Some really cool new gadgets were displayed during the CES 2012 as expected, so it’s probably a bit funny that I’ll be zoning in on a mouse of all things. This mouse is, however, no ordinary mouse. In fact its a mouse that any gamer who is seriously into action-RPG and MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games.

The Razer Naga Hex, which is obviously from Razer, the same company that gave us the Razer Blade, has six weird honeycomb-style “mechanical thumb buttons to bind all the necessary spells, skills, and items to take down the competition and complete every quest victoriously.” This obviously reduces the clicks you have to make, making you far more efficient during battles and quests.

It is not the shortcut buttons that make this mouse stand out though. When it comes to tracking precision, you can say that it is as precise as you’d like it to be with its 5600dpi laser sensor designed specially for accuracy and precision. Hands-on reviews have also praised it for comfort, which anyone who has spent hours on end gripping a mouse know is just as important as any performance metric.

Aside from the buttons, precision tracking and comfort, anyone who takes a second to glance at the Razer Naga Hex will be immediately drawn to the alienish green mouse. So if you’re looking for the perfect mouse for the Razer Blade, this is it. You don’t have to wait much longer for it to come out either because its coming in stores next month.

Image via Razer

Fructel, a Swedish company, has developed a slide-out gamepad that will turn any Android (2.2 and up) phone or tablet into a really nice handheld game console.

The gamepad, called Gametel, is not yet available in the market although PocketGamer has been able to get their hands on a pre-release version of the device. It is supposed to be pretty easy to set up with its spring-loaded rubberized clamps that can hold standard smartphones in place and a free downloadable driver from the Android Market. You also don’t need to worry about using any wires since the controller connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth.

If you’re tired of your phone’s small screen though and your phone sports an HDMI out, then you can play games on your TV and enjoy a 2-player game with a friend who also owns a Gametel. Again, no wires needed other than the HMDI cable connecting your phone to the TV screen.

The Gametel’s battery is supposed to last for 9 hours (while gaming), which means that you’ll just have to wait and see whether your phone or the controller will run out of juice first.

The controller is due to be released this December and will be sold at £49.95 each. So if you don’t fancy giving your kid a new expensive handheld this Christmas, and they happen to have an Android smartphone, then you might consider getting him a Gametel instead. Of course, be warned that this might prompt your kid to ask you to upgrade his phone to an Xperia Play for a better gaming experience with his new Gametel!

Photo courtesy of Gametel

Tags: Gametel, handheld, Xperia Play

“The Razer Blade is a full aluminum chassis gaming laptop featuring true portability, incredible performance, and an all-new revolutionary user interface. Razer is introducing the world’s first true gaming laptop.”

With an intro like that from the CES website, any gamer would probably want to get their hands on the Razer Blade and see if it lives up to its reputation. By the way, a glowing description is not the only thing that CES heaped on this laptop, but also the 2012 Best in Innovation Award for Gaming Hardware and Accessories.

Released in the market just last August, the Razer Blade is a laptop like no other in terms of performance with its 64Bit dual core 2^nd generation Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB DDR RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce graphics processor. All this power doesn’t make it crazily heavy though, with the 17” laptop weighing in at 6.9lbs. More impressively, it is incredibly thin and is in fact almost an inch thinner than the average gaming laptop being only 0.88 inches thick (compared to 1.7-inch gaming laptops).

What makes this a gaming laptop unlike no other though is the Switchblade UI that I am personally raring to test. The UI comes with pre-defined profiles for popular games like Battlefield 3 and League of Legends, but is also fully customizable for gamers who are used to their own keysets. It also has a really cool LCD panel that doubles as an in-game information display and multi-touchpad, depending on the gamer’s preference.

So guess which laptop I’m craving for this Christmas?

Tags: gamimg laptop, hardware, laptop

We’ve all heard about how violent video games can bring harm to people who play them, especially the young people. More often than not, hardcore gamers get sick of these studies and proclamations of violence making players immune. That is why when I read this blog post on a study looking at the other side of the coin, I was pleasantly surprised. I was even more surprised that I haven’t heard more of this study, conducted by Dr. Cheryl K. Olson, which was actually started in 2004.

So what are the findings of the study? Dr. Olson states in an interview:

Many children in our survey, as well as our focus groups with boys who play violent games, said they played games to manage their feelings. This included playing games to “help get my anger out,” to forget problems, to relax, and to feel less lonely. Children who played at least one M-rated video game “a lot in the past six months” were significantly more likely to agree that getting anger out was one reason they played video games.

The bottom line is that adolescents who play video games are better able to manage their feelings – anger in particular. This is due to the fact that they are able to vent out violent emotions through video games. Another thing that I liked about the study is how they approached the issue – not using the premise that violent games cause aggressive behaviors. Instead, they focused on something more concrete – the reason behind adolescents playing these games.

Tags: Psychology, violence

Another study gives much needed support to video games. According to Carmen Russoniello, a professor at East Carolina University, video games are potentially beneficial when it comes to relieving stress and tension. Here is more information from IT World Canada:

Carmen Russoniello, a professor at East Carolina University, recently finished a six-month study of people playing Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm adventures. The study concluded the games could have “potential therapeutic applications,” according to a press release issued by PopCap games, which by sheer coincidence happens to be the developer of these three games.

The school’s department of recreational and leisure studies observed the behaviour of video game players and measured their stress, psychological tension, anger, depression, vigour, fatigue and confusion. For example, people who played Peggle experienced a 66 per cent reduction in “psychological tension” while 43 per cent of those who played Bookworm Adventures experienced a reduction in depression. Rumour has it people who reached the fourth screen in Space Invaders also experienced confusion, though that game was not included in Russoniello’s study.

It is interesting to note, however, that only specific games were covered by the study. The GTA series, which could be the most popular game franchise ever, was not included in the study.

The East Carolina University study did not include Grand Theft Auto, a game where players can pretend to be criminals taking on rival gang members and robbing banks. The game’s developer, Rock Star North, also makes Bully and Manhunt.

Oh well, it is a start, isn’t it?

Tags: Psychology

I came across a short article by Christopher Dawson over at ZDNet posing the question “Do game consoles have a place in primary education?” His rationale is as follows:

However, the new game, Cosmic Family, is a slick game filled with puzzles and animation. While the puzzles are engaging, the Wii itself, with it’s motion-sensitive Wiimotes, takes a remarkable amount of coordination and sensitivity to operate.

As I watch the kindergarten teacher work to develop just this sort of skill, I have to wonder if there might not be a place for systems like the Wii (with a limited selection of appropriate software, of course) in early elementary education, just as there is for desktop or laptop computers.

It seems to me that the Wii could be a great tool for developmental work, as well as occupational or physical therapy for particular students with identified needs in these areas. The parent in me feels a knee-jerk sense of horror at the thought of Nintendos in classrooms or gymnasiums. However, the technologist in me sees some new tools that just might take us beyond technology for the sake of technology.

I understand how a parent can feel that sense of “horror” at the thought of video games in school. But then again, it really depends on your perspective. If you see video games as a tool to enhance your children’s educational experience, it would probably be a sense of elation and not horror that you would feel.

I think the bottom line here is control and discipline. Just like any other school subject, the idea of using video games for educational purposes should be monitored and guided strictly. I think that it is a perfectly good idea to expose young children to technology – learning and fun together, don’t you think so?

Tags: education

Is your child gaining too much weight? Then buy him video games! But hold your horses, we have to qualify what kind of video games you have to buy. According to a team of researchers from Hong Kong, obese children can benefit from video games which urge them to move.

Of course the first thing that entered my mind when I read this was the Wii. However, there are other video games out there that provide similar benefits. One India reports:

“A recent active gaming concept that allows players to experience various activities (e.g., bowling, fishing, tennis, golf) in a virtual world is the XaviX gaming system (SSD Company Ltd., Shiga, Japan),” the authors said.

“In addition to the exercise gaming modalities, the XaviX system includes a gaming mat (XaviX J-Mat) that allows participants to travel the streets of Hong Kong at a walk or a run, avoiding obstacles and stamping out ninjas,” they added.

Robin R. Mellecker, B.Sc., and Alison M. McManus, Ph.D., of the Institute of Human Performance, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, measured heart rate and energy (calorie) expenditure in 18 children age 6 to 12 (average age 9.6) during a 25 minute gaming protocol.

“Our data demonstrate that the two active gaming formats result in meaningful increases in energy expenditure compared with the seated screen environment. The next step is to test whether active gaming interventions can provide sustainable increases in childhood physical activity,” the authors said. The study is published in the September issue of Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Not bad, eh? I think the Wii is still the king when it comes to these kinds of things but I am also thinking that more and more in the industry will follow suit.

Tags: health, obesity, video game

Will this ever stop? Will researchers ever find something definite about the link between violent video games and the behavior of those who play them? While I was doing my regular news browsing, a headline caught my eye. It read “Violent video games tied to teen aggression.” In my mind, I was wailing “Not again!”

After all, we have heard such statements from various people across various sectors for so long now. Then we have those people from other sectors claiming that these statements are unfounded. So what is it, really?

So I just the article anyway – if only to find out what proof they have found now. This is what Reuters reported:

Adolescents who play violent video games may become increasingly aggressive over time, a new study of Japanese and U.S. teens suggests.

Researchers found that among three groups of 9- to 18-year-olds followed over several months, those who regularly played violent video games were more likely to get into more and more physical fights over time. The study is among the first to chart changes in gamers’ aggressive behavior over time, lending weight to evidence that violent video games can encourage violence in some kids. And it’s the first to show that the effects are seen across cultures, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.

I have to emphasize the use of the word MAY. Grammatically speaking, this word is used to indicate a possibility. It does not really provide a solid link between the two factors being considered. To be honest, I am not surprised at all, are you?

Tags: aggression, gaming psychology

Apparently, Mark Wahlberg does and that is why he refuses to play Max Payne even if he is playing the starring role in the movie adaptation. I am sure that you know all about Max Payne but let me refresh your memory nonetheless.

Max Payne is a third person shooter game that can trace its origins back to the year 2001. Back then, the game was developed for the personal computer and was compatible with Windows. Soon after the Windows version was released, Max Payne for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox were developed by Rockstar Games (of course you know who they are, right?). A year after, Mac users had the chance to play Max Payne on their babies.

The first game became very popular that in 2003, a sequel was published. This time, it was dubbed Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. To date, this video game franchise has sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

As the trend seems to be these days, popular video games are being made into movies – and that is what Mark Wahlberg is working on. The movie is set to be released in October of this year with Mark being the star. And yet he refuses to get himself a copy of the game and actually play it for himself. He said:

I didn’t want to play because I have an addictive personality. I got more responsibility now than I’ve ever had with the kids and everything else. I don’t want to be spending 14 hours on the videogame and then eight hours on the set. It’s not going to work out.

Tags: Psychology

I remember having really bad dreams after watching a scary movie when I was a kid. Come to think of it, it still happens every now and then as an adult. Maybe that is why I do not really have an affinity for scary movies.

Have you heard of people putting the blame on video games for nightmares, though? I have not, really. Yet apparently, someone has been fingering video games as being the cause of nightmares in children. Thank goodness for researchers, though, as they have conducted a study that negates this belief.

I read an article over at Canada.com about this topic:

Television and computer games aren’t to blame for dark dreams about things that go bump in the night, according to a new study that finds no link between children’s viewing or gaming habits and their nightmares.

The research debunks popular wisdom as well as previous studies in which parents and children reported that frightening dreams were triggered by TV programs.

“We found no correlation between the amount of TV watching and computer game playing and nightmare frequency,” says Michael Schredl, head of research for the Sleep Laboratory at Germany’s Central Institute of Mental Health.

The researchers were surprised to find there was no connection between nightmares and computer games or TV shows – including the police and crime shows that 14 per cent of the children said they watched regularly.

This is a very interesting finding. To be honest with you, I would have thought that TV and video games causing nightmares was logical. Don’t think that I am not happy with the finding though.

Tags: Psychology