Study: DS Neither Better Nor Worse than Paper for Memory Games

Game researchers are talking about a new study out of France regarding Nintendo’s Brain Training line of mind-stimulating games for the DS. Alain Lieury over at University of Rennes, Brittany, conducted a study of 67 ten year old players. The students were divided into four groups and given pre and post tests on memory and mathematics. Two groups used the Nintendo DS games for seven weeks. Another group used traditional paper puzzles like Soduko while the fourth group was offered no intervention. Adam Sage with The Times Online details the results:

Researchers found that children using the Nintendo DS system failed to show any significant improvement in memory tests. They did do 19 per cent better in mathematics – but so did the pencil-and-paper group, while the fourth group did 18 per cent better. When it came to memorising, the pencil-and-paper group recorded a 33 per cent improvement, while the Nintendo children were 17 per cent worse. In logic tests the Nintendo children registered a 10 per cent improvement, as did the pencil-and-paper group. The children who had no specific training improved 20 per cent.

The variety of results comes as no surprise. Researchers have long known that all things being equal, the media in which content is delivered does not affect test results. For instance, if one student attended a lecture in person while another student watched a video recording of the same lecture and a third student read a transcript of the lecture, then all things being equal the three students will likely offer identical answers when queried on the lecture’s content. The reason for this is, the content is identical despite the different delivery methods (Clark’s delivery truck metaphor).

Therefore, it seems reasonable that the same or similar exercises performed on digital devices will yield similar benefits for students as exercises performed on paper. Other variables play into the equation, however, when technology is used. For instance, a computing device on which to perform the exercises may offer a novelty effect for students, resulting in an initial increase in exercises performed. After the novelty wears off, the number of exercises between groups may level out. On the other hand, a program may be poorly written so that students using it obtain an inaccurate representation of the facts leading to lower scores in the post test.

In short, it does not appear this study either hurts or helps the notion of improving cognitive abilities through the use of handheld games. However, it can be portrayed negatively in the press since it does not fully support the notion. Anyhow, according to Sage’s news report the study will be detailed in Prof. Lieury’s new book, Stimulate Your Neurones, (his spelling) due out soon.

References:
Sage, A. (2009, January 26). Nintendo brain-trainer ‘no better than pencil and paper’. The Times Online. [Online.] Retrieved January 30, 2009 from http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/gadgets_and_gaming/article5587314.ece

The Rise of Photo-Realistic Animation

The bar keeps bumping up higher for quality animations in a videogame. Word came out this week that Afrika, a new safari photo hunt game for the PlayStation 3, would provide ultra-realistic shots of wildlife on the savannah and make good use of the PS3’s graphics capabilities. The game required a mere 25 developers, compared to the 100 or so that many big titles take, and Sony’s sales expectations are modest. Still, the possibilities revolving around photo-realism add to the expectations for future games: serious, educational, and traditional entertainment titles alike.

On the anthromorphological side of things, check out this video, She’s Not Real, from The Times Online in the UK. If you weren’t told ahead of time, it’s possible you wouldn’t know you were watching an animated human … at least at first. Toward the end of the minute long footage, the programmers give a taste of what they can do with an animated person, in a game for instance.

Resistance is Futile … All Will Become Gamers

Here’s a nice article from Rob Fahey, former editor of GamesIndustry.biz, over at Times Online. Fahey makes several interesting points, including many factoids that would fit nicely in research articles on videogames.

- Nintendo is now the second most valuable company (by market cap) in Japan, after Toyota

- Consequently, the market believes the industry as a whole has enormous growth potential

- Game Group is Britain’s largest videogame retailer. Profits for the first half of 2008 will top £33 million, beating analyst estimates by 33%

- Consequently, Game Group’s market cap now tops the country’s largest construction firm by three times

- The current focus on all age groups by videogame companies is the natural outcome of marketing efforts beginning in the 1990s, when Sony began branching out from children’s television advertisements for the PlayStation to nightclubs

- The market for videogames continues to expand into all segments of the population, from teenage boys to older men; to girls and women; to senior citizens; to families as a whole

- The advanced graphics and capabilities of videogames have created a dynamic platform for storytelling that rivals moviemaking in scope

Finally, Fahey sums up with this statement, showing that eventually gaming will engulf everyone:

As video games continue to break new creative and commercial ground, the conclusion the markets have reached is simple – and inevitable. Being a stranger to interactive entertainment will be seen as eccentric as watching TV on a black and white set. Soon, we will all be gamers.

References:
Fahey, R. (2008, July 7). It’s inevitable: Soon we will all be gamers. The Times. [Online]. Retrieved July 6, 2008 from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/
guest_contributors/article4281768.ece

‘Telly Guidelines’: A Roundup of Studies and Worries about Screen Time from Across the Pond

Here’s a nice article from British mum and columnist Janice Turner, who details the current state of official consternation regarding videogames, and parental juggling of duties in light of going against the grain of political correctness. She details a host of studies (mostly negative) regarding videogames and their impact on society from a British perspective.

 [I]n our multiplatform, interactive digital domain it’s not enough to pull the plug out after Newsround. “Screen time” is the new playground buzzword. What irony that having wasted weeks acquiring the world’s last Wii, and credit card bills still bulging from new PCs and plasma TVs, we spend the rest of the year fighting to stop our children using them.

ChildWise, a British charity and apparently somewhat akin to an American think tank, found the average British child spends 5 and a third hours per day at screen time. This has led to parental efforts at control, according to Ms. Turner, along with accompanying angst:

It is no small challenge being the in-house Ofcom, diligently monitoring screen minutes: adding a half hour of MSN to Doctor Who and 20 minutes on SuperMario Galaxy. Does squinting at music videos on your iPod nano’s teeny screen count? What about Tetris on your mobile? Is a podcast cause for concern?

Indeed. Where should the lines be drawn? Perhaps the government should regulate access to media. After all, there are several studies indicating harm with overuse:

Yet what exactly are we worried about here? Of course, the “toxic childhood” Jeremiahs are always plucking random figures from the air: Aric Sigman, of the British Psychological Society, declared that the Government should prescribe telly guidelines – two hours for seven to twelve-year-olds – just as it issues, say, a recommended sodium intake. Last year the University of California gave warning that between two to four hours of TV watching risks high blood pressure. Other reports claim that more than four hours a day leads to obesity, attention deficit disorders, linguistic problems and even back pain. They may as well add, like parents did in the Seventies, that sitting too close to the box gives you square eyes.

However, Ms. Turner has already decided where she will draw the line for her kiddos. She refuses to purchase for them any gaming console. They are “crack cocaine for the brain,” taking over all amusement time:

Playing videogames, children are mentally imprisoned, wired into their evil creators’ brains. And they play them – beepety-beep – on journeys, over family meals, any minute in which they find themselves unamused.

Nice article. Couldn’t disagree with her more, though, about that last point. Videogames are only one of many entertainment and learning options available. In my own household, we have access to consoles, MMOs, handhelds, cellphones, and books (lots of books). I can assure Ms. Turner that videogames are only one option in a world of entertainment, and when given access to them, kids don’t always devote all their free time to games. Nonetheless, Ms. Turner has an excellent article filled with British wit and a concerned mother’s P.O.V.

References:
Turner, J. (2008, January 19). Xbox is crack for kids. The Times. [Online]. Available:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/

janice_turner/article3211999.ece