Video games are good for you! (ESA, IGN)
p2pnet news view | Games:- Almost four out of 10 parents say they argue with their kids about how much time they spend playing games, says a National Institute on Media and the Family poll.
The younger the child, “the more frequent the arguments,” says the site, going on, “Disputes about when games should be played and which games are appropriate are common as well”.
But the biggest problem is the amount of time kids spend playing, says the institute, adding, “As recent reports have shown, too much time spent playing video games might affect study habits, and could lead to video game addiction and other serious problems. As the games become more realistic and online games become more popular, limiting game time will become an even greater challenge.”
But two new studies, one Canadian and the other American, take the opposite view, presenting video games as highly desirable, helping families meld together.
According to the not entirely unbiased Entertainment Software Association of Canada, “one in two Canadians can be considered a gamer, having actively played video games within the past month,” says the Canwest News Service.
And the similarly not disinterested IGN Entertainment study found, “far from being loners, 55% of all gamers are married, 48% have children and 57% of those who are parents regularly play video games with their children,” says the story.
“Family gaming is becoming a big part of Canadian families’ pastime,” says ESA spokeswoman. “Mom, dad and the kids are all playing together.”
Not only but also, “Single gamers are twice as likely to go out on a date in any given month,” says Canwest, quoting the US report.
“They are also nine % more likely to go out with their friends than people who do not play video games” and, “gamers are 11% more likely to play sports than non-gamers and spend the same amount of time per week reading books as those who don’t play video games.”
Canwest News Service – Study debunks bad gamer image, October 28, 2008
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October 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
thats like Apple doing a study on whether Mac OS X or Windows Vista is the most advanced OS ever…
personally I think Video Game addiction will be a big problem in 2010.
I don’t think video games are bad, but too much of a good thing is bad for you.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Parents have always schemed for ways to not have to spend so much money on their kids, and since video games have nearly always been the most expensive entertainment investment, they are an easy target.
Cries of video games being too violent (and therefore bad for you) arose in 1976 with the release of “Death Race”, which was an ARCADE GAME for crying out loud. The violence (if any) in that game was all cartoony.
Then there was the argument that video games could damage your TV with screen burn-in. That argument evaporated when the Atari 2600 had a primitive screen saver that did color cycling.
With the Nintendo era, and fewer concerns than ever, the parental groups came up with the new one: spending too much time playing video games is bad. Well, who were the ones who let their kids play too much in the first place?
Trying to make video games look bad is ridiculous. It was perhaps inevitable that pro-gaming reports came out.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Study sponsored by the “Entertainment Software Association of Canada”. Worthless. NEXT!
October 29th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
This is like a stoner saying that marijuana is good for you.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
HAHHAHA
“According to the not entirely unbiased Entertainment Software Association of Canada…” IS FULL OF CRAP!
Another way to get kids addicted, dummy them down, get violence into their heads witch will come out later. Seen it way too many times over the years. As they turn adults they become short tempered, dumb punks. Worse than rednecks after a booze party shooting up the whole town.
Parents who use computer games to babysit instead of spending time with young inquisitive minds should have kids taken away for abusing them. No wonder kids are susceptible to predators or can’t even find their way home if they get lost.
There’s a much better idea: Parents teach their kids about realities of life and how to survive in this world under any conditions. It’s what the schools refuse to teach. I wonder why?
October 30th, 2008 at 3:15 am
I’ve been gaming since the 70′s. My wife and I play together whenever we can actually find something with good co-op play. I don’t have children yet, but if I did I would have nothing against them playing video games too. Naturally I would pay close attention to what was being played and try to encourage genres/titles specifically geared towards children and especially families. Having a family game night is nothing new. People have been doing it with board games for many years now as a means of bonding and it works quite well. It improves good social behavior and helps children to grow up more confident of themselves. Likewise, video games have been proven to increase reflexes and hand eye coordination, as well as enhance problem solving skills, all things I consider just as important to a child’s development. The real problem these days is that parents refuse to take responsibility for their children, especially when they turn out bad. The fact is that children are a direct reflection of their upbringing. Bad parenting equals bad kids who will grow up to be bad parents as well. Kids pick up on that refusal to take responsibility and so grow up to be irresponsible themselves. It’s a never ending cycle and quite possibly one of the primary reasons the world seems to get a little bit worse year by year. Hard to teach what you’ve never been taught and if you do know, do you actually practice what you preach? It’s doubtful in most cases I would guess.
January 12th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
pie
January 12th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
i like big pie
November 13th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Video games are good… and bad. I know myself that I play video games too much. Thank my Uncle for giving me a PS2 when I was five. I play video games quite a bit; Although I’m not addicted to it, and I don’t choose to play First-person shooters and stuff like that.
There is no reason for all these parents to be angry that their kids are playing violent games and now their addicted to it. There was this kid who ran away after having a VG taken away, and his parents found him DEAD. IT’S THE PARENTS’ FAULT. Say the kid is 8-12, I don’t think most people that age will go shopping for video games by themselves. The kids are gonna look at the game, tell their parents his/her friend plays it all the time, and get away with it. Parents really have to look at the game ratings; especially if the kids are young.
I suggest you get your young, young kids any games that are EC, (Early Childhood. I know there aren’t many, though.) You could get stuff like Build-A-Bear or Jumpstart. My kids love it.
If you want games for the whole family, get classic games, like Mario Party, Bombermanland, or The Price is Right. I think they’re all rated “E.”
I suggest you shouldn’t buy games that are rated T, M, or A. Stuff like Halo ODST or Half Life 2. Those games have bad ratings and are both on XBOX 360.
For people who aren’t in date with video games, you shouldn’t get an XBOX 360 for your kid or yourself. They have the most killing games, and can shortly:
1. Get you addicted
2. Get you mad at Parents / Friends if they tell you you shouldn’t be playing so much
3. You start doing things the game does; You play Grand Theft Auto and end up Shoplifting / Joy Riding
4. You’ll turn into the crazy kid and run away and die
5. You won’t talk to people
6. You’ll get tired after playing the game too much
7. You’ll forget stuff you have to do
8. You will be a lifeless loser
9. You’ll talk random anime stuff no one understands. “My wizard totally powned your goblin! Gimme two stars!”
10. You will be such a phyco you won’t even understand what I’ve typed so far.
Thank you so much for reading. This is the longest comment I’ve ever made.
November 13th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Also, if your around my age, (I’m not giving it out, idiots!) You should get Kingdom Hearts. It may be a game for kids, but still; I’m a child at heart. Heh, heart! Get it? XD
But seriously, you have to listen to me. Kingdom Hearts is a very well-made game, about a boy named Sora, who is lost from his Island, and best friends, Riku and Kairi. (I know, all of these names are Chinese for elements.) Sora then finds Goofy and Donald, (From Disney, that’s practically the WHOLE game,) And have to search for King Mickey and Sora’s lost friends.
Sora has a weapon called the keyblade, (Sorry, guys, there isn’t actually something super violent in this game,) And with it he helps Donald and Goofy defeat these little Shadow creatures called “Heartless.”
Along the way, you have to travel through many Disney worlds, and some other strange worlds. Also, this is a good game for all you Final Fantasy fans. Leon, Aerith, (Aeris, (They had to change her name)) Yuffie, and Sid. (Or Cid, I keep forgetting if it’s spelled with a C or S.) Also, there all these cute little creatures called: “Moogles.” They will sell and synthesize things for you. You’ll know it’s a Moogle if they nickname you: “Kupo.” It’s a sort of… Moogle thing.
Be warned. This is a heck of a game. In a normal profile, an average person would die around 20 times in this game. If you have an Action Replay, you’re lucky, like me. Also, some people are confusing. Ansem, for one. He thinks Sora cannot understand the point of worlds if he hasn’t been out to see them. (He tells him in the start of the game, when you find the mushroom in the Secret Place – Destiny Islands.) There are also a bunch of Disney villains, such as:
Oogie Boogie, (The Nightmare before Christmas) Malifecient, (Sleeping Beauty) Captain Hook, (Peter Pan) Hades, (Hercules) Ursula, (The Little Mermaid) and Jafar. (Alladin.) LOL, and no, Beast (Beauty and the Beast) Is not a Disney villain. Actually, he’s a little softie. Yeah, I know. That’s A LOT of boss battles. But, just to let you know, that’s not it. There are giant Heartless, characters that resent you, (LOL here) and more.
But, although the camera is stupid ’cause it’s with the buttons R2 and L2 instead of the right analog stick, it has pretty easy controls. So, again, thanks for reading!!
November 13th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Oh, and BTW… The man… what are you talking about? “I lke big pie!” Ugh… kids these days…