Most of the gamers of my generation are aware of something that newer and older generations both might be missing out on. Video games help develop intelligence. They aren’t all about mindless violence or senseless escapism. They are, in fact, about solving puzzles, fixing problems, and completing objectives. Sound like a job? It is, and now Discover Magazine has released an article, involving numerous studies, that states that not only are video games good exercise for your mind (the brain’s equivalent to a healthy jog), but help sharpen skills that are of actual use in the real world. Gasp! But then, any gamer in their mid-twenties could have told you that. People just tend to ignore us … and mock us … and occasionally throw things at us.
The article is interesting. You can read it here. You can read the first two paragraphs for free (lucky you), and then use my login information to continue.
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They raise a good point that video games as development tools for children are much more effective if used within a parenting framework that encourages the learning aspects. When used as passive babysitters, they aren’t quite as edifying. Still, I long for the era when parents encourage their children to play video games for an hour a day, just as they would encourage them to eat their vegetables, or go outside and get some exercise.
3 replies on “Of course, we’ve known this all along.”
Unless you’re Charles Schumer.
And this is a view of the anti-video-game camp that upsets me: all video games are marketed towards kids. A theory which is soundly untrue. In today’s video game market, adults in their twenties and thirties make up a huge percentage of the market. We have the time, we have the freedom, and we have the paychecks.
Schumer’s assumption is that “25 to Life” is trying to appeal to “Little Johnny”. Chances are, it’s actually trying to appeal to his dad. “M(ature)” titles, like rated “R” movies, aren’t meant for a younger crowd, and these days they are clearly marked. Stores aren’t allowed to sell them without a parent being there to give consent, and frankly, parents probably shouldn’t allow younger kids to play them.
As with many of these issues, it really comes down to parents being responsible about what their kids are doing. Parents need to step up, yes, but Schumer needs to shut up. Universal censorship will never the answer to bad parenting.
On another note, I laughed when I saw that he appealed to Sony and Microsoft to end their licensing agreements with Eidos. Yeah right!
Eidos isn’t really known for being on the edge of the video game market like this. Its very similar to the MPAA ratings for movies. Most studios want to stay away from R rated movies because you make less money becase the film sees a much smaller audience.