The Great Gaming Divide

August 22, 2008 by Dennis Amith

In a recent Mainichi Daily News column, Miki Yosuke writes, “As the writer of the five-part “Children and Games” series (from July 22 to 26), I was honestly surprised at the ubiquity and massive influence of computer games in the world of children.”

“Total shipment of home game consoles last year was a record-high 3 trillion yen, more than twice that of 2005, and yet these are no more than figures: the reality was far beyond my imagination. And, now, what troubles me most is the deep divide between the pro- and anti-gaming camps.”

“In a quest to avoid bias, I tried to listen to the stories of many and various kinds of specialists, and my impression was that the two sides wouldn’t engage in any serious dialog; though one reason for that may be that research on the influence of games is still in its infancy.”