Topic: To Improve Your Eyesight, Fire Up the Shoot-'em-up
Atlantis75's photo
Mon 03/30/09 10:45 AM
Want to improve your eyesight? Fire up your gaming machine and start shooting the bad guys in action-packed video games. That's right, those grotesque, gratuitous, and gory shooter games may be an excellent tool for improving eyesight. The conclusion comes from a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, and was conducted by the University of Rochester.

According to the study, playing action-based video games improved the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) in test subjects. If you suffer from low contrast sensitivity it may be harder for you to see at night, pick out spots on clothing or pick up on facial expressions. Contrast sensitivity is also one of the most easily damaged functions of the human eye.

During the study one group of subjects played Activision's Call of Duty 2 or Atari's Unreal Tournament 2004, while another group played The Sims 2. Both groups had 50 hours of gaming time over nine weeks. By the end of the study, participants in the action group had noticeably improved their CSF, compared to those in the Sims 2 group.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/162192/to_improve_your_eyesight_fire_up_the_shootemup.html

ShadJV's photo
Mon 03/30/09 02:42 PM
Yes, numerous studies have already confirmed this, but thank you. Another reference to use in the argument for why video games aren't just murder simulators... :)

Tone_11's photo
Tue 03/31/09 07:51 AM
they didn't use Far-Cry 2...