E3 EXPO
ONE TIME. ONE PLACE. ONE EVENT.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) welcomes the warm reception and excitement for the upcoming 2009 E3 Expo, the annual showcase for the industry's most innovative new products.
The 2009 E3 Expo, June 2-4 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, will feature publishers and developers for console, PC, online, and mobile platforms; makers of computer and video game hardware and accessories; and other leading industry businesses. In fact, 150 companies are exhibiting, including software publishers and every major hardware platform.
For 15 years, the E3 Expo has served as the launch pad for groundbreaking video game hardware and software announcements. Commenting on the upcoming expo, Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, said, "The energy around the E3 Expo is great news for the industry. This year's expo will reflect more than ever the growth trajectory of the computer and video game industry both in North America and around the world."
E3 Expo organizers anticipate that approximately 40,000 stakeholders will attend this year's event, including retailers, industry analysts and journalists from consumer and trade print, online and broadcast media. For more information, visit the E3 Expo Web site, http://www.e3expo.com, or contact the E3 Expo team at (877) 216-6264.
SOLDIERS FIND HELP IN VIDEO GAMES
As Americans across the country celebrate Memorial Day and honor our nation's veterans, we also remember the many service members who are currently recovering from injuries they sustained while defending our nation. As these men and women undergo both mental and physical rehabilitation, entertainment software has emerged as an innovate resource that encourages better attitudes and swifter recoveries from a wide variety of injuries.
For the past several years, soldiers returning from combat in Iraq have used Virtual Iraq, a commercial video game modified by University of Southern California researchers to help veterans cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The game takes exposure therapy to a new level, allowing veterans to experience the sights, sounds and smells necessary to emotionally process traumatic memories. The aim is for patients to draw on their meditation training to regain perspective—and stay calm—when a simulated action or other stimulus causes an emotional response.
Studies have shown that even familiar video games can help with the treatment of PTSD. Researchers at the University of Oxford have found that people who play Tetris after viewing traumatic material have fewer flashbacks and disturbing memories.
Video games have also become useful in the physical rehabilitation of service members. The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas incorporates the popular Nintendo Wii into its traditional physical rehabilitation program to help neutralize the often painful and wearying exercises while at the same time increasing a patient's motivation and enthusiasm for completing treatment. In addition, therapists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. are using driving simulators adapted from software from the video game, Unreal II to help soldiers regain their skills and confidence in driving in civilian environments.
Building off these successful applications, researchers are now exploring other ways games can help improve the health of military service members. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston was recently awarded a $3.7 million grant from the Department of Defense to create a video game that will deter soldiers from smoking and help those who already do to quit. Alexander Prokhorov, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson, states that, "The video game in general is becoming more popular among researchers who want to deliver a health message to a target audience."
Our service men and women deserve the best possible treatment available and entertainment software is playing a vital role in helping bolster those efforts.
ARE ACTION VIDEO GAMES THE NEW CARROTS?
When you were growing up, your mother told you to eat your carrots to help with your vision. These days, eating your carrots while playing video games might improve your eyesight.
A new study, published in the Nature Neuroscience journal and funded by the National Eye Institute and the Office of Naval Research, indicates that some video games may actually improve vision. Half of the study's participants, who were mostly teens or in their 20s, played Atari's Unreal Tournament 2004 and Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4, which are fast moving first-person action games. The other half played Electronic Arts' The Sims 2, a graphically sophisticated game that develops at a more drawn-out pace due to its strategic nature.
Each participant spent 50 hours playing the games over a period of nine weeks, and had their vision tested before and after. The results were eye-opening: the players who had been assigned the action games saw a 43 percent improvement in their vision compared to when they started. Those who played The Sims 2 registered only a slight improvement. In addition, the study showed that the vision of people who play action video games routinely is 58 percent better when compared to the vision of those who do not play at all.
The reason behind the improvement is a bit of a gray area… literally. The researchers used the games to assess the players' Contrast Sensitivity Function (CSF), of which a portion is measured by the ability to distinguish between subtle shades of gray. Previously, it was thought that the only way to improve CSF is through surgery or eyeglasses; the video games change that perception by "training" the eye to use its fullest potential.
"When people play action games, they're changing the brain's pathway responsible for visual processing," said Daphne Bavelier, the lead researcher from the University of Rochester. "These games push the human visual system to the limits and the brain adapts to it, and we've seen the positive effect remains even two years after the training was over." |
