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It’s pretty common knowledge among the video game elite (i.e. people who read about games online) that the average age for a video game player is about 35. But people even older than that are no scope headshotting you on Xbox Live, and according to a new study it may be good for them.

A study done by researchers at North Carolina State University has shown that people who play games at least occasionally have higher social functioning and less depression and negative affect than people who do not play any video games. That’s right, we now have evidence to say, scientifically, that video games make people happier and are linked to “successful aging.”

The study was done with a group of 140 senior citizens averaging 77 years old who live independently, but the results suggest that the links could be present for younger adults as well. Further studies are already being planned to see if video games can improve mental health or whether they merely prolong the detrimental effects of age.

With video games making headlines with violence and politicians demanding studies on the effects of media on children, this study couldn’t have come at a better time. And it’ll be interesting to see others crop up as more and more lifelong players from gaming’s 80s glory days approach golden years of their own.

[story and image via Science World Report]

The Xbox Ultimate Game Sale has rolled on to another day of crazy deals on some excellent titles. Today and only today, you can find the first four Assassin’s Creed games going for a steal – $9.99 USD for Assassin’s Creed, II, and Brotherhood, and $14.99 for Revelations. Currently, there’s no deal scheduled for Assassin’s Creed III, but that’s not surprising for such a recent release.

A range of other games you might have missed this generation have also had their prices slashed by as much as 85% until March 4th, including Virtua Fighter 5, El Shaddai, The Darkness, Tomb Raider: Legend, and GRID. For the full list of games going on sale this week, you can see the announcement page on Xbox Community Manager Major Nelson’s webpage.

Of course, this massive sale could be a simple cash grab before announcing details on the next iteration of the Microsoft’s home console, which could very well restrict the transfer of digital content from a 360. So far, the new console generation hasn’t handled that especially well after repurchasing plans for content on the Wii U and the recent announcement that media won’t transfer from the PS3 to the PS4. If you do open your wallet for Microsoft’s sale, it would be wise to keep that trend in mind.

[img via TheGamersHub]

The internet rumor machine is at it again, this time with a possible sequel for Assassin’s Creed subtitled “Black Flag.” The rumor started on reddit, as many do, when an eagle-eyed redditor claimed to have seen a PowerPoint presentation on a woman’s computer which named the game and gave a holiday 2013 release date. It didn’t have much credit until today, when Kotaku got ahold of a picture showing an assassin battling pirates with the title Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The insider also told Kotaku that the poster would be on store walls on March 4th.

But is this the real deal? Let’s break it down.

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Today is a sad day for games journalism. First, the folks over at IGN were struck by a wave of layoffs, and shortly afterward, Joystiq reported that 1UP, Gamespy, and UGO would be shutting down. The websites were purchased last month by Ziff Davis Inc., so some consolidation and job loss was expected, but nothing of quite this magnitude.

An internal memo from Ziff Davis found by Polygon shows the company’s desire to “simplify and focus” their goals, putting their full strength behind IGN and AskMen instead of spreading out between multiple websites. The memo also states that no further staff reductions have been planned.

For many longtime fans of Gamespy and 1UP, today’s news is heartbreaking. Personally, 1UP was the website that got me interested in writing about video games, and I had always secretly harbored the wish of one day working under their banner. Until today.

We here at Gaygamer wish our brethren out on the street today all the best and encourage readers to share their thoughts/memories of 1UP and Gamespy in the comments below.

[img via homeownerinsurance]

I spent a lot of time lying on my kitchen floor in 2006 and 2007. Something about the ground helped me.

Everything in my life seemed heavier than it should, so why not just go down? Why stand when you don’t have to? The weight of coming out to my family, of choosing a college, of choices that seemed to finally matter and doing the one thing I’d always dreamed about – leaving – was more than I had prepared myself for.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. “Oh great. Another teenage sob story about how regular life is so hard. Get over it, kid.” Honestly, I thought the same thing. I was too embarrassed and proud to admit to the cliche and let someone help me or just listen. The logical option sat behind mental bars I had erected, so the kitchen floor was how I dealt with it all.

I didn’t start using drugs. I didn’t hurt myself. I didn’t run away. I just didn’t do anything. Problems festered as I put off conversations that seemed scary, let college deadlines slip by, and wondered what would happen if I never went anywhere. All the while, more and more of my time sunk into the cool tiles like the heat from my skin slowly slipping away until I shivered.

That’s what Depression Quest is about. The didn’t. The couldn’t. The can’t.

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This is an important week for the awards season, except unlike most other gay news blogs, I’m not referring to the Oscars (he said, tongue firmly planted in his cheek). Sony has announced their PSN Gamers’ Choice Awards 2013 nominees and opened voting to the masses through their online store.

The categories cover a broad section of the PlayStation Network and feature some phenomenal titles, including critical darling Journey, Pomeranian simulator Tokyo Jungle, and beat simulator Sound Shapes. Classic titles such as Persona 3 and full games like Borderlands 2 are also among the voting options.

But why should you really care about Sony’s little award display? Well, dear readers, the winning game in each category will receive a price cut for everyone, with PlayStation Plus subscribers nabbing an extra-large discount. No word on how much that may be, but last year’s winners received a 30% discount (50% for PS+ members), so expect something similar.

Naturally, this means your voting for “Best PSN Exclusive” and “Best Indie Game” may or may not be influenced by which ones you have and which you want, but that’s okay. This is democracy. The people’s will must be done.

You can vote from today through February 25th on the PlayStation Store or the Sony Entertainment Network Online Store, with the winners announced next Tuesday.

A curious little study was brought to my attention today by the good folks at Gameranx that shows a strong link between online verbal harassment in video games and being a woman.

The study, done by Ohio University and published in New Media & Society, looked at Halo 3 matches last fall using prerecorded male and female voices or no voice chat. Recordings of simple phrases such as “I like this map” and “Hi everyone” were played before, during, and after each game. Other player’s responses were recorded and separated into negative and positive groups.

The result? The female profile received three times as many negative comments and many more messages than the male voice and no voice conditions. MORE >>