There are only 16 shopping days until Christmas. That’s plenty of time to have the perfect Christmas gift shipped. If you have a freaky spouse that gets into erotic games, featuring anime characters then you can’t go wrong with the SOM.

SOM, is a hands-free pleasuring device that looks to me like an electric mixer. Save the metal whisks. I really don’t want to explain the device, so here’s a picture that pretty much explains itself.

The device links up through USB, to a game called CrossDays. The game was developed by a company called, Overflow. The SOM will sync up with the game, and will follow the motions of what’s occuring on screen. It’s all in Japanese anime form, or what others refer to as ‘Hentai’.

It’s shaping up to be a bright Christmas. Especially if your significant other is a huge freak. The game
and device is all in Japanese. I have a gut feeling that it really doesn’t matter.

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When problems arise, as a species we tend to point fingers and blame others. When most of the time we generally need to look in the mirror to find the root of the problem. Video game addiction follows this same kind of thinking. Most studies place the blame of video game addiction on everyone but the addicts themselves. This isn’t inherently right or wrong, because something as vast and large as video game addiction can’t really be narrowed to one specific reason.

Let’s look at some studies of video game addiction. What reasons could some of these studies give as to why some people get so addicted to the electronic media?

First, BBC has just released an article with a very interesting take on the issue of video game addiction. Keith Bakker, the founder of a video game addict clinic in Europe sees video game addiction differently than most experts. He sees being addicted to video games as more of a social abnormality than psychological.

Bakker has this to say about video game addiction, “This gaming problem is a result of the society we live in today…Eighty per cent of the young people we see have been bullied at school and feel isolated. Many of the symptoms they have can be solved by going back to good old fashioned communication”

Bakker goes further with his observations. Many kids who are detached from their relationships to their parents, and teachers find solace in communities online. An example of someone that had been treated, was a teenager that was addicted to Call of Duty 4.

“I liked gaming because people couldn’t see me, they accepted me as my online character - I could be good at something and feel part of a group.”

Another video game study shows that some of the problems could be neurological. In a CBC article, a study shows that neurological patterns in males make it more likely that they’ll be addicted to video games. The report finds that the part of the brain that stimulates the feelings of reward and addiction is more prevalant in males than in females. Leaving males more susceptible to video game addiction than females.

I think that all the video game studies really show is that there isn’t a concrete answer to the issue. Just like many problems, there are a large number of factors that go into it. Some people might play games for that sense of reward and accomplishment. While others might find social satisfaction in the game that they play. The problem is, neither are really devising solutions to the overlying problem. Until a study appears that does so, it’s all white noise to me.

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America’s Army, a free FPS released by the U.S Army received mixed reviews, and many questioned its goal as a recruiting tool. Now the Army is investing even more heavily into gaming, but as a training tool, not for recruiting.

Stripes.com is reporting that the US Army is investing $50 million/5 years for research and development into gaming. Lt. Col. Gary Stephens had this to say about the recent investment, which will officially begin in 2010, “We want to take advantage of that (video game market), but we don’t have the intent to become a competitor with the commercial gaming industry…We don’t have the intent or capability to be a commercial game house.”

The Army has a game that it uses for current training, DARWARS Ambush. The problem is the game is starting to show its age, and doesn’t provide nearly the scope of an actual battlefield. The Army will be using their new funding to find a game system that it finds will harness its needs for training.

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Advertising in games hits a nerve when you talk to most gamers. Myself personally see advertising in games as a necessary evil. Don’t get me wrong, when I’m riding through a fantasy setting on a dragon I don’t want to drink Mountain Dew potions, or eat Sara Lee apple pies.

What video game advertising does lead to is more money, which in essence should lead to better gaming. That’s not always the case, but filling up the coffers does help in terms of hiring more staff, pushing the envelope, etc..

Google hopes to get into the video game advertising business. They’ve launched AdSense for video games. Google is starting out small, hosting ads in flash, and web-based games. Their largest partner at the moment is Konami, who will be Google Adsense for games like Frogger and the Dance Dance Revolution series.

It will take some time to see if Google is successful in its venture to dominate the advertising market. It starts with games, and then who know where Google will try and branch out to. They’ve been more successful then not with most of its current enterprises. We’ll just have to keep an eye on AdSense for Games to see if it works.

(via: Cnet)

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