A new study claims that violent media and aggression are tied together the same way as smoking and lung cancer.
A University of Michigan study by psychology professor and researcher L. Rowell Huesmann finds that viewers of violent TV and videogames are more susceptible to increased amounts of aggression.
The study said that such content affects both adults and children.
"Exposure to violent electronic media has a larger effect than all but one other well-known threat to public health. The only effect slightly larger than the effect of media violence on aggression is that of cigarette smoking on lung cancer," Huesmann said, as reported by Science Daily.
"Our lives are saturated by the mass media, and for better or worse, violent media are having a particularly detrimental effect on the well-being of children," he added.
According to the study, kids in the US spend an average of three to four hours a day watching TV, with over 60 percent of programming containing violence.
"Children are also spending an increasingly large amount of time playing videogames, most of which contain violence. Videogame units are now present in 83 percent of homes with children," he said.
The guys over at Xbox 360 Rally have done a fantastic job and gone to all the effort of writing up a Complete List of FREE Xbox 360 Live Marketplace Downloads..
Kudo's must go to the guys for putting in such a great effort..
Please remember that this is a US-based list! If you live in, say, Canada or the EU and see items on here that are region specific.
The Xbox LIVE Marketplace is a true cornucopia of stuff. Whether it be classic arcade games like Paperboy, Time Pilot and Contra, or downloadable content for your favorite games, like Santa Claus outfits for Saints Row and expansions for Oblivion, Xbox LIVE is chock full o’ stuff for just about everyone. If you have the MS Points, you can open the door to all the world’s delight and joy.
But what if you’re broke? Are you just left outside in the snow, to stare in the window from behind the bushes to see all the joyous boys and girls playing with their horse armor and their extra Crackdown skins? Of course not! There’s stuff for you, too, cheap ass!
In fact, there is a LOT of free stuff for you. Whether it be extra content for your favorite game, or the most worthless of things (*coughgamerpicscough*), there is a surprisingly large amount of free stuff for your downloading delight on Xbox LIVE.
DREW CAREY PUTS $100,000 ON THE LINE AS HE TAKES ON U.S. SOCCER STARS IN … SOCCER? (NO, HE HASN’T LOST HIS MIND)
CHICAGO (May 30, 2007) – Drew Carey is a big soccer fan. Drew Carey is a big EA SPORTSTM FIFA Soccer 07 on Xbox 360 fan. Drew Carey hates to lose but likes to donate money to good causes. U.S. Soccer loves, well, all those things. So Drew has laid down the challenge and opened his checkbook to the tune of $100,000 large.
Comedian and TV Star to Play U.S. Soccer Stars
In EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer 07 on Xbox 360 on June 5 at
The Home Depot Center with $100K for Charity on the Line
At a VIP invitation-only event on Tuesday, June 5 from 7-10 p.m. at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the comedian and star of the upcoming CBS game show The Power of 10 will play five players from both the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams in FIFA Soccer 07 on the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and for every game he loses, he’s throwing in $10,000 bucks to benefit the Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund in honor of former coach and U.S. captain Glenn “Mooch” Myernick. In the main event, Drew squares off against self-described EA Sports king and U.S. National Team star Landon Donovan with $50,000 up for grabs. Members of both the Men’s and Women’s National Teams will be on hand to heckle Drew for a good cause.
GameFly U.S. Rental Chart Sees Xbox 360 Dominate This week's top rental charts from U.S. game rental company GameFly, representing the most requested games for the week ending June 30, highlights the popularity surrounding already released games, as well as giving an excellent hint as to what game titles might be popular in the future.
The week's requests from GameFly customers were dominated by titles for the Xbox 360 platform, with Sega and From Software's upcoming Xbox 360 mech combat title, Chromehounds on top for the week. Take-Two and Human Head's upcoming Xbox 360 first-person shooter Prey was the second most requested title on the chart, followed by Ubisoft's Taito-developed Xbox 360 aerial combat game, Over G Fighters.
Electronic Arts' upcoming release of Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II for the Xbox 360 was the fourth most requested title for the week, followed by Capcom's upcoming Xbox 360 release, Dead Rising, which has players fending off a zombie attack at a shopping mall. NCAA Football 07, which ships for the Xbox 360, as well as the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PSP on July 18, was the sixth most popular title for the week.
Eidos' multiplatform release, Hitman: Blood Money was the seventh most requested game for the week, followed by Namco Bandai's PlayStation 2 release, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja. Microsoft and Epic Games Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War was the ninth most requested game for the week. The top game requests for the week were rounded out by Activision's upcoming Xbox 360 World War II shooter, Call of Duty 3, which is expected to ship in Q4 2006.
So after all the rambling i (forahobby) thought its always best to display in chart form.... Here goes..
EA's NCAA Football 07 for the Xbox 360 has all new features that will give gamers the opportunity to feel the real thrill of participating in a football match especially with the amazing graphics the 360 provides.
These features include an all-new Momentum System where big plays, defensive stops, and special teams will affect your performance in the game. The Back to School feature gives you the opportunity to balance and improve your character through studying, practice, and social events that the character will have to attend.
There will also be an all-new Spring Game where you will have to evaluate the performance of incoming blue-chip freshmen during the annual spring games. New Spring Drills are also included, where you can hone your skills with 11 new mini-games that focus on different aspects of the game such as Passing Distance and Rush the Quarterback.
New gameplay mechanics are also included that will give you the edge over your rivals. These include plays like Precision Passing Defensive Hot Routes, Jump the Snap, Smart Routes and Slide Protection. Players will also be able to have access to real-time sports news from ESPN Radio and to the latest Dynasty information via ESPN.com.
Feel free to check out all the info we have on NCAA Football 07 in our xbox 360 games database right here on 360-hq.
Here's the LIVE coverage of the Microsoft Pre-E3 Press Conference (see next paragraph).
Summary: 10 million unit headstart by time PS3/Wii released, more than 160 new games by this holiday, HD-DVD addon shown and planned for this holiday season aswell but no price yet, 6 million Xbox Live members by E3 2007, Live Anywhere unites all gamers, old arcade titles from Konami, Midway, Namco and Sega coming to LIVE arcade, Halo 3 (coming in 2007) preview trailer (streaming/download/youtube), Grand Theft Auto 4 same day on Xbox 360 (with exclusive episodic content) as PS3.
You can now also download the full video of the Microsoft Pre-E3 Keynote for free (in low-res) at gamespot.com (free reg. req.) or you can download just the audio here.
You can find the official press release of the Pre-E3 Conference titled "Bill Gates Declares 10 Million-Unit Head Start for Xbox 360 and Outlines Future of Interactive Entertainment" here[microsoft.com]
* 11:40pm: Looks like they are starting early. CliffyB on stage giving a demo of Gears of Wars now. Looks really good, no launch date given.
* 11:49pm: Moore talking about gaming division: all of their gaming and entertainment resources are under a single division now. 5 million Xbox 360 will be sold in 8 months time, better than other consoles or even iPod. 6 million Xbox LIVE users by E3 2007. On average 4.5 games and 3 accessoires sold per Xbox 360 console.
* 11:54pm: upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games: Pac-Man, Contra, Frogger, Galaga, Sonic the Hedgehog, Defender, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Time Pilot, Ultra Mortal Kombat 3 and Scramble ... and more old arcade content from Konami, Midway (Ultimate Mortal Kombat), Namco (pacman, digdug, ...) and Sega (old Sonic games!) ... ofcourse all updated in High Def.
* 11:56pm: Agreement with over 100 independant developers for IND XBox LIVE Arcade games.
* 11:57pm: Luminus Live coming to Live Arcade.
* 11:57pm: Partnership with Warner Music Group means exclusive music content. Example: Madonna music in Luminus Live.
* 11:58pm: Live Arcade is just appetizer for 'real' Xbox 360 games. The next wave of 360 games will be "truly next generation games".
* 11:59pm: Some video demos running: Lost Planet, Table Tennis, Brothers In Arms, Mass Effect, NHL 2K7, F.E.A.R., Too Human, Viva Pinata, MotoGP '06, Battle for Middle-earth II, Sonic the Hedgehog, Madden, World Series of Poker, Saint's Row, WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2007, Stranglehold, Enchanted Arms, Test Drive Unlimited, NCAA Football 07, Dead Rising, DDR Universe, Prey, Superman Returns, NBA 2K7, Crackdown, Ninety-Nine Nights and Gears of War.
* 12:01pm: Over 160 Xbox 360 games by holiday season 2006, with several exclusive titles.
* 12:03pm: Software still coming out for the original Xbox too ... but only from 3rd parties.
* 12:04pm: Announcement of new Lionhead game: Fable2. (video GC demo running - "Every choice leads to a different destiny")
* 12:05pm: Another new game from MS Game Studios: Forza Motorsport 2. Showing video demo of game - realism is high, no idea how real-time this is. Will have over 300 cars (that you can tune and skin), upto 11 opponents on Xbox LIVE. To be released this holiday season.
* 12:08pm: For forza MS will release an Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel announced, with force feedback. Also a wireless headset (that look less crap than the normal Xbox 360 headset) and Xbox Live Vision Camera (that will be used by many future titles). All 3 HW addons to be released this holiday season.
* 12:10pm: Talking about Japan now ... how they are still committed to this country. Working on inspired and innovative content for Japan
* 12:11pm: In meantime I get tons of people msg'ing me many trailers have been added on Xbox LIVE right now, including a 104.42MB Halo 3 trailer - heh.
* 12:12pm: Sakaguchi talking about and showing us Blue Dragon. Blue Dragon is due this holiday in Japan. Lost Odyssey, "one of the most original title in years", is also coming soon in Japan.
* 12:13pm: Moore says Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 from Tecmo is also coming on Xbox 360. Trailer coming later this week on LIVE.
* 12:13pm: Trailer of Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Due in september 2006 on the 360.
* 12:15pm: MGS(Rare) comes talk about Viva Pinata. Video demo running. "It's about letting your imagination go and transforming a small piece of land into a perfect paradise where pinatas want to come". You will be able to buy and trade items, accessoires and pinatas over Xbox Live Marketplace.
* 12:17pm: Viva Pinata coming this holiday season as well. Viva Pinata clearly shows MS plans to attract more than just the hardcore gamers, also the less experienced gamers. Also for a broader public: "next-gen Sonic" and "Lego Star Wars" also coming to Xbox 360.
* 12:20pm: Some numbers ... over 18 million downloads from Xbox Live MarketPlace, over 1000 downloadable content pieces available. All Xbox 360 games have some kinda downloads available on Marketplace. Game demos work - after release of "Fight Night" demo, pre-order went x5. Marketplace will also be used for true episodic content.
* 12:21pm: Marketplace will get music videos, movie trailers, and exclusive content from Paramount, Touchstone, Walt-Disney, Epic Records, Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox.
* 12:21pm: Tonight for first time you can download HDTV content. "Gears of War: Road to E3" a docu-drama starting on Xbox LIVE and later on MTV.
* 12:22pm: MS shows HD-DVD addon. Looks like like a smaller Xbox 360. Addon is also due this holiday. No price given yet but Moore says it'll be a "bargain". 150 movie titles expected by this holiday.
* 12:24pm: Grand Theft Auto IV coming to Xbox 360 on October 16th 2007 (USA/CAN) and October 19th 2007 (Europe) ... "the first date it's available" ... "available on our platform from day one". Last quote means it's not exclusive for Xbox 360 - the official website confirms it'll come out for PS3 aswell. And yes it's 2007 not 2006. The Xbox 360 will get exclusive episodic content for GTA4 from RockStar via Xbox Live though.
* 12:25pm: Now talking about Windows Vista ... the "most game-friendly OS in Windows history" using DirectX 10.
* 12:27pm: They show a video of 'Crysis' on Vista.
* 12:31pm: More Vista DirectX 10 games: Age of Conan, Flight Sim X. Vista is "The single biggest launch in the history of Microsoft, and also a great day for gamers". Vista built to run games.
* 12:33pm: Oblivion sold 1.7 million copies in 3 weeks on Xbox 360 and PC. More Xbox360/PC releases coming - video game of "Shadawrun" ... coming january 2007.
* 12:37pm: Video demo of Remedy's Alan Wake now. Some great facial expressions there. Exclusively on Windows and Xbox 360
* 12:38pm: w00t - Bill Gates coming on stage now. He says he is PGR3-addicted and his family likes Live Arcade (Zuma, ...).
* 12:40pm: Gates repeats again how important the software (dev tools, environments, interfaces) are for the success of a console.
* 12:41pm: MSN, Hotmail will be connected with LIVE. They want to attract people of all age. They are also adding 8 new countries (total to 40): South Africa, Chile, India, Brazil, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia.
* 12:42pm: Biggest Xbox 360 problem was keeping it in stock ... but that's now solved, Xbox360 should be widely available. Plan to sell 5 to 5.5 million units by end of June 2006. Gatest says they have set goal internally to sell 10 million units before the PS3 and Wii launch, and they now think they'll be able to reach this goal.
* 12:43pm: 3 million LIVE subscribers, 6 million planned by next year. Next level of Xbox LIVE is connecting it with PC and the Windows Mobile world. Connecting it with 230 million MSN Messenger users, 150 million Windows gamers and +1 billion game-ready cellphone. "LIVE keeps expanding"
* 12:45pm: "We're going from Live to Live Anywhere". Live Anywhere will roll out this yeat and it will be part of Windows Vista. 1 online community no matter what device you are on: 1 interface, 1 identity, 1 friendslist, 1 message centre, 1 marketplace. You could for example start game on Xbox and continu it on the phone.
* 12:48pm: Scott Henson on stage to demo Live Anywhere. Shows "Shadowrun", you can call up friends list and see what they are doing nomatter what platform they are on. (in demo Major Nelson is on list and showing as working on his Windows Vista PC, Scott sent Major Nelson a cross platform invite on his Vista PC). Vista will have integrated friendlist on desktop.
* 12:50pm: One gamertag and gamerscore no matter what the platform is. You can even do achievement comparisons across different platforms. On shadowrun demo PC can play online against Xbox 360. All transparent to end-user ... no need for setting IP stuff and so.
* 12:53pm: Mobile stuff now. They use a Motorola Q running Windows Mobile. Showing custom made Marketplace on Windows Mobile and how you can download and play Zuma with your gamertag on your mobile. Also download music and video possible on mobile. Gamercard, friendlist also on mobile phone.
* 12:55pm: Other example is how you can skin your car on Vista with Paint Shop and race with it on Xbox 360.
* 12:57pm: No date when all this "Live Anywhere" will come, but it shouldn't take too long.
* 12:59pm: Conference ending with ... guess what ... a Halo 3 trailer of course that will be coming in 2007 on Xbox 360.
You can download the Halo 3 trailer via Xbox LIVE (which is going extremely slow atm), or on your PC here (streaming) or here (download).
"This is the way the world ends. Halo 3. Finish the fight. 2007."
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The study said that such content affects both adults and children.
