wow-study
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We're not antisocial! Yay!
This might be an obvious statement for those of us around here, but as it turns out, we're not antisocial. A new study has proven that gamers are not just basement-dwelling loners. In other words, everyone you see at BlizzCon did not just come out of their mother's house to talk about WoW -- they really are socially well-adapted people who enjoy the company of others. This combats the stereotypes typically associated with gamers. More studies like these are an important step in eliminating the stigma associated with the online gaming community, and can go a long way in places of business and with health care in making "serious" online gaming like WoW more of an acceptable hobby. Now of course we consider it acceptable, however the CEO of Super Mega International World Corp might not agree. The only problem with this study is that it viewed gamers already acting in social situations. Now given that they picked these gamers from that group, there would be a natural tendency for them to be more inclined to normalized social behavior. However at the same time, the study would have easily been able to pick up on outliers in the social interaction (meaning that their only social interaction was say, BlizzCon). The study found that this social interaction was deep and not just limited to one thing -- so while the population might not be ideal, the data still holds up (for the most part).
World of Warcraft study under fire in Congress [UPDATED]
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R - Virginia) is causing a bit of a stir in gaming circles for citing a study by North Carolina State University involving World of Warcraft as an example of wasteful government spending. The study, which received funding from the National Science Foundation, tested the effect that playing WoW had on the cognitive function of a group of seniors aged 60 - 77, and had some interesting results. According to the researchers, the study clearly demonstrated that playing World of Warcraft can have a significant positive effect on a person's spacial ability and focus. Last March we conducted an interview with Dr. Jason Allaire, one of the authors involved in the study. Check it out for more insight into the research itself. Other things Cantor listed as recipients of overzealous government spending include federally-funded conferences, certain property maintenance, and the IRS TV studio. Wait, hold the phone, the IRS has a TV studio? The more you know! Update 5:45 pm EDT: So, after we posted this article, Gains Through Gaming, the North Carolina State University lab responsible for the original studies, tweeted us the following:
