1. Aren’t libraries about books and reading?

In the 21st century, libraries are about much more than books! In fact, libraries work very hard to provide patrons of all ages with a rich and current menu of CDs and DVDs, as well as electronic and online resources. Video game resources and programs at the library actually complement these existing services. Featuring this new gaming media helps the library expand its reach while meeting community expectations.

2. Aren’t video games just a passing fad?

Actually, video games have been popular for more than 30 years. In fact, three generations have grown up with video games - Generation Xers, Generation Y, and Millennials. It’s not only the digital natives who are playing video games. The average age of today’s gamer is 35-years old, and Baby Boomers and Seniors are playing them more than ever before! Libraries across the country are offering family gaming nights that bring the generations together for a gaming experience they can’t share anywhere else.

3. Why should kids play video games at the library?

Lots of kids play video games at home – alone, with siblings, or with friends. The library is a safe and non-commercialized space. At the library, kids socialize with their friends and play video games while surrounded by books, librarians, and knowledge. Video gaming at the library encourages young patrons to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise with others (including adults), and develop new strategies for gaming and learning.

There's several more bits of promotional material, and while I think this move to get games into public libraries is of questionable efficacy in terms of getting them to read books, it's interesting watching gaming move into a really public space (and targeted at kids, no less) in a concerted manner.

National Gaming Day @ Your Library [I Love Libraries via GameSetWatch]

I'm not all that clear on how Guitar Hero is going to promote literacy. When you think about it, the very concept of Guitar Hero is about dumbing-down an activity so every one can do it, which would make it the literary equivalent of a McDonald's picture menu, but it sure does give News-4's reporter an excellent chance to stand on camera with a guitar controller. Hit the jump for the video report, condemned there due to its auto-starting nature.

I think overall the answer to the question, at least in regards to the games they are playing, is not really, but I think we should all lie and make it seem like the children are smarter just so we can stop by our local libraries and play Guitar Hero in the future.

Do video games make kids smarter? [KVOA News 4 via Game Politics]

Danks introduced the concept for PlayStation-edu — "It's mostly about getting schools hardware, to learn how the actual platform works. Not for research and development, for computer science and engineering, and not for art. The goal is to reach the people who care about the metal — engine level coders who like to write in assembly."

"Consoles and multi-core are here to stay," continued Danks. "Beyond that all things change and you need to learn the basics at the low level. So Assembly is here to stay!"

"A lot of schools are treating game education like trade school," argued Danks. "Too many students can’t explain a pointer, can’t explain memory caches, can’t explain bus contention, can’t explain how a complier works, cant explain a software rasterizer, can’t explain a race condition…"

He goes on to talk about the legal agreements that will be required and the three tier structure of the program. Sounds like a promising idea, but academia is very hard to change — and slow to come around in many cases. We'll see how long it takes this idea to take root.

Sony's Danks Details PlayStation-edu Initiative [Gamasutra]

Qualifying institutions (college level and above) will be given a chance to purchase PSP and PlayStation 2 development kits complete with the hardware, dev software, and SDK, along with demo codes and samples so teachers can illustrate how the hardware works to students. The goal here is to generate a fresh crop of college graduates armed with the knowledge they need to create on SCEA hardware.

Interested parties can hit the link below for contact information, and if you are currently in a game programming or computer architecture class, start bugging the hell out of your professor so you too can get your hands on a PlayStation 2 with the word TOOL on the side in big letters.

PlayStation-edu [The Official PlayStation Blog]

High fives all around!
Listen Here [Multiplayer Blog]

How To Pronounce... "Ubisoft" (The Official Explanation) [MTV Multiplayer]

Worldwide the DS Lite has sold 22 million so far, with the DS line in general over 40 million.

So half of the DS Lite sales in the world are in Japan. I think we can attribute this to Japan's population density of over 870 people per square mile. The DS has proven an excellent way for Japanese people to look at something other than other Japanese people for five minutes. In contrast, the US population density is only 80 or so per square mile, which is good because sometimes we smell weird. Not bad, just...kind of off, ya know? Michael Fahey

10 million DS Lites sold in Japan - Famitsu [GamesIndustry.biz]