Information Related to "The Good and Bad of Gaming"
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Computer gaming is big business. According to Barbara Ortutay, almost $18 billion was spent on video games in the United States in 2007 (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718374/). Earlier this year, Rockstar Games took in a record $500 million on worldwide sales of 6 million copies in the first week of release of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Games also attract a wide audience. Entertainment Software Association
(theesa.com) reports that today's gamers include all generations and that
almost equal numbers of females play computer and video games as do males.
About 35 percent of American parents play, and, of those that do, 66 percent
feel that playing games has brought their families closer together.
Yet some adults believe the worst about computer gaming. They know of or have heard of people who have lived out the horror stories of being addicted to gaming and lost a job or a family over it.
However, not every gamer follows that path. In fact, one study at Arizona State University shows that trainee surgeons who play a Nintendo Wii game called Marble Mania demonstrate improved accuracy and faster performance in many surgical exercises. The Wii design allows players to control the game using physical gestures as well as the traditional button pushes. Marble Mania players roll marbles along narrow pathways and ledges, deftly tilting things to keep the marble advancing in the game.
Cumberland Elementary School in Indiana is reported to have begun using three Wii consoles in classrooms to teach geography, math and English. The increased interaction and fun of the game system is quite popular with students. In addition, the Wii interface is being used in some hospitals to help with physical rehabilitation.
On the more personal side, a number of gamers have met online, developed a personal relationship outside the cyber world and are now happily married in real life.
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Sidebar: Family-Friendly Games Make a Comeback
Table of Contents that includes "The Good and Bad of Gaming"
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