Study: British Video Game Statistic Shocker — They’re Now Almost Double Movie Profits

Data firm GFK Chart-Track performed a study for the Daily Telegraph, finding that in the 12 month period between September 2008 and September 2009, movies grossed about a billion pounds in the UK.

During the same time period, video game sales totaled about 1.75 billion pounds. TV and music, with their associated fees, hardware and media costs, remain bigger still. But for video games to knock off the lead of a mainstream entertainment venue (one that is about 100 years old, BTW) is a significant accomplishment, especially when it’s by such a large margin.

The number of gaming consoles in British households has increased from 13.5 million units in 2008, to about 25 million in early 2009, or enough for one console to be in nine out of 10 households (though obviously many households simply have one of each of the big three consoles).

This is another feather in Britain’s video game cap. I noted in 2008 that Rob Fahey indicated Game Group (the UK’s equivalent to GameStop) had grown to three times the market cap of Britain’s largest construction firm.

The data have certainly generated discussion in Britain, offering ammo for video game defenders such as Tom Watson, a former Cabinet Office minister: “The industry has matured over the last decade, and so too have gamers.”

Via Blast Magazine & Game Politics

References:
Wallop, H. (2009, December 26). Video games bigger than film. Daily Telegraph. [Online.] Retrieved January 4, 2009 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/6852383/Video-games-bigger-than-film.html

Study: Brain Trainer for Nintendo DS Raises Test Scores

London’s Daily Telegraph reports a study of 600 students in 32 schools across Britain led by Learning and Teaching Scotland found test scores increased after playing “Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training” each day for nine weeks. The students were ages nine and ten, and played “a 20-minute problem-solving session” on the game each day. Scores increased on the post-test for all students, but up to 50% more for the experimental group. The experimental group also had higher attendance, better behavior, and finished the test quicker. Gains were equal among boys and girls. Finally, whether children had a Nintendo DS at home or not did not affect their scores. Here are the key quotes:

Derek Robertson, LTS’s national adviser for emerging technologies and learning, said: “It shows teachers needn’t be afraid to use technology in the classroom.”

Lorna Neilson, a teacher at Hillhead Primary School in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, took part in the study.

She said the game had now become part of her daily classroom routine.

She said: “It’s had a really positive effect. The children settle much more quickly, they concentrate better and are more motivated.

“I have a Nintendo DS at home and I was already a fan, but it’s been a great tool in the classroom. I think it’s something we should see used in more schools.”

References:
Irvine, C. (2008, September 26). Playing Nintendo’s Brain Trainer ‘can improve childrens’ maths skills.’ Daily Telegraph. [Online.] Retrieved September 29, 2008 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3084265/
Playing-Nintendos-Brain-Trainer-can-improve-childrens-maths-skills.html

PlayStation 2 Quiz Game to be Used in British Schools

When I was in school, we’d sometimes play “quiz shows” based on popular television game shows using paper and the chalkboard to keep track of things. With the advent of Microsoft’s PowerPoint, the computer hooked to a projector replaced the chalkboard with snazzier graphics.

Now, word comes from the Daily Telegraph that British gaming company Relentless developed a quiz show for British school children that runs on the PlayStation 2: Buzz! The Schools Quiz. The game was developed under a grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The teachers act as “game show host,” and are in charge of tempo and topics. The PlayStation 2 is quite inexpensive right now, and could well serve as a useful tool in classrooms that would be cheaper to implement than a traditional computer.

Alas, infamous anti-gamer Jack Thompson, a Florida attorney who has leveled many charges against the gaming industry and videogames in the past, was offered a quote in the story belittling academic potentials of gaming.

Interestingly, Thompson was not noted as an American commenting on a British academic initiative.

References:
Sony sells PlayStation quiz game to schools. (2008, January 12). The Daily Telegraph. [Online.] Retrieved January 12, 2007 from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?
xml=/connected/2008/01/12/dlquiz112.xml