Insurance Breaks for Playing Computer Games...

I think Allstate Insurance is on the right track.

"Could playing computer games enhance mental agility enough to turn people over 50 into better drivers? Allstate Corp. wants to find out, and if the answer is yes, it might offer insurance discounts to people who play the games."

"Under a new pilot program called InSight, Allstate will offer specialized computer games to 100,000 customers in Pennsylvania aged 50 to 75...Then the group's accident rates will be compared to a control group of people who do not play the games."

I've got to ask my friend Ben in Pennsylvania if he's an Allstate customer...

Video Games and Violence - There's a book!

In the WashingtonPost today, I stumbled on yet another article discussing the links between Video Games and Violence. The catalyst for this discussion was the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV this week.

As it turns out, there was a Harvard study on this topic (it was federally funded!). And the authors of that study have now published a book on their findings. (published April 15, 2008)

Even if your kid does play the game ... well, it might not warp him or her for life. The study was conducted by a husband-and-wife team who are co-founders of the Center for Mental Health and Media and serve on the psychiatry faculty of Harvard Medical School. The findings are published in their new book, titled "Grand Theft Childhood."...Olson said, real-world statistics paint the picture as vividly as any research. "In some ways, it's common sense," she said. "Game playing has been going up and violence has been going down."

The authors also have a companion website to the book where they list and dispel some myths regarding the topic:

MYTH: The growth in violent video game sales is linked to the growth in youth violence — especially school violence — throughout the country.

FACT: Video game popularity and real-world youth violence have been moving in opposite directions. Violent juvenile crime in the United States reached a peak in 1993 and has been declining ever since. School violence has also gone down. Between 1994 and 2001, arrests for murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assaults fell 44 percent, resulting in the lowest juvenile arrest rate for violent crimes since 1983. Murder arrests, which reached a high of 3,800 in 1993, plummeted to 1400 by 2001.

Could Video Games Reduce Violence?

In a recent Reuters article, Stephen King (the horror writer) was criticizing a US State's plan to ban violent video games...

"What makes me crazy is when politicians take it upon themselves to play surrogate parents. The results of that are usually disastrous. Not to mention undemocratic," wrote King.

So can games cause violence? Or could games actually reduce violence? Some people are so sure that video games cause violence that they will take legal action. A family attempted to blame the Columbine massacre on the video game DOOM. Is there a link?

Let's look at some facts...the legendary sci-fi shooter DOOM was released in 1993. Ten million people played the game in a span of 2 years. Another game mentioned was Duke Nukem. There were multiple Duke Nukem games, but the violent shooter variation of this was released in 1996. What made games like these and the original classic Wolfenstein a concern was their 3-d animation and motion which simulates a first-person's perspective. Now if violent action games like DOOM and Duke Nukem cause violence, there should be an measurable increase. After some Googling, I landed at the site of the Bureau of Justice.

Nonfatal firearm crime rates have been declining since 1994

After peaking in 1993, the number of gun crimes reported to police declined and then stabilized at levels last seen in 1988.

Graph reproduced from the Bureau of Justice Site.
Click here to see it at the source.

Looks like violent crimes actually dropped after 1993. As a matter of fact, they not only dropped, but continued to drop.

What if a prison installed inexpensive PlayStation2 consoles everywhere, and let the prisoners play games. Would there be a measurable drop in violence? Does anyone know if this has ever been tried?

Imagine if it were true, we wouldn't have to ship troops over to Iraq, just Game Consoles.

A Video Game that Generates $1 Billion Per Year?

For Christmas this year -- my wife bought me Company of Heroes...



I'm a big Warhammer fan - and loved Dawn of War -- Company of Heroes is a step-up from the same team that built Dawn of War. I can't wait to play it...

But no matter how good Company of Heroes is...how much money can it make? I began to wonder how much money World of Warcraft would generate in 2006. After a quick search, I came across this article from the New York Times:

Online Game, Made in U.S., Seizes the Globe

In summary, Blizzard is going to make a boatload of cash. "...Less than two years after its introduction, World of Warcraft, made by Blizzard Entertainment, based in Irvine, Calif., is on pace to generate more than $1 billion in revenue this year with almost seven million paying subscribers..."