Duh of the Day: Another study suggests gamer stereotypes may be wrong
According to a recent article published in the SouthTown Star and written by GateHouse News Service, online gamers may have been wrongly stereotyped.
Of the 7,000 online gamers researchers interviewed who played EverQuest 2, a MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game), they are not the overweight rotund teenage boys most people once thought they were…
Scientific Duhthrough: Most gamers are not shy nerds
Dan Laton, a Psychology graduate from Victoria University, recently conducted a study on the effects of games on social well being. Gamers tend to be thought of as a group of socially awkward, shy nerds. The purpose of the study was to find out whether or not that stereotype is actually true.
His study had shown that there are no clear links between shyness and gaming, since only one percent of his subjects actually suffered from shyness. The gamers that have been found to have problems socially end up being the players of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Everquest. These findings have some implications for the American Medical Association (AMA) which will be readdressing whether or not video game addiction as a mental disorder by…
Sony, Vivox combine to offer in-game voice chat
Just a few days ago, in-game community tool provider, PlayXpert, announced its parntership with Vivox to provide in-game voice communication features to its users. It appears that Vivox’s voice technologies are in great demand in the Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOG) industry, as leading MMOG publisher Sony Online Entertainment has also chartered Vivox’s technologies for its games.
The two companies announced an agreement during the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that will ensure that gamers and guild mates in SOE games are never out of touch in both the…
Counter Strike, Everquest face ban in Brazil
In a fresh development, a federal ban has been imposed on popular titles Counter Strike and EverQuest in Brazil.
It was in October 2007 that a Brazilian federal court banned the sales of the two games but it didn’t come into effect immediately. Carlos Alberto Simoes, the federal judge, found the two games to be antagonistic to public order and went as far as calling them “an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security.”
The two games might have come under attack for being way too riveting – and addictive – but this is the first time that the games have been blamed for…
Security experts say it’s safer to play MMOs at work
Massive Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, are among the most popular genres and currently attract millions of users. One of the most popular, World of Warcraft, has recently surpassed nine million subscribers around the world.
Users can trade goods and services in these virtual worlds and many times real money is used as the basis for the transactions (wth in-game credits based on real-world cash). Unfortunately hackers tend to attack environments where lots of people gather so that they can obtain easy profits by cheating and tricking users.
Because of the MMO’s architecture, a big part of the program must be installed on the user’s computer, putting that area beyond the control of traditional firewalls. Security experts say there is little protection on these environments against attacks so they have come up with a solution that may delight some and anger others: play at work.
Corporate networks are generally safer than home based networks because they employ more robust security measures. “In the enterprise space, networks are protected by intrusion protection systems. This involves much more security than the firewall used by consumers. The firewall is completely useless against game site malware,” said John Carmichael, security trainer and engineer for Security Innovation.
Intrusion protection systems would interfere with the performance of traditional home connections so that would affect the gameplay. These systems are better suited for high-traffic corporate networks so, ironically, it would be better to go on raids during your 9 to 5 than on your free time.
Now you finally have a real excuse for your boss.
Read [Tech News World]
Related- Giving Thanks: Top ten things this gamer’s thankful for in 2008
- Best Black Friday 2008 deals for Mac gamers
- Micro Center’s Black Friday 2008 weekend sales
EverQuest to get the first digitial card game
Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it will be release an online trading card game bases on the EverQuest franchise. The game will be titled Legends of Norrath and will be playable within MMORPGs EverQuest and EverQuest II. Yep, it is a game within a game. Not o much a minigame as a full card game inside a must larger game. The announcement was made today (August 8, 2007) by SOE president, John Smedley during his Fan Faire Community Address.
EverQuest I & II subscribers will receive free “Oathbound” 55-card starter decks on August 28, 2007, and be allowed to play prior to the game’s official launch on September 4, 2007. Starter decks will be available for $9.99 plus tax and booster packs will sell for $2.99.
The game will be launchable using…
-
RE: Army to spend $50 million on training games
I foresee a day when all wars will take place on computers. There will be no need for human life to be spared. An army…" MORE »
-
RE: Nexon and 7-Eleven team up for "Where You Play for Free" Slurpee campaign (update)
Its a download disc with all the game clients on there, so you don’t have to spend 1-3 hours downloading the game. It isn’t a…" MORE »
-
RE: Man hacks Chrono Trigger to propose to girlfriend
Awesome gesture. Cool that he found a way to breathe new life into this great game. Bums me out the original developers can’t gather in…" MORE »
-
RE: Nexon and 7-Eleven team up for "Where You Play for Free" Slurpee campaign (update)
hey i bought a slurpee, got the DVD and put maplestory but when it installed it had the same exact memory as if u download…" MORE »
