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A report was released today that’ll be good news for all the gamers out there that have significant others telling them to stop gaming. Besides past studies that have proven that gaming improves hand-eye coordination, a new study has come out saying that playing video games helps improve vision by up to 20%. More specifically, the study lists action games, such as Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 2142, and Counter-Strike as the games most likely to improve a person’s vision.

The study tested two different games, the classic Tetris game, along with Unreal Tournament. Tetris had almost no effect on the eye sight of its players, while Unreal Tournament gave its players a 20% boost in eye sight. The test was conducted at the University of Rochester.

Read [Gizmodo] Via [University of Rochester]

Since E3 is an industry-only event, one of the best opportunities for gamers to gather in one place each year is the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX).  Now in its fourth year, PAX is more than doubling each year, forcing it to move from humble hotel rooms to a larger downtown Seattle venue. This year’s expo will be August 24-26, 2007, at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center.

PAX tries to include every type of multiplayer game, be it video, handheld or table top, setting aside rooms for gamers to gather, compete or just meet and play for fun. Exhibitors already scheduled to demo their games, gear and other goodies in the dedicated showroom include Microsoft, Nintendo, Privateer Press, ArenaNet, Wizards of the Coast and Flying Lab Software.

The highlight event of PAX is the three-day Omegathon, where pre-registered attendees are randomly selected to compete in elimination rounds featuring several game genres. Games in the tourney, and being played in every nook and cranny of the expo, include handheld, video and tabletop games. One year the Omegathon grand prize winner received every NES product ever made (ever!) and last year’s prize included a new car.

PAX is named after Penny Arcade, a popular web comic by Jerry “Tycho” Holkins and Mike “Gabe” Krahulik featuring two video game lovin’ guys. The dynamic duo also created Child’s Play, a gamer-driven charity for sick kids in Children’s Hospitals across the world.

I attended last year and PAX is a quite the gamer’s dream and a fairly family-friendly affair. If you do plan to go, book your room as early as possible since many hotel will fill up and plan to bring your favorite portable gaming device - DSes were huge last year, but PSPS will do nicely as well - and get to concerts very, very early. PAX’s biggest issue has been limited space, causing long lines into gaming areas and the show room so the increased. Lines were long for just about everything and many people were not admitted to the Nerdcore concerts.

If you are flying in for the event, look for rooms just outside of downtown Seattle (Bellevue is pretty good, which is where the expo was held the past few years) and possibly rent a car. Also, the parking can be damn expensive, though there are free parking areas in the city. You’ll need to really hunt for them and will likely have to walk several blocks.  Last year they did shuttle people from a couple hotels, where parking was free.

Site [PAX] Site [Penny Arcade] Site [Child’s Play Charity]

There were many gamer-friendly gadgets at this year’s CES but, due to technological limits and simple human exhaustion, we couldn’t quite get them all on Gadgetell.

Here a reduced version of the list I compiled for my local CiN Weekly column featuring the better gaming gadgets and announcements from CES 2007.  Read on for the list…

• Razer Reclusa gaming keyboard with gold-plated USB plug


• Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse


• Nyko WiiMote charger

• Nyko PS3 wireless controller charger (4 controllers at one time)

• Novint Tech.’s Falcon 3D controller, maybe the weirdest item I found. The pointed mouse floats on robot arms and gives back a bit of resistance so it feels like you are touching the items on your computer.


• Alienware m9750 laptop (bling and caching)

• TDVision Systems’ 3D visor that turns any 2D video into 3D


• Samsung’s Series 53 and 54 LCD HDTVs with increased viewing angles and extras ports for game systems.

• HotSeat Chassis with a metal frame, 23 in. LCD HD widescreen monitors and surround sound. Pricey but dern cool. Frame only kit is $600, full setup can cost $4000.


• PCGamerBike to power your PC and control avatars in compatible games. Coming next month for $1100. Mini version available now for $180.


• D-Box GP-100, the uber plush sound-sensitive chair that reacts to on-screen action. A hard sell for $15K,000.


• N-Gage will become a software package that will work with their NSeries devices and will not be a specific N-Gage branded hardware device (I confirmed this with Nokia).


• Zune will play games by July 2008


• Sony, besides the unfortunate PR blunder, won two Emmys and announced and agreement with Midway to offer more downloadable games.


• Nintendo was a no-show but Wiis were on display everywhere and they won an Emmy for their D-pad.


• Microsoft promoted Vista with the FPS game, Crysis, showed off the Xbox 360 controller working with a Vista PC, console and PC content sharing, a raise in the 50MB download cap on games and some Zune integration.

Read [CiN Weekly]

Userplane, acquired by AOL mid 2006 because of its private IM and chat networks, communication platform for online dating, and social networking sites, has added four two-player games that can be played through an instant messaging window.  Userplane’s Webmessenger and Webchat apps are used on more than 100,000 sites including MySpace.

The four games are:

• Fruit Mixup, a “match three” puzzle game


• Seabattle, a game in which users try to locate the position of battleships (read: a Battleship clone)


• Truth, a question-and-answer game designed to help two people get to know each other


• Trivia (der)

The games have already been enabled on several social sites including JDate, AmericanSingles and CollegeLuv. Look for more titles like “Virtual Spit Swapping” and “Touchless Love” soon (OK, I made those up).

Read [SocalTech] Site [UserPlane]

When I write my end-of-the-year articles for various publications, I purposely avoid a top ten list. They are cliche, and since no one can actually play every movie, eat at every restaurant, read every book or play every game in a year, the lists are really just a fraction of a fraction - it’s really the top ten for what that one person remembers watching, eating, reading or playing. That’s not to say, of course, that a few top ten lists out there aren’t useful or even fun to read. In no particular order, here are ten worthwhile or fun top ten lists related to video games.

Tech Blog’s “Top 10 Strangest Game Controllers”

Really, what could be better than a dance mat for your fingers? There’s also a realistic railroad game controller, the chainsaw controller and, of course, both the world’s largest and smallest NES controllers.

The semi-static GameRankings & RottenTomatoes home page lists

It may be a little bit of cheating on my part here, but semi-static lists (they stay in one place but change their ratings) are uber useful to anyone shopping for the newest games. Both GameRankings and RottenTomatoes compile professional media scores to offer an overall rating (and yes, a few of my scores can be found on both sites). These are two very helpful, yet similar, lists.

PC Magazine’s “Ten Gaming Myths”

Sorry PCMag, but since your article was “Looking Back at 2006,” it’s not really the cliched top ten list. Darn nonconformists. Instead, I favor their August 2006 “Gaming Myths” article which is far less dull than their more recent “Looking Back” article. My favorite myths: PC Games Will Fail, Handheld Games are for Kids and Games are Too Violent.

“The Best Video Games in the History of Humanity”

Ah, what a person can find with a Google search. I couldn’t pass up this list just based on its auspicious name. This guy takes all the all time game lists he could find, crudely crunches a few numbers and comes up with the top five ultimate games. Gotta admire the effort. What, you think I’m gonna tell?

NPD Group‘s annual video game sales report

OK , so it ain’t even out yet (remember, 2006 isn’t even over), but when it does come out, it’ll show the top selling US retail games of the year along with other, more meaningful stats than the other lists. Look for it to be posted to this site around the second or third week in January 2007.

GameSpy’s “Top Ten Videogame Sidekicks”

It’s a couple years old, and a few are now main characters, but the idea is solid. Sidekicks are important, too. Just ask Robin. You have to give some credit to lists that reach back pretty far to get in the good but not not forgotten games (such as 1997’s The Curse of Monkey Island and 1985’s NetHack) and offer a good range.

IGN’s “Top 100 Games of All Time” (updated for 2006)

OK, so it’s ten times larger than a top ten list but it’s a mighty morphin’ list based on readers’ comments and site reviews that deserves some respect. It may be a little skewed since it only includes games that got at least 1000 user ratings but it does include world releases.

GameTrailer’s “Top Ten Video Game Weapons”

They go into specific weapons across many years of games to include impossible, automatic and purely bombastic weapons and yep, even the turtle shell. Check it out on YouTube.

YouNEWB’s “Top Ten gamer Cakes”

As silly as it sounds, this features ten video game themed cakes. Now you can eat the Katamari. A few look professional, but they are all yummy and funny.

GameStop’s “Top Ten Boss Fights”

This one also reaches to the depths of the game cart box to pull out some goodies. They aren’t really the best ever, but it’s an admittedly lacking list that’s still fun to browse: “So we’re not saying these are the 10 hardest bosses or the 10 most stylish ones - just the 10 we remember the most.” (Honesty is an admirable policy.)

MTV’s “The 10 Most Influential Video Gamers of All Time”

The list includes money and game makers. It’s at least interesting and a few egotistical gamers would want their names on the list as the greatest, but remember, these people were actually influential.

Sega has announced their initial list of games to be ready-to-play on Nintendo Wii’s Shop Channel for downloading to play on Wii’s Virtual Console. The games must be purchased with Wii Points, which cost $20 per 2000 points. The Sega games will start at 800 Wii Points each.

As we reported earlier, Nintendo promises 62 games to be available for download within the Wii’s first five weeks on shelves, with 32 available by the end of 2006. Thirty of the games will be classics whereas 32 will be Wii exclusives. The Virtual Console will also allow access to Nintendo games from older system including the NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx16.

Check out Sega’s complete list after the jump…

• Altered Beast - Use the power of the beasts to save the Goddess of Athena. (1989/© SEGA)


• Golden Axe - Choose from three warriors; Ax, Tyris and Gilius and fight together to defeat Death Adder. The game supports not only co-op mode but also competitive mode. (1988/© SEGA)


• Columns - Line the jewel in vertical, horizontal and diagonal to erase them in the big hit puzzle game that enchants users with its beautiful graphic and sound. (1990/© SEGA)


• Ecco the Dolphin - Help Ecco the dolphin find his missing friends by exploring his vast ocean world. Use Ecco’s unique sonar ability to talk to other sea creatures while exploring the ocean depths. (1993/© SEGA)


• Gunstar Heroes - This big hit action shooter game developed by Treasure enables up to two players to play simultaneously to stop the resurrection of the destructive force plotted by the Imperial. (1993/© SEGA)


• Space Harrier II - Space Harrier II is a 3D shooter and was one of the original launch titles for the SEGA Genesis. (1988/© SEGA)


• Toe Jam and Earl - Embark on an unexpected journey throughout earth with two funky aliens who love the music and collecting items. (1992/© ToeJam&Earl Productions, Inc. © SEGA)


• Ristar - An action game starring Ristar, the child of a shooting star. Use his powers to grab everything around him to blow up monsters and find the truth about his origin. (1995/© SEGA)


• Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine - Dr. Robotnik is stamping out music and fun in Mobius with his giant, robotizing Mean Bean Steaming Machine. Before he turns all the citizens of Beanville into robots, you must save the day by gathering up beans in matching colors and defeating Robotnik’s guards! (1993/© SEGA)

From Sega Press Release.

For parents who can’t control their kids’ TV watching or video game habits, cut ‘em off cold turkey in the middle of their favorite show or game with the help of BOB, the lockable TV Timer. You plug a power cable from your to-be-timed device into BOB, lock it, set some passwords and plug the timer into the wall. You, the kids and all your friends will need a four-digit PIN to turn on whatever you plugged into it. I foresee a whole new life of crime for pre-teens complete with wire cutters and hacked PINs.

Read [Family Safe Media]

Tommy Tallarico’s dream of bringing video game music back to the concert halls has been revived.

The second concert in the Video Games Live “concert series” brought to you by the G4 host and musician is at 8 p.m. at the Hollywood Bowl (Hollywood, CA), Spetember 21, 2006. All the music will be perfromed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and conducted by VGL co-creator, Jack Wall.  Expect to hear goodies such as the themes from Mario, Zelda, Halo, Halo 3, Warcraft abd Final Fantasy, a retro game medly and performances by Brian “BT” Transeau, guitarists Steve Vai and Dweezil Zappa and various game composers.

Pre-show begins for ticket holders at 5:30 p.m. and will feature game competitions, pre-released game demos, a costume contest.
Ticket prices range from $3.00 for crappy fourth level seats to $65 for first row garden boxes. Don’t forget to wear your Zelda costume - unless of course you’ll do a gold bikini justice.

Read [Tallarico.com]