Hearing a case calling for the shutdown of online gambling sites and applications, a bench of the Madras High Court observed that online games were not only spoiling youth, but also young children.&nbsp;

The court mentioned that children were getting addicted towards dangerous, violent games and playing them in the wee hours of the day, which would impact them adversely. The case has been adjourned for September 29 for the state government to file their response.&nbsp;

Bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and Hemalatha pointed out that parents are in the dark about the late-night gaming habits of their children, adding that even a police constable in Tamil Nadu had to take the extreme step owing to his gambling addiction that had gone beyond control. Justice MM Sundaresh said that youngsters must not blindly follow matinee idols and celebrities&nbsp;to the extent of doing whatever they are asked to do.&nbsp;

Justice Hemalatha questioned the government counsel on why no action is taken against the abettors, pointing out that the authorities arrest the poor, whereas there is no action taken against the influential persons whoa re promoting such activities.&nbsp;

In late August, A senior advocate A.P.Suryaprakasam filed a plea in the Madras High Court seeking a ban on online gambling, and the arrest, prosecution of those running these sites and the famous personalities who endorse them. The plea points out that gambling is a criminal offence in India and that there has been a recent spurt in suicides among youth in Tamil Nadu after they suffered heavy losses in online gambling. This plea had sought the response of the central government (Ministry of Communications)and the state government (home department).

An official from the Department of Telecommunications(DoT) had responded to the plea on behalf of the central government. He stated that the DoT is not empowered to suo-motu direct the blocking of website URLs, but can only direct the Internet service providers to do the same, under instructions from the Court or the Ministry of Electronics and IT. It was stated that the decisions and directions for blocking websites is issued by Group Coordinator, Cyber Law Division, under the Information Technology Act, 2000.&nbsp;

The petitioner had compared online gambling to the blue whale challenge game that led to many youths ending their lives, calling it "a menace to society".&nbsp;

“Youngsters are being hooked to this online gambling addiction by the organizers by providing huge cash bonus. It uses the famous cricket and film personalities including cricketers like Virat Kohli and actress Tamannah who brainwash these young with their powerful appeal to join this game,” the petition states.&nbsp;

It adds that the youth start playing it as a timepass, which further leads to addiction, following which they borrow money from lenders at high-interest rates. After they reach a point where they sustain heavy losses and fail to repay, they end their lives.&nbsp;

“This gambling addiction is more dangerous to the society and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as it infringes the right to life. Hence this writ petition seeking ban” reads the plea.

In July, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had observed that the Central and State government’s could pass laws that ban games that involve money such as Online Rummy, other online card games across India.&nbsp;

The court drew a parallel to the Telangana government Ordinance amending the Telangana Gaming Act 1974 banning online Rummy. This meant that users playing real cash games from the state are prohibited from doing so.

Hearing a case calling for the shutdown of online gambling sites and applications, a bench of the Madras High Court observed that online games were not only spoiling youth, but also young children.

Hearing a case calling for the shutdown of online gambling sites and applications, a bench of the Madras High Court observed that online games were not only spoiling youth, but also young children. The court mentioned that children were getting addicted towards dangerous, violent games and playing them in the wee hours of the day, which would impact them adversely. The case has been adjourned for September 29 for the state government to file their response. Bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and Hemalatha pointed out that parents are in the dark about the late-night gaming habits of their children, adding that even a police constable in Tamil Nadu had to take the extreme step owing to his gambling addiction that had gone beyond control. Justice MM Sundaresh said that youngsters must not blindly follow matinee idols and celebrities to the extent of doing whatever they are asked to do. Justice Hemalatha questioned the government counsel on why no action is taken against the abettors, pointing out that the authorities arrest the poor, whereas there is no action taken against the influential persons whoa re promoting such activities. In late August, A senior advocate A.P.Suryaprakasam filed a plea in the Madras High Court seeking a ban on online gambling, and the arrest, prosecution of those running these sites and the famous personalities who endorse them. The plea points out that gambling is a criminal offence in India and that there has been a recent spurt in suicides among youth in Tamil Nadu after they suffered heavy losses in online gambling. This plea had sought the response of the central government (Ministry of Communications)and the state government (home department). An official from the Department of Telecommunications(DoT) had responded to the plea on behalf of the central government. He stated that the DoT is not empowered to suo-motu direct the blocking of website URLs, but can only direct the Internet service providers to do the same, under instructions from the Court or the Ministry of Electronics and IT. It was stated that the decisions and directions for blocking websites is issued by Group Coordinator, Cyber Law Division, under the Information Technology Act, 2000. The petitioner had compared online gambling to the blue whale challenge game that led to many youths ending their lives, calling it "a menace to society". “Youngsters are being hooked to this online gambling addiction by the organizers by providing huge cash bonus. It uses the famous cricket and film personalities including cricketers like Virat Kohli and actress Tamannah who brainwash these young with their powerful appeal to join this game,” the petition states. It adds that the youth start playing it as a timepass, which further leads to addiction, following which they borrow money from lenders at high-interest rates. After they reach a point where they sustain heavy losses and fail to repay, they end their lives. “This gambling addiction is more dangerous to the society and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, as it infringes the right to life. Hence this writ petition seeking ban” reads the plea. In July, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court had observed that the Central and State government’s could pass laws that ban games that involve money such as Online Rummy, other online card games across India. The court drew a parallel to the Telangana government Ordinance amending the Telangana Gaming Act 1974 banning online Rummy. This meant that users playing real cash games from the state are prohibited from doing so.

Madras High Court seeks Tamil Nadu govt's response over possible ban on online gambling, violent games

India should tap the huge potential in the digital gaming arena by developing games that are inspired from its culture and folk tales, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, asserting that focus should be on use of technology and innovation besides manufacturing products that meet global standards.

At a meeting to discuss ways to boost toy manufacturing in the country, Modi said toys can be an excellent medium to further the spirit of "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat", a statement said.

The prime minister tweeted after the meeting, "Had an extensive meeting on ways to boost toy manufacturing in India. Our focus would be to support the sector and create toys that ensure physical fitness and holistic personality development."

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Had an extensive meeting on ways to boost toy manufacturing in India. Our focus would be to support the sector and create toys that ensure physical fitness and holistic personality development. <a href="https://t.co/5yvLU8Zx22">https://t.co/5yvLU8Zx22</a>
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/1297197981070843906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The statement quoted Modi as saying that toys aligned with Indian culture and ethos should be used as pedagogical tools across all anganwadi centres and schools for all-round development of children.

He also stressed on the need to organise hackathons for innovations in toy technology and design.

Laying emphasis on the fast-growing digital gaming arena, Modi said India should tap the huge potential in this area and lead the international digital gaming sector by developing games that are inspired from Indian culture and folk tales.&nbsp;

India should tap the huge potential in the digital gaming arena by developing games that are inspired from its culture and folk tales, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, asserting that focus should be on use of technology and innovation besides manufacturing products that meet global standards.

India should tap the huge potential in the digital gaming arena by developing games that are inspired from its culture and folk tales, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, asserting that focus should be on use of technology and innovation besides manufacturing products that meet global standards. At a meeting to discuss ways to boost toy manufacturing in the country, Modi said toys can be an excellent medium to further the spirit of "Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat", a statement said. The prime minister tweeted after the meeting, "Had an extensive meeting on ways to boost toy manufacturing in India. Our focus would be to support the sector and create toys that ensure physical fitness and holistic personality development." Had an extensive meeting on ways to boost toy manufacturing in India. Our focus would be to support the sector and create toys that ensure physical fitness and holistic personality development. https://t.co/5yvLU8Zx22 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 22, 2020 × The statement quoted Modi as saying that toys aligned with Indian culture and ethos should be used as pedagogical tools across all anganwadi centres and schools for all-round development of children. He also stressed on the need to organise hackathons for innovations in toy technology and design. Laying emphasis on the fast-growing digital gaming arena, Modi said India should tap the huge potential in this area and lead the international digital gaming sector by developing games that are inspired from Indian culture and folk tales.

India should develop games inspired from its culture, folk tales: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Turns out, shooting people’s heads off in the virtual amount does not imply you will run off shooting in the streets. This revelation, which runs contrary to all previous research about gaming linking&nbsp;long-term exposure to increased violence and thoughts of violence, is based on a reanalysis of data from over 21,000 young gamers on the planet.

Fronted by Aaron Drummond from Massey University in New Zealand, the research claims playing video games is not a contributing factor to one’s aggression and/or&nbsp;violent tendencies. To reach this conclusion, Drummond reanalysed 28 meta-analytical studies that linked violence to gaming.

"Small effect"

His pursuit revealed that only a very small number of people exhibited aggression after gaming, and this positive correlation was too negligible to be taken as the primary signifier of game induced violence. The researchers claimed that it is such a small number, that it does not qualify to even producing a “small effect”.

Published in the Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday. 
 
Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/opinions-blogs/how-coronavirus-outbreak-is-impacting-the-gaming-industry-289481" hreflang="en">How coronavirus outbreak is impacting the gaming industry</a>

The report said that the “current research is unable to support the hypothesis that violent video games have a meaningful long-term predictive impact on youth aggression”.

The studies that were analysed by the study head went as back as 2008 showed a small positive correlation between violence and video-games. Over a quarter of the gamers were said to have been susceptible to real-life aggression. There was no concrete conclusion linking violence to gamers in any of these studies. In fact, a study from 2011 showed a negative correlation between aggression and gaming.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/world-health-organisation-officially-recognises-gaming-addiction-as-mental-disorder-221949" hreflang="en">World Health Organisation officially recognises gaming addiction as 'mental disorder'</a>

Accumulation of micro violence?

The most common argument against violent gaming is that an accumulation of micro-violence is one major negative effect of gaming. Over a long-time, this may change one’s temperament, making one susceptible to aggression. However, the study showed no evidence of such accumulation, but in fact paints a totally opposite picture.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/tambola-online-antakshari-community-gaming-on-the-rise-in-times-of-social-distancing-288528" hreflang="en">Tambola, online antakshari: Community gaming on the rise in times of social distancing</a>

The report mentions that “long-term impacts of violent games on youth aggression are near zero”.

Most scientific scholars and groups have based their violence-linked studies to negligible relationship observed between gamers and aggression.

Many studies have also attempted to map emotional behaviour linked to gaming. A research from 2018 done by the University of New South Wales found that gamers used to violence were able to ignore depictions of violence in other contexts.

Turns out, shooting people’s heads off in the virtual amount does not imply you will run off shooting in the streets. This revelation, which runs contrary to all previous research about gaming linking long-term exposure to increased violence and thoughts of violence, is based on a reanalysis of data from over 21,000 young gamers on the planet.

Turns out, shooting people’s heads off in the virtual amount does not imply you will run off shooting in the streets. This revelation, which runs contrary to all previous research about gaming linking long-term exposure to increased violence and thoughts of violence, is based on a reanalysis of data from over 21,000 young gamers on the planet. Fronted by Aaron Drummond from Massey University in New Zealand, the research claims playing video games is not a contributing factor to one’s aggression and/or violent tendencies. To reach this conclusion, Drummond reanalysed 28 meta-analytical studies that linked violence to gaming. "Small effect" His pursuit revealed that only a very small number of people exhibited aggression after gaming, and this positive correlation was too negligible to be taken as the primary signifier of game induced violence. The researchers claimed that it is such a small number, that it does not qualify to even producing a “small effect”. Published in the Royal Society Open Science journal on Wednesday. Also read: How coronavirus outbreak is impacting the gaming industry The report said that the “current research is unable to support the hypothesis that violent video games have a meaningful long-term predictive impact on youth aggression”. The studies that were analysed by the study head went as back as 2008 showed a small positive correlation between violence and video-games. Over a quarter of the gamers were said to have been susceptible to real-life aggression. There was no concrete conclusion linking violence to gamers in any of these studies. In fact, a study from 2011 showed a negative correlation between aggression and gaming. Also read: World Health Organisation officially recognises gaming addiction as 'mental disorder' Accumulation of micro violence? The most common argument against violent gaming is that an accumulation of micro-violence is one major negative effect of gaming. Over a long-time, this may change one’s temperament, making one susceptible to aggression. However, the study showed no evidence of such accumulation, but in fact paints a totally opposite picture. Also read: Tambola, online antakshari: Community gaming on the rise in times of social distancing The report mentions that “long-term impacts of violent games on youth aggression are near zero”. Most scientific scholars and groups have based their violence-linked studies to negligible relationship observed between gamers and aggression. Many studies have also attempted to map emotional behaviour linked to gaming. A research from 2018 done by the University of New South Wales found that gamers used to violence were able to ignore depictions of violence in other contexts.

Gaming does not make you more aggressive, after all!

The depiction of Mongols as invaders in a new PlayStation 4 game has stirred furore in China, and has sparked debates around nationalism in the country.

The game titled "Ghost of Tsushima"&nbsp;has received backlash online. Based in 13th century, the game depicts Mongol invasion of Japan, and shows the former as vicious foreign invaders.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/elon-musks-upcoming-neuralink-will-let-you-beam-music-directly-into-the-brain-314879" hreflang="en">Elon Musk's upcoming 'Neuralink' will let you beam music directly into the brain</a>

The Japanese, on the other hand, are shown as heroes defending their own country. The game is set on the island of “Tsushima”.

Game creates ripples in China

The titular character, Jin Sakai, travels through Japan preying on Mongols, and engages in physical altercations with them.

Even though the game is set far off from China, people in the country have expressed disapproval of the game’s depiction.

This is what the game looks like:

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Ghost Of Tsushima's PHOTO MODE is pretty cool, especially with how AMAZING the open world looks like. 
 
Here are my favorite scenic shots that I took. 
 
It also helps me practice my Compositions for IRL, hahaha! 📸<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GhostsofTsushima?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GhostsofTsushima</a> <a href="https://t.co/5cr4XyFVOq">pic.twitter.com/5cr4XyFVOq</a>
— GLOCO🎣🎮 (@GLOCOgaming) <a href="https://twitter.com/GLOCOgaming/status/1285508810409312258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2020</a></blockquote>
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However, Mongols have played a considerable role in the history of China. They became the first ethnic group besides the Han Chinese to take control over the country and maintaining it for over a century.

The Chinese critics believe that Mongols who occupied China should be now considered&nbsp; Chinese.

Japan is largely perceived as enemy territory for it had invaded China before World War 2.

Users get in!

As reported by the South China Morning Post, a user extended his support to the Mongols on Chinese iteration of YouTube called Bilibili. The user also referred to the Japanese with a slur.

“I stand with the Mongols, [slur for Japanese] can crawl”, it roughly translated into.

Another user on a Chinese content portal called Zhihu observed how this remains a plot where the Japanese are murdering Chinese.

“This is a game where the Japanese are killing Chinese. Mongols are one of the nomadic groups of north China. Very much like the Han Chinese, they are”, this one said.

Many users rang in a nationalist rhetoric and urged Chinese people to not play the game, and leave it to the foreigners. “Chinese shouldn’t join in on the fun”, a user said.

Many don't agree

Some gamers were also quick to mocking such observations, saying they saw nothing problematic with the plot construction of the game.

Read what one user on Twitter had to say

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It seems that some people are really trying to find reasons to hate on Ghost of Tsushima. Probably because you can’t release anything these days without someone trying to create controversy where there isn’t any. It’s a samurai action game. It’s not that deep.
— Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) (@OliverJia1014) <a href="https://twitter.com/OliverJia1014/status/1283800730764103681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The furore has also been mocked on Japanese portals. For instance:

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Ghost of Tsushima "controversy" gets openly mocked by the people of Japan on multiple Japanese websites hahah<a href="https://t.co/jMJx4sWHcV">https://t.co/jMJx4sWHcV</a> <a href="https://t.co/5KoOc7rJ53">pic.twitter.com/5KoOc7rJ53</a>
— HeroHei (@_Hero_Hei_) <a href="https://twitter.com/_Hero_Hei_/status/1284219831470845952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 17, 2020</a></blockquote>
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A user on Zhihu wrote, “the war [during that time] was the general form of aggression”, while saying all kinds of invasion is wrong. The right thing to do is to resist, the user further suggested, while referring to them as basic moral concepts.

One attempted to straighten out the scenario by saying that both sides’ invasion of each other was wrong, while adding “we should hate all such war acts” instead of targetting just the Japanese people.

The depiction of Mongols as invaders in a new PlayStation 4 game has stirred furore in China, and has sparked debates around nationalism in the country. The game titled "Ghost of Tsushima" has received backlash online.

The depiction of Mongols as invaders in a new PlayStation 4 game has stirred furore in China, and has sparked debates around nationalism in the country. The game titled "Ghost of Tsushima" has received backlash online. Based in 13th century, the game depicts Mongol invasion of Japan, and shows the former as vicious foreign invaders. Also read: Elon Musk's upcoming 'Neuralink' will let you beam music directly into the brain The Japanese, on the other hand, are shown as heroes defending their own country. The game is set on the island of “Tsushima”. Game creates ripples in China The titular character, Jin Sakai, travels through Japan preying on Mongols, and engages in physical altercations with them. Even though the game is set far off from China, people in the country have expressed disapproval of the game’s depiction. This is what the game looks like: Ghost Of Tsushima's PHOTO MODE is pretty cool, especially with how AMAZING the open world looks like. Here are my favorite scenic shots that I took. It also helps me practice my Compositions for IRL, hahaha! 📸#GhostsofTsushima pic.twitter.com/5cr4XyFVOq — GLOCO🎣🎮 (@GLOCOgaming) July 21, 2020 × However, Mongols have played a considerable role in the history of China. They became the first ethnic group besides the Han Chinese to take control over the country and maintaining it for over a century. The Chinese critics believe that Mongols who occupied China should be now considered Chinese. Japan is largely perceived as enemy territory for it had invaded China before World War 2. Users get in! As reported by the South China Morning Post, a user extended his support to the Mongols on Chinese iteration of YouTube called Bilibili. The user also referred to the Japanese with a slur. “I stand with the Mongols, [slur for Japanese] can crawl”, it roughly translated into. Another user on a Chinese content portal called Zhihu observed how this remains a plot where the Japanese are murdering Chinese. “This is a game where the Japanese are killing Chinese. Mongols are one of the nomadic groups of north China. Very much like the Han Chinese, they are”, this one said. Many users rang in a nationalist rhetoric and urged Chinese people to not play the game, and leave it to the foreigners. “Chinese shouldn’t join in on the fun”, a user said. Many don't agree Some gamers were also quick to mocking such observations, saying they saw nothing problematic with the plot construction of the game. Read what one user on Twitter had to say It seems that some people are really trying to find reasons to hate on Ghost of Tsushima. Probably because you can’t release anything these days without someone trying to create controversy where there isn’t any. It’s a samurai action game. It’s not that deep. — Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) (@OliverJia1014) July 16, 2020 × The furore has also been mocked on Japanese portals. For instance: Ghost of Tsushima "controversy" gets openly mocked by the people of Japan on multiple Japanese websites hahahhttps://t.co/jMJx4sWHcV pic.twitter.com/5KoOc7rJ53 — HeroHei (@_Hero_Hei_) July 17, 2020 × A user on Zhihu wrote, “the war [during that time] was the general form of aggression”, while saying all kinds of invasion is wrong. The right thing to do is to resist, the user further suggested, while referring to them as basic moral concepts. One attempted to straighten out the scenario by saying that both sides’ invasion of each other was wrong, while adding “we should hate all such war acts” instead of targetting just the Japanese people.

PS4 game depicting Mongols as invaders stirs furore on Chinese portals

Interactive video games are more likely to harm the social skills of young girls than male peers who play frequently, a study claims.&nbsp;

The popularity of interactive video games has sparked concern among parents, educators, and policymakers about how the games affect children and adolescents.&nbsp;

Most research on the effect of gaming on youth has focused on problematic gaming and negative effects like aggression, anxiety, and depression. &nbsp;

Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of California, Davis in the US looked at how playing video games affects the social skills of 6- to 12-year-olds.&nbsp;

It found that playing the games affected youth differently by age and gender, but that generally speaking, gaming was not associated with social development.&nbsp;

However, the researchers found that 10-year-old girls who played games frequently had less social competence than 12-year-olds than girls who played less frequently.&nbsp;

"Our study may mitigate some concerns about the adverse effects of gaming on children's development," said Beate Wold Hygen, a postdoctoral fellow at the NTNU, who led the study published in the journal Child Development.&nbsp;

"It might not be gaming itself that warrants our attention, but the reasons some children and adolescents spend a lot of their spare time playing the games," said Hygen.&nbsp;

The researchers studied 873 Norwegian youth from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds every two years for six years when the children were ages 6 to 12. &nbsp;

The children and their parents reported how much time the youth spent playing video games -- using tablets, PCs, game consoles, and phones.&nbsp;

The youth's teachers completed questionnaires on the children's and adolescents' social competence, including measures of cooperation, assertion, and self-control. &nbsp;

The youth told researchers how often they played games with their friends.&nbsp;

The study findings suggest that time boys spent gaming did not affect their social development.&nbsp;

However, girls who spent more time playing video games at age 10 developed weaker social skills two years later than girls who spent less time playing games.&nbsp;

Girl video gamers may be more isolated socially and have less opportunity to practice social skills with other girls, which may affect their later social competence.&nbsp;

"It might be that poor social competence drives youth's tendency to play video games for extensive periods of time," suggests Lars Wichstrom, professor of psychology at NTNU. &nbsp;

"That is, youth who struggle socially might be more inclined to play games to fulfill their need to belong and their desire for mastery because gaming is easily accessible and may be less complicated for them than face-to-face interactions," said Wichstrom.

Interactive video games are more likely to harm the social skills of young girls than male peers who play frequently, a study claims. The popularity of interactive video games has sparked concern among parents, educators, and policymakers about how the games affect children and adolescents.

Interactive video games are more likely to harm the social skills of young girls than male peers who play frequently, a study claims. The popularity of interactive video games has sparked concern among parents, educators, and policymakers about how the games affect children and adolescents. Most research on the effect of gaming on youth has focused on problematic gaming and negative effects like aggression, anxiety, and depression. Researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of California, Davis in the US looked at how playing video games affects the social skills of 6- to 12-year-olds. It found that playing the games affected youth differently by age and gender, but that generally speaking, gaming was not associated with social development. However, the researchers found that 10-year-old girls who played games frequently had less social competence than 12-year-olds than girls who played less frequently. "Our study may mitigate some concerns about the adverse effects of gaming on children's development," said Beate Wold Hygen, a postdoctoral fellow at the NTNU, who led the study published in the journal Child Development. "It might not be gaming itself that warrants our attention, but the reasons some children and adolescents spend a lot of their spare time playing the games," said Hygen. The researchers studied 873 Norwegian youth from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds every two years for six years when the children were ages 6 to 12. The children and their parents reported how much time the youth spent playing video games -- using tablets, PCs, game consoles, and phones. The youth's teachers completed questionnaires on the children's and adolescents' social competence, including measures of cooperation, assertion, and self-control. The youth told researchers how often they played games with their friends. The study findings suggest that time boys spent gaming did not affect their social development. However, girls who spent more time playing video games at age 10 developed weaker social skills two years later than girls who spent less time playing games. Girl video gamers may be more isolated socially and have less opportunity to practice social skills with other girls, which may affect their later social competence. "It might be that poor social competence drives youth's tendency to play video games for extensive periods of time," suggests Lars Wichstrom, professor of psychology at NTNU. "That is, youth who struggle socially might be more inclined to play games to fulfill their need to belong and their desire for mastery because gaming is easily accessible and may be less complicated for them than face-to-face interactions," said Wichstrom.

Playing video games may harm girls' social skills than male peers: Study

Google is reported to be developing a subscription-based game streaming service.&nbsp;

The service is likely to be compatible with its Chromecast or a Google-made console.

Alphabet Inc. announced on Wednesday its plan of developing a new service codenamed &#39;Yeti&#39;.

&#39;Yeti&#39; would put Google at the forefront of the video game market that enables the users to play while the games are being streamed. The new service aims at rendering the need for downloading games or using the disks versions unnecessary.

The service will make use of Google&#39;s cloud servers to broadcast the games to users over the internet.

According to reports, Google has already discussed &#39;Yeti&#39; with game developers. It is not clear if the developers will create a game especially for &#39;Yeti&#39;&nbsp;or make existing streamed games available.

The service is likely to be compatible with its Chromecast or a Google-made console

Google is reported to be developing a subscription-based game streaming service. The service is likely to be compatible with its Chromecast or a Google-made console. Alphabet Inc. announced on Wednesday its plan of developing a new service codenamed 'Yeti'. 'Yeti' would put Google at the forefront of the video game market that enables the users to play while the games are being streamed. The new service aims at rendering the need for downloading games or using the disks versions unnecessary. The service will make use of Google's cloud servers to broadcast the games to users over the internet. According to reports, Google has already discussed 'Yeti' with game developers. It is not clear if the developers will create a game especially for 'Yeti' or make existing streamed games available.

Google to break into gaming market with 'Yeti' streaming service

Next year onwards, playing video game excessively might lead to a diagnosis of a mental health disorder according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).&nbsp;

In the beta draft of its forthcoming 11th International Classification of Diseases, the WHO includes &#39;gaming disorder&#39;&nbsp;in its list of mental health conditions.

The WHO defines this disorder as a &quot;persistent or recurrent&quot; behaviour pattern of &quot;sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.&quot;

While defining the disorder, the WHO also mentions that it is characterised by &quot;impaired control&quot; with increasing priority given to gaming and &quot;escalation,&quot; despite &quot;negative consequences.&quot;

According to the beta draft guidance, video game playing, either offline or online, must&nbsp;be &quot;normally evident over a period of at least 12 months&quot; for this diagnosis to be made.

However, if symptoms are severe and all requirements are met, health care professionals may include people who have been playing for shorter periods of time, the draft reads.

Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the WHO, said in a statement, &quot;The new ICD-11 entry on gaming disorder &#39;includes only a clinical description and not prevention and treatment options&#39;.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
Hartl described the ICD as the &quot;basis for identification of health trends and statistics globally and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is used by medical practitioners around the world to diagnose conditions and by researchers to categorize conditions.&quot;

This list is intended to make it easier for scientists to share and compare health information between hospitals, regions and countries. It also enables healthcare workers to compare data in the same location over different time periods. Additionally, public health experts use the ICD to track the number of deaths and diseases.

The existing version of the ICD was endorsed by the World Health Assembly which is the decision-making body of WHO, in May 1990. In the current state, it&#39;s used&nbsp;by more than 100 countries around the world.

The forthcoming version of the ICD will be published in May 2018. 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In the beta draft of its forthcoming 11th International Classification of Diseases, the WHO included 'gaming disorder' in its list of mental health conditions

Next year onwards, playing video game excessively might lead to a diagnosis of a mental health disorder according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the beta draft of its forthcoming 11th International Classification of Diseases, the WHO includes 'gaming disorder' in its list of mental health conditions. The WHO defines this disorder as a "persistent or recurrent" behaviour pattern of "sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning." While defining the disorder, the WHO also mentions that it is characterised by "impaired control" with increasing priority given to gaming and "escalation," despite "negative consequences." According to the beta draft guidance, video game playing, either offline or online, must be "normally evident over a period of at least 12 months" for this diagnosis to be made. However, if symptoms are severe and all requirements are met, health care professionals may include people who have been playing for shorter periods of time, the draft reads. Gregory Hartl, a spokesman for the WHO, said in a statement, "The new ICD-11 entry on gaming disorder 'includes only a clinical description and not prevention and treatment options'. Hartl described the ICD as the "basis for identification of health trends and statistics globally and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is used by medical practitioners around the world to diagnose conditions and by researchers to categorize conditions." This list is intended to make it easier for scientists to share and compare health information between hospitals, regions and countries. It also enables healthcare workers to compare data in the same location over different time periods. Additionally, public health experts use the ICD to track the number of deaths and diseases. The existing version of the ICD was endorsed by the World Health Assembly which is the decision-making body of WHO, in May 1990. In the current state, it's used by more than 100 countries around the world. The forthcoming version of the ICD will be published in May 2018.

WHO to recognise gaming disorder as mental health condition in 2018: Report

Razer Inc, a Singapore-based American company that specialises in computer hardware specifically for gamers has made its entry into the world of smartphones.&nbsp;

Continuing with its specialisation into gaming hardware, the company has designed a new phone priced at $700, which will be best suited&nbsp;for video games.&nbsp;

The phone is equipped with technology offered by highest of high-end gaming PCs.&nbsp;

The company&#39;s CEO Min-Liang Tan highlighted&nbsp;Razor&#39;s Ultramotion feature&nbsp;which synchronizes the graphics chip in the phone with the screen offering smooth gameplay at high frame rates.

The phone is designed to run on Android games on&nbsp;Google Play store.&nbsp;

Just like most of the newly launched smartphones, the Razer is also launched without a standard headphone jack.&nbsp;

However, it lacks some of the common features of new smartphone including water resistance, OLED screen, ultra-narrow borders without display.&nbsp;The device is designed in an all-aluminium case with a 5.7 inch Quad HD display.

The powerful Qualcomm&#39;s Snapdragon 835 processor has 8GB RAM with the&nbsp;power to store memory equivalent to the amount of memory that comes with many PCs.&nbsp;

The phone has dual front-facing speakers.&nbsp;The side of the phone is also adorned with a fingerprint sensor on the power button.

Razer was founded by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.&nbsp;

The company announced the launch of the phone on Wednesday, with pre-orders.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The device will be available in the market&nbsp;on November 17.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Razer Inc, a Singaporean based American Company that specialises in Computer hardware specifically for gamers has made its entry into the world of Smartphones

Razer Inc, a Singapore-based American company that specialises in computer hardware specifically for gamers has made its entry into the world of smartphones. Continuing with its specialisation into gaming hardware, the company has designed a new phone priced at $700, which will be best suited for video games. The phone is equipped with technology offered by highest of high-end gaming PCs. The company's CEO Min-Liang Tan highlighted Razor's Ultramotion feature which synchronizes the graphics chip in the phone with the screen offering smooth gameplay at high frame rates. The phone is designed to run on Android games on Google Play store. Just like most of the newly launched smartphones, the Razer is also launched without a standard headphone jack. However, it lacks some of the common features of new smartphone including water resistance, OLED screen, ultra-narrow borders without display. The device is designed in an all-aluminium case with a 5.7 inch Quad HD display. The powerful Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor has 8GB RAM with the power to store memory equivalent to the amount of memory that comes with many PCs. The phone has dual front-facing speakers. The side of the phone is also adorned with a fingerprint sensor on the power button. Razer was founded by Min-Liang Tan and Robert Krakoff and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company announced the launch of the phone on Wednesday, with pre-orders. The device will be available in the market on November 17.

Razer designs smartphone for gamers

Virtual reality has yet to take off with the bulk of video gamers, but the industry is doubling down on its bet that one day it will. 
 
At the annual E3 video game showcase in Los Angeles this week, attendees strapped on Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to peer into fantasy worlds, battle robotic creatures and command starships. Meanwhile, game publishers announced investments that showed they believe VR is ready to go mainstream. 
 
&quot;This is clearly the coming-out party for VR,&quot; said P.J. McNealy, chief executive officer and founder of Digital World Research. &quot;The interest is there, the hardware is coming to market, and the content developers are figuring out how to take advantage of it.&quot; 
 
E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an annual spectacle devoted to serious gaming. Sales of games played on consoles or PCs still lead the $99.6 billion global gaming industry, according to data from research firm Newzoo. But an explosion in mobile games, plus a shift toward virtual reality hardware and software, could change that. 
 
Sony Corp unveiled a $399 PlayStation VR headset at E3 that will hit stores in October. Fifty games will be available by year&#39;s end, including VR versions of blockbuster franchises &quot;Resident Evil&quot; and &quot;Batman.&quot; 
 
Some games will be exclusive to PlayStation VR, including &quot;Star Wars: Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission.&quot; Star Trek fans can command a Starfleet vessel &quot;Star Trek: Bridge Crew,&quot; which will be playable on PlayStation VR, Facebook&#39;s Oculus Rift headset, and the HTC Vive VR device. 
 
Microsoft will have a new version of its Xbox, dubbed Project Scorpio, that will support VR in time for the 2017 holiday season. The company is also is developing its HoloLens augmented reality glasses, which overlay images as holograms onto a user&#39;s real-life field of vision. 
 
Many in the industry are still skeptical about VR&#39;s potential. They question how many gamers will shell out hundreds of dollars for a headset after investing in a gaming console. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re going to find out what&#39;s good and bad about virtual reality in the months and years to come,&quot; said Steve Boxer, a gaming journalist from Britain who tried out games at E3. 
 
&quot;Personally I don&#39;t want to have to sit there wearing a virtual reality helmet for more than 20 minutes.&quot; Sony is working with developers to adapt console games to a VR environment, said John Koller, vice president, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. 
 
&quot;VR is going to be shorter, very intense bursts,&quot; Koller said. &quot;We see it chopped up into these experiences that are very exciting and emotionally driven.&quot; 
 
The industry isn&#39;t abandoning traditional games. 
 
While companies are trying to build a new market in VR, &quot;even more time and more money is being spent to maintain the cash cow of the business with new titles,&quot; said Mark Goodman, an analyst with Strategy Analytics. 
 
Among the games generating buzz at E3 was Horizon Zero Dawn, a role-playing game featuring a female hunter, and a new installment in the God of War franchise, analysts said. 
 
Companies staged over-the-top booths with pulsating music, flashing lights, and giant video screens. Organisers limited decibel levels to keep the noise in check. 
 
Developer 2K Czech set up a two-story, New Orleans-style bar and sent a live jazz band marching through the convention halls to promote its game, &quot;Mafia.&quot; 
 
Nintendo erected a makeshift cave to mimic the world of the new Legend of Zelda game, attracting a line of hundreds of people and earning positive reviews. 
 
Zelda could be a big enough hit to entice people to buy Nintendo&#39;s next-generation console called NX when it comes out next year, McNealy said. 
 
&quot;Anybody who&#39;s going to buy a console may buy one for that,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#39;s a new version of a huge franchise for them.&quot; 
(Reuters)

Major gaming players like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are set to launch virtual reality-based games involving Resident Evil, Batman, others

Virtual reality has yet to take off with the bulk of video gamers, but the industry is doubling down on its bet that one day it will. At the annual E3 video game showcase in Los Angeles this week, attendees strapped on Virtual Reality (VR) headsets to peer into fantasy worlds, battle robotic creatures and command starships. Meanwhile, game publishers announced investments that showed they believe VR is ready to go mainstream. "This is clearly the coming-out party for VR," said P.J. McNealy, chief executive officer and founder of Digital World Research. "The interest is there, the hardware is coming to market, and the content developers are figuring out how to take advantage of it." E3, or the Electronic Entertainment Expo, is an annual spectacle devoted to serious gaming. Sales of games played on consoles or PCs still lead the $99.6 billion global gaming industry, according to data from research firm Newzoo. But an explosion in mobile games, plus a shift toward virtual reality hardware and software, could change that. Sony Corp unveiled a $399 PlayStation VR headset at E3 that will hit stores in October. Fifty games will be available by year's end, including VR versions of blockbuster franchises "Resident Evil" and "Batman." Some games will be exclusive to PlayStation VR, including "Star Wars: Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission." Star Trek fans can command a Starfleet vessel "Star Trek: Bridge Crew," which will be playable on PlayStation VR, Facebook's Oculus Rift headset, and the HTC Vive VR device. Microsoft will have a new version of its Xbox, dubbed Project Scorpio, that will support VR in time for the 2017 holiday season. The company is also is developing its HoloLens augmented reality glasses, which overlay images as holograms onto a user's real-life field of vision. Many in the industry are still skeptical about VR's potential. They question how many gamers will shell out hundreds of dollars for a headset after investing in a gaming console. "We're going to find out what's good and bad about virtual reality in the months and years to come," said Steve Boxer, a gaming journalist from Britain who tried out games at E3. "Personally I don't want to have to sit there wearing a virtual reality helmet for more than 20 minutes." Sony is working with developers to adapt console games to a VR environment, said John Koller, vice president, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. "VR is going to be shorter, very intense bursts," Koller said. "We see it chopped up into these experiences that are very exciting and emotionally driven." The industry isn't abandoning traditional games. While companies are trying to build a new market in VR, "even more time and more money is being spent to maintain the cash cow of the business with new titles," said Mark Goodman, an analyst with Strategy Analytics. Among the games generating buzz at E3 was Horizon Zero Dawn, a role-playing game featuring a female hunter, and a new installment in the God of War franchise, analysts said. Companies staged over-the-top booths with pulsating music, flashing lights, and giant video screens. Organisers limited decibel levels to keep the noise in check. Developer 2K Czech set up a two-story, New Orleans-style bar and sent a live jazz band marching through the convention halls to promote its game, "Mafia." Nintendo erected a makeshift cave to mimic the world of the new Legend of Zelda game, attracting a line of hundreds of people and earning positive reviews. Zelda could be a big enough hit to entice people to buy Nintendo's next-generation console called NX when it comes out next year, McNealy said. "Anybody who's going to buy a console may buy one for that," he said. "It's a new version of a huge franchise for them." (Reuters)

Video game makers plunge deeper into virtual reality

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