In Tom Chatfield's "7 ways Video Games Reward the Brain" he discusses how and why people play so many hours of video. Chatfield himself plays video games, and so does his wife. He is a sucker for getting on the back of a rare steed in a game, like World of Warcraft, covered from head to toe in armor.
People play so many hours because it involves them in ways that could not be accomplished other wise, and they get rewarded for it. "Every time you do something, you get credit; you get credit for trying. You don't punish failure." People are not discouraged, they are only motivated to try again. When they succeed they are met with great satisfaction.It may not be a very noticeable thing but it all adds up. People want to get rewards for what they are doing, but getting an item of much higher value with small odds very is thrilling, "A known reward excites people, but what gets them really going is the uncertain reward." A certain level of uncertainty is what drives people, it is similar to gambling: the smaller the chance the higher the reward, of course it is much less risky. But that's the point, the less likely it is to get the ultimate reward it is the better you feel when you finally get it. Chatfield points out that " the biggest neurological turn-on for people is other people." Given praise by our peers is the biggest reward, not only in gaming but everyday life. People are able to cooperate in ways that will allows them to things not possible when alone.
The Wii U is the next generation console coming from Nintendo, which is set to be released during the holiday season. The Wii U will not be just for gamers, it will be an experience that will be enjoyed by anyone in the family who decides to give it a shot. The feature that I see as the one I would use the most would be moving the screen from the t.v. right into my hands, since my parents love to kick me off the t.v. to watch one of their shows.
The Wii U will have a very strong appeal to casual gamers. Nintendo did a great job with the Wii, the console before Wii U. The Wii U seems like it will be a part of everyday life, just play a game of Mario Bros while some others will watch a ball game.
I cannot wait to see how well this new console does. It's expected release is for this holiday season 2012.
This video is the announcement of the Wii U at E3 2011, a big gaming convention.
