According to a new report released by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) this week, 48 percent of adults age 50 and older say that they play video games. The data comes from new research released by the ESA called "Gamers Over 50 Study: You're Never Too Old to Play." The data in the report is based on a survey of 1,800 adults age 50 and older conducted by the ESRB.

A recently released University of Glasgow study that takes the data from a survey of 11,000 children (or rather, their parents) born between 2000 and 2002 comes to the conclusion that playing video games - even at a young age - does not lead to behavioral problems.

The University of Glasgow study surveyed mothers in a major millennial survey to track behavior over time. This allowed researchers to track and draw a connection between screen time and behavioral or emotional troubles later.

According to a new study by the Queensland University of Technology, playing video games improves children's emotional, social, and psychological well-being. The study also finds that playing video games together as a family can help build stronger family bonds.

Playing education games cooperatively with others can motivate students to learn according to a new study from New York University. A study New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development found that when students played a math game collaboratively with another student it motivated them to learn even more, compared to students who played the game alone. The study also found that students' interest and enjoyment of the game increased when playing with another student.

Nearly three months ago, a group of game developers and other concerned constituents in Oklahoma sent a joint letter to Senator Tom Coburn, cosponsor of S 134 Violent Content Research Act of 2013. In that letter, they expressed concern over the bill's sponsor, Senator Rockefeller, and the potential of this bill to lead to further attempts at game regulation.

According to new research from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Charité University Medicine St. Hedwig-Krankenhaus (in Leipzig, Germany) playing video games on a regular basis can improve spatial orientation, memory formation, strategic planning, and fine motor skill. This new revelation comes from a study conducted in Berlin using the popular and classic Nintendo 64 platformer Super Mario 64.

A new treatment for patients who suffer from schizophrenia is being developed and field tested by University College London. According to Julian Leff, the University College London psychiatrist who developed the program, the treatment puts a face on the destructive and negative voices that schizophrenia patients sometimes hear and allows them the opportunity to confront that personality.

University of Saskatchewan computer science PhD student Kathrin Gerling is designing video games specifically for the benefit of senior citizens. Gerling, who loves video games, wants to combine her love for her hobby with her passion for her community by working with seniors in local nursing homes to make accessible games. Gerling was inspired to do this by a number of studies that showed that seniors who play games gain mental and physical benefits from them.

A new report commissioned by the Australian video game industry trade group Interactive Games & Entertainment Association (IGEA) reveals that seven in 10 Australians play video games and 86 percent of parents who buy video games play those games with their children. The Digital Australia 2014 report also reveals that Australian households have at least one device for playing video games in the home.

Researchers at Stanford University's Virtual Human Interaction Lab is researching how sexualized depictions of women in video games can make women feel like they are objects, and that it may alter their perception on myths related to rape.

"We often talk about video game violence and how it affects people who play violent video games," says Jeremy Bailenson, the director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford. “I think it’s equally important to think about sexualization.”

Surgeons at Florida Hospital Celebration Health in Kissimmee, Florida spend six minutes playing Super Monkey Ball on the Gamecube prior to conducting surgery because it makes them less likely to make mistakes. The Orlando Sentinel highlights the game-playing surgeons in a recent article and explains why it is important for giving patients better care and a safer experience when undergoing surgery.

New research from Michigan State University examined advergames and found that they have a tendency to promote foods that are unhealthy - full of fat, sugar, and sodium. Researchers concluded that these games meant to promote products and brands often promote unhealthy lifestyle choices for children too.

In an editorial for MCV, Professor Mark Griffiths, the director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University, responds to a story that ran in UK paper The Mirror that put the blame on the Washington Navy Yard Shooting squarely on the Aaron Alexis' fascination with Call of Duty.

The latest "Children and Parents Media Use and Attitudes Report" from UK regulatory agency OfCom shows a decline in console ownership for the first time in the region. The report notes that 87 percent of children live in a UK household with a home or portable games console - compared to 90 percent in 2012. Around 66 percent of children ages 3-4 have a console; 78 percent for the 5 - 7-year-olds have a console system at home, and 91 percent of 8 - 11-year-olds said they have a console in the home. The report notes that every age bracket decreased, compared to 2012.

In January 2013, the American Psychological Association created a Task Force to review its 2005 Resolution on Violence in Video Games and Interactive Media which found an increase in aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, angry feelings, and a decrease in helpful behavior as a result of playing violent video games.

A new study by the School of Psychology at the University of Leicester comes to the conclusion that first-person shooters can help players better perceive motion... while walking backwards. The research was recently published in a paper called "Selectively enhanced motion perception in core video gamers" in the journal Perception.

New research from the University of Missouri suggests that massively multiplayer online games can serve as a source for what is commonly referred to as "problematic video gaming." While gaming addiction is not a recognized addiction by the global mental health professional community, that hasn't stopped researchers and some mental health professionals from trying to identify and treat it.

In a new edition of GameSpot's "Reality Check" video series, host Cam Robinson tries to answer questions surrounding the claim that playing games like Grand Theft Auto V and other shooters can train a person to be a "killer" in the real world?

A study from UK-based research firm YouGov (as unearthed by Gamasutra) finds that people who think that playing violent video games can lead to real-world violence like mass shootings tend to be older and have no familiarity with playing games.

Christopher J. Ferguson, chair of the psychology department at Stetson University goes head-to-head with Dr. Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University in two different editorials on CNN.com.

Okay, this is beyond absurd.  Why are video games still being blamed for violent behavior?

It's not like video games are a new medium; they've been around for decades.  It's not like it's a niche activity either; playing video games is a very common and normal part of most people's lives.  And it's not like there's any evidence to support the idea that playing video games cause people to act violently so why, for the love the Linux penguin, are video games still suffering that stigma?

A new briefing from Public Health England (an agency of the Department of Health in the United Kingdom) suggests that children who spend a lot of time watching television, surfing the Internet, and playing video games, are more likely to have lower levels of wellbeing than their more active peers.

A new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) found that 75 percent of "moms" play video games. The data comes as part of a new report from the trade group representing the video games industry called "Mom Gamers Study: A New Generation of Gamer." The report is based on a survey of 2,500 females over the age of 18 with children under the age of 18 in the household.

The former White House "video game czar" (official title: senior policy analyst for the White House Office of Science and Technology) Constance Steinkuehler tells the Christian Science Monitor that the discussion about Grand Theft Auto's part in yesterday's shooting involving an 8-year-old in Louisiana is simply bait for pageviews and viewership because there's no research to support such claims.

New research from Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University and independent researcher Cheryl Olson (author of Grand Theft Childhood) concludes that games such as Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto, and Halo do not serve as "triggers" to teenagers with symptoms of depression or attention deficit disorder. In other words, video games do not cause these groups to become aggressive bullies, delinquents, or murderers.

In the "Letters to the Editor" section of the Star-Ledger newspaper, IGDA chair of the Anti-Censorship and Social Issues Committee Daniel Greenberg says that New Jersey lawmakers are "playing games with truth." He is referring to bill S2715, which mandates that public schools in New Jersey through the state Department of Education spread disinformation about video games to parents.

Mobile gaming "big spenders" - often referred to as "whales" - are more likely to be young men, according to research firm EEDAR. The data comes from the "Deconstructing Mobile & Tablet Gaming report," which relies heavily on a July survey of more than 3,000 active mobile and tablet gamers. According to the survey, 66 percent of the top five percent of respondents who paid money for mobile games were male.

Oklahoma-based indie developer E. Zachary Knight and a number of other Oklahoma-based game developers have signed onto a letter asking Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn (R) to oppose Senator Jay Rockefeller's (D) Violent Content Research Act of 2013 (S. 134). The letter, which was sent to his office today, urges Sen. Coburn to oppose the bill on the grounds that it is wasteful spending - a topic he has been all too vocal about in the past.

Tell your parents: video games don't kill your brain cells, they help find them. Michael Kahana, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, former graduate student Joshua Jacobs - now at Drexel, and researchers at UCLA and Thomas Jefferson University, have discovered a new brain cell that helps humans navigate in unfamiliar territory.

Researchers from the University of B.C. are using a simple game to find new ways to treat symptoms of schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. Miriam Spering, an assistant professor in the department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of B.C., led research to determine the disconnect between vision and the information the brain collects to solve problems.