Did you know that videogames are used in cancer research? Or did you realise they are also used to study the mind and the body? Companies use various services and data to study avid gamers and the general public alike; these studies are used to learn more about the human body and mind. Because of this and other functions of videogames, this lucrative form of entertainment can rightly be considered a jack of all trades.
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Video Games a Day, enhances Medicine’s Way
One of the up-and-coming functions of videogames is the assistance that they can provide to the health and medical field. One way they help is by impacting research directly and indirectly.
According to GameFwd, Ohio State University has used videogame joysticks to separate cancer cells from normal tissue. This is just one of the ways videogames are being used directly for health and medical research. Indirectly, videogames are making doctors better surgeons. MSNBC states that doctors who game three hours a week perform tasks such as laparoscopic surgery with 37 percent fewer errors and 27 percent faster. However, research is not the only function of videogames in health and medicine.
Videogames are actually being incorporated into the treatment of injuries and illnesses. For example, gaming can help stroke victims; playing motion controlled games on the Wii or with the PlayStation Eye Toy can improve motor strength and motor function by creating new nerve cell connections. In addition, games can also facilitate the recovery of soldiers suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. One soldier describes playing military-style first-person shooters as an ‘exposure’, fulfilling the desire to be in combat but being able to stop the action on his terms by turning the game off. With stroke and post-traumatic stress disorder becoming more common, any help, even through the aid of videogames, is a welcome addition.
Flying Doctors
The future for videogames in health and medicine is very bright. Systems like Kinect, for example, may end up having a role in health care. Microsoft envisions the device being used by patients in therapy sessions and doctors in operation rooms in the near future. Videogames may impact the future of health and medicine through games targeted at illnesses. Games like ‘Re-Mission’ target cancer and have been a success; you can expect a game from the same company to target obesity. These are only two ways videogames may affect future medicine and health. With technology rapidly advancing every day and the widespread utilization of new ideas, the sky is the limit for video games in health and medicine.
Push it to the Limits!
A past misconception about videogames is that they encourage laziness and render individuals unwilling to exercise. This is a past misconception indeed. These days, videogames are not only being used as a way to exercise and stay fit, but they are also becoming one of the preferred methods to workout.
Going!
Playing videogames was once limited to sitting in one place or area for an amount of time with little to no major movement. Thanks to motion gaming however, that has changed. Motion gaming is not only attracting more people to play games, but it is encouraging them to move. Devices like Kinect, the Wii, and PlayStation Move require the player to get up off the couch to move their hands, and sometimes body, to play. Swinging a sword or casting a spell are actions big enough and repeated enough to equal exercise. When the weather is bad, children, adults, and even the elderly can enjoy intense physical activity activities usually reserved for outside of the home.
Going!!!
Exercise-based videogames have affected both the gaming industry and the way people exercise. Game companies mainly use exercise and sports games to show off its technology capabilities. This convinces consumers that its device is indeed worthy of the time and money. At recent electronic entertainment expos, console manufacturers such as Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo showcased their motion gaming devices to the press, using software such as Kinect Sports, Sports Champions, and Wii Sports to highlight the physical side of their products. This is merely the beginning as fitness games are becoming more common and more developers are jumping on the bandwagon. Exercise is affecting videogames, and vice versa. Instead of buying home gym equipment, people are instead purchasing game consoles, which in turn is drawing interest from exercise and fitness companies. Furthermore, gyms are already featuring videogames as a way to exercise. “Exergames,” namely, games that require some exercise to play, are being featured in gyms like Circuit Wellness in Columbus, Ohio.
Gone! Homerun!!!
The future of motion videogames has a great outlook. Motion-based game sales are particularly strong, with games like Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Fit contributing to the Games for Health sector profiting $1 billion a year. Sony’s own PlayStation Move peripheral for example has already sold 8.8 units since its launch in fall 2010. Needless to say, whether you’re a hardcore gamer or just someone who fancies a break from the gym, the success of exercise-based software has ensured you can expect more from this avenue in the near future.
This concludes Part 1 of this series. Part 2 will elaborate on two other uses of video games, as a stress reliever and as a learning tool. In the meantime, get out there and have some fun!
Article by Shawnee Lee