Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Below are the most common myths about video games from 10 Myths About Video Games by Josh Clark and Wesley Fenlon

1: Video Games Are For Kids
from eessfkntu.blogfa.com

While it is true that kids love video games there are many, many more gamers now adults who grew up playing older games like"Mario Bros.", "Sonic the Hedgehog" or even games on the Atari -- and still love video games. This group practically  grew up with the video game industry with the latter now offering more sophisticated and violent games to keep up and support the changing tastes of this demographic.

In 2011, 53 percent of gamers fell within the 18 to 49 age range and the average gamer within that range  was 37. Gamers 50 and older now represent 29 percent of the market . Only 18 percent of gamers are under the age of 18, according to the Entertainment Software Association [ESA]. There are plenty of games still out there for kids, but the average gamer has definitely grown up.

2: Video Games Lead to Social Isolation
from destructoid.com

The usual Video gamer stereotype of nerdy indoor hobby gamers, sitting in their rooms or their mothers' basements staring at the TV day in and day out, never going outside to socialize with their peers, etc. is no more. Though accurate for some gamers, the anti-social stigma of video gaming fans has never been less true. Thanks to high speed Internet connectivity, gamers can play with one another from across the globe. More and more games are designed with cooperative play or competitive multiplayer in mind; time spent playing games often means time spent socializing. While competitive gaming also brings out a lot of trash talk in online communities, online play gives gamers the opportunity to spend time with distant friends or make new ones.

3: Video Games Lead to Violence.
from gadgetaccess.com

When youths engage in violent behavior, the brutal video games they played before they committed their crimes are generally cited as reasons for their tendencies. Logic simply follows:Violent video games make kids violent.

This idea remains conventional wisdom, although some studies of kids and aggressive video games have turned up evidence to the contrary. One 2005 study of people ages 14 to 68 who were asked to play 56 hours of the massively multi-player role playing game (MMRPG) "Asheron's Call 2" in one month found no noticeable change in aggressive behavior among players after the game. Nor did the researchers turn up an increase in aggression among gamers when compared to the control group who didn't play [source: PhysOrg].

Furthermore some more real life and crime statistics belie this notion. While video games continue to sell -- sales rose from $5.5 billion to $9.5 billion from 1999 to 2007 -- violent crime among youth actually declined. In 1999, 1,763 people under age 18 were arrested for homicides in the U.S.; in 2007, that age group accounted for 1,063 murders there [source: Safe Youth, FBI].

4: Girls Don't Play Video Games

from sodahead.com

Public perception of video games as an almost-strictly boys' pastime still remains; the relative lack of popularity of even the most obvious effeminate titles supports this notion. But does the fact that "Metal Gear Solid" vastly outsells Barbie titles on PlayStation mean that girls just don't play video games? Absolutely not.

In fact, from January to August 2008, females ages 18 to 45 came in second only to males of the same age group as the biggest spenders in video game industry (37 percent versus 38 percent) [source: Lee].

5: Pong Was the First Video Game
An upright cabinet of Pong

The common conception that "Pong" was the world's first video game is actually a myth.

Actually, another arcade game had been released a full year prior to "Pong"'s debut at Sunnyvale, Calif.'s Andy Capp's Tavern on Nov. 29, 1972 [source: BartonandLoguidice]. Contrary to popular belief, it turns out that the relatively little-known "Computer Space" holds the title of world's first arcade video game [source: Barton and Loguidice]. It was based on a computer game called "Spacewar!" that was a bit too difficult for gamers since, at that time, every gamer was a novice. "Pong" was slightly more everyone's speed; its popularity blew the doors off of "Computer Space" and led to the myth that it was the first video game.