Tag Archives: Games
VIDEO: TMN List: 5-20-13
From the controllers to the big screen. The Morning Crew reveals the five best movies based on video games.
VIDEO: Top 10 Video Game Ninjas
They fight with a clear mind and a sharp blade. Join http://www.WatchMojo.com as we count down the top 10 video game ninjas.
Violent Video Games May Numb Players to Brutality, Study Finds
THURSDAY May 9, 2013 — Teenage boys who play violent video games for hours on end may become desensitized to the brutality, a small new study finds.
The research focused on 30 boys, aged 13 to 15, who were divided into two groups. One group typically played violent video games for three or more hours a day (high exposure) while the other group played such games for no more than an hour a day (low exposure).
The researchers monitored the boys’ reactions after playing a violent game (“Manhunt”) and a nonviolent cartoon game (“Animaniacs”). They played each game for two hours on different evenings.
Differences between the boys’ reactions emerged later in the night after gaming. During sleep, the boys in the low-exposure group who played the violent game had faster heart rates and poorer quality of sleep than those in the high-exposure group. The boys in the low-exposure group also reported increased feelings of sadness after playing the violent game.
Both groups of boys had higher stress and anxiety levels after playing the violent game, according to the study, which was published in the May issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine.
“The violent game seems to have elicited more stress at bedtime in both groups, and it also seems as if the violent game in general caused some kind of exhaustion,” wrote Malena Ivarsson, of the Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University in Sweden, and colleagues. “However, the exhaustion didn’t seem to be of the kind that normally promotes good sleep, but rather as a stressful factor that can impair sleep quality.”
The differences between the two groups’ physical and mental responses suggest that frequent exposure to violent video games may have a desensitizing effect, the researchers said. The study, however, didn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship, and it’s possible that boys with certain traits may be attracted to violent games, the researchers said.
More information
The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry has more about children and video games.
Posted: May 2013
VIDEO: News – Nintendo Co., Chelsea Handler, Dzhokhar Tsarnayev
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Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs. ATV rights bought by Nordic Games
Nordic Games will purchase the rights to Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs. ATV and other THQ stragglers. The publisher of Deadfall Adventures, Painkiller: Hell & Damnation, and the PC version of Alan Wake today announced its $ 4.9 million deal to pick up several of the THQ franchises which remained for a second round of auctions.
“First and foremost we are very happy about this deal which also turns over a new leaf for the entire Nordic Games Group,” Lars Wingefors, owner and CEO of Nordic games said in a statement. “In the long term, we either want to cooperate with the original creators or best possible developers in order to work on sequels or additional content for these titles.”
Fans are invited to voice their hopes and concerns for each franchise’s future on Nordic Games’ forum.
Both Platinum Games and Crytek USA, which is largely composed of ex-Darksiders developer Vigil Games, expressed their interest in the apocalyptic adventure series. Volition seemed more at peace with losing Red Faction. Still, Nordic Games doesn’t plan to make all these games by itself.
The rights to the Homeworld series of space strategy games, meanwhile, went to Borderlands and Aliens: Colonial Marines developer Gearbox.
