Teen boys and girls who play videogames spend less time on reading and homework than those who don’t play videogames, a new study found. The videogame players, however, “did not spend less time than non-video game players interacting with parents and friends,” according to the study in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, ScienceDaily.com reports. The latter is *partly* … [Read more...] about Teens’ videogaming time: Study
gaming
Infected game mod
It’s a handy, cutting-edge form of social engineering using terrible, 1986-style graphics. The “Hood Life” mod (short for modification, a bit of code that enhances or offers an add-on to a videogame) for Grand Theft Auto is demo’d in a YouTube video, but the graphics are “crudely rendered, not up to the high standards of the GTA game itself,” CNET reports, but even so 54 people have downloaded the … [Read more...] about Infected game mod
China’s videogame sweatshops
If someone at your house plays World of Warcraft and you want to understand the appeal or the ins and outs of this 8 million-player virtual world better, don’t miss “The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer” in the New York Times Magazine. It’s one of those stories that transports you almost to another planet, because it’s about China’s “gold farmers,” usually low-20-something professional gamers … [Read more...] about China’s videogame sweatshops
‘Videogame addiction’ update
The committee of the American Medical Association that proposed designating videogame addiction as a mental disorder like alcoholism “backed away from its position” even before debate on the subject began at the AMA’s annual meeting, Reuters reports. Instead, the committee “recommended that the American Psychiatric Association consider the change when it revises its next diagnostic manual in 5 … [Read more...] about ‘Videogame addiction’ update
Take Two game controversy
Take Two Interactive, creators of the Grand Theft Auto series of videogames, is embroiled in controversy again. It has suspended the release of its latest product, Manhunt 2, “because of a rating controversy in the United States and a ban in Britain and Ireland,” the Associated Press reports. The Entertainment Software Rating Board gave Manhunt 2 a preliminary rating of Adults Only, which can … [Read more...] about Take Two game controversy