Tag: Research

  • News Playing Games Probably Won't Make You Feel Worse... Or Better, Says New Oxford Uni Study

    Good news! Or bad news? News!!

    A study performed by professors and researchers at the University of Oxford has found that playing video games is unlikely to affect the well-being of the player, either positively or negatively. This finding comes after China announced a three-hour-per-week limit to online video gaming for its younger citizens out of...

  • Random Turns Out Mario Kart Might Make You A Better Driver In Real Life

    Just don't thow any bananas skins, please!

    Gamers rejoice - a recent study has revealed that playing action videogames can improve your real life driving skills. New York University Shanghai participants were trained by playing Mario Kart, using a steering-wheel controller to drive a go-kart on a track. The data showed that by playing Mario Kart the...

  • News More North American Women Own A Games Console Than Men

    Smartphone and tablet use on the rise, too

    A new study in the US has revealed that more women own games consoles than men, flying in the face of the common perception that the hobby is dominated by male players. Conducted by the Pew Research Centre, the research indicates that 42 percent of US women own a games console, compared to 37 percent of...

  • News Academic Study Highlights How the Placebo Effect Works in Video Games

    Interesting ramifications for game design

    Don't Starve: Giant Edition is one of a number of high quality games on the Wii U eShop, and its randomised survival gameplay has been put to an interesting academic test, indicating that the placebo effect is perfectly applicable in games. The placebo effect is when a falsely perceived advantage or benefit...

  • Weirdness Researchers Working on Mario Artificial Intelligence - Who Needs Players?

    May start to wonder why Princess Peach doesn't improve palace security

    It's not uncommon for video games and academic research to mix - gaming is increasingly mainstream, and is a ripe source for study in a variety of areas. One such area is artificial intelligence, and German cognitive modelling researchers at the University of Tübingen have been...

  • News Games Do More Damage Than Passive Smoking, says Doctor

    Excuse us while we smoke a Wii Remote

    Despite the best efforts of Nintendo to turn gaming into a healthy pastime, the potential link between poor health and video games will be mined for countless years to come, with one such study claiming the negative effect of video games are more widespread than first thought. Craig A. Anderson, PhD's article...

  • News New Study to Investigate Benefits of Wii for Parkinson's Sufferers

    £35,000 grant to fund research

    Can playing Wii games help to combat Parkinson's? That's the question being asked by Queen's University Belfast's Dr Cathy Craig, who's just received a grant of nearly £35,000 to investigate the console's possible benefits to sufferers of Parkinson's. In a recent survey of Parkinson's sufferers, 68% of respondents...

  • News Wii Fit Helped Injured Soldier to Recover

    University study finds balance board works out

    It may not be quite the exercise package some had come to expect, but it appears Wii Fit may have benefits in other applications. A recent study by Kansas State University found that use of the game in the recovery programme of an injured soldier helped to improve his balance after a serious brain...

  • News Nintendo Hits Rock Bottom In Greenpeace Rankings

    Veteran video game company needs to clean up its act

    Nintendo has scored just 1.4 out of a possible 10 for its chemical, e-waste and energy policies in Greenpeace’s annual Guide to Greener Electronics, the lowest score of the eighteen companies tested. Despite last year pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and e-waste, Nintendo has failed...

  • News Wii Fit Doesn't Improve Fitness?

    New study reveals it has little impact on increasing fitness levels.

    It appears that a few extra minutes on the Balance Board won’t make up for that extra mince pie or second helping of Christmas pudding, according to new research made available by the University of Mississippi. The purpose of the research was to ascertain how effective...