video games

video games

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Survey Summary (Domestic)

I would like to appreciate everyone who coopertaed with this survey about video games and children. I received the answers from 16 people which is not quite as much as my aiming number, but anyway the data collected from this survey was really beneficial for my project.

All the 16 people were under the age of 31 and the teenagers were accounting for 75% of the survey. Thankfully, the proportion of men and women were almost half and half which made me easier to search about video games from both aspects.

Now, let me move on to the specific facts I collected from the survey. To start with, I would like to introduce the data on which I thought was quite natural. Firstly, I could find out that many people held three or more video game machines which are specialized only on video games and there were less people who owned one or two game machines. I thought this was a natural number esecially for those who have brothers or sisters. However, contray to this number, I discovered that most of the people do not spend money on video games in a year and instead play free games.  Secondly almost all the people considered that children spending too much time on video games have bad effects on them like bad social skills and they also added that they would let their children play more outside rather than staying inside.

Next, I would like to introduce some surprising figures I gained from this research. Before carrying out this survey, I have been thinking that age restrictions regarding video games are important to save children from unsuitable contents. Although, more people agreed with my opinion, more than 30% of people said it is not that important to follow the age restrictions. Furthermore, the number that indicated more people do not care about their eyes while playing video games was really unexpected since I was sure everyone is familiar with the truth that playing video games have negative effects on eyes. Finally, among big numbers of video game companies existing in the world, more than 90% of people said they are familiar with "Nintendo" the most when asked about the best video game company.

To sum up the survey, I became aware that there are no rules about video games in schools or houses and some people even play video games for 4 hours or more per day. I am not saying that we should completely stop children from playing video games, but we need to limit the children from playing them to hinder negative effects.

Again thank you for the cooperation! Cheers!



Monday, July 13, 2015

Survey Summary (international)


 At first, we would like to express our gratitude to all respondents of our resarch. All the answers were invaluable and they really help us make plans of our NGO's activities.
(One thing I have ti apologize is that I could collect answers only from Japanase respondents,so I can't call it "international" survey. However, the questions were different from "domestic" resarch, so this survey is also effective.)

 The most interesting fact we found is that there is the notable paradox; about 80% people think playing video games is somehow bad for children's health, but most familly of the respondents has no rule or restrictrion about video games.
 The reason of this may be that even teenagers basically think they want their children to do what they want. In fact, about 90% of the respondents said "Yes" for the question "Would you allow your children to play video games?"  One of them wrote "I don't want to take away their enjoyment. " as the reason.

 We realized that parents are worry about bad effects caused by video games although they are afraid of getting rid of children's one of the biggest enjoyments. Based on this fact, we will make NGO which will show parents or teachers the guide to how their children or students play video games like how long time in a day,or which kind of video games they should aboid to play. For example, one of the respondent of the survey raised "Call of Duty" as his fanorite game, which is too violent for kids. In fact, about 90% people think violent and sexal video games should be restricted to be played by children.

 We have thought that playing video games is efficient when children want to make new friends. However, the survey showed that about half chldren play them by himself. Besides, according to the resarch, we can save our time and money if we don't play video games too much. Our NGO will make a good plan for playing video games which is effective enough to make chikdren's life better.

 Finally,thank you for your cooperation.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/lyn/level-b/harmful-effects-of-violent-games-to-children/

We regarded this website as a bad ineffective one. Firstly, the structure of the page with colourful background makes it hard to see. It should be more neat and clean like white background and black words. Secondly the explanation is too short. It is not reliable since there is not so much information to persuade us. Finally, it is based on the owner's own opinion as sentences are starting with "I think....". It must be more objective because one's opinion is not always right.

Internet Resarch


http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html

 We regarded this article as a good one for the resarch. It describes the issue in detail based on reliable sources. Besides, "Sutter Health"is a  cite which provides information neutrally from the view of our healths.


http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/lyn/level-b/harmful-effects-of-violent-video-games-to-children/

Wednesday, June 3, 2015


Hello, my name is Satoshi Taziri. I am a video game creator, and the most popular game I created may be "Pocket Monster". Some of you may know my name because I named the hero of "Pocket Monster" Satoshi. Today, I'll talk about  why I'm creating video games for children.

Actually, when I was a kid, I really liked playing outside. I always went to a forest after school to catch insects. However, with the development of cities, many woods were cut down to build more buildings. After that, my life suddenly became boring because I could not go out to catch insects any more and just stayed at home, but it was totally changed when I played one of the most famous video games in the world named "Invader". It brought me to the exciting world and my life became really fun again.

My childfood, which was helped by a video game, made me want to create a new video games for children who have less and less places to play outside. So I became a video game creator and invented "Pocket  Monster" from the idea of cathing insects which was my hobby when I was little.

Playing video games is a good opportunity to play with their friends. Besides, it will help thier imaginations grow up. Studying all dat at  school or juku will not make children creative.
Some parents don't  want their children to play video games  because they think video games arenot good for education, but game creators often put various meanings and messages on video games. For example, I want children playing "Pocket Monster" to  know the feeling of love for animals or pets. So I think playing viedo games is as good as like reading books or listening to music for children.
Besides, I'm very happy if video games I created help some children have a dream or new enthusiasm for something like I became a game creator because of "Invader".

Tuesday, June 2, 2015


Playing video games from various perspectives- playing outside is better


Hello. I am an employee who work at the ministry of education in Japan. To start with, let me talk about why playing outside is beneficial in the wide range and why spending too much time on video games can cause you trouble. I want to remind all of you that playing outside is definitely ideal for children but these days the matter is becoming more and more difficult. This is because the increase of traffics and crimes against children are making parents sensitive to protect the safety of them. Moreover, compared to before, there are less places for children to play which is taking the opportunities away from them. Prevalence of video games and air conditioners are additional sources which keep children indoor.


I am worried about children playing video games from several points. First of all, playing video games for long hours can suffocate your brain to develop. When it comes to young age, this problem would be even more serious since brains have potential to develop till 20 years old. What is more, sitting down while playing video games would lose your body balance and you would likely to have more risk of getting fat. Additionally, it is obvious that you will lose the skills of associating with people if you stay indoors all the time.


Now, I want to persuade you by explaining playing outside is necessary for children to develop some skills. Firstly, by taking the sunshine, you will be able to normalize your body rhythm that ultimately ends in good sleep. Good sleep is what children need to stay healthy. Also, you can raise a correspondence ability to the change of environment. Especially, I recommend children to play team sports. It does not only develop human relations but also recognising your role and making originalities or ideas of playing are good educations.


From my experience, what can be said is that while playing video games cannot leave anything for you, playing outside is necessary to gain basic strength which leads to bright future.

                                                                                                                     
Questions about video games for children

1 In average, how long do children play video games in a day?

Answer: According to the research of Oxford University, children play games three hours a day. Also, according to the study by Electronic Gaming and Psychological Adjustment" in 2014, one hour is a beneficial period for children to play video games in a day.

Source: Staff, G. (2015, March 31). Researchers: It's not 'what' games children play, but 'how long' they play them. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://gamepolitics.com/2015/03/31/researchers-its-not-what-games-children-play-how-long-they-play-them#.VZ9lzuoViZO>

Reynolds, K. (2015, April 15). How Long Should I Let My Child Play Video Games Each Day? Each Week? Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.gameskinny.com/w47ar/how-long-should-i-let-my-child-play-video-games-each-day-each-week>

2 In average, how much time do people spend on video games?

Answer: In US, approximately 65% of the households own video games. Also it is said that those particular gamers spend their free time on video games for 18 hours per week, which means about 2 to 3 hours a day. According to Nielsen who researches about people spending on video games, the figure of 65% which is nearly two-thirds of the population, has been stable since 2010. However, people's time spending on video games is on the rise especially smartphones and tablets.

Source: "Video Game Statistics." Education Database Online. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://www.onlineeducation.net/videogame.>

"Nielsen: People Spending More Time Playing Video Games." USA Today. Ed. Mike Snider. 17 May 2014. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/05/27/nielsen-tablet-mobile-video-games/9618025/.>

3 How much time do teenagers spend on video games or any other medias in a day?

Answer: According to the research conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation in 2010, teenagers with the age between 8 and 18 spend 7 and a half hours on medias like playing video games, listening to musics, searching on internets, watching TVs in a day. Especially the time spending on their cell phones occupies the longest time. Moreover hobbies like video games are what people spend most of the time on when accessing internat in addition to e-mails.

Source: Ahuja, M. (2013, March 13). Teens are spending more time consuming media, on mobile devices. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.washingtonpost.com/postlive/teens-are-spending-more-time-consuming-media-on-mobile-devices/2013/03/12/309bb242-8689-11e2-98a3-b3db6b9ac586_story.html>

Gibbon, T. (2012, May 8). How people spend time online. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.socialmediaportal.com/News/2012/05/How-people-spend-time-online.aspx>

4 Are they any legislations about video games in the world?

Answer: In 2005, Senatoe Hillary Clinton introduced a legistlation that helps parents to protect children from inappropriate contents of video games such as violent and sexual stuffs. The legislation was supported by Director of the Washington Office for Common Sense Media; Norman Rosenberg, President and CEO of Parents Action for Children and Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children's Hospital in Boston and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Furthermore in California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Washington, there is a regulation for the sale of violent and sexual games. However it is difficult to prove that those video games were the cause in the case when violents occured.

Source: Hillary Introduces Video Game Legislation. (2005, December 16). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com/160116.html>

Barrett, G. (2008, April 4). LEGISLATION ON VIDEO GAME VIOLENCE. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0233.htm>

5 Does playing video games have bad effects on your health?

Answer: Video games do have positive effect on chidren. On the other hand, it also has bad effects as well. The main symptoms are muscle pain, seizures, obesity, lack of vitamin D, changes in physical appearance and sleep deprivation.

Source: 8 Ways Video Games Are Bad For Your Health. (2012, September 19). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/cf/slideshows/8-ways-video-games-are-bad-for-your-health#slide=1>

Meixsell, J. (2012, October 14). Video Games are good for you: The Positive Effects of Video Games. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://venturebeat.com/community/2012/10/04/video-games-are-good-for-you-the-positive-effects-of-video-games/>

6 Are there any good effects for children when they play video games?

Answer: According to a study in 2014 by Douglas Gentile, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University, the content of games such as building towns or helping each other can build children's empathy and helpfulness. Additionally it can enhance skills of following instructions and problem solving.

Source: Norcia, A. (2014, June 1). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html>


The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games>

7 Are there any dramatical changes on the shape of body if children spend more time outside?

Answer: Yes. Besides understanding the interaction between animals, plants and animals, kids can strengthen their body muscles, bones and balances propelling their body movements back and forth. What is more, they can gain vitamin D which cannot be supplemented when playing video games. Nature is like a teacher for children which provides excerxcise, imagination and many more.

Source: The benefits of getting outside. (2015, May 15). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <https://www.kumon.co.uk/blog/the-benefits-of-getting-outside/>

Walter, J. (2014, August 5). Benefits of Playing Outside. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Playing-Outside&id=8654903>

8 Should parents restrict their children with playing video games?

Answer: Partly yes. Children's aggressive behaviour is widely connected to violent video games. However, according to a 2010 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicate that less than half of teens answered that their parents make rules regarding what they watch or play.

Source: Norcia, A. (2014, June 1). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/general/media-web/videogames.html>

Revermann, S. (2013, June 5). What Kind of Parental Controls Should Parents Have on Video Games? Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.livestrong.com/article/1003792-kind-parental-controls-should-parents-video-games/>

9 Which age distriction has the largest number playing video games?

Answer: Firstly, it is said that 2 out of three peoplewho play video games ae female. According to the data in 2015, the age between 18 and 35 of the gamers accounts for 30% which is the highest distriction. Surprisingly, people from 50 years old or more are second highest who play video games. To sum up, the average age of the gamers is 32 years old.

Source: "Video Game Statistics." Education Database Online. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://www.onlineeducation.net/videogame.>

"Age Breakdown of Video Game Players in the United States in 2015." Statista the Statistics Portal. 2015. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://www.statista.com/statistics/189582/age-of-us-video-game-players-since-2010/.>

10 Are there any incidents occured in the past regarding violent or sexual containing video games?

Answer: Partly yes. However the violent and sexual containing video games might not be a cause of some crimes. According to the study conducted by Scott Cunningham from Baylor University, Benjamin Engelstätter from the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) - Information and Communication Technologies Research Group and Michael R. Ward from the University of Texas at Arlington - College of Business Administration - Department of Economics, they found out that the violent crimes among teenagers had dropped down by more than a half although the number of video games doubled between 1994 and 2010. Changing the topic, there was a strange incident perpetrated by a five years old boy who wore blue coverall jeans and red shirt imitating "Super Mario". He jumped on his friend's head and he claimed later that “he tried to steal all the stars.” It can be said that even the super mario games can affect children's bad behaviours.

Source: Research: As Violent Video Game Sales Climb, Violent Crime Among Youths Decreases. (2013, February 13). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://gamepolitics.com/2013/02/13/research-violent-video-game-sales-climb-violent-crime-among-youths-decreases#.VZ_CzeoVjAx>

 Anomie, U. (2013, July 16). Video games blamed for violent incident at Calgary kindergarten. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from http://urbananomie.com/2013/07/16/video-games-cause-violent-skirmish-at-calgary-kindergarten/

11 Has the number of children playing video games increased recently?

Answer: Yes. In US, 97% of teens play video games and sales of video games have increased. Boys tend to play more video games than girls. Surprisingly, two thirds of children play video games with face to face friends and only a quarter said they play with internet friends.

Source: Irvine, M. (2008, October 17). Survey: 97 Percent Of Children Play Video Games. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/16/survey-97-percent-of-chil_n_126948.html>


Takahashi, D. (2010, March 2). Time spent playing video games keeps going up. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://venturebeat.com/2010/03/02/time-spent-playing-video-games-keeps-going-up/>

12 Is playing video games addictive?

Answer: It is true that that palying video games is addictive like any other addictions in terms of long time spending on them, strong emotion attachment or bad social skills. However, it is difficult to state that it is indeed a mental health disorder according to American Psychological Association. Additionally, the research by American Medical Association shows that only 10 to 15% of video games meet the criteria of addiction. AMA also found out that gamers spend a quarter of their leisure time spending on video games.

Source: Hartney, E. (2014, June 25). What Is Video Game Addiction? Retrieved July 15, 2015, from <http://addictions.about.com/od/lesserknownaddictions/a/videogameadd.htm>

Wright, D. (2012, December 6). Game theory: Are video games addictive? Retrieved July 15, 2015, from <http://abcnews.go.com/US/game-theory-video-games-addictive/story?id=17897574>

13 How can you get over the game addiction?

Answer: Unfortunately, there is no formal diagnosis of video games and it is only stated as a compulsive use of video games which interfere our daily lives. Moreover no-one knows what is really causing the people to stick to video games for a long time. Kimberly Young who is a clinical director for the Centre for On-line Addiction insists that it is just a clinical impulse control disorder.

Source: "Video Games Addiction Treatment Programs." Addiction-Treatment.com. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://www.addiction-treatment.com/research/video-game/.>

"Video Game Addiction | Signs, Statistics, Help and Treatment." HubPages. 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 July 2015. <http://whatsnews.hubpages.com/hub/Binge-Gaming-Signs-Stats-Treatment.>

14 What is the most sold video game ever in the world?

Answer: According to the data in 2013, the best selling video games of all time is "wii sports, Nintendo Wii, 2006" with 81.16 millions of copies sold. In 2011, looking at the research made by VGCcharts, all top ten video games are created by Nintendo. Surprisingly the well-known traditional tetris is ranked in 4th which shows that new technology does not really matter regarding video games.

Source: Said, S. (2013, April 22). Top 10 Best Selling Video Games of All-Time. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/entertainment/top-10-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time/>

Ten Best-Selling Video Games of All Time. (2011, January 6). Retrieved July 10, 2015, from http://www.iadt.edu/student-life/iadt-buzz/january-2011/ten-best-selling-video-games-of-all-time

15 Which is the most successful video game company?

Answer: According to the data in 2014; 1)Sony Computer Entertainment ($13.4 billion) 2)Microsoft Studios ($12.82 billion) 3)Nintendo ($6.28 billion). You can see that the most of the successful video game companies are consisted of U.S. and Japan. The company, "Ubisoft" which has the origin in France was the only one other than the two leading coutries in 2013.

Source: Addison, T. (2014, December 10). Top 10 Richest Video Game Companies. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://www.richestlifestyle.com/richest-video-game-companies/4/>

Zaib, Q. (2013, July 8). The Top 10 Richest Video Game Companies in 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2015, from <http://techeclipse.com/reviews/10-richest-video-game-companies-in-2013/>

16 What is the most  popular video game now?
Answer:`Splatoon` made by Nitendo is now really popular among kids and teenagers. We can say this game a little bit violent because the charactors use guns, but  not too much to criticize. One thing I can mentions is that recent video games are so realistic that children might not able to distinguish the worlds in video games from our real world.
Nintendo(2015). Splatoon<http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/agmj/>
Aetas.Inc.(2000-2015)<http://www.4gamer.net/games/117/G011794/20150603055/>


17 Which kind of video games was the first one in the world?
Answer: Fastly, simple video games which has only some lines and dots on the screen were started to be created by programars for themselves in 1940s, and they were redesigned to sell later. In Japan, such a simple game named "TV tennis" was the first one which was sold in 1975.
Media Shakers Inc.(2015)<http://r25.yahoo.co.jp/fushigi/report/?id=20090702-90007278-r25>
The history of tv games(2015)<http://www.amami-sea-enjoy.jp/>

18 Which country sold video games first?
Answer: At first, British programars made video games for themselves while they were working. So we can say that video games were originally made for enjoyments to people.
Media Shakers Inc.(2015)http://r25.yahoo.co.jp/fushigi/report/?id=20090702-90007278-r25
The history of tv games(2015)<http://www.amami-sea-enjoy.jp/>

19 When children tend to play video games?
Answer: Generally, students play them after school with friends or by themselves. Parents worry about not only their children's healths but also their studying time. Video games disturb children in their study.
pdf file(2005)<yamaken.ed.niigata-u.ac.jp/~papers/kidslife01.pdf>
Child resarch(2015)<http://www.crn.or.jp/LABO/BABY/SCIENCE/SAKAMOTO/>

20 How teachers generally feel about students playing video games?
Answer: When teachers see some students sleeping during classes, some teachers guess that the students lose healthy life-style bacause of video games. Recent students usually stay up plaing video games. Besides, some teachers believe that students' violence or railings which can be seen or heard at a brake come from aggressive images provided by videogames.
The paper on videogames and children(2015)<ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/40017351975>
Blog(2005)"Why do we study?"<http://blog.livedoor.jp/eng21184/archives/50115932.html>

21 Are there any school  rules related with video games?
Answer:Console video games are basically banned to bring to school because they may disturb students studying. TV games are depended on each family, but there are some discussion about itb at schools.
Benesse(2015)http://benesse.jp/forum/zboca040?CONTENTS_ID=00150001&MESSAGE_ID=004231
column(2003)<http://www.geocities.jp/hon_mal/column/031021.htm>

22 How children buy or get video games?
These days, children buy video games not only from shops but also Internet. Games on the PC or smartphons are often free to play, so it is easier for children to play video games than before.
CES.A(2014)<http://research.cesa.or.jp/interview/hoshi01.html>
eSampoo(2015)http://www.esampo.com/education/sc/game/

24 Does old people play video games?
Yes, with the developments, more and more generations can enjoy video games. Some of them are even used in their rehabilitations.
NHK(2015)http://www.nhk.or.jp/ohayou/marugoto/2013/11/1115.html
Care for everyone(2015)http://www.minnanokaigo.com/news/N72864292/

25 How the creators think about  playing video games and the influences on children?
They want children to play video games because they made them for children's enjoyments, but they think parents have to pay attention to their children not to play too much.
CES.A(2014)http://research.cesa.or.jp/interview/hoshi01.html
Men who made Pokemon(2004)http://www.nintendo.co.jp/nom/0007/taidan1/

26 Which is worse for children, TV games or portable games?
They have no difference between two when thinking about children's health, but when children play TV games, they tend to play by him/herself. When they do so, video games do not even work as a communication tool.
CES.A(2014)http://research.cesa.or.jp/interview/hoshi01.html
Child resarch(2015)http://www.crn.or.jp/LABO/BABY/SCIENCE/SAKAMOTO/

27 How new video games will be?
They will be more realistic and free to connect with other players omline. Besides, video game companies like NINTENDO will sell its new games to south-east Asia. Video games are important business for many  adults, too.
GIZMODO(2014)http://www.gizmodo.jp/2014/05/2015_3.html
SONY(2015)http://www.jp.playstation.com/psvita/hardware/

28 How online videogames affect the players?
Oline games often make players stay at home all the day. It connects each player, so it became difficult for them to distinguish reality and the world in the games.
Online Game Resarch Laboratory(2014)http://ogrl.main.jp/study/03.html
Game and Entertainment(2006)http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2006/08/29/103,1156839386,59164,0,0.html

29 Does someone needs video games to live?
As we wrote before, some elderies use video ganes for the rehabilitations. Nowadays, companies provide some educational ones.
Care for everyone(2015)http://www.minnanokaigo.com/news/N72864292/
Online Game Resarch Laboratory(2014)http://www.bing.com/search?q=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%80%80%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0+%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&sc=8-6&sp=-1&sk=&cvid=787683148d3c46769b55127175c2d5ac

30 What do children like more than playing video games?
These days most children basically play video games after school. Other popular things to do is play sports like soccer or baseball.
Local Children(2001)http://www.wako.ac.jp/hattatsu/prosemi2001/bunka.html
JUGEM(2015)http://kodomoasobi.jugem.jp//