Think that looks odd? Take a look at this video:
http://e3.nintendo.com/wii_fit.html
As if that's not cool enough, take a look at the Wii Zapper (at least called that for now):
Now add the Wii Wheel for use with Mario Kart Wii.....
And this video of Super Mario Galaxy...
http://e3.nintendo.com/wii_supermariogalaxy.html
And I see no reason to see the light of day for many many months. I love my Wii!!!!
So I talked my husband into an hour of Discovery HD Theater.... called Gamer Generation. We only watched part 1 because we can't bear to be away from our computers for that long. :P Kidding.... kind of.
ANYWAY - for those of you who missed it, here's my recap of what it discussed and what I thought.
First, they discussed the creator of the Sims and Sim City (etc) and Spore. The game looks a lot cooler in HD and when and if it is ever available, I'm sure we'll get a copy or two. There was a lot of focus on the huge shows where gaming companies portray what they're working on - new games - new consoles - the works.
Second they discussed Korea. Now I dunno about the rest of you, but this whole section seemed behind the times to me. Although I have to admit, I like some of what they had to show. Apparently that really old game Starcraft is still hugely popular there. So popular that they have these huge arenas where 25,000 people pay big money to watch them compete. Yikes! Seems interesting - but it's definitely.... odd.
The next part was about America's Army. First, I never knew the game was free and second, didn't realize that it was created by the Army as a recruiting effort! They actually urge soldiers to play the game! Insane! I considered downloading and trying the game until they said that once you die - you stay dead. That's ick. There's a reason I love gungame and Natural Selection. You respawn INSTANTLY. I hate the down time.
Then they had a long huge part about gaming in Arab countries. Now no offense to anyone who made this show, but I used to teach at a Muslim school (no I'm not Muslim or from the middle east or any of that - I just happen to have my teaching degree). There was NO WAY that any of my parents or students would EVER play a violent game - ever. Most of my students were not permanently here in the US and almost all of them went home to their Arab countries during the Summer (and often during religious holidays as well). So I find it hard to believe there's this huge group of people who want to play games in those countries. BUT - assuming I'm wrong (like that ever happens!) they discussed a game made by a middle eastern company which was funded and sponsored by the palestine government. Apparently there was some distraught feelings regarding all the FPS games from the "west" where Arab's were always the enemy and in their opinion - "losing everyday". Now no offense, but there are no Arab's in Day of Defeat. There are no Arab's in Natural Selection. There are no Arab's in Battlefield 2142. Who says the guys in CS 1.6 or CSS are Arab's? Can I not have brown hair, brown eyes and a tan and not be Arab? Regardless, this particular game is based on an actual event where some guy shot up a mosque and killed a ton of people. Quite frankly, this whole part of the interview was disturbing. (like the little boy who goes on and on about why are people always killing the Arab's in the games? Why aren't the Arab's killing them? Uh... okay lil boy)
Finally, the most upsetting part of this documentary at least for me was about the effect of gaming on all of us - the gamers. There was a whole discussion on about how gaming makes us all killing machines and has adverse affects on us. They even had that Jack Thompson guy on there going on and on about how it makes us killers. Well, honestly, if Natural Selection makes me more apt to shoot something I see that looks like a huge gremlin with razor sharp claws - bring it on. There were references to Columbine and some kid who shot 8 people - 5 of the shots being "headshots".
I spent the first 5 or so years of my CS career playing with mostly the MP5. During that time, I could take out an entire team with just my mp5. I was pretty good for the average gamer hanging out in public servers. BUT - when I went and tried out the MP5 in real life at a shooting range - not one bullet hit the target. So saying that playing these games makes it possible for you to shoot people with more accuracy - please.
Anyway, we'll see what Part 2 has in store when I get around to watching it in a couple of days. Apparently there's a lot of focus on the "uber geeks" of that crack game called "WOW". Maybe there'll be a lot of fast forwarding since RPGs are so unappealing to me. We'll see.
I don't have Vista (yet) but I found this article interesting. I'm by no means a Microsoft lover, but since they have a monopoly on the industry....
Anyway, if you're interested: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forget-about-the-WGA-20-Windows-Vista-Features-and-Services-Harvest-User-Data-for-Microsoft-58752.shtml
I found this article on CBC News.
A high number of middle-school youth may be playing violent video games, but that's not a worrisome trend, according to a study just released by Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Mental Health and Media.
The study examined the gaming habits of 1,254 children from two states, focusing on the types of games played and the social facets of gaming.
Published in the July issue of Journal of Adolescent Health, this study is the first to ask middle-school youth in detail about the games they play and to analyze how many of those titles are rated M (Mature — meant for ages 17 and up). It found two-thirds of boys and one in four girls played at least one M-rated game "a lot in the past six months."
Video game critics may find ammunition in the study, especially considering the emotional trends it uncovers. It found that many of those playing violent games are playing to vent anger and stress. However, the study's lead author expresses hope that the study's findings will improve the current discourse on violent games.
"Violent game play is so common, and youth crime has actually declined, so most kids who play these games occasionally are probably doing fine," says Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media.
"We hope that this study is a first step toward reframing the debate from 'violent games are terrible and destroying society' to 'what types of game content might be harmful to what types of kids, in what situations.' We need to take a fresh look at what types of rules or policies make sense."
The study also found that M-rated games hold plenty of appeal for those surveyed, even though the rating should hinder their access to such games. The Grand Theft Auto franchise — where carjacking, murder, prostitution and drug deals are all in a day's work — was the most popular game with boys, and the second-most popular with girls, a finding that surprised researchers.
Gaming more social than expected
Video gaming habits are also the subject of another new study, this one in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a journal of the American Medical Association. Like the Massachusetts report, this examines social aspects of video gaming.
"The rapid growth of video game popularity has generated concern among practitioners, parents, scholars and politicians," according to the article.
"Particularly during adolescence, when social interactions and academic success lay the groundwork for health in adulthood, there is concern that video games will interfere with the development of skills needed to make a successful transition to adulthood."
However, both studies conclude that video gamers lead healthy social lives and that gaming itself is a highly social activity.
"Contrary to the stereotype of the solitary gamer with no social skills, we found that children who play M-rated games are actually more likely to play in groups — in the same room, or over the internet," says Olson. "Boys' friendships in particular often centre around video games."
The AMA study found that while video gamers may be less likely to read and do homework on school days, they spend an equal amount of time interacting with parents and friends.
The second study surveyed 1,491 10- to 19-year-olds during the 2002-2003 school year. Participants kept 24-hour time-use diaries and recorded their time spent playing video games, with parents and friends, reading and doing homework, and in sports and active leisure.
Despite the encouraging social indications, the AMA report concedes that video games and playing habits bear watching in the future.
"Although we focused on the relationship between time spent in video game play and other activities among adolescents, an important next step for future research will be to assess the ways in which video game play is related to academic and social outcomes among American youth," the report concludes.
"Our results indicate that game play has different social implications for girls and boys who play. Future studies aimed at understanding how and why girls vs. boys use game play to fulfil different social needs are warranted."
