Crispy Gamer News

A new research report released this week reveals that 14 to 25 year olds watch less television, instead spending more time on online activities, watching DVDs and video games. The study, “The State of the Media Democracy,” was conducted by Deloitte and polled multiple age groups including 14- to 25-year-olds (Millennials), Generation X (ages 26-42), Baby Boomers (43-61) and Matures (62-75).

Millennials watched just 10.5 hours of TV a week, compared to 15.1 hours for those indentified in the Generation-X group. Baby Boomers watched 19.2 hours, while the old folks in the Matures group watched 21.5 hours a week. So what are Millennials doing with their time? Shunning cable TV to partake in other activities. Among those activities - playing video games, listening to music and surfing the Internet.

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A recent study conducted by University of Illinois psychology professor Arthur Kramer found that playing Rise of Nations helped adults age 60 - 70 with cognitive skills such as task switching, memory retention and reasoning skills. The study tested two groups age 60 to 70. One group played around 23 and half hours of Rise of Nations, while the other group didn’t. Both groups were then tested in a variety of ways to test their mental acumen.

The group that played the game scored higher than those that did not in a number of areas, particularly in activities with an entire group. The results also showed that the gamer group short-term visual memory, object identification, faster task switching abilities, improved working memory and reasoning ability.

While this research is only the tip of the iceberg, it is good to hear that some researchers are using games in a constructive way, as opposed to scapegoating them for ill behavior that has yet to be successfully proven in any study of merit. It would be interesting to see how the data would be different in other age groups.

Source: www.seriousgamessource.com

ELSPA, the trade organization dedicated to the video game industry in the United Kingdom, announced the results of a study that we already know: Brain Training Games train your brain. Wow. In case you didn’t believe that games like Nintendo’s Brain Training series didn’t work, ELSAP has some proof for you.

Learning and Teaching Scotland has issued the results of a study of over 600 students in 32 schools. That study found that the game improved students’ mathematical ability, concentration and behavior levels. These results were revealed today during The Scottish Learning Festival.

And in other news, ELSPA announced that they are headquartered in the United Kingdom.

A new study by the NPD Group entitled “Girl Power: Understanding This Important Consumer Segment,” reveals that girls 2 - 14 years of age are spending more times playing games. This data is a no-brainer given the push by companies like Ubisoft to tap into the girl gamer market. This in and of itself is sad, because Ubisoft and other companies now catering to this demographic should really focus on creating games for age groups rather than pandering to gender.  Kids need more games like Drawn To Life and fewer games based on franchises like Bratz and Barbie. Of course, that’s just my opinion and I could be wrong.

According to NPD industry analyst, Anita Frazier, 50 percent of girls ages 2 - 14 years old still play with traditional gender-focused toys like dolls, arts and crafts and stuffed animals. The study also finds that the increase in the use of virtual worlds and social networking sites are not being properly monetized by publishers.