U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is taking a bit of heat this week for saying that a $113,277 grant given to Rochester's International Center for the History of Electronic Games (ICHEG) is wasteful spending. He named it as one of a hundred "unnecessary, duplicative and low-priority projects" that the federal government spent money on in 2011. He released his annual report on wasteful spending in this report.

According to a press release issued this morning by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), new research shows that violent video games alter the brain functions in young men. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to analyze the long-term effects of violent video game play on the brain, researchers found that changes in brain regions associated with cognitive function and emotional control in young adult men occur after one week of game play. The results of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the RSNA.

There's an interesting story in several Filipino newspapers involving the president of the Philippines, Angry Birds, and the PSP this week. According to several Filipino newspapers, the president is being grilled about his gaming habits, which he vehemently denies. In fact, President Aquino finds the whole line of questioning insulting. President Aquino told the press at an event yesterday that he felt "insulted" when asked to comment on rumors that he was playing video games at the height of a hostage crisis in Manila last year.

The new study showed that children enjoy looking at more than one screen at a time, or as researchers called it, "multiple screen viewing." The rise of "multiple screens" viewing among children on devices including portable game systems and televisions may have an effect on how active children are, researchers say.

A new study, "Media Use and Child Sleep: The Impact of Content, Timing, and Environment,” comes to the conclusion that "screen time" before bed can cause restless nights for preschoolers. The new study was conducted by Michelle Garrison Ph.D., a research scientist at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. The findings were published in the July 2011 issue of Pediatrics.

"A lot of the research had lumped all media use together,” said Michelle Garrison. "Reducing media use altogether is an overwhelming goal for a lot of families. There are healthy media choices that families can be making."

She added that the goal is to shift away from violent content to content that is educational and has social value.

An article penned by Iowa State University researchers Douglas Gentile and Craig Anderson tells parents around the country that the Brown v. EMA ruling on Monday shouldn't lead them to believe that there is no evidence that violent videogames have no effect on children's behavior. On the contrary they say, the evidence was there, but the defeat came about because the law was unconstitutional.

While there is some talk about the harmful effects of games, Gentile and Anderson also extol the benefits of games as teaching tools. Before they get into  all that, they say one thing that is extraordinary, showing how much they really understand about how the ESRB and retailers deal with children who want to buy games meant for adult audiences:

"This is a victory for free speech in that children are afforded the freedom to buy any games without requiring their parents to know what they have purchased."

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to strike down the 2005 California law regulating violent video games, one Utah lawmaker says that he will not pursue a similar law he tried to pass in 2008. Rep. Michael Morley, (R-Spanish Fork, Utah) told the Deseret News that he felt his bill was very different from the California law that was struck down on Monday.

For one, the bill did not impose a fine on retailers who sold mature-rated games to children, but did give parents the power to file a lawsuit against the offending business. The bill would allow parents to sue under a claim of false advertising. While the 2008 video game bill passed with broad support in both houses, former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. vetoed the bill. Former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff backed the governor's position at the time. Both expressed concern over the impact to local businesses and free speech rights.

Citing a recent study that was published in Pediatrics magazine, Douglas Gentile from the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University said that parents want a universal ratings system for all types of media, but would be better off if they didn’t have age descriptors. Besides the fact that a universal  system just won't work (different media has different descriptors that are likely not interchangeable - sort of like having universal descriptors for tobacco, drugs, and alcohol) ratings without age categories would be wildly unorganized and even more confusing.

"Regardless of what age raters set for a movie or video game, most parents will inevitably disagree," Gentile said. "With a content-based system, everyone can judge for themselves based on their own values whether a movie or video game is appropriate."

During his Father's Day national address yesterday, United States President Barack Obama encouraged parents to tell their kids to "turn off the video games and pick up a book." The President also talked about growing up without a father and why having a father figure in a child's life is important.

"We know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by their kids - to encourage them to turn off the video games and pick up a book; to teach them the difference between right and wrong; to show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated. And most of all, to play an active and engaged role in their lives," he said.

A new study from Northwestern University, which analyzes previous studies on media use done by the Kaiser Family Foundation, has found that minority youths ages 8 - 18 years old consume an average of 13 hours of media content a day. This, researchers say, is about 4.5 hours more than white youth. Researchers found that minority youth spend one to two more hours a day than white youth watching TV and videos, an hour more listening to music, around 90 minutes more on computers, and as much as 30 - 40 minutes more playing video games.

TV consumption (including TiVo, DVDs and mobile and online viewing) totaled 5 hours and 54 minutes a day for African Americans, 5 hours and 21 minutes for Hispanics, 4 hours and 41 minutes for Asians and 3 hours 36 minutes for whites.

According to a recent presentation at the 2011 Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in London, playing video games and using phones have a negative impact on joints in children. This is according to research conducted by Yusuf Yazici, MD. The finding comes from a questionnaire given to 257 children 9 - 15 years old attending two unnamed schools in St. Louis, Missouri.

A researcher at Oxford University has conducted a survey that comes to a conclusion that may agitate gamers. Mark Taylor, who conducted the research for the Department of Sociology, asked 17,200 people who were 16 in 1986 about their level of education, their current career and extra-curricular activities during their teens. Taylor concluded that there was a correlation between gaming and a "decreased likelihood" of going to college. Around 19 percent of male gamers were likely to go to college, compared to 24 percent for those who did not play games. The survey also found that 14 percent of females enjoyed games during their teen years, compared to 20 percent who didn't play games.

Last night in San Francisco, the Commonwealth Club hosted a debate on violent video games featuring George Rose, the Executive VP and Chief Public Policy Officer for Activision Blizzard, and James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media. Today we have a video of the action. John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, acted as the moderator.

The most interesting comments to come out of the debate? No one on the panel believes that the Supreme Court will find in favor of the 2005 ant-video game law written by State Senator Leland Yee. Check out the video to your left.

Lorne Lanning (Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey), and Spencer Halpin (director of the documentary MORAL KOMBAT) will be joining founder/director Susan Johnston for the second Annual New Media Film Festival, to be held May 20-21. Showcasing the best in new media and featuring award nominated and winning filmmakers, the New Media Film Festival is dedicated to the creation, development, and distribution of new media content in all forms and across all platforms.

Spencer Halpin's Moral Kombat is a documentary that offers both those for and against video games a chance to speak their minds. The documentary explores whether violent games should be banned or be protected as free speech under the First Amendment. Lorne Lanning is the creator of the Xbox launch title Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey and co-founder of the video game development company Oddworld Inhabitants.

Clinical psychologist and self-proclaimed adolescent specialist Jerry Weichman has clarified his position on comments made to Fox News that were used in a Bulletstorm hit piece written by John Brandon. Responding to a request for comment by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Weichman said that he stands by his comments to Fox News, but adds that those comments do not clearly state his full opinion on violence, video games, and his position on mature rated games.

Community leaders in city of Ciudad Juarez and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office line up to complain about Ubisoft and Techland's latest game in the Call of Juarez series. The new game, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, is set in the present day, which has put it on the radar of people that are dealing with real-world violence from Mexican drug cartels.

Community leaders in Ciudad Juarez, say that Ubisoft’s new game glorifies the violent lifestyle of drug cartels and being "a hit man."

"Lots of kids say they want to be a hitman, because they are the ones that get away with everything," youth worker Laurencio Barraza told Reuters.

That city, according to Reuters, averaged eight murders a day last year and - at the start of this year - at least 40 residents from El Paso have been murdered while visiting. Barraza works for the  Independent Popular Organization, which tries to keep the youth of the city out of the violent drug cartels.

"WTF?"

That was certainly the reaction of many a gamer when they read Dr. Carole Lieberman's comment in FoxNews' Bulletstorm article earlier this week: “The increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of [sexual] scenes in video games.”

As we saw a couple weeks ago with Dr. Walid Phares' opinion on a link between Modern Warfare 2 and the recent Moscow airport bombing, sometimes talking points can be taken out of context.  With this in mind, we decided to see what Lieberman had to say in regards to how her comments were presented by FoxNews.

Epic Games design lead Cliff Bleszinski says that video game critics have inadvertently been quite flattering to the video game industry. The man behind Unreal, Gears of War, and the upcoming game Bulletstorm, says that critics of video games have basically made it the "new rock 'n roll," creating a boogie man that parents are warned about on a daily basis by politicians, child psychologists, and the mainstream media. Bleszinski made the comments in response to a question by Computer & Videogames about Bulletstorm becoming a target of critics due to its gratuitous violence and adult language.

According to a report in the San Francisco Examiner, California State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) received several death threats related to his work on video game legislation. The threats came to light as part of an investigation of threats against the senator that might be related to the Arizona congresswoman Gabriel Giffords shooting. Both Yee and his spokesman, Adam Keigwin, apparently received threats related to video games.

The investigations are the result of the Tucson, Arizona shooting rampage, and a heightened sense of fear among law enforcement and politicians who are rightfully concerned about safety.

The relevant part of the story:

"In one of the office's most notable incidents, calls to Yee's office said the senator was a "dead man" if he showed up to a 2005 news conference on violent video game legislation.

 

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) came out swinging this week against what it calls a  "flawed study" that alleges a link between video games and mental health problems in children. The study will be published in the February issue of Pediatrics, and attempts to connect video game playing with mental health problems in children from Singapore, according to a separate Joystiq report.

The study was conducted by Iowa State professor Douglas Gentile, whose past studies related to video games have been picked apart by some researchers for "exaggerating" the harmful effects of video games on children.

A list called "Government Waste: 20 Of The Craziest Things That The U.S. Government Is Spending Money On" finds several projects funded by the government related to video games. Of course lists that are considered "waste" by some groups actually have a deeper purpose than what is listed in the descriptions, but the people that put this particular list together (I hope) would know that.

In an interview with GameIndustry.biz Panorama producer and director Emeka Onono, explains why the BBC news program decided to tackle the subject of game addiction. While Onono claims that the program is not "anti-gaming," his comments to GI.biz do not sound game industry friendly.

"What we've said is there's a potential for things in games to be addictive," he explains to GamesIndustry.biz. "There is a potential there. And that's something that the industry's always doggedly denied. The fact is it's there and however small or large that possibility is it needs to be researched and acknowledged."

Onono also accuses a segment of the games industry of being "very defensive" on the issue of addiction:

The BBC program Panorama will tackle the subject of videogame addiction in a show set to air on BBC One Monday, December 6, at 8.30 pm UK time. Reporter Raphael Rowe interviews school and university students that have dropped out to tune into videogames "for up to 21 hours a day" and "experts" who urge that more research is needed on the subject. The program, which C&VG is calling a "documentary," further promises to "reveal the hidden psychological devices in games that are designed to keep us coming back for more."

The episode is called "Addicted to Games?" and will air December 6. You can learn more about Panorama’s programming by visiting bbc.co.uk. Details on this particular episode were not available on the web site, but we'll bring you more info when we have it.

Citing their “potential harmful effects,” California State Senator, and anti-videogame law architect, Leland Yee is advising parents and anyone else buying gifts for kids this holiday season, to avoid purchasing violent videogames.

Yee urged purchasers to retain awareness of marketing and advertising that targets kids, check a game’s age ratings and content descriptors and to become familiar with the game. He warned that if any violent or sexual images appear on a game’s box, or in its title, “you can assume these themes are also in the game."

It was also suggested that shoppers avoid all first and third-person shooters entirely, as they “usually focus on gunning down hundreds of people,” and to avoid games “that reward the player with more points or new scenes for anti-social and violent behavior.”

A George Mason University teacher believes that society is blind to the permeation of videogame addiction in college students; a problem so widespread that she believes it is swelling the number of dropouts.

Demonstrating less tactfulness than Rush Limbaugh (yes, that was odd to write), Erica Jacobs kicks off her column by alluding that Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho’s addiction to Counter-Strike contributed to his actions, before recounting the tale a student of hers told about a roommate at school that became so addicted to World of Warcraft, he eventually dropped out.

In light of the Cuban government’s dissatisfaction with a mission in Call of Duty: Black Ops that has players attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro, the Washington D.C.-based Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ) has called for a boycott of the game.

Noting that Wal-Mart, Best Buy and “dozens of other retailers in your community are today dealing this pornography to the children in your community,” AFGJ called Black Ops “part of the whole culture of US militarism with the entertainment industry’s role being to desensitize us to violence.”

You might think something as innocuous the American Library Association’s third annual National Gaming Day, held this past Saturday, might be beyond the scope of criticism, but when you have an agenda (and a book) to push, logic, perhaps, goes out the window.

Psychology Today is hosting a column by Ryan Van Cleave, author of Unplugged; My Journey Into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction and the man behind the Video Game Addiction Awareness Week (VGAAW) website.

An article penned by the Editorial Board of the Oregonian calls violent games “poison to the teen mind,” and cites “a fragmented but growing body of research,” to back its hopes that the California legislation will at least “find footing” in order to “set a promising example.”

The opinion piece states that Schwarzenegger vs EMA is not exclusively about free speech, since the law does not seek an outright ban on violent games.

The California law, according to the Oregonian, would “simply prevent the neighborhood video store clerk from deciding to sell ‘Postal 2’ to a 14-year-old.”

The editorial continued, stating:

Add the Land of Lincoln to the list of states following Schwarzenegger vs. EMA in order to see which side emerges a winner.

Earlier this month we told you about a Delaware politician looking to reintroduce anti-videogame legislation if California was to emerge victorious in its Supreme Court fight, now a Daily Herald story lets us know that an Illinois politician is preparing for the same outcome.

In 2005, an Illinois law that would have governed the sale of violent games, championed by then Governor Rod Blagojevich, was eventually declared unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court Judge.

A mission in the newly released Call of Duty: Black Ops that has players attempting to assassinate a young Fidel Castro has caused the Cuban government, or at least its mouthpiece, to denounce the game.