Tag Archives: study

Supernanny Jo Frost’s new show in the UK, Extreme Parental Guidance, will have its debut episode focusing on children and violent videogames.

To help her along, Frost solicited Iowa State University’s Dr. Douglas Gentile to conduct a study with her on 40 boys and the after effects of playing a FPS.

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A Cowen Group survey has revealed that game reviews are the “least important factor” to consumers when deciding on which title to purchase.

Instead, according to analyst Doug Creutz, gamers rely mainly on word of mouth and publishers should stop focusing on scoring a high review.

“We believe that while Metacritic scores may be correlated to game quality and word of mouth, and thus somewhat predictive of title performance, they are unlikely in and of themselves to drive or undermine the success of a game.

“We note this, in part, because of persistent rumors that some game developers have been jawboning game reviewers into giving their games higher critical review scores. We believe the publishers are better served by spending their time on the development process than by grade-grubbing after the fact.”

More through CVG.

The American Council on Exercise has issued a report on the effectiveness of WiiFit and how much of an impact it makes using it as a sole means for exercise and physical fitness.

To make things more official and accurate, the council enlisted the help of research experts John Porcari, Alexa Carroll, and Carl Foster from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Exercise and Health Program.

The study conduced by the researchers included 16 volunteers, male and female, ages 20 to 24 years and the results concluded that while “anything was better than nothing”, WiiFit should be used in addition to a exercise program, not as the only means.

“I guess anything is better than nothing, but we were a little bit underwhelmed with the exercise intensity of some of the exercises,” said John Porcari, PhD. “The Wii Fit is a very, very mild workout.

“You’re better off doing Wii Sports than Wii Fit. In Wii Sports there’s more jumping around, and you’re not constrained by having to stand on the balance pad. I just think there’s much more freedom of movement and you get a better workout.”

“Since using the Wii Fit alone may not produce results that meet recommended physical activity, guidelines” notes study author Alexa Carroll, M.S., “it is important that individuals participate in additional exercises to effectively reach these guidelines.”

The full study can be read through this lovely PDF document.

A new study, Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children’s Learning and Health, has advised that games can be used as an educational force for American good.

“Despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have in fact been shown to help children gain content and vital foundational and 21st-century skills,” said the paper.

“Digital games are here to stay and offer the country a rare opportunity to leverage children’s already established enthusiasm in order to reform education and promote healthy development.”

The report says America’s money-givers should start investing in game’s for the good of the nation’s youth.

From Game Politics, via Kotaku.

According to this, a recent study at the Indiana School of Medicine has shown that, “Exposure to violent video games, even E [Everyone - Ed] rated video games, increases aggressive thoughts, increases pro-social behavior and increases general arousal,” said Dr Greg Snyder, a psychologist at Omaha’s Children’s Hospital.

The study compared brain scan of a teenager who has just played what was deemed a nonviolent video game to the scan of a teen who had just spent 30 minutes playing a violent game.

“The more normal [violence] is, the more likely it is they’re going to activate or engage in those behaviors when provoked or even unprovoked,” Snyder added.

Ryan Miller, the manager of general operations for Gamers in Omaha, countered, said video games become an easy scapegoat when children turn violent.

“Just like any new media, it gets attacked. When any new genre of music comes out, it gets attacked. TV will, of course, get attacked. I’m sure, way back when, books got attacked,” he said.

Lots more through that link. We’ll post some more news, right after we get back from killing some people.