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?

I went on a vacation a couple of weeks ago and though I was very excited about the prospect of being at the beach for a week, I was having mixed feelings at the same time. This was due to the fact that I had just received my copy of GTA IV a couple of days before we were set to leave for the beach. I did have a chance to play – believe me, I took every chance I could get – but that was not enough to whet my appetite. I was mulling over the possibilities and came up with three:

-Postpone the trip.
-Take my PS3 with me.
-Forget about gaming for a while.

The second option was very very tempting. Until I realized that I had to take a ferry boat to the island and I didn’t really want to risk damaging the console. So option 3 it had to be.

It was not that bad, really. During the first day, I would think about gaming every now and then and wish fervently that I was at home in front of the TV. Those moments became rarer and rarer until they were totally gone by the 3rd day. However, when the 5th day came around, I was itching to play so badly I just couldn’t wait for the ferry boat to arrive.

So I guess that’s my figure – 5 days without gaming. I survived – and no scars to show for it. How about you, how long can you go without gaming?

We had two boys aged 7 and 12 – I never knew how creative you had to be in order to keep little boys occupied for 2 days! Anyway, it was kind of a good thing that we have several toys – gaming consoles and computers, that is – that the boys loved.

There were moments of uncertainty for me, however. I had not finished GTA IV then (yes, I have finished it now – I finished it yesterday, to be exact!) and really wanted to play. I tried to avoid it but just couldn’t. So it was not really surprising that after watching me play for a while, the boys were clamoring to be able to play.

GTA IV for kids? I don’t think so! It is not only about the violence and sexually explicit content, really. Following the dialogue and completing the missions are quite complicated activities in themselves. But I gave in – ok, boys, each of you can play for 30 minutes and then go back to the GameBoy or the PC.

Boy, did they have fun! At first they had difficulty controlling the cars. After a while, they were able to do a decent job out of it. Of course, they didn’t really follow the storyline. All they wanted to do was to drive around, get nice cars, and shoot people.

So should kids play GTA? I think that it’s not all that bad. You just have to explain to them the difference between reality and the game. And I really didn’t even have to explain that much – they themselves stated the difference. The only thing I am slightly worried about is that they might become desensitized to violence.

We have to admit, stereotype dictates that gamers are mainly male. As with most stereotypes, however, it is not really an accurate depiction. Ask the people in Australia – it seems that the number of girls playing video games is on the rise out there. I don’t really need a formal report to believe this – I have always been a firm disbeliever of that stereotype – but for those who want hard proof, check out the article which was recently published on Digital Life.

The report says:

The average gamer in Australia is now 28 years old, up from 24 just two years ago. And despite being largely ignored by the game industry, 41% are female.

Women and older Australians are the fastest-growing audience for computer and video games and if trends continue, by 2014 the average age of Australian gamers will be the same as non-players - 42 - with an equal number of male and female players.

Trends are similar in the US, where 38% of gamers are female, spending an average 7.4 hours a week playing, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

Do you need more proof? I surely do not. This comes as no surprise, really. If you take into account casual gaming and other types of video games, you would see that many of them are targeted towards the female population. And even those games that are not really for females (from whose perspective, I don’t know) attract them. From the sports video games to GTA IV – I know quite a large number of females who love playing these games.

…and I’ll tell you who you are. Obviously, this is my own version of the cliché “tell me who your friends are and I’ll you who you are.” Though I believe that this cliché can be true to some extent, I am not quite sure that it applies to video games.

I am actually not the first person to think along these lines. In fact, I got the idea from Crispin Boyer who wrote an entry in his blog entitled “Do we play what we are?” He, in turn, got his inspiration from a series of essays “Are we what we play?”

It seems that more and more gamers are digging deeper into the psychology of gaming – and why not? Gaming holds more meaning than merely mashing buttons or clicking the mouse.

So, do video games reflect one’s personality? Perhaps. Our choices, when it comes to video gaming, have something to do with our interests in real life. The person who loves basketball spends time playing NBA Live. The person who loves football plays Madden. Does this mean, however, that the person who is crazy about GTA is a killer and a violent person?

I suppose it is not as clear cut as that. I have a friend who has never tried skateboarding. Yet he is addicted to Skate. Then there is another friend who has never laid a hand on any other person and is opposed to violence in principle – yet he can’t get enough of God of War.

So what’s the deal? What do you think?

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?

This piece of news just frustrates me! I first heard of it through Bloggey Kong and the title “Afghanistan May Ban Video Games” already got me going. When I found the link to the actual news article, believe me, my blood pressure went up!

First of all, I distinctly remember several years ago, reading about Afghans being so thankful and happy that they could finally listen to music. I can’t imagine life without music. The Afghans, during the Taliban reign, were forbidden this small thing. After the Taliban was taken down, their eyes were opened to what the rest of the world took for granted.

And now, the very same Afghans who were “liberated” from Taliban rule, are putting in place legislation that is reminiscent of what used to oppress them. I apologize if this is sounding to be a political rant – let me get back to the point. This legislation, if passed, could also ban video games from the country.

Here’s an excerpt of the article published on Pakistan Daily Times:

All I can say is that I am confused and pity the countless Afghans who consider video games as their hobby.

Those of us who have had the PS3 for quite some time now would think back to the day that we first turned the console on and held the Six Axis controller in our hands. I don’t know about you, but I still remember that day clearly. I was certainly not one of the first people to have gotten a PS3 unit but that didn’t take anything away from my first experience with my PS3. Though the Six Axis controller was not a DualShock, it did serve its purpose. Well, actually in my case, it still is serving its purpose.

Still, the news from Sony that they are discontinuing production of the Six Axis controller due to the release of the DualShock 3 controller last week was most welcome! I can just imagine playing tons of PS3 games with this new controller – just like the one I had for the PS2, but which, I am sure is definitely going to be better!

Of course, some of you may have had your heyday with the DualShock already as units have been on sale on Gamestop since the beginning of this month. Some people have also claimed to have bought their controllers from Japan earlier this year – I am not quite sure about that. What I know is that those who have already experienced these new controllers for the PS3 have said nothing but good things – heavier, more stable, better performance, and so on. So what are we all waiting for? DualShock, here we come!

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.

I have never played a video game while drunk – well, as far as I can remember. I ran across this funny post detailing the top 5 games you are better at when you’re drunk. I guess the effects of St. Patrick’s Day drinking had not worn off yet when Jenn Frank wrote this post. It’s an amusing read – here’s the list:

What do you think? Want to try one of these out after a night of drinking?