Reuter’s Health reports that Immersyve, a Florida-based virtual environment think tank, and researchers from the University of Rochester in New York found that playing video games can satisfy deep psychological needs and, at least in the short term, improve people’s well-being in a recent study.

The study stated that the more a person’s sense of independence, achievement and connectedness to others were being satisfied through a game, the more likely they were to continue playing.

“We think this is really one of the first validated models of what is going on psychologically when people are playing video games,” Dr. Scott Rigby of Immersyve said.

Though Rigby said the research can’t prove that games are always good for you, he does believe it helps balances out the traditional research on games that focuses on the potential harmful effects such as social isolation, addiction, and violence.

“We’re trying to in some sense normalize how people look at video games, rather than seeing them as having some mystical power to addict,” Rigby said.

Bookmark to:

The GO3 Electronic Entertainment Expo will be held in Perth, Australia in the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre March 30- April 1. There will be a two-day industry conference held there as well as an over 600 participant LAN party and a game development competition to accompany the Expo which promises to the showcase the lastest in games, communication & technologies, hobbies, and electronic entertainment. Confirmed exhibitionists include, Nintendo, Xbox 360, NVIDIA, and 2K.

The list of speakers at the conference include the makers of some heavyweight studios and projects: Rod Furgusson (producer of Gears of War), Harvey Smith (creative director of Midway Studios - Austin) and Goichi Suda (aka Suda 51, president of Grasshopper Manufacture) amongst others.

Another attraction for the conference will be the hosting of the Australian final of the E-Sports World Cup with a prize purse of over $400,000 in the final competition to be held in Paris. Other competitions include the aforementioned Game Developers Competition, a national Cos Play competition, and and Dance Dance Revolution competition.

The online LAN party will feature series of structured competitions for prizes. The games officially listed as part of this attraction are Battlefield 1942, Battlefield 2142, Counter Strike: Force, Counter Strike 1.6, Quake 3, Quake 4, Unreal Tournament, Trackmania Nations, and Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne.

Bookmark to:

Ending months of speculation of whether Neversoft would be the inherit the developer duties for the Guitar Hero franchise with Harmonix under the MTV umbrella, Neversoft’s website in a very large announcement says the company is seeking help in making a new Guitar Hero title. There’s currently no information on when or for which systems a the upcoming game would be released, information will surely come along the pipe after the development team is put together.

Bookmark to:

Stan Lee, creator of Marvel Comic icons such as the X-Men and Spiderman, called video games “the ultimate in entertainment” and “more exciting, more colorful and more complex than motion pictures.”

“In a movie, you just sit and watch. [In a video game] you’re not only seeing the story but you’re participating in the story,” said Lee.  The comic book creator did admit however not being a skilled game player.

The games not only have re-energized the characters themselves, but have generated major sales at retailers. Activision’s Marvel: Ultimate Alliance has generated over $56.6 millions dollars since it’s release last fall according to the NPD market research firm. Spiderman games have been a huge hit netting revenue of over $451.9 million in lifetime U.S. sales while the X-Men franchise has total U.S. sales of more than $224.2 million.

But for Lee he says his role will be limited to meetings with game makers about content and narration and getting involved in promoting of his beloved creations while he continues to write comic stories.

“I don’t think you ever outgrow your love of things that are bigger than life. The stories, to me, are like fairy tales for grown-ups,” he said.

Bookmark to:

Sun-Sentinel.com ran a feature today on Dr. Butch Rosser and whom will take part a panel on the use of video games and faith at the 10-day Otronicon festival in Orlando, starting Jan. 20. Nicknamed the “Xbox Doc,” Rosser works as surgeon in Beth Israel Medical in New York City, but hosted several seminars for the festival. Here are some highlights from him in his interview with the Sun-Sentinel:

“Used so often by so many kids, video games are a logical way to teach young people about faith and morals, Rosser said. ‘We want something that’s fun,’ he said, ‘that goes to the masses.’

Panelist Waymon Armstrong said his company, Engineering & Computer Simulations, has focused on high-tech weapons, but he hopes to delve into games touting faith and education. Just as The Simpsons has religious themes, he said, ‘we have to convey this as subtly.’

Bookmark to:

Here’s a rundown of some news off the AP, Reuters, and AFX wires:

360 to Launch in China

Microsoft is expected to release the Xbox 360 in China sometime in the coming months according to industry insiders. Talks with Chinese internet service providers and personal computer makers have gone on since late last year in preparation for the impending launch.
The company has also been checking with the Chinese culture and informations to be certain the government is comfortable with the system. The government reviews video game content in China and it’s stance on the 360’s games may be the determining factor on how soon the system launches.
“We take a long-term approach to each market and continue to evaluate the China market for opportunities,” Andres Vejarano, Regional Marketing Director at Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division for Asia & Greater China, said in an e-mail to a Reuters.

Microsoft has giving no official comment on when the system will launch, however retail industry insiders speculate the system could launch in mid-February.

-Reuters

Gaming for Credit

Jacksonville State University this semester is offering a course that allows students to play video games for credit. But don’t be fooled, this is a high-demand computer science course according to course instructor David Thornton.

The course is an upper division video game design class based on the popular program at Southern Methodist University. The course to open to all majors rather than being computer science student exclusive. Students will pitch video game ideas to Thornton and then the instructor will select the best ideas and put together team to develop the ideas.
“It sounds silly, but they will have to play video games,” said Thornton. You have to see what’s out there on the modern market to make something good.”

The students, however won’t have a fully playable game at the end of the course. The courses aim instead is to present the story and graphics ideas, design the projects and develop market plans.
“In the old days, a video game could be developed by a couple of computer programmers and a dream,” he said. “Our goal is to assemble such teams from students who have skills in creative writing, art, music, theater, psychology, marketing and computer science. After that, we let them develop ideas and hope they can create something amazing.”

-AP

Columbine Game Pulled from Slamdance 

The Slamdance Film Festival, Jan. 18-27, pulled the Super Columbine Massacre RPG! game because of inability to justify keeping it in the Guerrilla Gamemaking competition said festival co-founder and president Peter Baxter.

“I spoke to people who are still suffering very much from Columbine,” Baxter said. “Some things are more important than one game or a festival.”

The downloadable game created by Danny Ledonne of Alamosa, Colorado has players take the roles of Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. The game has cartoon graphic and shows pictures and writings of Harris and Blebold. Ledonne said he was a sophomore in high school when the shootings took place in April 1999.

“I had the same kinds of issues in high school that the two shooters did and I just dealt with it differently, fortunately,” Ledonne said.

Ledonne said he believed the game would spark serious discussion about the shootings, which were blamed in part on the teens’ exposure to violent games. Baxter said the festival would add a discussion session this year about the game.

“They picked up something that they, in the end, didn’t have the courage of their convictions to stand behind,” Ledonne said.

University of Southern California’s Interactive Media Division withdrew it’s planned of fellowships to the winners as did six gamemakers pull their entries from the festival.

“They courted very avant-garde, independent gamemakers and if you’re going to do that, in the same way you stand by a very avant-garde filmmaker, you need to be prepared to stand by a gamemaker,” said Tracy Fullerton, associate professor of USC’s program.
- AFX

Bookmark to: