Those findings back up a study from the University of Southern California published last year, which said that women played "more intensely" than their male counterparts. In hourly terms, according to Scientific American the women surveyed played EQII an "average of 29 hours a week, versus 25 for the males."

Hardcore players more than doubled those numbers, with women still in the lead.

But The Journal of Communication says that women tended to lie about (or lowball) their EQII addictions. USC's study said almost the same thing, and we're starting to see a trend here—Everquest II player surveys simply cannot be trusted.

Gal Gamers Geekier Than Guys [Scientific American]

Writing on his blog, Dr. Marco Cardinale has four suggestions for those who enjoy their games as much as their athletic activity:

1) If your are travelling to train and compete and are crossing time zones, avoid using your laptop, DVD player, Ipod and similar tools and video games devices during the night. Get back to sleep!

2) If you are training and or competing the following day, avoid all of the above the night before such activities (training and competing) take place

3) Recovery time is meant to be for rest and piece. You don't want to play street fighter with your best mate and have your blood pressure, heart rate and cortisol levels go sky high because you lose!

4) There is a time and place and most of all a duration for your gaming and computing activities, make sure you don't negatively affect your performance because of that!

Man's got a point. Athletes need sleep, video games get your heart rate up, and when that happens you can't sleep. So athletes...try a good book instead. Maybe a book about video games?

Playing videogames and social networking….good news or bad news for sports people? [Sport & Fitness Science, via GamePolitics]

According to the company's research, undertaken in Q3 2009, 54% of American households own some kind of video game system, whether it be a console or handheld device. Surprisingly, the bulk of that number are up to date, with 41% of Americans owning either a PS3, 360 or Wii (or combo of the three).

Actually, that's not surprising. This is surprising: did you know that 52% of PSP owners are female? Sounds crazy to me, but hey, Nielsen do market research better than I do. Other gender-related figures reveal 45% of "active" gamers are female, who also account for 49% of Wii owners.

When it comes to time spent playing, the average US household now play for 3.36 hours a week on a console.

Finally, in terms of spending, one interesting stat is that 61% of gamers who enjoy a game they rent go on to buy the thing.

Having taken a look at detailed market data, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter says that "core" game sales in the US (which according to their numbers are all PS3 and 360 sales excluding music titles) are up 17% over the past six months.

Keep it up, kids!

Blame for the overall decline in the market, then, is placed squarely at the feet of the new/casual crowd, with music game sales down 52% and Nintendo sales down 11%.

These arbitrary divisions seem a little off to us - I play both Rock Band and Borderlands - but hey, when you take millions upon millions of consumers into account (especially those whose collection only includes Rock Band, Mario Kart and Wii Sports), it probably averages out.

Core Game Sales Up 17% in Last 6 Months, says Analyst [Industry Gamers]

Earlier this year, scientists from the US and China published a paper called "Human group formation in online guilds and offline gangs driven by a common team dynamic". Which does a neat job of summing up the paper's contents.

Basically, there's a mathematical model, a "a common team-based model can accurately reproduce the quantitative features of [WoW guilds and gangs] simply by adjusting the average tolerance level and attribute range for each population". So WoW guilds and gangs run on the same mechanics.

And it took scientists to come up with this? Crips and Bloods, Alliance and Horde...it's right there in the colours when you sign up, let alone whatever happens later on.

Human group formation in online guilds and offline gangs driven by a common team dynamic [Physical Review E, via Slashdot]

1,128 gamers were polled (note: it was a self-selected survey, not a blind study), with 562 owning an Xbox 360, 473 having a PS3 and 591 a Wii. Obviously, some respondents owned more than one console.

The results found that a crushing 60% of 360s had died, while only 16% of PS3s and 6% of Wiis had suffered the same fate. Even worse was the rate of repeat failre: of those who have reported a busted console, 32% say it's happened more than once, with 19% saying it's broken three times or more.

Count me in the latter camp; I've had two red-ringed consoles, and recently got back from my honeymoon to find my third 360's power brick had simply ceased to function, despite the console not being turned on.

Being a self-selected survey, it's likely the actual numbers across the board would be lower, but still; a little less than awful is still awful.

CNET UK's games console reliability survey: 60 per cent of Xbox 360s have broken [CNET]

That figure covers any and all games requiring a subscription, so don't go laying all the blame at World of Warcraft's feet. Spare a little for EVE, Age of Conan and LOTRO as well.

"Despite concerns that the recession would cause consumers to reduce spending on entertainment subscription services, most forms of subscription entertainment are doing just fine," NPD's Russ Crupnick said in a press release. "Consumers are clearly looking to the value offered by entertainment subscriptions and like what they get for their money."

The American Library Association, realising what some of us have known for years, have decreed that games can be a positive force in the teaching of history, and that the medium should be celebrated with a special day commemorating that.

"We have found that by adding board and video game formats to library collections", ALA President Dr. Camila Alire told Reuters, "we are providing users with tools to build strong literacy practices while sharpening technical and critical thinking skills".

Before you scoff, remember: history isn't always about dates and names. If a game can introduce a player to a period in time, let them see social and political forces at work (or give them an understanding of how those forces affect everyday people), that can be just as important as sticking a historical figure in a game, or having the player recreate an actual event.

Academics hope history in video games spurs interest [Reuters]

The group has released a report on the super-popular home fitness program, drawing on research performed by the University of Wisconsin. And this report has found that even Wii Fit's most physically taxing workouts can't hold a candle to actual exercise.

Wii Fit's boxing, for example, burns only 1/3 the calories of actual boxing, while the other four most intensive modes - Free Island Run, Super Hula Hoop, Advanced Step, and Free Step - only burned between 100 and 160 calories every 30 minutes of exercise. Considering a cheeseburger has around 300 calories, you'll be on Wii Fit all day if you want to really burn some fat.

Perhaps most damning/hilarious, however, is the report's finding that while Wii Fit burns more calories than a regular game - where you're doing nothing - it's not as good for you as a session on Nintendo's own Wii Sports.

Ah, the power of marketing.

American Council on Exercise Charts 'Underwhelming' Wii Fit Health Benefits [Gamasutra]

The list provides only the single, top-selling, must-have item for the year. No room for second place here. And it shows that seven times in the past 34 years - beginning with Pong in 1975 - a video game or games console has come in at #1. Bump that number up to eight if you count 1999's Pokemon, owned by Nintendo, as a gaming product.

Gaming gear really starts to pull away in the past decade, with the PS2 topping 2001's list, followed by the DS, Wii and PS3 in 2004, 2006 and 2007 respectively. Hrm. Wait a minute. The PS3 outsold the Wii for Christmas 2007? It most certainly did not.

Makes you wonder whether Permuto got anything else on the list wrong. We hope not, though; 1993's Genesis Mortal Kombat looks just fine where it is, thanks.

The Most Popular Christmas Toys, By Year Since 1960 [Permuto]

The New-Brunswick Telegraph Journal reports the findings of Economics student Ryan MacLeod, who has crunched some demographics numbers to determine that, the more men play games, the more their income drops.

He's put a number on that, the paper reports:

The effect is so notable that for every minute a video game is played, MacLeod's research suggests gamers can expect a 0.4 per cent decrease in income.

And more from MacLeod:

"My work confirms that, in general, the more income a person has, the more time they spent playing video games," MacLeod said. "But that playing video games could also have a negative effect on a person's income."

I've long wondered how much money avid gamers commit to their gaming hobby each year. When you add and subtract all your game purchases, trade-ins and whatnot, what's the tab at year's end? And, as the story notes, if your income is lower, is it because of some subtle effect playing games has on earning power? Or is it simply that you played games so much, you cost yourself time that could have been used to make more income?

Mt. A student's research finds playing video games can lead to lower income

[Pic]

Writes the Los Angeles Times:

Military researchers have found that two groups of personnel are particularly good at spotting anomalies: those with hunting backgrounds, who traipsed through the woods as youths looking to bag a deer or turkey; and those who grew up in tough urban neighborhoods, where it is often important to know what gang controls which block.

Personnel who fit neither category, often young men who grew up in the suburbs and developed a liking for video games, do not seem to have the depth perception and peripheral vision of the others, even if their eyesight is 20/20.

Note, this isn't explosive ordnance disposal, they're talking about riding in a humvee and picking up details that someone might have buried explosives in the road. This is important because, of bombs discovered before they went off, like 90 percent of them were found because someone's spidey-sense went off.

The story quotes a sergeant major who finds the research fits with his own observations. "The gamers are very focused on the screen rather than the whole surrounding," he said. Country boys and hood rats have a more finely-tuned radar - that head on a swivel mentality when you're potentially in a dangerous situation.

Some Troops Have a Sixth Sense for Bombs [Los Angeles Times via Game Politics]

Deniz Ince, 11, is the lead author on the study, to be presented Monday in Philadelphia at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. Ince, who enjoys playing the Wii, found his fingers ached when he squeezed oranges. He set about researching the matter to determine if video games were linked to it.

The study surveyed 171 of Ince's schoolmates, aged 7 to 12 years old. Eighty percent said they played consoles or handhelds, and half of those said they played less than an hour a day. A third said they played one to two hours daily, and 7 and 6 percent said they played 2 to 3 or 3 or more hours a day, respectively.

The study found that each additional hour of use increased the likelihood of experiencing pain by 50 percent. It also found a higher pain incidence in younger children than older.

The study's senior author, Dr. Yasuf Yazici of New York University, said "the younger the kids, the more significant the pain." Why exactly couldn't be proven by the research, although the researchers believe it might be because muscles and tendons in younger kids are still developing.

The survey respondents said the pain they felt was "generally mild," although some 22 percent found it enough to limit how much they played. Interestingly, playing a Wii exclusively resulted in more self-reported pain, regardless of the player's age or how much he or she played per day.

Video Games Can Play Havoc With Kids' Joints [HealthDay on U.S. News & World Report]

The original "Gaymer" survey was created to "quantify the existence of an invisible minority." Now that we know that they do indeed exist, it's time to find out what they like. Paul Nowak, a masters student at Full Sail, has created the new survey in order to make an in-depth study of what "gaymers" want from their games.

Ideally, I want to learn what exactly it is that gaymers want from their games and how that differs from their heterosexual counterparts. I'll take that information to develop guidelines the industry can use when trying to make gaymer inclusive games that don't become offensive or insulting to any gamer regardless of sexual orientation. If someone had done the same kind of research when the industry was trying to reach out to female gamers, girls wouldn't have had to suffer through the wildly unsuccessful attempts of games like "Mary Kate & Ashley's Winner's Circle" pony racing. I'm hoping to help the industry avoid the same mistakes as it reaches out to gay gamers.

I've gone through the survey myself, seeing as it is open to gamers of all sexual orientations. Aside from the initial question about sexual orientation, it mainly concerns itself with questions about content, genre, and game features, before slipping into more specific questions about homosexual content, using games like Enchanted Arms, Bully, and The Sims as examples.

As for the survey's motivation, I find myself a bit conflicted. I've just never thought of gaming as a pastime that sexual orientation figures into. Nowak makes a valid point about the industry's stumbling first attempts at reaching a female audience, but are homosexual gamers that much different from everyone else that they need to be catered to specifically? I'm not saying they shouldn't be...I suppose I am asking if they really want to be.

New Gaymer Survey [Full Sail via Joystiq - Thanks Alexander]

The ESA's study said 54 were added since 2008, a 27 percent rise in the number of video game-related degree programs in the U.S. Among states, California quite expectedly offers the most video game-related degrees, at 46 institutions, with the University of California-Irvine recently establishing a center for games and virtual worlds research. New York, Texas and Florida are the other leading states, in that order.

The utility of these programs extends beyond game creation; the ESA also said a poll found that 70 percent of "major employers" use some form of interactive software, including games, in employee training. Of those, three-fourths expect to expand their usage of such methods in the next three to five years.

Like any popular and growing field, graduates can certainly expect to find a competitive jobs environment. But the growth and the mainstreaming of programs built specifically for game design show the industry's deepening acceptance by and impact to big business in America.

More Colleges than Ever Offering Gaming Degrees [CNET]

The survey polled 800 Americans on things like video games and anime and manga.

Website Umaguruma.com translated the published article — hat tip for that!

Favorite Game
10. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
7. Persona 4
7. Shadow of the Colossus
7. The Legend of Zelda
5. Final Fantasy IX
5. Final Fantasy
4. Chrono Trigger
3. Metal Gear Solid
2. Kingdom Hearts
1. Final Fantasy VII

Comments
"Chrono Trigger is an RPG that stands the test of time; I thoroughly enjoy playing it, even now!" — Nick Colucci, 27
"Disgaea is a weird and wild game that I really enjoyed playing. The replay value is so great with all the multiple endings and insane levels your characters can reach." — Anonymous
"Xenogears was the first JRPG I ever played. I love it so much I even got a gear tatoo on my shoulder." — Adam Dunphy, 26

Favorite Game Creator or Company
10. Goichi Suda
9. SEGA
8. Tetsuya Nomura
7. Shigeru Miyamoto
6. KONAMI
5. Hideo Kojima
4. Atlus
3. Capcom
2. Nintendo
1. Square Enix

Comments
"I got 'SNK' and 'Team Ninja' tatoos on my body." — B.N., 24
"Tomohiro Nishikado, the man who made Space Invaders." — Anonymous, 24
"Katamari Damacy, made Keita Takahashi, is always my first choice when I want to play something really fun." — Zac Bentz, 32

Below are replies to the question "What would you like to see sold in the US?"

"Why... why won't Nintendo release Mother 3 in America?!" — Ivan Yang, 16
"I want to play Ryu Ga Gotoku 3." — Joshua Miller, 30
"Release Siren 2 in America!" — Zac Bentz, 32
"Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon for the Wii has great atmosphere and music." — Clay Leatherwood, 24

Manga and anime data in the link below.

The Great American Otaku Survey [馬車]

The researchers, at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom, think they're the first to repurpose the processors as an inexpensive substitute for "parallel processing," - when multiple processors work together to provide powerful number crunching capacity.

In this case, a researcher built a system using a 360 Graphical Processing Unit to help him model how electrical signals in the heart moved around damaged cardiac cells. The researcher, Dr. Simon Scarle, had previous worked as a software engineer for Rare.

Put simply, Dr. Scarle said that he modified the chip to perform calculations other than graphical ones. The result wasn't "quite the full whammy of a cluster," of processors, "but it's close," he said.

"In the case of my research, rather than calculating the position of a structure and texture it's now working out the different chemical levels in a cell," Dr. Scarle said.

The BBC's report notes that the PlayStation 3's processor technology can be found in Roadrunner, the world's fastest supercomputer, and the console participates in the Folding@home project, which links up idle PCs and PS3s to perform parallel processing tasks in researching diseases.

Scarle said the 360's GPUs could be linked up into a cluster to provide even greater numbercrunching power, but "you would have to go over the internet - through something like Xbox live - rather than a standard method. However, without development tools, it wouldn't be easy."

Xbox Speeds Up Research Results [BBC, thanks Christopher G.]

What's controller latency? DF explain it neatly as:

In basic terms, controller latency is very easy to define. It's the time, usually measured in frames or milliseconds, between pressing the button on your controller and the appropriate action kicking in on-screen during gameplay. The longer the delay, the less responsive the controls, and the more unsatisfying the game can feel.

This can be caused in two ways. One by LCD televisions, the other by inherent lag in the game's code. Since TV latency can vary between sets, DF's research focuses solely on measuring the lag between the controller and the game code. Their findings are listed below.

As you can see, the top performers are the ones that really need as little lag as possible: the twitchy games, the ones most reliant on fast timing. So fighting games, music games, driving games.

For the full rundown of the methodology and technology involved, hit the link below.

Console Gaming: The Lag Factor [Eurogamer]

The mission of the Center for Computer Games & Virtual Worlds, according to a university statement, will be to "expand campuswide research activities that draw upon UCI's strengths spanning the social and technological aspects of games and virtual worlds." It will likely be the site of national and international research workshops, and will host visiting research scholars on the subject.

The statement also points out that UC-Irvine was one of the first major research universities to establish teaching and research programs for computer game culture and technology. Its Game Culture & Technology Lab has pulled in nearly $5 million in external funding since its establishment in 2001.

The Center for Computer Games is a part of Irvine's Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences; it's led by the school's associate dean, Magda El Zarki, and senior research scientist Walt Scacchi, of the UCI Institute for Software Research.

"We now realize that scientific and cultural achievements go beyond the current concepts of what games and virtual worlds are good for, or how they may be developed or applied," Scacchi said. "The center will support our research in demonstrating the sustained ability to invent and reinvent the future of computer games and virtual worlds."

The statement adds that: "UCI has a growing number of game-related research projects, including game-based virtual worlds where students 'play to learn' via interactive simulations, open community-based development of games and synthetic worlds, and gamelike synthetic worlds where autonomous characters display emotional responses and emergent behaviors."

UC Irvine establishes Center for Computer Games & Virtual Worlds [UC-Irvine Today, thanks Elizabeth L.]

Research firm EEDAR have compared 2008's review scores (for the first six months of the year) for all three consoles to 2009's scores, and found that while the PS3 and 360 have remained largely steady, there's been a marked improvement in the average review score for Wii games, rising from 60% in 2008 to 66% in 2009.

You, I and 100 other people could have 102 opinions on just why that is, but does the why really matter when the result is so clear? Wii games are getting better, accept it, be thankful.

The Divnich Debrief: Wii Quality Sees Significant Improvement in 2009 [IndustryGamers]