http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jom8qEl9WHo

So that’s why I don’t need glasses…

Colin Campbell, Polygon

The truer test comes next year when the race begins in earnest. “The two big guys desperately want to beat each other,” said Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. “The race is on to be the first through 10 million.”

He said that both companies view early adopters as a rich stream of customers for their online subscription models, that work out at about $5 each per consumer per month. A large community of active players is a selling point as well as a profit center.

Assuming “gamer” referes to an aficionado of gaming culture.

Your’s truly, Polygon Comment:

I’m just going to lob this out there and say that today’s “gamer” prefers mobile and PC over console. Consoles now seem more fixated on “casual” experiences under the guise of “hardcore” (ie. CoD, GTA), taking advantage of the membership cash-cow and annual guarantee (ie. CoD, Madden).

Assuming indies traditionally begin on mobile and PC platforms and grow to console if successful, they tend to focus ground-breaking and innovative ideas, albeit at the cost of small sales figures. This is similar to the pre-internet console days of yore.

I am going to get eaten alive for this ABSOLUTE generalization but I thought I would entertain the idea.

Re-thinking this comment, I don’t understand why I originally thought it was a revelation that MSFT and Sony aren’t after “gamers”. Of course they aren’t. They want the “casual” masses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiePaAHK3jE

On the inside, a beautiful piece about persistence as told through the lives of iconic video game characters. On the outside, a reflection on our memories of early video games and the bonds we formed with these characters. A true testament to the story, animation, art, passion, and love developers pour into games to craft these unique experiences.

With it’s brilliant cinematography and direction, I cannot think of a better piece to humanize video games, bringing my reasons for gaming to a whole new level.

Dave Tach, Polygon

Elizabeth McQuaid, a psychologist at Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center, is overseeing the trial launch of a video game designed to help children with food allergies.

McQuaid teamed up with developer Virtually Better to test a web-based game for children 8-12. Researchers hope the software, which puts players in scenes intended to help them learn more about food allergies, symptoms and reaction management, will reduce the risk of allergic reactions.

Mmmmmm… educational gaming for health… yum :)

Mark Griffiths, Nottingham Trent University, quoted by Yahoo! News UK

Patients recovering from chemotherapy have been shown to need less painkillers if their minds are occupied by games — and the same has been shown to work on children with skin conditions.

The cognitive side effects of addictive games offer health awesomeness.