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Gamers make better surgeons
A study at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York found doctors who had played video games at least three hours per week made "37 percent fewer errors, performed 27 percent faster and scored 42 percent better in the test of surgical skills."Following a study we reported on today that games don't actually lead to violent behavior, can we say games will help make better doctors? "Parents should not see this study as beneficial if their child is playing video games for over an hour a day," said Douglas Gentile, one of the authors of the study. "Spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school." Gentile was also part of a survey in 2004 that found adolescents who play video games for an average of nine hours a week had a 94 percent chance of being aggressive, getting bad grades and generally being sloth like.The prognosis here is that playing at least three hours a week makes you a surgeon, but around nine hours you'll end up becoming a blight to humanity. So, get your kids some Trauma Center, let them play it one hour every day during the week and call us in 20 years.
Does the Wiimote interfere with pacemakers?
The rumor floating around this week is that the infrared Wiimote interferes with pacemakers. While nothing has been confirmed or denied by Nintendo, it makes for some interesting conversation. Some signs were spotted at the Nintendo World event in Japan warning older players but there is still no word if the rumors are real. If the grandparents, great-grandparents or anyone esle in the family with a pacemaker wants to get in on the games, family members beware. You could end up with a real life Trauma Center on your hands. No one wants that! [Via 1P Start]
Gamestop selling some Wii games early
For those of you who just can't wait until Sunday to get your hands on something Wii-branded, some North American Gamestop stores are already selling select Wii games that were shipped to stores on Tuesday. Our local store was selling Super Moneky Ball: Banana Blitz, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Call of Duty 3, and GT Pro Series (other titles were in stock but explicitly embargoed until launch day). Of course, supplies and availability may vary at your local store, so call ahead first if you're planning on jumping the gun.While you obviously won't be able to actually play the games until you have your hands on the system this weekend, you can stand them up next to your Wii accessories from Target and stare at them lovingly as you count down the seconds.
Boxart up the yinyang
We've shown you a few of the major pieces ... Twilight Princess and Red Steel, for instance ... but through the dark voodoo powers they wield so willingly, IGN Wii has compiled a collection of no less than eighteen official boxarts for various launch titles. It's certainly a colorful collage, though the sight serves to remind one that there are perhaps one too many children's games on launch day. Oh well. Twilight Princess has the cojones to offset a hundred Barnyards, and you know it.What are your opinions on boxart? In a perfect world, all consumers would educate themselves with interviews, previews, and various review scores; alas, a large majority of the world still judges by the cover. Can the elegant white stripe lure in the uninformed soccer moms? C'mon, o' bearer of the young. Your kids need this thing.
Japanese launch list unveiled
Nintendo of Japan's website offers a list of those purported sixteen launch titles...and they're not all necessarily what you would have expected. Take a look! The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Wii Sports (including boxing and bowling to round out tennis, golf, and baseball) WarioWare Wii Play Red Steel SD Gundam Revolution Tamagotchi Ennichi no Tastsujin (a drum game, along the lines of Taiko Drum Master) Trauma Center: Second Opinion Elebits Necro-nesia Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Super Swing Golf Pangya Wing Island (demoed at E3 2006, the "plane game") Kororinpa (a Marble Madness-type game of some sort) Machariku Domino (a domino game) Interesting! It's good to see a rhythm/music game so early, and we'll post details on some of the more mysterious entries as we receive information.
DS gets some love from BAFTA
It's the first time the U.K.'s gaming awards have been in their own spotlight (instead of relaxing in the shadow of the film and television awards), and the Nintendo DS has snared some of the attention. We would expect nothing less. Electroplankton and Brain Age both picked up nominations in multiple categories, and they'll be butting heads (brains?) when it comes to which game is Britain's choice for the most innovative of the year. Trauma Center got a nod as well in the simulation category. We're not sure the other nominees are even worth mentioning next to that one. Too bad there isn't a category for games that make you sweat, 'cause they're just that damned hard at times. Trauma Center has always made us idly wish for a third hand, but we love it like ice cream. Can't say we agree with everything they're doing across the pond, though -- they've got New Super Mario Bros. tagged as a children's game. Oh well. I guess we should all put it down and step away slowly. The winners will be announced on October 5. Check back for confetti and poppers when the DS snags some awards.
Tantalizing Trauma Center scans
GameFront has a really lush set of scans on Trauma Center: Second Opinion that offer a look at the controls for the Wii. Now if only we could get someone to translate the text! Oh well, the pretty-pretty pictures are enough for a lazy Tuesday afternoon. Look closely, too, for an inset that appears to compare the DS original with the expanded "Wiimake" that will launch with the new console. Is it just us, or could this be one of the best games to introduce a world of irregular gamers to the Wii? Considering the popularity of medical-themed shows, we're thinking the only better possibility could be CSI: Wii. Wait, not better ... make that other.
Trauma Center: Second Opinion details
Trauma Center: Under the Knife was an excellent game, one of the those precious few on the Nintendo DS that could not be played with a standard console interface; it was also hard as Chuck Norris' abs. Regardless, the upcoming launch title Trauma Center: Second Opinion has garnered quite a bit of hype, and the latest issue of Famitsu has some details. Unfortunately, Second Opinion will primarily be a retelling of the original DS title. The game does add a few extra missions (broken bones and heart transplants were mentioned) and several new characters, but Atlas is hoping that the Wiimote will offer up an experience fresh enough to warrant a repurchase from surgery vets. Three difficulty settings are now available (thank insert-your-deity-of-choice-here), and the game will be fully voice-acted. Please, Atlus, get a decent crew for the voice work. Is this a cop-out, a scam, a ripoff? Is a fresh coat of paint enough to convince you to relive X6: Paraskevi? Will Derek ever hook up with Angie? Tune in at launch...and we might find out.
Trauma Center supply resuscitated
Addictive cut-and-preserve hospital sim news now, with Atlus announcing that they'll be sending out enormous crates filled with copies of Trauma Center: Under the Knife to stores everywhere at the end of July. This should come as most excellent news to those who have experienced difficulty in getting their gloved hands on one of the best DS titles available, as well as to those who simply enjoy slashing a stranger's spleen into tiny, unrecognizable pieces. Jim Ireton, the VP of Sales and Marketing for Atlus USA, notes that the "continued demand for Trauma Center: Under the Knife is both gratifying and overwhelming. We apologize to Nintendo fans who've had a tough time finding the game, and we hope this scratches their surgical itch until we ship Trauma Center: Second Opinion for the Wii later this year." Apology accepted, Mr. Ireton. Rejected titles for this post: "Trauma Center stock receives transfusion" "Atlus bypasses Trauma Center shortage" "Anemic Trauma Center supply cured" "More copies of Trauma Center discharged" "Trauma Center is a really good game" [Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Trauma Center: Second Opinion trailer dissected
GameTrailers has recently released a new trailer (in HD!) for the upcoming Trauma Center: Second Opinion for the Wii. A direct sequel to the cult-hit DS game, this iteration will make full use of the Wii controller to produce a realistic "operating room" feel.In the trailer, we can glean a few tidbits of information. Dr. Derek Stiles and his nurse, Angie, are obviously back for the ride; other characters and locations (Caduceus, Hope Hospital) also seem to remain largely unchanged. The game is now sporting a more cel-shaded look, most likely to prevent antsy players from feeling too uncomfortable during the procedures. The game screen seems to be a bit crowded, as there's no longer a second screen to display dialogue and other statistics, but we have no doubt Atlus is going to produce another top-notch game.Enjoy the new footage; Trauma Center: Second Opinion is slated as a Wii launch title. Get psyched.[Thanks, Nushio!]
Study: gamers make better surgeons ... duh!
This shouldn't be news to any of you who've played Trauma Center: Under the Knife on the DS. You've already spent hours perfecting your surgical technique and could, undoubtedly, cut open a human body, repair it, and sew it back up with that training. A new study conducted by the Beth Israel Medical Center has found that doctors who played video games immediately before a laparoscopic surgery drill finished quicker, implying they made fewer errors. The findings coincide with an earlier study that found that doctors who grew up playing video games "tended to be more efficient and less error-prone" when tested in similar drills.Exactly what do these drills entail? The surgeon who conducted the study compared laparoscopic surgery to "trying to tie your shoe laces with three-foot-long chopsticks while watching on a TV screen." That game sounds great![Thanks, White Rose Duelist]
Trauma Center 2 for Wii launch window
Encouraging gamers to slice people open with a scalpel and prod at their various internal organs, Trauma Center: Second Opinion (cool title!) clearly fits in well with Nintendo's all-inclusive family strategy for the Wii. Okay, so it's a sequel to last year's DS doctor sim, Trauma Center: Under the Knife, meaning that you're generally gutting people for their own good. I managed to track down Tomm Hulett of Atlus USA and, after threatening him sufficiently, managed to extract the following information: The game should be released within the Wii's "launch window" (i.e. before the end of the year). Two playable characters will be available, each one following a different path in the story. Unlike Derek (the original game's main character), the new doctor will not possess the "Healing Touch", instead boasting some other, sure to be wacky power. The game was almost called Trauma Center: Relapse. Thanks to the wiimote, Second Opinion will be much more intricate than the DS version and allow you to use more surgical tools. The nunchuck analog stick is used for selecting tools. The game will not be fully voice-acted. Only a couple of voice samples will be matched to on-screen text, much like the Legend of Zelda titles. Tomm hinted that you'd be able to use the wiimote and nunchuck as a defibrilator. Speaking of which, the Atlus meeting rooms just happened to be situated right next to the wall mounted defibrilator pictured to the right. Must be one for the fanboys.
Atlus denies Revo Trauma Center...for now
Given that the game largely involves slicing open people's pulsating internal organs, we were quite excited to hear about the supposed confirmation that Trauma Center was coming to the Revolution. So excited, in fact, that we hastily contacted someone at Atlus and demanded (or pleaded for, depending on how you look at it) further information. We spoke about a few things, but the official line is the one you may not like.As it stands, Atlus officially denies the IGN "confirmation" of a Revolution-based Trauma Center sequel. Now, we'd be willing to place a substantial bet on the game appearing eventually, possibly as soon as E3--the only point of contention here is that Atlus has not officially said anything about the game. Given how well the original title made use of the DS touch screen, it would seem almost painfully obvious that the franchise is a surgically precise fit for Nintendo's controller. Sometimes a denial is all we need to confirm our suspicions. (Subtle, Ludwig. Real subtle.)[Thanks Tomm!]
