Game consoles 'cause skin sores'

Excessive use of consoles may cause physical problems

A new skin disorder caused by use of games consoles has been identified by skin specialists.

The condition, dubbed PlayStation palmar hidradenitis, is described in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Researchers outline the case of a 12-year-old girl who attended a Swiss hospital with intensely painful sores on the palms of her hands.

The girl, who had been using a games console regularly, recovered fully after 10 days of abstinence.

If you're worried about soreness on your hands when playing a games console, it might be sensible to give your hands a break from time to time
Nina Goad
British Association of Dermatologists

Doctors who examined her at the Geneva University Hospital concluded she had a condition known as 'idiopathic eccrine hidradenitis', a skin disorder that generally causes red, sore lumps on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

The condition has been previously found on the soles of the feet in children taking part in heavy physical activity, such as jogging.

It it is thought to be linked to intense sweating.

Unusual symptoms

For the disorder to only affect the hands is very unusual.

The patient had not participated in any sport or physical exercise recently, and could not recall any recent trauma involving her hands.

However, her parents did say that she had recently started to play a video game on a PlayStation console for several hours a day, and had continued to play even after developing the sores.

The doctors suspect that the problem was caused by tight and continuous grasping of the console's hand-grips, and repeated pushing of the buttons, alongside sweating caused by the tension of the game.

The researchers said cases of addiction to using games consoles had been recorded, but the symptoms had initially been thought to be psychological.

However, some physical symptoms, such as acute tendonitis, dubbed Wiitis, had begun to emerge.

They said 'PlayStation palmar hidradenitis' could now be added to the list.

Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists said: "This is an interesting discovery and one that the researchers are keen to share with other dermatologists, should they be confronted with similar, unexplained symptoms in a patient.

"If you're worried about soreness on your hands when playing a games console, it might be sensible to give your hands a break from time to time, and don't play excessively if your hands are prone to sweating."

A spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd, manufacturers of PlayStation, said: "We firmly believe that video gaming is a legitimate entertainment pastime like watching movies, listening to music, or reading books.

"As with any leisure pursuit there are possible consequences of not following common sense, health advice and guidelines, as can be found within our instruction manuals.

"PlayStation was launched in 1995 and has sold hundreds of millions of consoles over the last 13 years.

"We do not wish to belittle this research and will study the findings with interest. This is the first time we have ever heard of a complaint of this nature."

Killzone 2 is a highly anticipated game for PlayStation 3
Killzone 2 is arguably the most important release in the short history of the PlayStation 3.

Announced at the unveiling of PlayStation 3 (PS3) in 2005, it was used as a battering ram to convince gamers of the power of the as yet unreleased console.

But the trailer shown at the E3 games conference in 2005 became mired in controversy when it was revealed the footage was a "target trailer" and a render running on unfinished hardware, rather than on a PS3 itself.

Despite the controversy, and the four years that have elapsed between that announcement and the imminent release of Killzone 2, the game remains a crucial release for Sony, which will be hoping it can drive sales of the PlayStation 3.

Sony needs a title to help define its console in the minds of core gamers. The PS3 lags in sales behind its rival Xbox 360, and the price difference between the two machines means Sony's exclusive titles have to work harder in order to justify the higher price tag of the PS3.

Just as the Halo franchise came to define the Xbox and, more importantly, make people go out and buy the console, Sony needs Killzone 2 to push hardware out of the doors of retailers.

The developers have been working on the game for four years

Hermen Hulst, managing director of Killzone 2 developer Guerrilla Games, says the game has always been an advert for the console.

"Our mission for the title was to build a showcase for the PlayStation 3 hardware. I think we have pushed the machine, so I am hopeful that we can help Sony push hardware units.

"It's a great title for gamers to show off what they can do with their HD set. I am quite hopeful it will make an impact."

Reviews of Killzone 2 have been very positive, with Metacritic.com putting the average score at 92%.

Set in the future, the game pits the human race against the Helghast in a ****c science fiction battle of good versus evil, with plenty of references to the march of the Nazis in the 1930s and 1940s.

The game has been praised for its graphical fidelity and solid design, while criticisms have mainly centred on a lack of overall innovation and a rather stolid narrative.

We've delivered in most areas on the vision we set out. We have pushed the machine hard
Hermen Hulst, Guerrilla Games

When it finally hits shops at the end of February, every pixel of its 720 by 1280 resolution will be pored over by gamers looking to see if the finished article matches the original vision.

Mr Hulst insists that the game has surpassed that vision in some places.

"We've delivered in most areas on the vision we set out. We have pushed the machine hard. The vision was about the graphical fidelity we were creating, and the other thing was the intensity and chaos around the player - there's plenty of that in that game."

The game certainly stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the most graphically rich titles released on any gaming platform. It also boasts 7.1 surround sound, making the most of its atmospheric audio design.

He adds: "If you analyse down to the nitty gritty, there are some areas to improve.

"But in some areas we have pushed it further; the weapons look better in game than they do in the target trailer, for example."

Guerrilla has had the PlayStation 3 hardware longer than most and claims, contrary to popular belief, that the machine is not harder or more difficult to develop on than other consoles.

Killzone 2 is set in the future and pits humans against the Helghast

"I'm surprised by how much room our technology producers have squeezed out of it. We were reviewing some levels and thought that 40 or maybe 50 dynamic lighting elements were possible in one particular level at a time.

"But there were many dozens more. There were well over 100 active dynamically at the same time.

"Our tech team have been optimising right up to the last minute and rather than shaving things off we were able to let a lighting artist and texture artist know there was room for more polish," he says.

The launch of the title has missed the crucial Christmas window but Mr Hulst says it was a conscious decision.

"We wanted to take extra time to put in the polish. The window we are coming out in now is good for us. People have played their Christmas titles and are ready to get their hands on something new and fresh."

Mr Hulst says he is loath to compare his own game to other First Person Shooters on the market but he adds: "It's perhaps got a little more polish and is realistic and smoother. But now it's up to the consumers to give us the final verdict."

Sony will be hoping the final verdict is reflected in a lift in console sales.

Hackers target Xbox Live players

Halo 3 players are a popular target for the Xbox attacks

Xbox Live is being targeted by malicious hackers selling services that kick players off the network.

The booting services are proving popular with players who want a way to get revenge on those who beat them in an Xbox Live game.

The attackers are employing data flooding tools that have been used against websites for many years.

Microsoft is "investigating" the use of the tools and said those caught using them would be banned from Xbox Live.

"There's been a definite increase in the amount of people talking about and distributing these things over the last three to four weeks," said Chris Boyd, director of malware research at Facetime Communications.

Attack tool

"The smart thing about these Xbox tools is that they do not attack the Xbox Live network itself," he said.

He said the tools work by exploiting the way that the Xbox Live network is set up. Game consoles connecting to the Xbox network send data via the net, and for that it needs an IP address.

Even better, said Mr Boyd, games played via Xbox Live are not hosted on private servers. The tools mean anyone with a few dollars can boot rivals off Xbox Live

"Instead," he said, "a lot of games on Xbox Live are hosted by players."

If hackers can discover the IP address of whoever is hosting a game they can employ many of the attacks that have been used for years against websites, said Mr Boyd.

One of the most popular for the Xbox Live specialists is the Denial of Service attack which floods an IP address with vast amounts of data.

The flood of data is generated by a group of hijacked home computers, a botnet, that have fallen under the control of a malicious hacking group.

When turned against a website this flood of traffic can overwhelm it or make it unresponsive to legitimate visitors.

When turned against an Xbox owner, it can mean they cannot connect to the Live network and effectively throws them out of the game.

"They get your IP address, put it in the booter tool and they attempt to flood the port that uses Xbox traffic," said Mr Boyd. "Flooding that port prevents any traffic getting out."

Skill set

The hard part, he said, was discovering a particular gamer's IP address but many malicious hackers had honed the skills needed to find them.

Some interconnect their PC and Xbox and use packet sniffing software to hunt through the traffic flowing in and out of the console for IP addresses. The hackers target the way Xbox consoles connect to the net

Others simply use con tricks to get the target to reveal their net address.

The technical knowledge needed to hunt down IP addresses was quite high, said Mr Boyd, but many of those who had the skills were selling their expertise to those keen to hit back at their rivals on the Xbox Live network.

For $20 (£13) some Xbox Live hackers will remotely access a customer's PC and set up the whole system so it can be run any time they need it.

Some offer low rates to add compromised machines to a botnet and increase the amount of data flooding a particular IP address.

Defending against the attack could be tricky, said Mr Boyd: "There's no real easy solution to this one."

Although IP addresses regularly change, people could find it takes hours or days for their ISP to move them on to a new one.

In response to the rise in attacks, Microsoft said: "We are investigating reports involving the use of malicious software tools that an attacker could use to try and disrupt an Xbox LIVE player's internet connection."

It added: "This problem is not related to the Xbox Live service, but to the player's internet connection. The attacker could also attempt [to] disrupt other internet activities, such as streaming video or web browsing, using the same tools.

In its statement Microsoft warned: "This malicious activity violates the Xbox Live Terms of Use, and will result in a ban from Xbox Live and other appropriate action.

It urged anyone falling victim to such an attack to contact their ISP to report it and get help fixing it.

In January 2009 Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had more than 17m members.

Not all games are suitable for all children, said the report.

Video games should have a "red button" parents can press to disable inappropriate games, says a report.

Drafted by a European parliament committee, the report backs games for children but says parents need help policing how and when they are played.

The committee said games have a "broadly beneficial effect" on the mental development of children.

The report comes as research shows that more than half of European children are unsupervised when using computers.

Skill set

The call for the "red button" was made by members of the European Parliament committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection as it adopted a wide-ranging study of younger game players.

"Videogames are in most cases not dangerous and can even contribute to the development of important skills," Toine Manders, the Dutch MEP who drafted the report, told Reuters.

Games can help instill facts in children and encourage the use of important skills such as creativity, cooperation and strategic reflection, found the study.

Despite the positive conclusions, the committee said "not all games are suited to all age groups and the possibility of harmful effects on the minds of children cannot be ruled out".

Because of this, it said, parents needed more help to police which games their children play and for how long.

The report backed the European Pan European Game Information system (PEGI) and called for it to be strengthened and win more support from member nations.

PEGI is a voluntary system backed by many video game makers which bestows age ratings on titles.

The committee proposed that, while work was going on to improve PEGI and extend its oversight to online games, consoles and computers and games could be outfitted with a "red button" to turn off a machine or disable a game.

Research released by Microsoft on 10 February found that 51% of the 20,000 Europeans aged 14-19 it questioned browsed the web without parental supervision.

Sales of the latest Tomb Raider game were weaker than expected

A Japanese computer games maker has agreed to buy Eidos, the UK company behind the Tomb Raider and Championship Manager games, for £84.3m ($120m).

Square Enix said it would pay 32 pence a share in cash for Eidos, which has been hit by weak US sales of its latest edition of Tomb Raider.

Eidos shares more than doubled in value in early trading, to 31 pence.

The company said last month that it had received an informal takeover approach from an unnamed bidder.

US media giant Time Warner owns 20% of Eidos and had been tipped as a potential bidder.

Square Enix, known for its Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy video games, wants to extend its reach in Europe.

"Eidos's products are highly complementary to our business and will accelerate our aggressive expansion into Western markets," said Square Enix president Yoichi Wada.

Separately, Midway Games, the firm best known for its Mortal Kombat video games, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US.

It said it did not think it would be able to pay back debt obligations s that stemmed from the sale of a majority stake in the company.

Video games are poised to "eclipse" all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith.

The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

He said video games were prospering as interest in almost every other category of entertainment declines.

Mr Griffith said social gaming, more interactivity and better technology would help gaming dominate the entertainment landscape in future.

He said: "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors."

40% growth

He quoted US market statistics which showed that between 2003 and 2007 sales of movie tickets fell by 6%; the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, sales of recorded music slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat.

Over the same four-year period, said Mr Griffith, the video game industry grew by 40%.

"Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead," he said.

Gamers will spend longer with James Bond than moviegoers

The success of Guitar Hero, said Mr Griffith, showed how influential gaming had become on many other entertainment sectors.

He quoted Nielsen SoundScan data which showed that artists whose music featured on Guitar Hero had seen a rise in download sales of 15-843%.

The game had proved so popular that some bands, such as Metallica and Aerosmith, were bringing out a version of the game that only features their music.

"Music has a history of evolving through technology and we are at the beginning of the latest chapter in that story," he said.

Technology, community and interactivity were the three factors that would help the video game industry become the driving force in entertainment, said Mr Griffith.

'Story telling'

The powerful processors in consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 meant that games were getting ever more realistic and immersive, he said.

"Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," said Mr Griffith. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films."

He cited the video game of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace (QoS) as an example of how games were taking over.

Guitar Hero players are sharing their own musical creations

"The moviegoer is passive whereas the gamer is active and part of the game itself," he said, adding that anyone who played QoS would spend more than 50 hours in the company of James Bond compared to only 106 minutes if they watched the movie.

The communities growing up around titles such as Guitar Hero World Tour also showed how entertainment was changing, he said.

Owners of the game had created 141,000 tracks of their own using its in-built mixing studio and uploaded them to the Guitar Hero community site, which now has more than 600,000 members, he said.

More interactive controllers such as the guitars and drums in Guitar Hero and the Wiimote on Nintendo's gaming console were also helping encourage more people to take up gaming, said Mr Griffiths.

"Those new controllers are encouraging new ways to become more socially active in gaming," he said. "They are bringing in a whole new group of consumers that have never before been involved in gaming."

He concluded: "The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming."

Video games are poised to "eclipse" all other forms of entertainment, according to games studio boss Mike Griffith.

The Activision chief made the bold call during a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

He said video games were prospering as interest in almost every other category of entertainment declines.

Mr Griffith said social gaming, more interactivity and better technology would help gaming dominate the entertainment landscape in future.

He said: "Movies, recorded music and TV - these are all stagnating or contracting entertainment sectors."

40% growth

He quoted US market statistics which showed that between 2003 and 2007 sales of movie tickets fell by 6%; the number of hours of TV watched dropped by 6%, sales of recorded music slumped 12% and purchases of DVDs remained flat.

Over the same four-year period, said Mr Griffith, the video game industry grew by 40%.

"Video games are poised to eclipse all other forms of entertainment in the decade ahead," he said.

Gamers will spend longer with James Bond than moviegoers

The success of Guitar Hero, said Mr Griffith, showed how influential gaming had become on many other entertainment sectors.

He quoted Nielsen SoundScan data which showed that artists whose music featured on Guitar Hero had seen a rise in download sales of 15-843%.

The game had proved so popular that some bands, such as Metallica and Aerosmith, were bringing out a version of the game that only features their music.

"Music has a history of evolving through technology and we are at the beginning of the latest chapter in that story," he said.

Technology, community and interactivity were the three factors that would help the video game industry become the driving force in entertainment, said Mr Griffith.

'Story telling'

The powerful processors in consoles such as the PS3 and Xbox 360 meant that games were getting ever more realistic and immersive, he said.

"Games are no longer pre-set trips through linear mazes," said Mr Griffith. "They are becoming a legitimate story-telling medium that rivals feature films."

He cited the video game of the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace (QoS) as an example of how games were taking over.

Guitar Hero players are sharing their own musical creations

"The moviegoer is passive whereas the gamer is active and part of the game itself," he said, adding that anyone who played QoS would spend more than 50 hours in the company of James Bond compared to only 106 minutes if they watched the movie.

The communities growing up around titles such as Guitar Hero World Tour also showed how entertainment was changing, he said.

Owners of the game had created 141,000 tracks of their own using its in-built mixing studio and uploaded them to the Guitar Hero community site, which now has more than 600,000 members, he said.

More interactive controllers such as the guitars and drums in Guitar Hero and the Wiimote on Nintendo's gaming console were also helping encourage more people to take up gaming, said Mr Griffiths.

"Those new controllers are encouraging new ways to become more socially active in gaming," he said. "They are bringing in a whole new group of consumers that have never before been involved in gaming."

He concluded: "The one thing that is for sure is entertainment is changed forever with gaming."

Record high for videogaming sales

More than 82.8m games were sold in Britain during 2008

Sales of videogames in the UK hit an all time high of 82.8m in 2008, figures from the industry trade body show.

The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) said that consumers spent £4.03bn on video game hardware and software.

Total video game sales were in excess of £1.9bn, 23% more than the previous year and more than double the total earnings over the past five years.

Console sales accounted for another £1.422 billion.

Nintendo's console was pitched squarely at non-gamers

ELSPA's managing director, Michael Rawlinson, said the growth of games pitched at the casual user had help fuel the growth.

"Videogaming is increasingly bringing families together with the introduction of so many outstanding family-based console titles.

"These have really opened up the market to those who may never have even considered playing a videogame before," he said.

But with economic worries, and a shortage of blockbuster titles, some experts think 2009 may not be so rosy.

Speaking to the BBC, veteran game designer Peter Molyneux said he had concerns.

"While there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head, I cannot think of anything this year that really excites me."

"Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price. I'm not so sure.

"I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games," he added.

As 2008 draws to a close and with 2009 just around the corner, it has been an eventful year for the games industry. Will the recession and a lack of triple-A titles make 2009 a year the industry will want to forget?

Call of Duty: World at War surpassed expectations, Wii Fit showed us that you can play video games and still keep the spare tyre in check, Gears of War 2 proved the Xbox 360 was still a force to be reckoned with, selling over two million units world wide.

World of Warcraft released the Wrath of the Lich King and kept millions of gamers glued to their PCs for another six months, and Grand Theft Auto IV took the world by storm.

But with the economy cooling, games companies like Sony shedding jobs, and a shortage of triple A titles scheduled for release, what does 2009 have in store for gamers and the video game industry?

We put that question to some of the industry stalwarts, asking them for their thoughts on how 2008 has been for them and what they think the next year will bring.

PETER MOLYNEUX: Video game designer, Lionhead Studios

"2008 was the year that the Nintendo Wii got even better, more than anyone really thought possible when it first launched. The 360 did well, although it was put into the shade somewhat by the Wii. PlayStation 3 has been disappointing to say the least.

On the gaming front, GTA IV was a real moment for the industry. Rockstar nailed how you characterise a game and their engine and cut sequences are state of the art. However, only a few people actually saw all the cut sequences because the game was so tough to play. Are we making games too difficult? That's a question the industry has been asking itself of late.

We - as developers - are finally comfortable with the next-gen consoles and we saw a slew of sequels this year. Gears of War 2, Fallout 3, Fable II, the seventh Tomb Raider.

One of my personal favourites was Little Big Planet; superb artistry and a fantastic marketing job by Sony - yet it didn't make the numbers. I wonder if Christmas is really the right time to release a new title. We've got into a rhythm [of sequels at Christmas] which is all fair and well while people are buying games but we have to make sure we don't get complacent.

Next year, well, it's all looking a bit dry. All the triple A titles came out this Christmas and while there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head I cannot think of anything next year that really excites me.

Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price. I'm not so sure. I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games.

And as for Lionhead: now we've got Fable II out of the door we can focus on our other project - it's super secret for now - but we might announce it next year."

PAUL BARNETT: Creative director, Mythic Entertainment

"Personally 2008 was like giving birth: lots of pain, struggle, huffing, and puffing. But the end result [Warhammer Online] was worth it; it's no longer ours, it belongs to the players.

It was a year of disappointing big games; budgets too big, development too long, platforms underdeveloped, and expectations were too high. The Wii produced some kooky games that defied logic, the 360 continues to do well, the PS3 is desperately trying to find a market, and the PC was coming to terms with DRM (digital rights management).

At the same time, 2008 was the year that web browser games came of age: proof that backroom coders, great art design, and business know-how can exist under the same roof: Passage, Shift, World of Goo, and Portal were all very curious.

GTA IV was the most impressive game of 2009, because it's almost impossible to deliver a game that good. It was a proper computer game, it sold bucket loads, and it improved on the original. Not only that, but it was British! I'm not a fan of the game but I am really respectful of what they [Rockstar] have done.

Bioshock proved that art direction matters in a game - and it was truly a triumph of art. It looked good and every icon and element felt connected. People get wrapped up in the story and narrative. Bioshock never had a story - people pretended it does - it doesn't. It's simple and linear, but in terms of art it is fantastic.

That said, some people confuse games with art and developing a game as an art title (as opposed to a good game with great art in it) will lead us into madness.

As for Warhammer, we're going to make good on our promises. We've got RvR [Realm vs Realm] hobby experience; this means bigger battles, more character, a stronger campaign. Basically, war is everywhere.

As for next year, it's going to be a year of pain for all the big labels and a continuing fight between games defining themselves as 'art', 'design' and 'entertainment'.

The games industry is going to go through the pain the music industry went through when the traditional way of making and selling their products goes through a radical shift. The route to the customer is undefined and income streams are uncertain. Large firms have a history of not being responsive (and being fearful) of change - the DRM fiasco (with Spore) is a ****c example of that.

I expect to see some large studios go under and some big name titles fail."

RICHARD GARRIOTT aka 'Lord British': Video game designer

"For me, the high point - quite literally - was spending 12 days on the International Space Station. As a result, I've been somewhat outside the gaming scene; I was in quarantine for nearly three months in 2008.

That said, Halo's sequel was a big deal. World of Warcraft continues to dominate the massive multiplayer arena - more power to them. If I had to pick a developer who has done a bang up job, it would be Blizzard [the development team behind World of Warcraft]. The number of people they have converted is just amazing. They have shown all of us what good game development is all about.

After 25 years at Origin, the last thing I wanted to make was yet another medieval fantasy game. Now, after a very interesting break, I'm keen to get back into the fray and work on a new game. Probably medieval fantasy and probably online; there's something very powerful about getting people together."

WILL WRIGHT : Video game designer, Electronic Arts

"2008 was the year that the console hit its stride, we're seeing the rise of mobile gaming (along with user generated content) and, as we hear every eight years, the death of PC gaming.

The Wii took everyone by surprise - not for its looks, but its accessibility. Games like Guitar Hero attracted non-gamers and Sony and Microsoft are responding to that with things like the 'Avatar' system and Little Big Planet.

Next year, we're going to see more connected games - more social networking rather than just multiplayer. What's more, they are going to be more fractal in nature; how you interact with the game will depend not only on what you play (360 vs mobile) but where you play. So, for example, a mobile game that interacts with a GPS (global positioning system) so that where you physically play the game in the real world will have a direct effect on the game you are playing."

JOHNATHAN 'Fatal1ty' WENDEL: Professional games player

"The high point for me was getting my new line of headphones. I've been working really hard to develop them with Creative and we saw our sales increase by 50% since 2007.

That said, I think the credit crunch and subsequent fall out really hurt sponsorship of professional gamers. We used to have 300 people making a living from playing games; now we have less than 100.

Because of that, I want to start sponsoring other gamers. They're having a tough time at the moment, so I want to give something back to help them follow their dreams to become a professional gamer.

I'm going to continue working on a professional series of headphones. I want people to use my headphones, not just to talk smack, but to use them in the real world by making them stylish and attractive. We're close to getting that finalised and then we can launch.

And as for the future, well I hope we'll soon start seeing real 3D. You already get that experience in an iMax cinema. I think games will eventually go that way. I still want to use a mouse and keyboard to play, but if I can get that kind of graphical feel, that would be great. We really need to change the way we view a game."

You know how the feminists are the first to complain about how women are often depicted in video games? You know, the top-heavy chicks with the DD bustline and size 4 waistline? Well, on the flip side of that coin, when was the last time you played as a bald male hero with a beer gut? Apparently, this stigma of the classic video game hero can have an adverse affect on the self-esteem of gamers, who - we have to admit - typically have a lower-than-normal self-esteem to start with. According to a recent study conducted by Kansas State University Psychology professor Richard Harris, those who play games and are constantly in the "virtual presence" of both men and women who look impossibly good can suffer a psychological setback. (source- EndSights) In fact, someone can start thinking less of themselves after viewing the more attractive male or female on the screen for only 15 minutes. "It was kind of sobering that it did have such a short-term effect," said Harris. To conduct his research, Harris first surveyed his students, then split them up and had the males play a wrestling video game while the girls played a beach volleyball video game (gee, I wonder which one?). After 15 minutes, he then had the students complete another survey, and on the whole, it turns out that everyone viewed their bodies in a more negative light after the testing. Now, Harris did say other factors may contribute to a lower body image, and he wasn't about to conclude that playing video games causes everyone to think badly about themselves. But it's an intriguing test, nonetheless, even though there doesn't appear to be a solution...who wants to put themselves in the fantasy shoes of an unattractive or unappealing individual? Right?