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It’s the general consensus in our society that gaming leads to obesity.  The U.S. has seen the size of its citizens grow larger and larger over the past few decades.  And during that same time, its fascination with video games has grown exponentially as well.  And since both are void (mostly) of any physical movement, its natural to assume that the two are related.

But according to a new study from Michigan State University, our assumptions may have all been wrong.  The study followed 12 year olds for a 3-year period to study their gaming, internet, and cell phone usage.  Tracking various items like height, weight, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and exam scores, the study attempted to correlate the effects that usage of these electronic devices had on the children.  The study found some interesting results.

First, the study found that between gaming, cell phone usage, and internet usage, gaming was by far the most popular amongst the children.  In addition, there was no solid correlation between increased electronic device usage and obesity.  Age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors were much better indicators for determining risk of obesity.  However, it did find that increased usage did result in generally lower self-esteem and lower exam scores amongst the children.  And finally, it also found that increased electronic usage did correlate to increased hand-eye coordination.

Source: Kotaku

With Nintendo’s recent slew of information about the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, a very important tidbit of information has flown under the radar.  Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo 3DS will have the option to transfer downloaded purchases from one 3DS to another.  In addition, it will be able to transfer purchases from a Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL.

For the uninitiated, this may not seem like a big deal.  However, up until now, Nintendo has offered all of its various downloadable content with a small clause: it can only be downloaded once and is for use only on that device.  This includes any games or DLC purchased on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console and WiiWare services as well as the DSiWare service for the Nintendo DS.  Previously, if a gamer were to upgrade a console (or have it replaced due to faulty hardware) they had little recourse other than to have to repurchase all that precious content.

Now this is all in stark contrast to competing companies like Microsoft, Sony, and even Apple, who each maintain a history of downloaded content which can be be used to recover software after an upgrade or replacement.  Even though Nintendo has yet to announce any similar service that can compete in this way, at least this feature shows that Nintendo is aware that this is an issue that needs to be tackled.  Hopefully this will be the first step in the right direction for fans of Nintendo’s downloadable content.

Source: Kotaku

Title: Mass Effect 2

Platform(s): PlayStation 3

Release Date: January 18th, 2011

Metacritic Score: 95/100

 

 

 

Reviews Around the Net:

PlayStation Universe: 9.5/10.0

IGN: 9.5/10.0

1UP: A-

GameSpot: 8.5/10.0

Konami has announced that two story-driven DLC packs will be coming for Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow in 2011.  The first pack, titled “Reverie”, will follow Gabriel back into the castle to confront an evil that had previously been kept in check by the vampire queen, Carmilla.  “Resurrection”, the second DLC pack, will serve as an epilogue for the game and be much larger in scope than the first pack.

Reverie is set for a Feburary 2011 release, while Resurrection is set to drop in April of 2011.  No word yet on pricing.

Source: Joystiq

Word has hit from Epic Games that fans of their previous games will be rewarded in their upcoming 2011 title, Gears of War 3.  Cliff Bleszinski announced on his twitter recently that those gamers that have played previous Epic titles like Shadow Complex, Gears of War, Bulletstorm, and Unreal Tournament 3, will be rewarded with “special unlocks” for Gears 3 when it hits shelves next year.

No word yet on what “special unlocks” means, but hopefully it will be something more substantial than Avatar clothing or multiplater armor.  Gears of War 3 is set for a late 2011 release on the Xbox 360.

Source: 1UP

Epic Games’ new RPG, Infinity Blade, has become the fastest grossing iOS title ever.  Just released last week, the game has already hit the #1 spot, ousting Angry Birds HD from its long-held position.  Priced at $5.99, the game has already generated over $1.6 million in sales since release along with over 270,000 registered users thus far.

The launch of Infinity Blade is also unique as it is the first game to launch on the iOS platform that utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 technology that was previously reserved for more powerful platforms like the PC and current gen consoles.

Source: Gamasutra

Title: Donkey Kong Country Returns

Platform(s): Nintendo Wii

Release Date: November 21th, 2010

Metacritic Score: 87/100

 

 Reviews Around the Net:

GameSpot: 8.5/10.0

1UP: A

Nintendo Life: 10.0/10.0

Destructoid: 10.0/10.0

The U.S. Air Force has recently announced a new supercomputer project called the Condor Cluster.  What makes this project unique is the fact that the cluster consists of PlayStation 3’s… 1760 to be exact.  Along with 168 GPUs and 84 coordinating servers, this supercomputer is capable of performing 500 TFLOPS (trillion floating point operations per second).  This makes the cluster the fastest interactive computer within the Department of Defense.

Designed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Condor Cluster cost over $2 million, which is an estimated 5% to 10% of what it would have costed with standard “off-the-shelf” components.  In addition, this project is projected to use approximately a tenth of the power as other comparable supercomputers.

Interestingly, the project only used older PS3’s so that Linux could be loaded using the “Other OS” feature unique to that generation.

Source: Gamasutra

Microsoft has just launched a new rewards program for users of their Xbox Live service.  After signing up with their website here, gamers will be rewarded for using various services on Xbox Live like playing movies on Netflix, making purchases, renewing their subscription, taking surveys, and more.   Currently the rewards consist of a certain amount of Microsoft Points given for each action.  And on top of all that, it’s free to sign-up and use.

Considering Nintendo has been rewarding fans for years through their rewards program, Club Nintendo, its nice to see that Microsoft has joined the mix and is offering similar incentives for being an active member within their gaming community.

Source: 1UP

Title: Gran Turismo 5

Platform(s): PlayStation 3

Release Date: November 24th, 2010

Metacritic Score: 86/100

 

 Reviews Around the Net:

Destructoid: 10.0/10.0

1UP: A-

PlayStation Universe: 9.0/10.0

Joystiq: 4.0/5.0