attracting more and more girls to gaming
cooking
There can be no doubt that casual gaming is rapidly gaining in popularity. While video games were traditionally a boy's past time, in recent years new genres have started to emerge which are attracting more and more girls to gaming.
While the traditional video game genres of shooting, fighting and driving are still predominantly aimed at boys, new styles of casual game such as cooking games, dress-up games and so called "brain training" games are attracting more and more girls to the medium.
While train training and puzzle games are certainly popular with girls, they are also played by a large number of boys and adults. free cooking games, and dress up games however are almost exclusively aimed at the pre-teen girl market and can attract large numbers of visitors in this target audience, making them ideal games for any product or service website aimed at this market.
Cooking games
The term cooking games can actually cover a number of genres, but in general refers to games where the idea is to create something visual. Normally this takes the form of either decorating something (such as a cookie or cake) or choosing a number of items in sequence to follow a recipe. This could be a cake, a pizza, a sandwich or something similar. The idea if to follow the recipes accurately and fast enough to keep the customers happy.
Dress up games
The other big genre is known as dress-up games. Typically these involve selecting different items of clothing to create unique looking outfits for a virtual doll or model. Again, the emphasis is on creativity (rather than the destruction usually seen in games for boys) and the games tend to be open ended. Rather than being goal driven, the fun comes from playing the game rather than trying to win.
Related
Girls games are certainly gaining market share, both online and offline. Video games are no longer solely the domain of boys and young adults, and browers games correctly themed and targeted are certainly now a great way of attracting new young female visitors, as well as visitors from other demographics.
getting paid to play games all day
FIFA Soccer 09
It sounds like an ideal job doesn't it - getting paid to play games all day? And certainly, testing games beats a lot of other ways of earning a living, but the reality is a lot less glamorous than the title sounds.
There's a lot more to being a games tester than simply playing your favorite games all day. So what is it really like to be a games tester?
The first thing to note is that you'll need to put some serious effort and long hours. Games testers usually start work on a project once it reaches about 75% completion, and that final 25% is what developers call "crunch time" where the whole team are frantically working around the clock to meet the launch date.
The other big negative is the type of work. There's a big difference between playing your favorite game for a few hours with your friends, and testing a game. Testing tends to be extremely repetitive, and often involved playing through the same level or section again, and again in an effort to find and eradicate every last bug. In addition to that, you'll often be given games to test which you wouldn't normally choose to play. You might love playing first person shooters, but could easily be given strategy games, sports games, or puzzle games to test.
Finally, after playing games that you might not enjoy, over and over for hours, you'll need to log all those bugs and communicate them to the developers. That usually means filling out questionaires and writing reports. What, you didn't think you were going to get paid just for playing the games did you?
Well if all that hasn't put you off, and you're still keen to land a job as a games tester, you need to get your "foot in the door". Even with all the down sides, games testing is still a highly sought after job and so you need a way to compete and give yourself the best chance of being accepted. The best way to do that is by building a solid resume, and contacting the right person at each games company. Simply writing to head office rarely works, and getting those "insider contacts" really can make all the difference.
Related
Once you do get accepted though you'll be the envy of all your friends, getting paid to play games while they work in boring office jobs! Not only that, but games testing can also be a way of breaking into the games industry and becoming a designer, artist or developer. Just be prepared to take the rough with the smooth, and put in some serious effort to work your way up the ladder!
issue that might just plague your Ps3
Yellow Light Flashing
The Playstation 3 is the latest and greatest, but with that comes a few brand new problems - the biggest problem of course is that you will need to learn how to fix Ps3 yellow light flashing. This can be both a good thing and a bad thing because the Ps3 now includes a heat sensor that is a little too over-sensitive.
There are a number of other issue that might just plague your Ps3 as well.
For instance you might experience a faulty hard drive or even power supply. Going about the repair ps3 yellow light flashing problems is sometimes rather difficult. You could send it back to Sony or you could have it repaired in a store. Note that if you do have it repaired at a store, then you will most likely void the warranty and this should only be considered as a very last resort. But would you believe that you don’t have to send it back to the factory OR take it to a shop? You can fix ps3 yellow light flashing yourself in less than one hour!
It’s true, and all you need to do is find a good guide or video to walk you through the process of fixing ps3 yellow light flashing. Using guides and making sure that you follow their instructions, you can accomplish things that you previously thought to be impossible. The Playstation 3 is not a mythical piece of IT genius as many people would lead you to believe.
You can fix it’s quirks and other problems like overheating that causes the ps3 yellow light flashing issues all on your own, and you won’t have to spend a fortune to do it. Granted most of these guides can cost around thirty dollars, but in the long run you have to consider that it was absolutely worth it when you consider the alternative.
Related
The alternative being that you wouldn’t be able to use your Ps3 at all. You can fix Ps3 yellow light flashing and you can be back in the game before you know it. Just believe in yourself and have the will to find a good guide. So do it, and return to the fray.
How To create a successful video game
Video Game
The video game development process is a long and tedious one, and this is an industry that is ruled by a few heavyweights. Entry into this industry is extremely difficult for a newcomer, as each of the existing companies already have a strong presence in their respective niches. The video game development process ranges from the initial conceptualization of a game, right to analyzing the response of consumers and gamers and offering patches and solutions to various bugs on the game.
Technology has advanced to such path breaking levels in today's world, and to develop and create a successful video game requires the work of more than 40 people, with each person working on their specialized task. There are a large number of video gaming platforms and consoles today, and as such the expectations of the consumers has really shot up high. Each and every detail of a video game needs weeks and months of work, and this is why video game development process is highly difficult, stressful, and lucrative. The evolution of video games to futuristic levels, is exactly what makes this such an elite industry today.
Different Types of Video Game Developers
As mentioned before, there are a large number of people and departments at work in order to design and develop a successful and intelligent video game. Each person, or team, focuses on their task at hand and nothing else. The entire team is led by a Producer and a Project Manager and it is their job to ensure that all the different teams are working in a coordinated manner. The main teams in the video game development process are the artists, the animators, the programmers, and the designers. Each team member has a specific skill that they bring to the table, and no one else interferes in their work.
Along with these fundamental teams, there are some secondary teams that function as well. These departments are all equally responsible for ensuring that everything is working smoothly and there are no difficulties along the way. For the purpose of carrying out these auxiliary jobs you have the Audio Department, the Engine Department and the Tools Department. The video game development software needs to go through a lot of tweaks and improvements and as such it passes through the hands of all these various, inter-dependent departments.
Read the following about video game designers:
- How to Become a Video Game Designer
- Job Description of a Video Game Designer
- How to Become a Video Game Beta Tester
Video Game Development Process
The various stages into which the video game development process can be divided are basically divided into 4 chronological parts. You have the Concept, the Pre-production, the Production, and the Post-production stages that video game designers mandatorily immerse themselves into. Each of these stages have their own teams of experts working on them, and the importance of each of these stages, teams, and departments is absolutely vital.
Concept
Each and every game needs an idea to be realized. This idea is the blueprint for the entire designing team and it can draw inspiration from anywhere. The idea generators can decide what genre the game should belong to, and then act accordingly. The concept chosen by video game designers can be an original idea, a sequel, or a licensed based title. License based titles can be based on books, movies, or some specific people.
Once the concept has been decided and formulated, a concept plan is required to be made and submitted to the decision makers. These are the guys who provide the finances and if they agree, the designing process can begin. For license based titles, the permission of the original creators needs to be gained. The video game development process needs to be efficient right from the conceptualization stage, and all the developers and designers should have the same vision that the designers originally have. Read more about designing video games.
Pre-Production
Now a more detailed design document of the potential video game is generated, and this is mostly done by the primary designer. This document specifies the primary aims of the video game, and tries to establish, in cohort with the others, whether the design is actually realistic and achievable or not. If it is not achievable, certain tweaks can be made to the primary design. Once it has been established that the game can be achieved, the programmers come into the picture of the video game development process.
These guys start working on the video game development software and also produce a highly detailed technical report, explaining what kind of technology will be utilized for making the game, and what kind of engine the video game would work on. Then the artists come along and physically create the ideas and concepts that were originally intended. Obviously, this is not done without the supervision of the original creators and designers. The Producer and the Project Manager then combine all these teams and make a scheduled plan about the time each task is expected to be completed in. Video game development jobs require the ability to be able to work under extreme pressure and meet a lot of deadlines, and at the same time produce the best quality of work possible.
Also have a look at the following video game platforms and consoles and games:
- PC Games
- Xbox 360 Games
- PlayStation 2 (PS2)
- PlayStation 3 (PS3)
- Nintendo Wii Games
Production
This is the most important part of the video game development process, and the one area where the maximum expertise is required, and the most money is spent. All the departments start work simultaneously and everyone works on the job that they have been assigned. You have the tools programmers, the engine programmers, the user interface programmers and the artificial intelligence programmers all working in sync with each other. The animators and the artists are also working on the visualization and movements of characters, objects, animations, backgrounds, texts and interface designs. The video game development software has to include all these things, or else the video game will be a failure. Also read about 3D animation and graphic design.
The Audio department then adds all the necessary sounds and noises that are required in the game. The voice of the characters, the background music, the interface music and other things are what these guys look after. The cost of the video game development process can run very high due to the large number of specialists in the developing team, and the cost of the best equipment and machinery used for the designing process. The Producer and the Project Manager are simultaneously assessing that all the work is on target, and that all deadlines are being met. They are also carrying out detailed risk assessment in the market, and trying to predict how well the game will do.
Post-Production
Finally comes the testing stage. Once the game has been developed, testers are required to play the game and highlight any bugs that are there. If any are found, the necessary solutions are incorporated. Learn more about how to become a video game tester. The graphics and the game-play of the video game are then tweaked and polished, and the game is ready to be sent to the manufacturers. Marketing of the video game is a very important part of the video game development process, and this is something that keeps happening all along, during the development process. The video game developers are contracted to not reveal anything about the game though, as this could ruin the response of the consumers. Once the game is released, the video game development process is accomplished.
Also see the following:
- Who Invented Video Games
- History and Timeline of Video Games
This is not the end of the matter though, as some faults in the game will only arise once gamers start using it. If there are any such faults, then necessary patches must be released over the Internet so that everyone is satisfied with the final product. The biggest video game production houses spend a lot of time, energy and money on the video game development process, as it is the attention to details that ultimately makes all the difference.
PS3 Problems tips
Games
The Sony PlayStation3 (PS3) is one of the most complete and powerful gaming consoles you will find today. It is the latest offering by Sony in the gaming console market and you can work wonders with it. Good PS3 games will keep you occupied for hours on end and also provide you with an unlimited amount of fun and entertainment. The cost of the PS3 console may seem a bit much, but this is the very best that money can buy and it is totally worth the investment.
There are many good games for PS3 to choose from and there is something for everyone. Be it your role playing games (RPG), first person shooter games (FPS), real time strategy games (RTS), arcade games, combat games, multi-platform games or sports based games; no matter where your interests lie you will always find some good PS3 games to suit your needs.
Best PS3 Games
There are a few video games that are the firm favorites of gamers around the world. Time has tested these games and they have all evolved and are now considered to be the very best that the gaming companies have to offer. This is a very brief list as there are hundreds of good PS3 games to buy and it really depends on the tastes and preferences of the gamer. Read some more game reviews.
Assassin's Creed 2
This is a game produced by Ubisoft and it tells the tale of 15th century Italy from the point of view of Ezio, a near superhuman assassin. Following on from the first Assassin's Creed version, this game includes brilliantly designed cities, great fights between the protagonist and other soldiers, stunning movement facilities of the player and some great visual work. Combined with the great story narrated, this is a game that must be played by every PS3 lover. Read more on the best sword fighting games.
God of War
The newest release of this series is God of War III, and many regular gamers have claimed that this is possibly the best out of all the good PS3 games available. The game is played as Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, and it involves some of the best game play around. This series has become the stuff of legends among gamers and it also serves as a great history lesson about the many mythologies of Greece. Playing this game will showcase the true power of the PS3 console and will show you exactly why this is the very best console around.
FIFA 10
This is the newest FIFA game by EA Sports and it is surely one of the most in-depth and fun PS3 games to play. Virtually every football club around the world is present here and you can play as whichever team you desire. There are many game modes as well where you can play different scenarios. You can play a FIFA World Cup, a basic kick off game, a custom made tournament or you can even play as the manager of your favorite team and organize the teams resources by buying and selling players. Play this game and you will learn so much about the beautiful game of soccer. You can also try playing PES 10 (Pro Evolution Soccer) which is the direct rival of the FIFA series.
Modern Warfare 2
If you're into FPS games, then out of all the good PS3 games look no further than Modern Warfare 2. Infinity Ward, the producers of the game, took the second version of Modern Warfare to a whole new level and made it applicable for the modern world. The first version told the tale of the invasion of Normandy, and the second one takes the game to whole new proportions. The amount of detail present in the game is simply staggering, and this is also one of the really good multi-player PS3 games. For best results though, play this game online. Yes, you can also go online with your Sony PlayStation3.
Street Fighter
This is a game that has been around for many years and has really evolved over time with the introduction of better technology. The Street Fighter series is synonymous with the multi-player fighting games and this is the very best that you can obtain in this specific genre. The current version that you can play on the PS3 is the 4th version of the game, and it is by far the best. Street Fighter IV has lost none of its earlier charm but it has really grown into its own. The graphics are amazing and it can keep you involved for hours. This is another one of the really good PS3 games for two or more players.
More Good PS3 Games
Here are some more good PS3 games that you can choose from, based on your taste and preference.
- Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 4
- BioShock
- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Killzone 2
- Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
- Dead Space
- Resident Evil 5
- Gran Turismo 5
Also see the following:
- PS3 Problems
- Xbox 360 Games
- History of Video Game Consoles
- Which is Better - PS3 or Xbox 360
Each of these good PS3 games have something for absolutely everyone, and whether you are a beginner or a pro, they will leave you satisfied and wanting for more at the same time. These games are meant to thrill you and excite you and throw you overboard, and if you play the right game you will be left completely stunned.
“Spy Hunter” video game getting movie treatment
Warner Bros. is bringing the video game "Spy Hunter" to the big screen.
The studio, which bought the title as part of its 2009 acquisition of Midway Games, has hired Chad St. John to write the script for a feature adaptation.
"Hunter" follows a highly trained spy whose job it is to eliminate rogue agents when they become liabilities to their governments. He travels in the G-6155 Interceptor, a sports car tricked out with an array of weapons that frequently is challenged by enemy vehicles.
"Hunter," launched by Midway as an arcade game in 1983, has long been a target of the film industry. The game was set up previously at Universal, where John Woo and Dwayne Johnson were attached to direct and star, respectively. That version never got out of the garage for budgetary reasons. Paul W.S. Anderson tried to relaunch the project for Universal, but that also stalled.
Warners obtained the rights when it bought Midway for $33 million in July.
St. John is becoming a Warners favorite. The scribe wrote the time-travel spec script "The Days Before" for the studio, which signed him to a two-picture deal. A remake of "Outland" and the action project "Motor City" followed. St. John also is writing "Sgt. Rock," featuring DC Comics' World War II soldier, for Warners and producer Joel Silver.
Related information:
Spy Hunter is a 1983 arcade game developed and released by Bally Midway. It was incredibly successful initially[citation needed], and it has remained popular for many years. The game's novel gameplay and popular theme music are largely responsible for its success. It has also been ported to various home computers and video game systems.
As a cabinet-style arcade game, Spy Hunter was produced in both sit-down and standard upright versions with the latter being more common. The game's controls consist of a steering wheel in the form of a futuristic aircraft-style yoke with several special-purpose buttons, a two-position stick shift (offering 'low' and 'high' gears), and a pedal used for acceleration. It is a single player game.
Nintendo to launch 3D-capable DS in 2010/11
Nintendo Co plans to launch a new model of its DS handheld game console that allows users to play three-dimensional (3D) games without using special glasses, aiming to reinvigorate demand for the five year old machine.
The Japanese company said the new portable player, tentatively named "Nintendo 3DS," will be able to play titles created for previous DS models and will be launched in the financial year starting in April.
Nintendo, which competes with Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp
in video games, declined to give details such as price and launch dates, but said more information will be announced at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles in June.
"This will certainly stimulate demand for the DS," Rakuten Securities analyst Yasuo Imanaka said.
"But, we need to keep in mind that this is a portable machine. If you expect the kind of full-blown 3D visuals shown on TVs or in movie theatres, you could be disappointed."
Sony plans to release 3D titles for its PlayStation 3 game console in time for the planned release of its 3D TVs in June. That game console can be upgraded to become 3D-capable using a software update.
Electronics makers and software creators have high hopes that growing interest in 3D movies, sparked by the sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" and other recent titles, will drive sales of their 3D-capable hardware and software contents.
Nintendo has sold more than 125 million units of the DS worldwide, but the company expects unit sales of the dual-screen machine to fall 4 percent in the year ending March 31, its first ever decline in annual sales.
Ahead of the announcement, shares in Nintendo closed up 0.3 percent at 27,970 yen on Tuesday, outperforming the Nikkei average, which slid 0.5 percent.
Related information:
In 1974, Nintendo secured the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey home video game console in Japan. In 1977, Nintendo began producing its own Color TV Game home video game consoles. Four versions of these consoles were produced, each playing variations on a single game (for example, Color TV Game 6 featured six versions of Light Tennis).
A student product developer named Shigeru Miyamoto was hired by Nintendo at this time. He worked for Yokoi, and one of his first tasks was to design the casing for several of the Color TV Game consoles. Miyamoto went on to create some of Nintendo's most famous video games and become one of the most recognizable faces in the video game industry.
Wind Up Your Wii Remote With the Wii Soft Football
Imagine hollowing a space out of a Nerf football with an underside handle to snap in a Wii Remote and you've got the gist of CTA Digital's stab at a lightweight piece of video game pigskin.
"This soft, realistic accessory, allows you to imitate crucial motions a virtual football game requires," reads CTA's product page, calling it "the first [Wii peripheral] of its kind to be fashioned after a squishy, backyard tossing, foam football."
It looks a bit like an inverted blimp with a giant gondola grip for the Wii Remote. Snap the remote into the plastic handle with or without the Wii Motion Plus adapter and you're golden. The football's even "scooped" on both sides to accommodate right and left hand hurlers.
You may recall Nintendo's patent app for a football controller last August. Sketches revealed a football-shaped object with a hollow for the Wii Remote as well as the Nunchuk. CTA's product offers more space for your fingers, loses the Nunchuk, and appears to limit interaction to throwing (whereas Nintendo's app included an option to detect holding the ball while running in place or dodging left and right).
The Soft Football's official product page doesn't reveal pricing, and it's not for sale...yet. Compatible games include Madden NFL, Backyard Football, Family Fun Football, Blitz: The League, NCAA Football 09 All-Play, and "any other Wii Football games that require the Wii Remote."
But is it really more satisfying than swinging the Wii Remote by itself? Or swinging nothing (independent of your hand) at all?
I have no idea, but expect to see the question asked increasingly, with all the differing developmental angles on motion control in flux, e.g. "approximate scale" (accessories like the Wii Soft Football), "abstract controls" (like the Wii Remote and PlayStation Move wands), and what I'm calling "phantom extensibility," i.e. Microsoft's Project Natal, where--absent a physical controller--the game "augments" your body.
Related information:
The Wii (ウィー?, pronounced /ˈwiː/, like the pronoun we) is a home video game console released by Nintendo. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others.[6] As of March 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales,[7] and in December 2009 broke the record for best-selling console in a single month in the United States.[8]
A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detects movement in three dimensions. Another distinctive feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.[9]
The Wii is Nintendo's fifth home console, the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube, and able to play all official GameCube games. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled the system at the 2005 E3. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show.[10] At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards.[11] By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in four key markets.
Hands On With the Sony PlayStation Move
Sony on Monday provided us with some hands-on play time with its wireless, motion-based controller system for the PS3, the PlayStation Move, which mimics your movements using motion sensors and a webcam.
When you move the controller(s), your moves show up on the screen. So if you're playing table tennis, you hold the controller like you would a paddle to hit the ball across the table to the opposing player. (Check out our hands-on video to see the Move in action.) The controller works with the existing Sony's PlayStation Eye camera add-on and communicates with the PS3 via Bluetooth.
The PlayStation Move controller looks a lot like the microphone you get with Rock Band; an illuminated, colored ball sits on its approximately six-inch round black plastic wand-like base. A single player can use one controller, two controllers together, or pair a controller with a sub controller (think Wii Nunchuck), which adds directional buttons to an analog stick and two shoulder buttons to navigate in-game characters in some titles.
The game we played, Sports Champions, lets your character play six different games including Archery, Bocce, Disc Golf, Gladiator Duel, Table Tennis, and Volleyball. Our movements in Table Tennis and Gladiator Dual were translated to very precise on-screen actions. Players can compete locally or online through the PlayStation Network.
Sports Champions, along with a handful of other Move-specific titles including fighting, shooting, and bowling games, to name a few, will launch alongside the controller. Sony also said that new versions of existing games as such as Little Big Planet and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 will also support Move.
Sony hasn't announced a solid release date for the PlayStation Move, but it's expected to hit store shelves by September. According to the company, there will be multiple bundles including one with controllers only and one that includes a PS3 console.
Exact prices have yet to be nailed down, but you should be able to buy a PlayStation Move starter kit with a yet-to-be-selected game title, a PlayStation Eye camera, and a controller for less than $100 when it launches. If you already own an Eye camera, it will work with the Move controller.
Should Nintendo's Wii worry? It's tough to say, since Nintendo's console is geared more toward younger users and families while the PS3 is more of a true gamer's console. The real competition will likely come from Microsoft's forthcoming motion-based Project Natal for Xbox, which also tracks your motions using a webcam, but doesn't require a special controller.
Related information:
In late 1945, after the end of World War II, Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair shop in a bomb-damaged department store building in Nihonbashi of Tokyo. The next year, he was joined by his colleague, Akio Morita, and they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K.,[5] which translates in English to Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. The company built Japan's first tape recorder called the Type-G.[5]
In the early 1950s, Ibuka traveled in the United States and heard about Bell Labs' invention of the transistor.[5] He convinced Bell to license the transistor technology to his Japanese company. While most American companies were researching the transistor for its military applications, Ibuka and Morita looked to apply it to communications. Although the American companies Regency and Texas Instruments built the first transistor radios, it was Ibuka's company that made them commercially successful for the first time.
In August 1955, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo released the Sony TR-55, Japan's first commercially produced transistor radio.[6] They followed up in December of the same year by releasing the Sony TR-72, a product that won favor both within Japan and in export markets, including Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany. Featuring six transistors, push-pull output and greatly improved sound quality, the TR-72 continued to be a popular seller into the early sixties.
In May 1956, the company released the TR-6, which featured an innovative slim design and sound quality capable of rivaling portable tube radios. It was for the TR-6 that Sony first contracted "Atchan", a cartoon character created by Fuyuhiko Okabe, to become its advertising character. Now known as "Sony Boy", the character first appeared in a cartoon ad holding a TR-6 to his ear, but went on to represent the company in ads for a variety of products well into the mid-sixties.[5] The following year, 1957, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo came out with the TR-63 model, then the smallest (112 × 71 × 32 mm) transistor radio in commercial production. It was a worldwide commercial success.[5]
University of Arizona professor Michael Brian Schiffer, Ph.D., says, "Sony was not first, but its transistor radio was the most successful. The TR-63 of 1957 cracked open the U.S. market and launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics." By the mid 1950s, American teens had begun buying portable transistor
Switzerland Takes Aim at Violent Video Games
Videogame bloodbaths may have met their match overseas as Switzerland's National Council passed two new resolutions -- not yet laws -- that will ban violent video games. This sweep of censorship awaits only the Swiss government's definition of inappropriate amounts of violence. Once they become laws, this could disembowel gory franchises like Grand Theft Auto, God of War, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Th e first resolution comes from the Socialist Party, which wants to "stop the manufacture, advertisement, importation and sale of any game that promotes as a means of advancement or 'success' acts of violence against humans or 'human-like' creatures," according to Kotaku. This passed by a margin of 19 to 12.
The second resolution, pushed by the Christian Democratic Party, delves into specificity, seeking to "restrict the sale of violent shooters to children." It passed by a margin of 27 to 1.
Europe game ratings are based on the PEGI system, and industry experts say games with either a 16+ or 18+ rating will be stricken. These types of digital joyrides contain "dismemberment, torture, massive blood and gore, sadism and other types of gross violence" -- all very popular themes in modern gaming.
Don't fret too much: Kotaku points out that "under Swiss law, any petition that can gather over 100,000 signatures must go to a national referendum." So if the government gets too trigger-happy with its banishment, a signature campaign could reverse some effects of the yet-undefined laws.
Anyone who has been paying attention to games politics for the past, oh, 20 years or so knows this hot button has been pressed thousands of times. California fought back against video game violence, the Pope said no-no, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez called PlayStation games "poison," columnists have called for outright rejection of violent games, and much more. Not to mention the studies purporting that brutal games make us more aggressive.
It's almost preposterous to prophesize that U.S. laws would come close to mirroring that of the Swiss, but even if such censorship won't hit U.S. soil, the news is worrisome to those who prize freedom . . . or simply just like blowing off the heads of baddies with sawed-off shotguns.
Related information:
Nonviolent video games are video games characterized by little or no violence. The term "nonviolent" as applied to video games is objectively ambiguous as virtually any game with conflict contains violence in some form, however minor. The apparent vagueness of the term is resolved by examining the definition of "nonviolent video games" as it is applied. Non-violent video games are defined in the negative by a disjunctive modus tollendo ponens argument. As such, game designers, developers, and marketers that describe themselves as non-violent video game makers, as well as certain reviewers and members of the non-violent gaming community, employ the term to describe games with comparatively little or no violence. The definition has been applied flexibly to games in such purposive genres as the Christian video game, however a number of games at the fringe of the "non-violence" label can only be viewed as objectively violent.
The purposes behind the development of the nonviolent genre are primarily reactionary in nature. As video quality and level of gaming technology have increased, the violent nature of some video games has gained worldwide attention from moral, political, gender, and medical/psychological quarters. The popularity of violent video games and increases in youth violence have led to much research into the degree to which video games may be blamed for societally negative behaviors. Despite the inconclusive nature of the scientific results, a number of groups have rejected violent video games as offensive and have promoted the development of non-violent alternatives. The existence of a market for such games has in turn led to the manufacture and distribution of a number of games specifically designed for the non-\violent gaming community. Video game reviewers have additionally identified a number of games belonging to traditionally violent gameplay genres as "nonviolent" in comparison to a typical game from the violent genre. Despite the fact that some of these games contain mild violence, many of them have entered the argot of nonviolent gamers as characteristic non-violent games.
