
  • And they’ve got plenty of answers at the ready for the critics who want to lay school shootings or teen aggression at the feet of the game industry. Several studies cited by the ESA point to games’ potential benefits for developing decision-making skills or bettering reaction times. Ley, however, argues such studies aren’t credible because they were produced by “hired guns” funded by the multi-billion-dollar game industry.
  • Increasingly parents are more accepting of video game violence, chalking it up to being a part of growing up. “I was dead-set against violent video games,” says Kelley Windfield, a Sammamish, Wa.-based mother of two. “But my husband told me I had to start loosening up.” Laura Best, a mother of three from Clovis, Calif., says she looks for age-appropriate games for her 14 year-old son, Kyle. And although he doesn’t play a lot of games, he does tend to gravitate towards shooters like “Medal of Honor.”  But she isn’t concerned that Kyle will become aggressive as a result. “That’s like saying a soccer game or a football game will make a kid more aggressive,” she says. “It’s about self-control, and you’ve got to learn it.”
  • “Let’s quit using various Xboxes as babysitters instead of doing healthful activities,” says Ley, citing the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. And who, really, can argue with that?
Aneesh Mysore

Media Violence-Video Games - 0 views

  • The article gives some details about HR 669, a bill pending in Congress which would make it illegal to sell ultra-violent video games to children. 
  • A Boston Globe article examines arguments in a U.S. Court of Appeals case brought by the industry against a St. Louis County ordinance that restricts minors' access to violent video games
  • Playing violent video games can increase aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior, say researchers in the BBC News article
Aneesh Mysore

Should Stores Sell Violent Video Games to Minors? - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • The law would impose $1,000 fines on stores that sell violent video games to people under 18.
  • Some of the Grimm’s fairy tales are quite grim,” he added. “Are you going to ban them, too?”
Aneesh Mysore

Video Games For Underage Children - 0 views

  • n fact, over eighty three percent of all those adults who buy computer games or video games for children against the publisher's age recommendations are the parents themselves.
  • well over sixty percent of all those who do play or buy such video games are over the age of eighteen.
  • that parents don't realise just how much computer graphical capabilities have developed in the last few years.
Aneesh Mysore

History of video games - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views

  • The origin of video games lies in early cathode ray tube-based missile defense systems in the late 1940s.
  • the 1960s, more computer games were developed
  • In September 1971, the Galaxy Game was installed at a student union at Stanford University. Based on Spacewar!, this was the first coin-operated video game. Only one was built, using a DEC PDP-11 and vector display terminals. In 1972 it was expanded to be able to handle four to eight consoles.
Aneesh Mysore

Can Video Games Help Reduce Stress? - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedconten... - 0 views

  • The mindless activity of punching buttons and watching the screen can effectively take the mind away from stressors and focus energy in a positive direction. Although video games are reportedly addictive, they can also help reduce stress and therefore increase levels of health.
  • , the best games for this type of stress relief are repetitive games that are easy to master but which have a goal that can be difficult to achieve.
  • Video games can also reduce stress by giving the hands and the mind something active in which to partake. It doesn't take a significant amount of energy to play a video game, but it is a constructive use of the hands and involves hand-eye coordination.
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  • release certain chemicals in the brain, such as what happens during exercise.
Ben Walters

Six Wonderful Things About Games - 0 views

  • Research is mounting that playing games can make you smarter.
  • At the 2009 MI6 conference, he pointed out that games engage the same brain machinery that’s used when one is learning.
  • Is it a coincidence that “nerds” often possess an interest in computer games, as well as have an aptitude for subjects like maths and science?
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  • A huge number of engineers, designers and artists have taken up their careers because of the excitement they gained from their exposure to games. Games challenge the imagination, and designing them is a fun and rewarding experience.
  • Part of this includes challenging kids to design games
  • This hasn’t been lost on the Obama Administration, which is including educational games in a $260mm program
  • It is often said that playing video games improves one’s hand-eye coordination.  This is a very important skill to have outside the realm of video games
  • playing games could help someone become a better surgeon (it does—a lot).
  • games have gotten people excited about learning something new.
  • eople do learn new things they might never have, just by playing these games.
  • Academic research has shown that games can increase the feelings that lead to creativity
  • laying WoW directly intersects with the study of applied mathematics.
  • ophisticated spreadsheets and statistical models to reach their conclusions
  • their first exposure to formal applied mathematics
  • well-researched tables, proofs and statistics.
  • If only my gradeschool teachers had come up with something this engaging to get me interested in in the almost impenetrable world of mathematics!
  • Furthermore, games themselves are becoming an increasingly creative medium
  • video and computer games
  • an be quite influential in fostering creative expression
  • Games even inspire creativity outside of the game
  • games as creative catalysts
  • we’re still at the very beginning of games as a means of artistic and creative expression
  • games provide a venue for expression
  • Furthermore, the study found that teens who are exposed to civics within games (e.g., city-simulators like SimCity, or running a guild/clan in other games) are more likely than other teens to be interested in political and civics activities.
  • players are learning real economics and business skills
  • Such claims have been repeatedly debunked after extensive research,
  • Unlike any other medium, games gets different people from different countries, political views and religions all playing together. Not because they are elite; not because they’re spectators, but because you must work together to solve problems.
  • I’m convinced that the more we play together, the more we’ll learn to live with each other
  • Games are fun, and that’s enough for me. Maybe it isn’t enough for you—or for your friends or for your family. I hope you the information I’ve presented is helpful to you in explaining many of the other positives about games.  Not only are games fun, but they’re also healthy, and can promote positive brain development, career opportunity and social behavior.
Aneesh Mysore

Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression | Serendip's Exchange - 0 views

  • when action is taken upon the frustration and stress, and the action is taken out in anger and aggression, the results may be very harmful to both the aggressor and the person being aggressed against, mentally, emotionally, and even physically.
  • , violent video games were considered to be more harmful in increasing aggression than violent movies or television shows due to their interactive and engrossing nature.
  • Although there have been studies that have found video game violence to have little negative effects on their players,
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  • However, violent games do affect children, as the studies show, especially early teens, and I feel that there needs to be a stricter regulation regarding the availability of these games to young children.
Ben Walters

Ohio teenager Daniel Petric killed mother over Halo 3 video game | News.com.au - 0 views

  • Teen not allowed to play Halo 3 Gets gun, says he "has a surprise" Shoots both of his parents in the head
  • A TEENAGER obsessed with a video game has been found guilty of murdering his mother and injuring his father after they took the game away from him.
  • Daniel Petric, 17, planned to kill his parents because he was angry that his father would not allow him to play Halo 3.
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  • On the night of the murder, the Ohio teenager used his father's key to open a box and remove the game, plus a 9mm handgun, the Associated Press reported.
  • "Would you close your eyes? I have a surprise for you."
  • Petric's father, Mark, said he was expecting a nice surprise. Instead, his head went numb from the gunshot, the Associated Press reported.
  • Mark Petric survived the shooting. Petric's mother, Susan, died of a gunshot wound to the head.
  • Petric took the Halo 3 game with him when he fled the scene.
  • udge James Burge said his obsession with Halo 3 may have warped his sense of reality, but rejected the defence lawyer's plea of insanity.
  • I firmly believe that Daniel Petric had no idea at the time he hatched this plot that if he killed his parents they would be dead forever," Judge Burge said.
  • he planned the crime for weeks
  • The teenager was found guilty of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and other charges
  • Petric faces a maximum possible penalty of life in prison without parole as he has been tried as an adult.
Ben Walters

Video-game sales overtaking music - MSN Money - 0 views

  • 6/26/2007
  • video-game sector will remain one of the above-average growth segments of the global entertainment industries through 2011, with global games spending set to exceed music spending this year
  • Key growth engines will include online and wireless games, new-generation consoles and the burgeoning in-game advertising business.
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  • 2011, the worldwide gaming market will be worth $48.9 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 9.1%
  • ith gains slowing every year because of the maturation of the current generation of consoles,
  • exceed the 6.4% advance that PwC foresees for the overall entertainment economy during the period.
  • Its data include consumer spending on games, but exclude spending on hardware and accessories.
  • For the U.S. gaming business, PwC projects 6.7% compound annual gains for the five-year period, to $12.5 billion. Asia-Pacific should remain the region with the highest overall spending on gaming during the period and reach $18.8 billion in 2011, PwC forecasts.
  • Despite its leading size, its 10% average annual gains will only be exceeded by the combined region of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which is pegged for a 10.2% compound annual gain and is set to remain at No. 2 in terms of worldwide gaming.
  • In the U.S., online and wireless games should see the biggest gains through 2011
  • online will expand from an estimated $1.1 billion market last year to $2.7 billion in 2011
  • Consumer spending on console and hand-held games will go from $6.5 billion in 2006 to $7.9 billion in 2011
  • However, the U.S. PC games market will continue its decline, with PwC eyeing a contraction from an estimated $969 million in 2006 to $840 million in 2011.
  • growing from an estimated $80 million last year to $950 million in 2011
  • this estimate could prove conservative as "advertisers like to reach the younger males" that many games tend to attract.
  • He also said that the overall gaming audience continues to expand and become somewhat more female and older than in the past thanks to casual games and the arrival as games as an "important part of culture."
Aneesh Mysore

The Effect of Video Games on the Brain | Serendip's Exchange - 0 views

  • When the younger brother won, the older brother got up and started kicking him and yelling insults
  • Mario Cart," which is really not a very violent game; the object is to win a car race by coming in first while maneuvering through different courses.
  • "Beta wave activity in people in the [highest amount of video game playing] was constantly near zero,
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • even when they weren't playing, showing that they hardly used the prefrontal regions of their brains. Many of the people in this group told researchers that they got angry easily, couldn't concentrate, and had trouble associating with friends"
Aneesh Mysore

Grand Theft Auto: Do Video Games Cause Behavior Problems? - 0 views

  • “You play as a thug with problems you must steal and shoot your way out of, but the problems this time are disconcertingly more realistic.
  • (ie: of the level that shoots and steals his way out of problems?? Wouldn’t this indicate some psychopathic tendencies? Do parents actually buy this game for kids?)
  • The killing and stealing bothers this writer not at all, just the curse words. And, there is this comment, barely literate and disturbing: “dis game is tight the graphocs rock one thing i enjoy is that you get to kill people and take peoples nice cars and in one mission u can buy a big plane like ones at the airports”.
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