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Questions tagged [videogames]

A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device.

The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device,but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry.

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Was Pac-man originally named "Puck-man"?

I always thought this quote from Scott Pilgrim to be right, since I had no reason to think otherwise: Did you know that the original name for Pac-Man was Puck-Man? You'd think it was because he looks like a hockey puck but it actually comes …
xDaizu
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Do violent video games cause violent behavior?

I have been following this question casually over the past couple of years, and it seemed to me that there was no strong consensus either way on the subject. However, I recently read an editorial from one of the scientists involved in the Supreme…
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Do video games improve reflexes & reaction time?

Yesterday, I went to my friend's house and as usual he was glued to his PS4 playin' video games. When I asked him about it, he said that playing video games is a nice thing as it improves your reflexes & reaction time. It also sharpens your mind. I…
The God Damn Geek 'ANIMESH'
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Do video gamers tend to be conservative and have a large voter turnout?

I found this pdf referencing a study done on video gamers. Among other claims it states that "80% of those surveyed will vote in the 2016 election". It also has a pie chart claiming the following distribution of gamers by political party: 48%…
dsollen
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Do any brain training games make you smarter?

What are the benefits over just playing a normal game? Sites such as Lumosity claim they are training your brain and making you smarter using "what seems like games". Is there any scientific evidence from independent studies?
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Does blowing on an NES cartridge help the system play it?

It is commonly believed that, if your Nintendo cannot read the cartridge, often removing the cartridge, blowing into it and putting it back in your NES will help to fix the problem. Is there any truth to that belief or is it just all confirmation…
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Did Minecraft sell 600 million copies?

According to this website and this one, Minecraft has sold over 600 million copies. However, in a 2021 Gamespot article it says that only 238 million copies had been sold at that point. Have there really been sold 400 million copies in the last few…
Riemann
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Was there a peak in suicides associated with the release of Pokémon red and green?

My 13-year-old stepson just told me this story: When Pokémon Red and Green was first released in 1996, there were dozens or hundreds of suicides of children caused by high-frequency sounds in the theme music for the "Lavender Town" location in the…
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Can video games cause seizures?

It's very common in the USA for video games to come with a health warning that playing them can cause seizures. For example, the 2010 release of Sega's Sonic Colors for Nintendo Wii contains the following warning in its instruction manual: Some…
Robert Columbia
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Did GamePro make up the story of the arcade game Polybius?

The story goes that an arcade game called Polybius was market tested around Portland in 1981, but it was pulled because it had adverse psychological effects on those children who played it. Even darker rumors claimed Men in Black were seen…
Scott Hamilton
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Is there a "sweet spot" of secondary engagement that makes driving safer?

From Playing games while driving? BrightDriver's challenging proposition (emphasis added): At first blush, playing games while driving sounds like the kind of thing only the accident-prone would love. But apparently, certain types of games -- like…
user792
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Does playing electronic games interfere with a child's healthy dopamine response?

In this August 2015 Psychology Today blog article, a child psychiatrist and author, Dr Victoria Dunckley makes a number of claims about how screen time is causing symptoms of mental health problems. I am interested in a large number of her claims,…
Oddthinking
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Has Pokémon Go caused hundreds of deaths?

This article in The Register claims that Pokémon Go may have a bad side effect on road safety. The headline is: Pokémon GO caused hundreds of deaths, increased crashes And the article summarises the research: ...the game caused “a…
matt_black
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Is measuring the size of a nuclear cloud with your thumb an approximate indication of whether you're in the radiation zone?

Due to the upcoming release of Fallout 4, I've stumbled upon several claims about the stance of the iconic Vault Boy: Basically, those stated that the Vault Boy was doing the following: If you see a mushroom cloud from an atomic bomb, you're…
Aserre
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Does playing popular video games improve a child's IQ?

This article claims a study shows that the cognitive abilities of 60-77 year olds can be helped by playing two weeks of World of Warcraft. This article quotes a navy researcher as saying adults generally can get similar benefits: "We have…
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