September 13, 2008 – 4:00 pm
Looks like World of Warcraft is going to become a science after all? Ok maybe not a full blown science class, but there are people actually studying the habits of WoW players and the impacts that culture play on playing habits. Bonnie Nardi has been looking into the habits of WoW players for some time now and has even gone to Beijing to see things first hand, but now she will be able to do a study right here in Cali.
The National Science Foundation has given UC Irvine $100,000 to figure out why Americans go to greater lengths than the Chinese to modify “World of Warcraft,” the hugely popular multiplayer online game produced by Blizzard Entertainment of Irvine.
About 5 million Chinese play “WoW,” which is twice the number of American players. But Americans produce far more modifications, or “mods,” to enrich the gaming experience.
“We are examining the many reasons for this disparity, including cultural and institutional factors,” says Bonnie Nardi, the UCI informatics professor who’ll conduct the study with help from doctoral student Yong Ming Kow.
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In a recent study conducted by the Federal Trade Commission only 20 percent of teens under the age of 17 were able to buy M rated video games. Pretty impressive statistic to show all the enraged parents that blame video games for causing violence that only a small percentage of children are able to get their hands on the titles.
The Federal Trade Commission report studied kids’ success at buying tickets to R-rated movies or purchasing R-rated DVDs, mature CDs, and M-rated games. In every case, the FTC found, the success rate had dropped over every previous year it conducted its study.
But nowhere was the drop sharper than with video games.
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SONY recently ran a survey and got back feedback from female students at The Art Institute and found some interesting stats:
The survey interviewed female students currently enrolled in Game Art & Design, Visual & Game Programming and Visual Effects & Motion Graphics at The Art Institutes schools. The SOE-sponsored survey revealed that:
- 61% of students surveyed believe male dominance in the industry is a deterrent to women pursuing a career in gaming
- 42% of those surveyed would like to see women portrayed as leaders in video games
- 35% of the students surveyed want to create more games that are fun and interesting for women to play
- 31% of those surveyed want to become involved in gaming because more women need to represent the industry
I know a lot of guy gamers out there feel that there aren’t enough female gamers playing, but studies have shown that 40% of all gamers are actually female, of course they just don’t want to talk to you over Xbox LIVE.
Looks like SONY is taking note of the drastic increase in female gamers after all and providing a nice scholarship for a lucky female gamer to further her video game career. Not only will you get $10,000, but also a ten week internship at SONY, pretty impressive hookup. Entries begin April 1 and need to be in by or before April 15.
Hit the jump for the full press release:
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January 3, 2008 – 7:14 pm
I know that Nintendo is trying to cash in on all the casual gamers of the world as well as all those people that think they can lose weight while playing games, but I just don’t see it. Someone who is overweight will not become skinny playing DDR or Wii Bowling or Wii Fit, they will do so by eating less and working out. Although playing these games can make you sweat, especially if you are out of shape, these are not valid ways to work out.
There have been quite a few studies performed that talk about how playing games and what physically can be achieved, here is a piece of a study:
A study at Liverpool John Moores University in early 2007 echoes his sentiment. Researchers found that playing Wii Sports for an average of 12 hours per week could result in burning over 1800 calories, although they’re quick to point out that such an activity should not replace traditional exercise.
OK I guess if you play for 12 hours a week you wold expect to burn some calories but just to put things in perspective if I take a 20 minute run I can easily burn 300 calories, so in 6 short runs that would equal 2 hours of exercise you would burn the equivalent amount of calories.
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August 28, 2007 – 5:49 pm
Anyone who says that video games are wrong and inherently evil need to read this recent study. Once again, I stand by my grandfather’s advice. “God created alcohol so the Irish wouldn’t rule the world.”
Dublin, Ireland – 28th August 2007 — 92% of casual gaming parents and grandparents say casual games provide an opportunity for them to bond with their children/grandchildren.
PopCap Games (www.popcap.com) unveils the results of the largest-ever worldwide (including UK) survey of casual computer game players, which also reveals that 70% of ‘family gamers’ believe casual games provide educational benefits to their children/grandchildren – with greatest benefits of gameplay identified as learning, stress relief and hand-eye coordination.
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