Some video games can make children kinder

June 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Previous research has suggested that playing violent videogames is linked to aggressive behaviour in kids. Now, three new studies have concluded that the other side of the coin also holds true: playing prosocial video games promote friendly behaviour.

July 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A comprehensive study of gaming characters has revealed that video games do not accurately represent minorities. The study encompassing the top 150 games in a year across nine platforms and all rating levels, and weighted by each title's popularity, shows that the video game industry showed that less than 3pct of game characters were "recognizably Hispanic." Latinos were nearly invisible and women and other groups were underrepresented.

September 23rd, 2009 LONDON - The first ever "virtual census" of the human characters used in US video games has shown that males, adults and white people are over-represented in such games, while females, black people, children and the elderly are under-represented. Dmitri Williams of the University of Southern California-Los Angeles (UCLA), who carried out the study with colleagues at Indiana University, Ohio University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute, says that the mismatch between real-world and videogame populations could be excluding some groups of potential players from games.

August 21st, 2009 WELLINGTON - Teenagers who are addicted to video games are more likely to develop obsessive and antisocial tendencies leading to gambling, says a new research. A survey of 2669 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 by Adelaide University researchers found 56 per cent had gambled in the past year.

September 14th, 2009 Startup lets you play console video games remotelySAN FRANCISCO — As any a video game aficionado knows, it's easy to pop a game into your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 and spend hours working your way from one level to the next. Without the hefty console, though, you're out of luck if you want to keep blasting those aliens while away from home.

July 22nd, 2009 Social network for gamers helps friends playNEW YORK — Raptr, a social network targeting gamers, is hoping to make it easier to see what your friends are currently playing on a broad range of platforms such as the Xbox 360 and personal computers. And if you want, you can join them in the action.

June 20th, 2009 Safety group asks GM for trunk-latch recallLITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A safety foundation asked General Motors Corp.

July 17th, 2009 June video game sales drop sharplyNEW YORK — Squeezed by the economic downturn, U.S. retail sales of video games dropped sharply in June.

September 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - What do hide-and-seek, police searches and video games have in common? More than you would think, say two University of Alberta (U-A) researchers. Experimental psychologist Marcia Spetch and computer scientist Vadim Bulitko at U-A are using their research to understand the reasoning and decision-making process involved in hide-and-seek objects.

September 11th, 2009 NPD: Video game sales slide again in AugustNEW YORK — Retail sales of video games have declined for six straight months. Analysts are blaming the slow August — which was expected — in part on a disappointing showing from the latest "Madden" title from Electronic Arts.

August 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - People who play video games may get addicted for life to their consoles, just like gamblers get hooked to cards, warn health experts. This is quite evident from the growing sales of the games and the hardware amid the ongoing economic slowdown.

May 4th, 2009 Computer Gaming is perhaps one of the most intense and addictive passtimes now. But did you ever know that you can make a living out of it? Different championships have different format of gameplay.

June 12th, 2009 US video game sales slide 23 pct in MayLOS ANGELES — Market researcher NPD Group says U.S. video gamers spent less on games, hardware and accessories in May compared with a year ago.

April 8th, 2009 LONDON - A video game based on one of the bloodiest battles during the Iraq conflict has been branded 'crass and insensitive' by those affected by the fighting. Six Days In Fallujah, published by Japanese games giant Konami, was developed in collaboration with a handful of Iraq veteran US Marines It is described as a 'survival horror' title for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.

August 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Whether video games can boost memory and thinking skills in the elderly is being investigated as part of a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation in the US. Having received a 1.2million-dollar grant for the study as part of the federal stimulus package, researchers at North Carolina State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology now hope that their findings will eventually pave the way for a prototype video game that will be helpful in boosting thinking skills among old people.