Sunday, December 28, 2008

Video Game Science

Perhaps I've spent too much time at feminist blogs, but this story on why video games are more addictive to men than women doesn't smell right to me.

Scientists have found answer to the question that intrigued women for years: Why men are 'hooked' on video games? According to the researchers, the 'passion' stems from a deep-rooted urge to conquer.
Through the magic of brain-scanning, scientists at the Stanford University have determined that playing on computer activates parts of the male brain which are linked to rewarding feelings and addiction. The more opponents they vanquish and points they score, the more stimulated this region becomes, the scans revealed.
In contrast, these parts of women's brains are much less likely to be triggered by sessions on the Sony PlayStation. Professor Allan Reiss of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research at Stanford University, California, said, “Women understood computer games just as well as men but did not have the same neurological drive to win.”

For the record, I love video games, particularly computer games and MMORPGs. But the reason I've never played games with the same persistence on the GameCube or whatever is that, for me, most of the games were boring. Is it simply possible that more women see MarioKart as uninteresting, as opposed to their inability to appreciate competitiveness? No one in my family would accuse me of being laid back or uncompetitive, and I hardly think I'm unusual. But driving around a track avoiding obstacles (or running over them, for that matter) isn't particularly interesting.