From the "Sony can't get a break" feed comes this post over on GamesDaily.biz, which suggests that Playstation advertising just doesn't make you feel good about yourself.

On the flip side, the Xbox ads they were up against seemed to increase levels of "distrust". The actual implications of this study are irritatingly obfuscated by the article, but the gist seems clear.

Anderson's study found that boys who were exposed to Xbox pictures were "higher on power motivation" than those who viewed the PlayStation images. Along with "power motivation," the Xbox images also seemed to elicit higher self-confidence scores than those in the PlayStation group. Furthermore, images of the consoles themselves also had different effects on the respondents. Interestingly, boys in the Xbox group had higher levels of distrust after seeing the ad, while this phenomenon was not observed in the PlayStation group.

What's weirdest about this study, I thought, was the sexual dimorphism in the test groups. I can't be sure, but the article seems to say that the children were separated based on gender, with girls being tested only in the Bratz vs. Barbie branding category, and the boys in the Xbox vs. Playstation.

I despise people who run around spouting nonsense like this, but jesus christ that's sexist. Eliza Gauger

More here [GameDaily.biz]

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