Addiction to video games a growing concern: related news

Video Games: Commission welcomes progress on protection of minors in 23 EU Member States, but asks for improvement of industry c

The European video games sector is dynamic, with expected revenue of € 7.3 billion by the end of 2008. However, public concerns that video games can cause aggressive behaviour, heightened by school shootings such as in Helsinki (Finland, November 2007), have led several national authorities to ban or block video games such as "Manhunt 2". In response, the European Commission has surveyed existing measures protecting minors from harmful video games across the 27 EU Member States. 20 EU Member States now apply PEGI (Pan European Games Information), an age-rating system developed by industry, with EU support, since 2003. In the Commission's view, industry must invest more to strengthen and in particular to regularly update the PEGI system so that it becomes a truly effective pan-European tool.

Addiction to video games a growing concern

Concern is spreading among parents and mental-health professionals that the exploding popularity of computer and video games has a deeper dark side than simple couch-potato hood. Studies show that 92 percent of children under age 18 play regularly. According to the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University, about 8.5 percent of 8-to-18-year-old gamers can be considered pathologically addicted, and nearly one quarter of young people admit they’ve felt addicted. Little wonder: in February, a team at Stanford University School of Medicine showed that areas of the brain responsible for generating feelings of addiction and reward are activated during game play.

AOL to Include ESPN Content via Syndicated Video Player

ESPN and AOL announced that ESPN.com will make its short-form online video content accessible directly through AOL Video (http://video.aol.com), and AOL Sports (http://sports.aol.com/), marking the first time ESPN has syndicated its video content through an Internet portal. ESPN will offer highlights from games and major sporting events as well as video clips from ESPN original programming via an embedded ESPN video player. The ESPN channel page (http://video.aol.com/video-category/espn/112704) launched yesterday on AOL Video.

Study: Casual Video Games Demonstrate Ability to Relieve Stress, Improve Mood: Potential Clinical Significance Highlighted

GREENVILLE, N.C. and SEATTLE, April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- East Carolina University's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies today revealed the results of a six-month long, randomized, controlled study that measured the stress-relieving and other mood-lifting effects of so-called "casual" video games. The three puzzle and word games used in the study, Bejeweled(R) 2, Peggle(TM) and Bookworm(TM) Adventures, are all made by PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual video games. (PopCap underwrote the study and provided copies of the games for research purposes.) The hypotheses were tested using state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies to measure heart-rate variability (HRV), electroencephalography (EEG) and subjects' mood states pre- and post-activity (POMS).

Lawmakers want to regulate violent video games

After the record-breaking $500 million first-week sales of Grand Theft Auto IV, the business of video games is under the microscope again this week. This time, however, it’s not outraged parents doing the scrutinizing. It’s lawmakers. Congress introduced a bill this week pushing for government regulation of the gaming industry, just as the Federal Trade Commission released a report that found some stores are selling violent video games to kids despite a drive to have them observe the industry’s rating system. The Video Games Ratings Enforcement Act, introduced to the House floor this week by Reps. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Jim Matheson, D-Utah, would force stores to check the identification of anyone purchasing games rated M and AO. Stores that violate the rule would be fined $5,000 by the FTC.

Video Games Making Rock Stars?

Movies made some video games then video games made many movies and now video games are making the next generation of rock stars.

Step Right Up! 2K Play Expands Its Carnival Games Franchise With Carnival Games™ For Nintendo DS™ And Carnival Games: Mini-Golf™ Exclusive

New York, NY - March 11, 2008 - 2K Play, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced two new titles as a part of its brand extension strategy for its highly popular Carnival Games series. The new titles include Carnival Games for Nintendo DS, which is scheduled to ship this summer, and Carnival Games: Mini-Golf, an all-new game exclusive to the Wii home video game system, which will debut this fall. 2K Play is also announcing that its flagship Carnival Games title has reached a milestone of shipping more than one million units worldwide, while remaining a top-selling game with a number 5 ranking on the January 2008 NPD Wii chart.

Video Games Take Stage At 2008 NY Comic Con

New York Comic Con (NYCC), the second largest popular culture event in the United States, today announces many of the video game highlights during its 2008 event, April 18-20, at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. With an expanded focus on video games, this year's conference includes a look into the award-winning Gears of War franchise and the upcoming Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games President Michael Capps and Gears of War 2 scriptwriter Joshua Ortega of Microsoft Game Studios. New York Comic Con is a showcase for the biggest and the best of American pop culture and video games. These driving forces in what's popular and hot are represented through a number of NYCC events, exhibitors, and guests, with this year's show attracting many celebrities including Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, and T.

VIDEO GAMES TAKE STAGE AT 2008 NEW YORK COMIC CON

Norwalk, CT, April 1, 2008: New York Comic Con (NYCC), the second largest popular culture event in the United States, today announces many of the video game highlights during its 2008 event, April 18-20, at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. With an expanded focus on video games, this year's conference includes a look into the award-winning Gears of War franchise and the upcoming Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games President Michael Capps and Gears of War 2 scriptwriter Joshua Ortega of Microsoft Game Studios. New York Comic Con is a showcase for the biggest and the best of American pop culture and video games. These driving forces in what's popular and hot are represented through a number of NYCC events, exhibitors, and guests, with this year's show attracting many celebrities including Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, an

Video Games Take Stage At 2008 NY Comic Con

Norwalk, CT, April 1, 2008: New York Comic Con (NYCC), the second largest popular culture event in the United States, today announces many of the video game highlights during its 2008 event, April 18-20, at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. With an expanded focus on video games, this year's conference includes a look into the award-winning Gears of War franchise and the upcoming Gears of War 2 for the Xbox 360 by Epic Games President Michael Capps and Gears of War 2 scriptwriter Joshua Ortega of Microsoft Game Studios. New York Comic Con is a showcase for the biggest and the best of American pop culture and video games. These driving forces in what's popular and hot are represented through a number of NYCC events, exhibitors, and guests, with this year's show attracting many celebrities including Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, an

Video games don't create killers

Playing video games does not turn children into deranged, blood-thirsty super-killers, according to a new book by a pair of Harvard researchers. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, a husband-and-wife team at Harvard Medical School, detail their views in Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, which came out last month and promises to reshape the debate on the effects of video games on kids.

Casual video games demonstrate ability to relieve stress

East Carolina University’s Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies today revealed the results of a six-month long, randomized, controlled study that measured the stress-relieving and other mood-lifting effects of casual video games. The three puzzle and word games used in the study, Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm Adventures, are all made by PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual video games.

Adults Too Quick to Dismiss Educational Gaming?

netbuzz writes "A new survey finds that more than half of K-12 students believe that educational video games in school would help them learn (no surprise), although only 15% of teachers and 19% of parents agree. Adults might not want to scoff, however, because 11% of teachers are already using video games in class and they report great results. 'Only 3% of elementary school students say they do not play video games of any kind. Students surveyed say learning via video games would help them better understand difficult concepts, become more engaged in the subject matter and practice skills. There's no mention of the games being fun, but that goes without saying.'"

Give consumers better information about video games, but don't impose new costs on the games industry, Tiga warns Government

Tiga today backed the Byron Review’s call for the provision of better information about the content of video games and for parents to take greater responsibility for ensuring that their children do not view inappropriate material. However, Tiga also warned the Government against burdening the games industry with the sole cost of waging an information campaign about the ratings systems for games.

Video games chase mainstream coverage

The release of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV two weeks ago pushed video games another step closer to acceptance by the entertainment art world, complete with soundtracks, lifelike quality, and a wider, more mainstream audience. As the public looks at video games differently, the PR behind such games is evolving.

Warner Home Video: Blu-ray video viewership getting a boost thanks to PS3

While Blu-ray video sales are supposedly not yet at the level required to make up for a lagging North American home video market in general, a survey commissioned by Warner Home Video nevertheless suggests that Blu-ray media still stands to pick up steam... from PlayStation 3 owners. Backed by this survey, Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders explains at Screen Digest's PEVE Digital Entertainment conference that the percentage of total console usage by PS3 owners spent watching Blu-ray video content increased to 23 percent during the first two months of 2008, up from 15 percent back in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Razer to Sponsor Video Games Live

Razer is the first sponsor of Video Games Live, an international concert featuring the music from the most popular video games ever created. Razer plans to work with the people that created and put together the concert and music to make each concert a memorable event and pay tribute to these great games. The concert will kick off in Ogden Utah on March 27, 2008, people who attend these concerts not only get the chance to witness this colossal event but also have the chance to win prizes from Razer including the Razer Lanchesis and Mako. Team members from Team Razer will also be on site to demo new products and compete in contests with attendees.

Commission to limit sales of violent video games

Sales of violent video games should be forbidden to minors, the European Commission claimed yesterday (22 April), calling for the labelling system for dangerous games to be beefed up to better protect children. But the booming online video games sector is not covered by the new proposals.

US Spies Use Custom Video Games for Training

Wired reports that the US Defense Intelligence Agency has just acquired three PC-based video games which they will use to train the next wave of analysts. The games are short, but they have branching story lines that change depending on how a trainee reacts to various problems. Quoting: "'It is clear that our new workforce is very comfortable with this approach,' says Bruce Bennett, chief of the analysis-training branch at the DIA's Joint Military Intelligence Training Center. Wired.com had an opportunity to play all three games, Rapid Onset, Vital Passage and Sudden Thrust. The titles may conjure images of blitzkrieg, but the games themselves are actually a surprisingly clever and occasionally surreal blend of education, humor and intellectual challenge, aimed at teaching the player how to think.

Lets get physical

Screen time for both TV and video games now averages eight hours a day among children. (Who are these kids? Don’t they have chores and homework?) If playing video games makes kids less active and contributes to obesity, why not create more video games that require activity? That’s the question prompted by a Mayo Clinic research study published in the current issue of the medical journal, Pediatrics. The study is the first to scientifically measure the energy spent playing video games. While the study’s scope is small (only 25 children), it was reportedly conducted with great accuracy.

Getting physical

Screen time for both TV and video games now averages eight hours a day among children. (Who are these kids? Don’t they have chores and homework?) If playing video games makes kids less active and contributes to obesity, why not create more video games that require activity? That’s the question prompted by a Mayo Clinic research study published in the current issue of the medical journal, Pediatrics. The study is the first to scientifically measure the energy spent playing video games. While the study’s scope is small (only 25 children), it was reportedly conducted with great accuracy.

Kotaku Named Best Worldwide Resource for Video Games (In Denver) [Awards]

Every year newspapers and alt papers around the country print mammoth guides to their community to highlight the best places to eat, hang-out, drink, go shopping and what have you. This year I was surprised to find that (Denver) Westword's 25th Annual Best of edition included a special category just for Kotaku, complimenting both video games and our site in the entry: Best Worldwide Resource for Video Games (2008)www.kotaku.comVideo games are quickly ascending to a place of cultural dominance, joining movies and music in terms of earning power and cultural cachet.

Addiction to Video Games a Growing Concern

Ollie Morelli, 7, logs on to the family laptop before sunup to make sure his pet lion, Cedric, is set for the day. The character in the online game Webkinz would appear to be: His house, furnished by Ollie, boasts a football-shaped refrigerator, a football-helmet coffee table, a couch, and a flat-screen TV. Cedric requires hours of after-school attention, too—and sometimes inspires an outburst when Mom and Dad say, "Enough!" Like many parents these days, Ollie's have wondered uneasily where childish pastime begins to edge toward obsession. "The issue is not the amount of time," says Brian Morelli. "We can control that. It's the fact that he gets up before everyone else and sneaks onto the computer. It's like he sets his internal clock so he can play Webkinz.

Playstation 2 Video Games: Top 3 Childrens Games

How many times has your children come home from school talking about a new video game he/she heard about from their friends? We are in a generation where things like Playstation 2 video games have never been bigger, but where do you draw the line? When do you tell your kids, \"No, you can\'t play that game.\" It\'s a hard decision to make, especially when they are influenced in school by others.

NAB: Blackmagic debuts USB Video Recorder, more

Blackmagic Design recently unveiled several new video interfaces at the NAB 2008 conference, the USB-based Video Recorder – available in consumer and professional versions – and a large scale 8U rack-mount SDI router. The Blackmagic Video Recorder offers consumers the ability to capture video directly to H.264 through component or S-Video onto their computer. The consumer USB Video Recorder sells for $120.

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