This month at
OXM we’ve mostly
been convincing
ourselves, totally and
unequivocally, that
gaming is good for us.
Any of it, all of it, even
for the amount of time we personally
spend hidden away from sunlight doing
it. What started all this was this month’s
OXM Investigates, which looks into how
gaming can be a force for good – not a
widely reported concept, let’s face it.
It’s something the tabloids would
never get the column-inches out of,
since their readers would clearly rather
have the idea reinforced for them that
Fortnite and GTA are grit shaken from the
Devil’s own duvet. Of course, we don’t
need to tell you, our super-smart OXM
readers, that videogames are in fact
made from angels’ downy wing dandruff.
Still I’d urge you to go check out all the
good things gaming is responsible for
on page 52 this issue. But on a personal
level, and our mums wouldn’t agree, we
firmly believe here at OXM that gaming
has all kinds of benefits to each and
every one of us, mentally, physically
and spiritually. And so we had a look
round the internet (quality sources only,
like National Geographic and respected
medical journals, things like that) in a bid
to prove to ourselves that it’s true.Help the aged
Here’s what we found. First off, gaming
stops you ageing. I mean, sure, having
grown up with videogames, I definitely
haven’t ever properly grown up. But
actually, people can delay the gradual
decaying of their brain’s cognitive
functions by playing videogames. A
University of Iowa study of 681 healthy
over-50s concluded that playing a
specially designed game that focused
on improving the speed and quality of
mental processing abilities for just ten
straight hours was able to delay the
natural decline of some cognitive skillsreal world. That study had a group of
young adults with no previous gaming
experience (although hang on, where
did they find them?) play an action game
for 50 hours, and they concluded that
action videogames “teach people to
become better at taking sensory data in
and translating it into correct decisions”.
Another boffin suggested that shooters
can change the brain, dramatically
improving low-level perceptual functions.Eye eye captain
Videogames have long been considered
to cause eye strain and after particularly
long late-night sessions we may concur.
But apparently overall gaming improves
eyesight, rather than damaging it. One
study actually concluded that, because
while playing games we are using our
eyes to track several objects on-screen
at the same time, and focusing on fast-
moving images, many different aspects of
the visual system are being enhanced. In
other words, they provide a real workout
for the eyes. Couple this with the obvious
and accepted hand-eye co-ordination
improvement from playing games, and
superhuman vision here we come!
Overall, too, games help to improve
focus and attention – Minecraft has
been brilliant at helping kids on the
autism spectrum to focus, but actually
it works for everyone. Playing games is
now considered to make people more
sociable – no surprise, social interaction,
whether you’re playing Minecraft or
Modern Warfare, is a big part of gaming
now. Games can treat depression, help
you get fit (not all of them obviously, but
the ones involving dancing), and can aid
relationships, helping couples to have
fun together and relax. Or have a massive
row about whose responsibility it was
to chop the damned lettuce. Anyway, I
reckon that conclusively proves it, and
don’t ever let anyone tell you different.
Gaming is good for you. That is all. QFollow us on Twitter @OXM.by several years. Yes! Ten hours? I’ve
done a billion hours of gaming in my life,
so by this measurement my brain must
now be around three years old. Hooray!
Other studies, such as one by the
University Of Rochester, NY, have shown
that games help decision-making in theINSIDER OPINION
Chris proclaims the reasons why games are good for us
The Editor
Chris Burke is...
“Gaming has all
kinds of benefits
for each and
every one of us”
020 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE