Kxnowledge Prescription Blog

July 03, 2008 - Video game consoles will take customers away from traditional media channels, according to Ad Age (http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/community/columns/other-columns/e3i8338a3cc42d9fb02cf5cc069e79a015c). The solution, says Ad Age, is “to exploit video games to maintain mind share” and use consoles:”as a key element of the emerging digital media landscape.”  Among the hottest trends is in-game advertising, a market which is expected to rise to almost $1 billion by 2012.  Such advertising can “ameliorate the attention-deficit challenge that traditional advertisers face as consumers become increasingly fragmented across multiple platforms,” notes the magazine.

July 02, 2008 - Video games are taking a prominent place in local libraries and attracting new patrons in the process, according to the American Library Association (ALA) as reported in the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-videogaming-martinez_30jun30,0,1971117.story). The library group is urging libraries to offer video games to better connect with children, adolescents and college students. ALA used its annual conference to host a first-of-its kind gaming pavilion and plans to develop a national model for library gaming with funds from the Verizon Foundation.

July 01, 2008 - Devoted to games research, GameProf (http://www.gameprof.com/) offers collections of books, academic papers, and reports, as well as a list of game researchers with descriptions of their areas of research. Marc Prensky, for example, is author of Digital Game-Based Learning and author of more than 50 software games for learning. The site’s bibliography is divided into books, gaming research, gender and gaming, game-based learning and journals. Also provided is an introduction to gaming research.

June 30, 2008 - Games can spread news on important issues, says an article by “citizen gamer” Winda Benedetti on MSNBC.com. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25104254/).  She quotes Suzanne Segerman, president and cofounder of Games for Change (http://www.gamesforchange.org), which promotes socially responsible games and hosts a Games for Change Festival. ‘At the very least, some of these games are simply raising awareness of issues because they’re being played by millions of players,’ says Seggerman. ‘But what we hope to see is a shifting of both mindset and behavior.’ Also a player on the serious games scene is Ian Bogost, the cofounder of Persuasive Games (http://www.persuasivegames.com) and developer of Fat World who’s focused on ‘making games more alluring to people who don't love games is actually something of a noble goal, in my mind.’  Games for Change will team up with Microsoft to create games focused on creating sustainable environments.

June 27, 2008 – Seventy-five percent of organizations that use video-game-based training are getting positive results and want to expand their use of games, according to a survey sponsored by the Entertainment Software Association (http://www.ea.com) and conducted by KRC Research. Interest in games for work is equally strong among organizations that haven’t yet adopted games. Seventy-five percent of these organizations plan to add games by 2013. For more on employers’ use of games for training see http://kotaku.com/5018846/employers-turning-to-games-for-training.

June 26, 2008 - Employers will depend on games to screen potential employees, predicts Margaret Robinson, games consultant in BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7423105.stm). “Games reveal whether someone's a risk-taker or a banker, impetuous or strategic, obedient or rebellious - and how hard it is to fake your responses in the heat of the moment,” she writes. Games are also likely to show up during work, making “otherwise difficult or tedious tasks more palatable.” As an example, she offers the ESP Game, which encourages players to label pictures for imaged-based search engines.

June 25, 2008 - With the goal of calling attention to breakthrough medical discoveries and research, the site for the Nobel prize in medicine (http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/) hosts a series of video games designed to help young people grasp the realities of medical procedures and techniques. Among the games offered on the site are those focused on bloodtyping, hearing and fighting bacterial infections. Other games on the site include Pavlov’s Dog, Split Brain Experiments, Malaria, MRI, Immune System, Genetic Code, Electrocardiogram, DNA; The Double Helix and Control of the Cell Cycle. Games are accompanied by readings and information on educational outreach.

June 24, 2008 - Growing numbers of developers are beginning to distribute games to Internet-connected consoles with the support of game box developers, according to an article by the Associated Press (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBhRyxqp-b3BBZJCL-PzbgY46BjQD91FC2PO0). Among the participants are Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, which have developed digital distribution channels to support new talent and ideas and boost exclusive title numbers. The growth in digital distribution channels is a response to consolidation among video game publishers that seek to minimize the risk of creating new games. Budding developers can use XNA Game Studio at no cost, but must pay Microsoft $99 for membership its Creator’s Club. Games that survive peer review may become available to Xbox 360s. Similar opportunities are available through Sony, which makes titles available through the PlayStation Network.

June 23, 2008 - Julian Michaels, a fitness trainer who appeared on NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” will join forces with Majesco Entertainment (http://www.majescoentertainment.com/) to create "Jillian Michaels' Fitness Ultimatum 2009,” says PCWorld (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,147096-c,gameconsoles/article.html). Majesco’s CEO believes that the partnership complements the growth of the casual gaming audience, as well as the trend toward exergaming.

June 20, 2008 - Put down that Reese Cup and stub out that cigarette! A recent survey commissioned by RealGames suggests that casual games can be a healthy part of your lifestyle by distracting people from overeating, reducing instances of smoking and eating being quick stress relievers. So take a casual game with you while you’re walking and multi-task your healthy living!

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