Holiday Hours

A reminder that the CVGA closes at 4pm today, and is closed throughout the holiday weekend. We open again for regular business at Noon on Monday.

Have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

Top Games: Week of November 15th

Here are the top ten games played in the archive last week:

1. (tie) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
1. (tie) Fifa Soccer 11
1. (tie) Halo: Reach
4. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
5. Starcraft II
6. Super Smash Bros. Melee
7. Fallout: New Vegas
8. (tie) Shin Megumi Tensei: Persona 4
8. (tie) NBA 2K11
10. Assassin's Creed 2

Halo: Reach ties for first, even though it cracked towards the end of the week. Its one-month lifespan was pretty sad next to Fifa 10's long one, despite the fact that both games were so popular.

The Adventure of Links: November 22, 2010

A semi-regular round-up of interesting video game links from around the Interwebs:

New York Times Technology: "With Kinect Controller, Hackers Take Liberties"

The attraction of the device is that it is outfitted with cameras, sensors and software that let it detect movement, depth, and the shape and position of the human body.

Michigan Radio: "Michigan awards its first video game tax incentive"

Pixofactor Entertainment in Royal Oak, MI will get a 40% tax incentive to develop a Nintendo Wii game about golfer Ben Hogan. It's the first video game company in the state to take advantage of the state's generous tax incentives.

Computers in Human Behavior: "Children’s choices and strategies in video games"

This mixed-methods study examines relationships between the genres of video games children choose to play and the learning strategies they employ to improve at these games. It also explores students’ motivations for playing the games they choose to play.

Accident Analysis & Prevention: "Excellent gamer, excellent driver? The impact of adolescents’ video game playing on driving behavior"

The results showed that (even after controlling for aggression and sensation seeking) video game playing during adolescence succeeded in predicting later risky driving behavior through adolescents’ attitudes and intentions to exhibit this behavior in the future. The results suggest that this relationship may in part be explained by the game content.

The Adventure of Links: November 16, 2010

A semi-regular round-up of interesting video game links from around the Interwebs:

Wired Science: "How Wii and Kinect Hack Into Your Emotions"

Nintendo’s Wii game console may owe some of its extraordinary success to emotions that are triggered by specific movements: It might essentially be using your body to hack into your brain.

New York Times Sports: "Image Rights vs. Free Speech in Video Game Suit"

A former college football player’s suit against Electronic Arts could decide when the right to control one’s image trumps the rights of others to use it.

Bloomberg Businessweek: "Video Games Not Harmful to Most Teens: Study"

Most teens who play video games don't fall into unhealthy behaviors, but an "addicted" minority may be more likely to smoke, use drugs, fight or become depressed, a new Yale University study suggests.  

Top Games - Week of November 8th

Here are the top ten games played in the archive last week:

1. (tie) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

1. (tie) Fallout: New Vegas

3. Super Smash Bros. Melee

4. (tie) Fifa Soccer 11

4. (tie) Halo: Reach

6. Final Fantasy XIII

7. (tie) Final Fantasy XII

7. (tie) NCAA Football 11

9. (tie) Super Smash Bros.

9. (tie) Starcraft II

Final Fantasy is coming back, while Smash is taking a bit of a break from the top.

Smash Tournament Winners

We celebrated National Gaming Day with our Smash tournament, an intense double-elimination tournament which ended with the following winners:

James Ma

Michael Song

Brian Chung

Robin Harn

Congratulations, and a special thanks to Mike for helping us out so much. Thanks to everyone for supporting the archive!

Top Games - Week of November 1st

Here are the top ten games played in the archive last week:

1. Super Smash Bros. Melee
2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
3. (tie) Fallout: New Vegas
3. (tie) Fifa Soccer 11
5. Halo: Reach
6. (tie) Super Smash Bros. Brawl
6. (tie) Rock Band 3
8. (tie) Final Fantasy XIII
8. (tie) NCAA Football 11
10. Starcraft II

And the Smash practice continues... Don't forget to sign up for our tournament this Friday!

Smash Tournament!

We are getting ready to run our first gaming tournament of the school year!

This tournament will consist of 3 versions of Super Smash Bros. from various game consoles. It will be a bracketed tournament.

There will be four winners, which will receive gift cards to Get Your Game On. 1st place will receive a $40 card, 2nd place will receive a $30 card, 3rd place will receive a $20 card, and 4th place will receive a $10 card.


The tournament, in celebration of National Gaming Day that Saturday, will be on Friday, November 12th from 4-7pm.

Sign-up now through November 12th!

Open only to U-M students, faculty & staff. We are limited to the first 32 people who sign up, so register early!


Details of the tournament here: http://bit.ly/cvga-smash10 

Supreme Court Considers Violent Video Game Law

Today the US Supreme Court hears arguments regarding AB 1179, the California bill restricting the sale and rental of violent video games to minors.

NPR has the story: "Calif. Pushes To Uphold Ban On Violent Video Games"

 

Top Games - Week of October 25th

Here are the top ten games played in the archive last week:

1. Fifa Soccer 11
2. NCAA Football 11
3. Super Smash Bros. Melee
4. Halo: Reach
5. (tie) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
5. (tie) NBA 2K11
7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
8. (tie) Starcraft II
8. (tie) Fallout: New Vegas
10. Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Lots of people are practicing for the upcoming Smash tournament on November 12th! More details to follow soon.