Dr. Kimberly Thompson Responds Posted August 24, 2006 at 12:48 AM by staticneuron Filed under: DS  GBA  PC Games  PS3  PSP  Wii  Xbox 360  Thank our lucky stars! The researcher lovingly mocked for Violent Pac-Man allusions has responded. Not only did she respond but she gave an interview to Joystiq. Those guys gave her a fair interview and she came off sounding less like a raving anti-game lunatic and more like a researcher who was taken out of context. To Give her the same level of fairness on UN the links that she provided are here [gamepolitics.com] and here [House testimony]  and here [ Kid Risk Homepage]. Enjoy! Permalink  |  Comments (0) Interview at Gamespot Posted August 24, 2006 at 12:42 AM by staticneuron Filed under: PC Games  Xbox 360  Gamespot interviewed Irrational Games general manager Ken Levine, and pulled some juicy tidbits out of his NDA afflicted maws. While keeping Mum about the Character, he let lose information about environmental challenges and enemies whose behavior cannot be identified by loooks alone. Mentioning a number of interesting things, suchs as the different types of AI and thier combinations, he also drops on the point that Irrational wants to view this game as a next generation FPS instead of an evolution of an open ended RPG in the vein of oblivion. This game is announced to be on the 360 and the PC and Mr. Levine takes time to inform us that there will be support for devices in both interfaces while remaining abstract to the gameplay. Permalink  |  Comments (0) 360 wireless kit for PC Posted August 24, 2006 at 12:36 AM by staticneuron Filed under: PC Games  Xbox 360  News from Eurogamer talks about some revalations made at the leipzig game convention. Mainly the announcement of the plans to bring thew 360 wireless controllers to the PC by the end of the year. They also announced bringing back the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 due to popular demand. As any hardcore gamer should, hearts leaped as XNA development suite was demonstrated followed by a presentation of a DX10 version of Flight Simulator X. It was stated at the end that XNA will also be added to the curriculums of several universities in Europe. This is great news for all aspiring small game dev's out there. Permalink  |  Comments (0) Video Games desensitizes! Posted July 29, 2006 at 10:42 PM by staticneuron Filed under: DS  GBA  PC Games  PS3  PSP  Wii  Xbox 360  Recently, a report from medical website WebMD claims that video games desensitizes players to real world violence. From the article:  "Carnagey's team studied 257 college students -- 124 men and 133 women. "First, the students noted their typical video game use. They also took aggression surveys and had their heart rate and galvanic skin response checked." "Next, the students played either a violent or nonviolent video game for 20 minutes." "When the game session ended, the students repeated the heart rate and galvanic skin response tests. Both groups showed similar results." "The students' last task: Watch a 10-minute videotape of real-life violence (shootings, prison fights, police confrontations, and courtroom outbursts)." "During the screening, the researchers monitored the students' heart rate and galvanic skin responses." "Students who had played violent video games showed less physiological response to the real-life videos." "The study "demonstrates that violent video game exposure can cause desensitization to real-life violence," write Carnagey and colleagues." "Which medium is most desensitizing -- TV, movies, or video games? And are some people more affected than others?" I took excerpts but I assure you, the point that was trying to be made is the same. These types of studies are always used to prove cases in court and fuels the speculation of the effects of violence in video games on kids. As a person who has played video games and watched movies all his life and happened to experience "real-life violence", I find this study irresponsible and blatently false. There is a world of difference between watching "real-life" violence on a screen or monitor and seeing it happen in front of you in real life. This has to do with association. The thought processes that are going through your head are different when you are safely away from the violence to when you are put up close and personal to it. Your rational thought is bucked when you witness a violent act being commited in front of you. Even if the aggressor has a good reason or seems sane, most people's fear of thier own mortality comes into play and brings in the "what if" situations. Even if people are not thinking about themselves the next mental jump is to sympathize with the victim. Even if the victim has done wrong, if the violence breaks the parallel's of your sense of justice, you will immediatley begin to associate yourself with the victim. Video Games and movies have elements of glorified violence. It facinates people and people enjoy seeing it because they can associate with the concept of mortality. If you had a film in which both the protagonist and the antognist never became injured and didn't have the possibility of dying you would have a tough time getting the audience to empathize with the characters. If there is no tragedy, then what is the point? A Study using "real-life" violence shown on a television screen to compare to actual "real-life" violence in the "real-world" should be taken with a grain of salt. Show a group of people , that normally doesn't watch movies or play video games, videos of the starving kids in africa and then ask them how many feel compelled to donate money for the cause. I am absolutly sure, without one iota of doubt in my mind, that more people out of the group would be compelled to donate money if you actually put them on a plane and flew them to an actual shanty town for a day. Is this a bad thing? Is it Ok for people to not care? In this age of technology and media, our societies would crumble if the majority of thier citizens started empathizing with what happens on thier television screens. And that is without adding to the fact that some unscrupulous people would use peoples sympathie for thier own gain. The Way I see it is that the world is getting better instead of worse and irrevelant studies like these do nothing but wastes people's time, money and attention. Read Permalink  |  Comments (0) 'Hot Coffee' scandal is settled. Posted July 23, 2006 at 1:14 AM by staticneuron Filed under: PC Games  PS3  PSP  Xbox 360  Under the terms of the agreement, which was originally announced June 8 and which came after months of government investigation into sexually themed content hidden in the popular video game, Take-Two agreed to "clearly and prominently disclose on product packaging and in any promotion or advertisement content relevant to the rating." Take-Two agreed in June to pay $11,000 per violation of the agreement in the future. Take-Two spokesman Jim Ankner would not comment on the FTC's closing of its inquiry but pointed to a statement by company CEO Paul Eibeler. "We are extremely pleased that the FTC has concluded its very thorough investigation and that the matter has been resolved," Eibeler said in the statement. "We look forward to putting this behind us and focusing on what we do best--creating video games. Thanks to Gamedaily for the update. Permalink  |  Comments (0)    < Previous

Sections DS Events Gadgets GBA PC Games Portable Video Projects PS3 PSP Stuff Wii Xbox 360 Advertising