Brave new world: Video games that teach you to relax
Sure, there were proto-video games developed as early as 1951, but video games didn’t reach the average computer user — few as they were — until 1972 with Atari’s Pong. Since then, video games have become part of life, transcending language and connecting cultures. They have provided a very powerful way for people to let off steam, cultivate and channel competitiveness, and entertain people cheaply and efficiently at home and in public spaces. Video Gaming is a USB global market which rivals the size of the music market.
Now, technology and the pace of life have given video gaming a whole new charter: Make people’s lives better and healthier.
If it seems foolish to suggest that video gaming can provide a path to zen acceptance, stress reduction, and awesome mental performance, then you are stuck in a past stereotype of amped-up teens overworking their joysticks and shouting at the console.
Enter the Wii
The Nintendo Wii is now a household word as well as, for 50 million people, a household reality. It broke through the screen and got people up off their couches and chairs by introducing a new, body movement-based interactivity.
The sweat on the brows of avid gamers used to sitting hunched over a game morphed into all-body sweat of all-age family members using the Wii as a workout tool, indoor fun with a physical dimension. People use the Wii to play golf and tennis, do aerobics or ski, or even play carnival games that require tossing, throwing, hammering and other lower-impact physical gestures — losing weight and becoming more fit.
That is a significant, game-changing (pun intended) transformation for gaming, but it’s just the beginning.