MP Keith Vaz and independent pressure group GamersVoice have been debating, on UK national radio, the amount of time children spend playing video games.

The BBC Radio Three show, hosted by Ben Jackson, began with some choice quotes from unnamed members of the public.

"When parents are letting their children play video games for obviously a length of time, I personally think you're going to ruin that kid's social skills and obviously the ability to obviously to go out there and make conversation, because you're not learning anything playing a computer game are ya?" reasoned one man.

"When I was a kid," began an older man, "we used to be out and about, but nowadays they just sit in front of a telly and play video games. I don't think it does the child any good."

The third and final vox pop offered a slightly different viewpoint: "As long as they [the parents] regulate the time and they [the kids] do get a balance: a mixture of playing outside and playing [video] games and they have done all the chores and they don't take the Michael and sit on it all day."

Jackson opened the debate proper with Keith Vaz, Labour MP for Leicester East. Vaz urged "concern".

"The research that we've had so far indicates that over a period of time there is a worry that people, young children, are spending too much time on the internet and playing these games," he said.

"The internet can be used as a force for good and video games can provide the opportunity for people, young people to be able enjoy themselves. But the concern is the length of time they are spending on the internet and playing video games and also, and perhaps more importantly, the fact that those video games that have adult content are being seen by those under the age of 18."

"The problem with the gamers is that they go berserk any time anyone says anything about these video games as if they were the Holy Grail of entertainment."
Keith Vaz
"I cite as my evidence a Mr Miyamoto, the creator of one of the greatest video games ever - Super Mario," Vaz added, "who suggested in an article in The Times on 22nd April that young people should drop their joypads and venture out into the sunlight once in a while. If someone like that can say it then it is something that we need to be concerned about."

Vaz revealed that his two teenage children have game consoles "and I'm constantly telling my son to come off of his machine". "But it is a bit of a battle and one doesn't want to upset one's children," he said, "especially when they're teenagers ha ha ha ha."

Vaz touted research done by an academic in Essex - not Joey Essex I hope - that "there was a big difference in the fitness of young people around about 10 years of age" now compared to in 2008. Fitness has declined by 27 per cent, said Vaz. What's more, "arm strength" has fallen by 26 per cent and "grip strength" by 7 per cent.

"So these are concerns. That's what I'm saying," continued Vaz.

"The problem with the gamers is that they go berserk any time anyone says anything about these video games as if they were the Holy Grail of entertainment. But we need to have a proper sensible debate to recognise that we should be concerned about content and the length of time [children spend playing]."

Paul Gibson, chairman of GamersVoice, acknowledged that "clearly" there has to be a balance. "We're certainly not going to advocate that you should sit your child down in front of their PlayStation or their Xbox and leave them to it as it were. It's about responsible parenting at the end of the day," he said.

The debate then moved on to age ratings, and how parents should be better informed about what their children are buying and playing - just as Tanya Byron outlined in her Government-commissioned report in 2008.

Later this year, PEGI will take over from BBFC as the sole, legally enforced, age-ratings body for video games. Gibson said there will be an advertising campaign to ensure parents know what's going on.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-gaming-habits ...

Metro does itself proud once again with news of new study that claims conceding a goal creates more brain activity than shooting

Call of Duty, Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto – these are the familiar names of killer games sewing their evil seeds in the minds of children across the nation.
But little did we know that a far more dangerous threat has been lurking on our kids' shelves for years in the form of EA's FIFA and Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series.

At least, that's what the latest piece of sensationalist mainstream news reporting will have you believe.
Today's Metro carries a story entitled "Football video games make players more aggressive than violent ones". In the paper version the headline is "Anger over goal 1, Call of Duty fury 0".
It cites Dr Simon Goodson and Sarah Pearson of Huddersfield University who conducted a study measuring the heart rates, respiration and brain activity of 40 male and female subjects.



They found that conceding a goal generated more brain activity than shooting someone. Or, to phrase it in a more exciting way, football games make you MORE AGGRESSIVE. And as aggressive people are bad, games must be bad.
Just in case the implied link isn't clear enough, the paper also cites "a 24-year old Dutchman who killed six people and wounded 17 in a shooting spree last month had been playing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2".
Of course, he'd also been illicitly sourcing an automatic weapon. Oh, and in 2006 spent time in a Dutch psychiatric institution (which I'm guessing was as a result of playing PES 5). Metro doesn't mention this, however. There's only so much space on those pages, after all.
And if COD made shooter Van der Vlis him that angry, imagine the hideous atrocities people will commit after a session on FIFA. IMAGINE!
"As participants reacted with more agitation during the football game it seems the effects of violent video games have been misrepresented in the past," Dr Goodson stated.
I'm presuming that you, like all intelligent readers, have come to the same grim conclusion.
We're all going to die. And games are to blame.


http://www.mcvuk.com/news/44165/FIFA...ssive-than-COD ...

Says digital is "better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers"

An all-encompassing shift to digital distribution would be a forwards step for the games industry, the boss of Finnish studio Remedy has declared.
Remedy CEO Matias Myllyrinne believes a digital-only games ecosystem would help all in the industry, aside from one group he appears to have no sympathy for.

“The sooner we go digital as an industry, the better for everybody," he told Edge.
"Better for consumers, better for the developers and publishers.
“Maybe it’s not so good for retail, but then again if you’re selling our games as used copies and incentivising people to do that, then I don’t really feel sorry for you.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/44161/Reme...o-games-retail
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Although in the earliest stages of development, this virtual reality gaming rig already looks pretty intriguing. Engineered by clever kids at the University of Texas at Austin, it hot-wires an eye tracking camera to a motorised pico projector with the result that the player literally can't take their eyes off the screen. Wherever they look, that is where their view of the gaming world is projected. The rig makes most sense in a first-person shooter, although the students have also tried it in a flight simulator where the player uses their head to roll and pitch the aircraft. Yes, it looks rather similar to the Microvision PicoP laser projection gun we wielded at CES, but there's a key difference: the player does not need to hold anything or have anything attached to their body. This unencumbered Kinect-esque approach could potentially allow a greater sense of freedom -- except that, for it to work, the player is forced to sit directly in front of the eye tracker. Find a way to fix this, dear Longhorns, and you could be onto something. Video after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/02/g...ector-and-eye/ ...

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The document then lists a range of planned perks:

• Discounts on downloadable content for EA Sports titles
• A digital badge to appear in-game and on your EA web profile
• Exclusive opportunities to "extend your EA Sports experience to PC and Web"
• Exclusive DLC for certain EA Sports titles
• Ability to move DLC to future versions of a title
• Full downloadable versions of EA Sports titles before they hit retail

A separate survey that's also in circulation reportedly lists a potential annual fee of between $14.99 and $34.99. ...

A study in the US by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has shown a marked reduction in the number of stores selling M-rated games to under aged children.
Last time the body conducted its secret shopper survey, 20 per cent of all stores approached were willing to sell M-rated titles to young children. This year, only 13 per cent of the 13-16 year olds sent to buy the adult games were successful, reports Gamasutra. As recently as 2000, an incredible 86 per cent of all US retailers were selling M-rated titles to children.
"We are extremely pleased to see the Federal Trade Commission confirm not only that the video game industry continues to have the highest rate of enforcement at retail, but that it continues to climb higher than before," read a statement from Patricia Vance, president of US ratings body ESRB.
"The strong support that the ESRB ratings have enjoyed from retailers is crucial, underscoring their firm commitment to selling video games responsibly. We congratulate game retailers on this indisputable validation of their efforts, and commend groups like the Entertainment Merchants Association and our own ESRB Retail Council members for their ongoing work and progress in preventing the sale or rental of M-rated games to those under the age of seventeen."
Retail giant Walmart was the worst at enforcing the ESRB ratings, selling to 20 per cent of subjects. Top of the list were Target, with eight per cent, and Gamestop with nine. Retailer compliance with the ratings system is entirely voluntary.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...rb-enforcement
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Child's Play and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Foundation are teaming up for the first annual Child's Play Invitational Golf Tournament. The event will be held at the Brookside Golf Course in Pasadena on Sunday, June 5, right before E3 kicks off.

The entrance fee for the tournament (a third of which is tax deductible) is $150 for those with clubs, or $175 if you need to rent some -- we hear they frown upon picking up sticks from the ground to use as clubs. All proceeds go to the Child's Play network and partner hospitals. Beyond the good feeling of helping sick children, the entrance fee will also net participants gift bags and other perks; it's all listed after the break.

http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/20/ch...ust-before-e3/ ...

Epic Games president Mike Capps has spoken about the threat posed by 99 cent apps to the traditional $60 games market, saying that cheap app store games make it very hard to sell a player a ful-priced game, no matter the quality.
Speaking exclusively to Industry Gamers, Capps spoke about the challenges which market uncertainty is raising for the industry.
"We have not been this uncertain about what's coming next in the games industry since Epic's been around for 20 years. We're at such an inflection point. Will there be physical distribution in 10 years or even five? Will anyone care about the next console generation? What's going on in PC? Can you make money on PC if it's not a connected game? What's going on in mobile?
"Tons of really scary things... It used to be, 'Well, of course PlayStation 3 will be successful because PS2 was amazingly successful.' But can you say for sure that you know everyone's going to jump to the next generation? I sure hope so - I'm going to try to make some great tech that will make everyone want to. But it's scary.
"If there's anything that's killing us, it's dollar apps," Capps admitted. "How do you sell someone a $60 game that's really worth it... They're used to 99 cents. As I said, it's an uncertain time in the industry. But it's an exciting time for whoever picks the right path and wins."
Epic has been a proponent of the app store, having seen particular success with Infinity Blade and the potential licensing profits for the UE3 SDK which that could connote, but Chair Entertainment's Donald and Geremy Mustard called for changes to the App Store charts, claiming that they favoured cheaper apps over higher quality, more expensive projects.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...are-killing-us
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