The 2009 Today’s Gamers Internation Survey tells us something that a lot of us could of guessed: most Americans love playing videogames more than anything else.

According to the survey, 83% of the US citizens polled claimed that playing videogames was their number one past time, over watching the tube and surfing the net.

Europeans play less games, but not by much, as 72% admitted their gaming tendencies.

I just want to burst into the national anthem right now, but I’ll probably just play some videogames.

In a recent speech at the NAACP 100th anniversary event, President Obama encouraged parents to “put away the Xbox.” Microsoft took the President’s slight condemnation and spun it into a positive.

The President remarked:

To parents, we can’t tell our kids to do well in school and fail to support them when they get home. For our kids to excel, we must accept our own responsibilities. That means putting away the Xbox and putting our kids to bed at a reasonable hour. It means attending those parent-teacher conferences, reading to our kids, and helping them with their homework…

-to which Microsoft answered:

We agree with President Obama that it’s a time for families to work together so that kids use media in ways that are safe, healthy and balanced. Xbox 360 is the only console gaming system that has a timer feature allowing parents to set time limits for their kids, as well as parent controls to enable parents to set limits on what their kids are playing and watching.

That’s some pretty crafty work from Microsoft there, turning Obama’s remark into an endorsement of sorts. Put away that Xbox, kids!

Game Politics

A new bill recently passed by the senate means that playing videogames while driving in the Big Apple can net you you a $150 fine. The bill also covers texting and surfing the web while driving. It’s a secondary offense, which means you’ll only get cited if you get pulled over for something else first. That also means that the $150 fine will be tacked on top of whatever you got pulled over for in the first place.

The law still needs to be approved by Governor Patterson, and if does approve it, it will go into effect this November.

That Video Game Blog

Rhianna Pratchett, the writer behind Overlord and its sequels, has expressed how much help the video game industry in the writing department.

“Writers and narrative designers are still relatively new positions on development teams. This means there’s still a level of uncertainty about how best to use and integrate them. I know from talking to lots of fine people in my field that the writing process can often be done too late, without proper access to the team and under extreme pressure. Thankfully, things are starting to get a little better and more writers are being contacted in the first few months of a project’s lifespan, rather than the last few months … A little more variation in concept and content would be nice, as well, which is something writers and narrative designers can help with.”

I couldn’t agree more. As a big fan of books, I’m frequently turned off from games for either a lame plot or poor dialogue. In fact, if I were to count how many games I’ve played that have been good in every department but writing, I would have to make up a new number. I’m going with “dillion.” A dillion games.

Go Nintendo

Resident Evil 5 and the U.S. Army? Where do I sign up??!??!!

The only thing comparable to the way I feel when I see U.S. Army recruiters mixed into events packed with teenage kids would be witnessing Michael Jackson driving a bus load of Catholic priests to Chuck E. Cheese for a quick bite to eat.

I know I may take some heat for this, but I couldn’t help but notice the “GO ARMY” recruitment tent mixed into the Best Buy Resident Evil 5 launch party video (which you can also see after the jump). I don’t mind the idea of recruiters but what I do mind is the methods by which they often recruit.

This isn’t the first time the U.S. Army has been accused of blurring the lines between gaming and recruiting. Promoting an official U.S. Army videogame and lacing their official army game website to contain soldier bios designed to look like videogame stat cards is youth marketing at its finest. Look at all the stats you can wrack up kids – assuming you don’t die first.

Hit the jump for the RE5 launch party video as promised.

Video source: Kotaku

Ok, maybe not in those “exact words”, but not since the Guinness beer commercials have two supremely educated individuals come to a conclusion more “brilliant”.

Professors John Kilburn and Christopher Ferguson of Texas A&M International University reached out to GamePolitics a few days ago (sorry, I’m still recovering from my WoW addiction) to point them in the direction of a “meta-analytic review” they published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

In short, their conclusion states the following:

“Results from the current analysis do not support the conclusion that media violence leads to aggressive behavior. It cannot be concluded at this time that media violence presents a significant public health risk.”

A bulleted list outlining their findings is available for you after the jump.

• In the last 10 years, video games studies have been overwhelmingly popular compared to studies on other media.
• Less than half of studies (41%) used well validated aggression measures.
• Poorly standardized and unreliable measures of aggression tended to produce the highest effects, possibly because their unstandardized format allows researchers to pick and choose from a range of possible outcomes.
• The closer aggression measures got to actual violent behavior, the weaker the effects seen.
• Experimental studies produced much higher effects than correlational or longitudinal studies. As experimental studies were most likely to use aggression measures of poor quality, this may be the reason why.
• There was no evidence that video games produce higher effects than other media, despite their interactive nature.
• Overall, effects were negligible, and we conclude that media violence generally has little demonstrable effect on aggressive behavior.

Source: GamePolitics

… and then you woke up. Yes, it’s true. Someone out there is about to get paid $250,000 over the course of three years to look “rad” and play videogames while pimping Dr Pepper … but that someone is not you.

The individual is 21-year-old Halo 3 gamer Tom Taylor (aka: Tsquared) and his mug will start appearing on roughly 175 million bottles of the tasty beverage between January and April.

Source: New York Times

Another decent week in releases with Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood for the DS, Silent Hill Homecoming for the 360 and PS3 and Mega Man 9 finally hits Xbox Live on Wednesday. Y’all might want to check out Bomberman Blast on the WiiWare today as well.

Pick of the Week: Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood (DS)

Xbox 360:

• Silent Hill Homecoming
• Mega Man 9 (XBLA)
• Mobile Ops: The One Year War

PS3:

• Silent Hill Homecoming

Nintendo Wii:

• Art Style: Orbient (WiiWare)
• Bomberman Blast (WiiWare)
• Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility
• Super Turrican 2 (VC)
• We Cheer

PS2:

• Mortal Kombat Kollection

Nintendo DS:

• Unsolved Crimes
• Sonic Chronicles: Dark Brotherhood
• Tornado
• Margot’s Word Brain
• Pop Cutie: Street Fashion Simulation
• Princess Debut
• Pipe Mania

PSP:

• Valhalla Knights 2

PC Games:

• Pipe Mania
• Sniper: Art of Victory
• Zoo Tycoon 2 Ultimate
• Baseball Mogul 2009
• SAS: Secure Tomorrow
• Dark Horizon
• Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft

Picture this (unless you’re female, in which case, just go with it): You’re in a club, socializing with all the fine ladies. You’re staking out which of the beautiful women you want to approach. You decide to pull a Nathan Drake and half-tuck your shirt to accentuate your washboard abs. The club lights hit your belt buckle with a miraculous glint that only a total sex magnet could produce. Instantly, all eyes are on you.

You are a god. You’ve mesmerized the ladies with your stellar fashion sense; your machismo is through the roof, because there is nothing that says, “Hey baby, I’m a fiend,” like a video game inspired belt buckle.

O.K., I kid. This type of situation would never happen. I would know, I have a NES controller belt buckle, and that situation has never happened to me.

Then again, these homemade, handcrafted retro belt buckles are infinitely cooler then my current one. The buckles are made by Natalie Hutcheson (her hacker alias is HutchMe) and can be purchased on her Etsy online shop for a measly $18 plus shipping.

I think I might buy one. My girlfriend is going to be jealous, because the ladies are going to be flocking toward my new buckle, if you know what I mean. And you do.

Have something you think we should show on Geeked-Out? Email it to us.

Source: Technabob

After ten years in the making and jumps from the PS One and Gamecube to the Xbox 360, Too Human is finally coming out this week and we’ll get to see if the game was truly worth the wait.

Other highlights of the week include Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty for the PS3, Two Worlds: Epic Edition for PC and I’m pretty hyped up for the original Mega Man for the Wii, via the Virtual Console.

Pick of the Week: Too Human (Xbox 360)

Xbox 360:

• Galaga: Legions (XBLA)
• Smash Court Tennis 3
• Too Human

PS3:

• Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (PSN)

Nintendo Wii:

• Mega Man (VC)
• Midnight Pool (WiiWare)
• NEO TURF MASTERS (VC)
• Super Pick Ups

PS2:

• Falling Stars
• Shepherd’s Crossing

Nintendo DS:

• Commando Steel Disaster
• The Cheetah Girls: Passport to Stardom

PSP:

• Fading Shadows

PC Games:

• Adventure Anthology
• Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm
• Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon
• MindHabits
• Murder in the Abby
• Shattered Suns
• Sinking Island
• Space Siege
• Tank Universal
• Two Worlds Epic Edition

If you are new to the web series titles “Legend of Neil”, it is based off of exactly what you think it is based off of — The Legend of Zelda. This version however, is something that would never get the Nintendo family seal of approval.

Neil’s journey to the videogame world of Hyrule begins when he decides to get himself off while playing a drunk game of Zelda. He wraps the controller cord around his neck (for added stimulation of course) and blacks out in the process. When Neil wakes he finds that he is no longer at home on his couch.

The series is well produced and very entertaining. Have at episode four as well as links to the three previous episodes after the jump.

Legend of Neil: Episode 4 description and credits via the Atom website.

Description: Neil may have learned how to shoot lasers out of his sword and defeat Octorocks, but will he be able to overcome his dumb face and stupid brain?

Credits: Creator: Sandeep Parikh, Producer: Leah Mann, Director: Sandeep Parikh, Producer: Sandeep Parikh, Writer: Tony Janning, Writer: Sandeep Parikh, Cast: Tony Janning, Cast: Eric Acosta, Cast: Scott Chernoff, Cast: Sandeep Parikh.

Legend of Neil: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3,

Source: Atom Films

A psychology professor from Pittsburgh is leading a symposium this weekend about the “Sexualization of Children”. Among her concerns are the dangers posed to girls by, of all things, videogames.

What’s so dangerous about videogames, and why specifically are they a danger to girls? Apparently it’s because boys are a danger to girls. The professor, Sharna Olfman, groups videogames with online porn and claims that boys are taught by this media that women exist solely for their pleasure. According to her, videogames and porn are “an unfortunate growing mechanism by which boys learn about sex”.

To be honest, she’s right. Most things I know about women and sex I learned from videogames and porn. I learned that delivering pizza or unclogging a toilet will get me laid, as will selecting the right multiple choice answers from a dialogue tree. I also learned that women are better snipers and are just as capable as men at kicking ass… wait, those things are actually true!

So what else does Professor Dumbshit think is going to eat our children? Music, movies, television shows, and clothing lines all treat women like sexual objects. Apparently, musicians and actors are trying to sex you up, and people who wear fashionable clothing are just trying to get sexual attention. No, that can’t be true!

This all just sounds like common knowledge to me, evidence that the professor must have just woken from a 400-year coma. Why is there a need for a symposium about this?

The professor’s definition of “sexualization” is when someone “doesn’t understand that sexuality is part of a loving relationship”. Does it really have to be? Do I have to be in a loving relationship before I can squirt some AXE on myself or wear some nut-huggers?

We are not “sexualizing” our children, we are simply “sexualizing” everything in the world where our children live. We are “sexualizing” ourselves because it’s human nature and we like it.

Let me blow your minds with the simple solution: keep your kids away from adult material. Don’t let them watch R-rated movies or Spike TV, don’t let them play M-Rated games, don’t buy them thongs or lingerie, don’t let them listen to rap music (which you should be doing regardless), and for God’s sake keep them away from this website!

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

This is probably going to go down as our easiest giveaway yet. In honor of our newly launched forum, simply sign up and introduce yourself in the area titled — “introduce yourself“. Everyone will immediately confirm your greatness, welcome you to our community with open arms, and your name will be entered into a drawing to win two — no, make that three videogames of your choice for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, or PC!

Contest ends midnight on March 31, 2008. If you have already introduced yourself in the forum (and you are not a member of the ripten staff) then you are already entered! So start thinking of the three games you want, because you are so damn lucky you are bound to win. Happy trolling!

Update: I decided to make things more interesting — why the hell not. If you refer your friends to our lovely forum and they mention your name in their introduction — not only will they be entered to win, but your name will be entered into the drawing again!! How many friends can you refer? As many as you want, so get your ass moving!

Join our forum and introduce yourself right now

Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants to crack down on knife violence, even if it’s just in a videogame. Stabbings are apparently on the rise in the UK, and Mr. Brown wants game developers to tread carefully when mixing blades with fun. In a recent interview with British paper The Sun, Mr. Brown had this to say about our favorite pastime (gaming, not stabbing):

I am very worried about video and computer games. No one wants censorship or an interfering State. But the industry has some responsibility to society and needs to exercise that.

This comes after a recent deluge of stabbing deaths, leading the Prime Minister to impose a new Violent Crime Action Plan. Any knife-wielding individual found in a high-crime area will be prosecuted, regardless of their age.

There are boundaries you cannot cross — and one is this country’s zero tolerance on knives. It is neither cool, nor does it make you safer, to carry a knife

This leads me to wonder whether the UK’s knife problems are partly responsible for their stance on Manhunt 2. The game is brutal, no doubt, but there are many graphically violent games out there that they had no problem with, though the games don’t prominently feature knives.

The recent story we reported about the kids supposedly using Mortal Kombat moves to kill a seven year old girl has got me thinking: How do people go about linking videogames to real-world violence?

I read today about a woman picked up for stealing videogame merchandise from a Wal-Mart in Cocoa, Florida. The article also mentions that the 23-year-old woman was previously in trouble with the law for neglecting her son to the point where he wandered off and was found dead in a ditch.

Obviously the woman was charged with manslaughter on top of the neglect, but the case was thrown out of court due to “insufficient evidence”.

So here we have one individual that was involved in two totally unrelated crimes spaced almost four years apart. How easy would it be to associate one behavior with the other?

People like Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil love to search the history of people involved in violent acts and automatically associate their videogame activities with their real-world actions.

Exhibit C: Douchebag

It is my opinion that the aforementioned “Mortal Kombat” killers are associated with the videogames for three reasons:

1. They’re young. Thirty years ago it would have been Black Sabbath instead of Mortal Kombat.

2. The young man used videogames as his alibi, stating he wasn’t involved.

3. Money. The gaming industry is larger than Hollywood, and lawyers want a piece of that pie.

At this point in my life, I’ve read significantly more stories about violent crimes not associated with anything than I have about violence associated with rap music, heavy metal, videogames, or cartoons.

The bottom line is that I do think videogames can be “inspirational” for deeply disturbed people to do deeply disturbed things. Violent people are naturally drawn to violence, even if it’s only digital.

I also submit to the idea that videogames increase aggression, but no more so than any other competitive activity like football or even bowling, and it’s not a permanent effect.

A Fine Example of Pleasant Conversation

A normal kid is not going to kill his parents because he spent 8 hours straight pushing buttons on a controller. If anything, I think it’s quite the opposite.

I personally find videogames to be therapeutic. Whenever I may get the urge to kill people, I can take out that aggression on digital characters without the real-world consequences of guilt, jail time, physical harm to myself, or blood on my new pants.

If someone happens to do something violent and happens to also play videogames, that does NOT mean that videogames actually cause any violence.

This is a clear case of simple stereotyping, and we all know that’s a no-no. So I say to all you stereotypers out there: stop being dicks, or I will kill you.

Football legend Sir Geoff Hurst offers a positive opinion on gaming, delivering logical and praise worthy comments regarding the “videogames are ruining football” debate that hit last week.

The World Cup Winner pronounced that videogames are “fantastic”, and stated, “there’s technique and skill needed to be good and successful”, which he compared to that of a real game of football.

Hired to promote upcoming remake Sensible Soccer, Hurst isn’t perhaps as skillful on a virtual pitch as he was on the real thing, admitting, “I get walloped by my grandson.”

Earlier in the week, controversy was created when videogames were blamed for England’s failure to qualify in Euro2008 after losing to Croatia. Hurst, however, suggested a much more reasonable take on the situation.

He suggested: “We have so many distractions that not enough children are playing sport,” and while he cited videogames as one of these distractions, he didn’t single it out as the greatest.

“There’s a balance between sitting down enjoying your leisure time playing games and running around playing sport,” which is a balance many aren’t finding, according to the legend.

Via CVG