How Often Will We See 8 Gig Console Games?

    How Often Will We See 8 Gig Console Games?

Well… we’re moving into the 4th quarter of the year and since most games have disappeared until 2015 at least games I was anticipating  it got me reflecting once  again on the possibilities of next gen gaming  overall; I’m still waiting for the “jump” a new generation generally provides and on the topic of consoles how will it take advantage of the new power, history says it won’t… at least not often.

Think about it, how many times do you hear a game developer say they’ve maxed out a console? (which is the metaphor I use for 8 gigs by the way) Not many, and when they do  it’s usually at the end of a console’s life cycle. When it came to last gen and maybe even the gen before yeah you could chalk it up to good marketing you could even blame it on the “alien hardware” on the PS2 and PS3′s side, making it hard to develop for as the reasons for not seeing this as the rule but rather the exception but for Us as gamers to pay 500-600 dollars for a console  with those boasted specs that’s some key promises that went unfulfilled.

Now is the past the predictor of the future? Possibly, but for all the talk about these new consoles not being a obstacle and a “thorn in the flesh”  to these developers and the overall development cycle — rather aiding it, one could be optimistic that it should produce a much more consistent “maxed out” experience. Also couple that with the fact developers are always talking about how their imagination is to big for hardware limitations it should undoubtedly manifest.

I remember gamers across the world being  so excited about the fact  new  consoles were set to  8 gigabytes of RAM — including the developers shooooo it could even be argued that they were more excited. Especially coming behind the rumors and predictions that it would ship with 4 gigabytes of RAM, that’s fine and dandy but how often will we truly see a 8 gig game?

In other words  (and again) I’m talking maxing out the console’s boasted specs in a giving generation. I also remember when Blu- ray was the talk of the town and how it’s technology would  make for bigger, better, longer games which might have been true but how often did we see it? Maybe about 1 percent? And that may be being generous.  The Kojima’s, The Naughty Dog”s, The Santa Monica’s of the world probably the only one’s on record to reach this feat, everybody else not so much, especially on multi-platform games. And I’m just talking about maxing out the Blu-ray disc, what happened to  1080p/60 frames per second gaming, that we were promised last generation? (Dare I say 720p wasn’t even standard last gen). Mind you we’re still struggling to get to that standard (1080p) this generation as it is still “breaking news” whenever it is achieved.

It’s almost like we have to disregard the specs spewed out every gen because it will always fall short, waaaay short of  being the standard. Why even make a system — or not make a system that can deliver these promises?  So one genius developer could have their breakthrough moment!?

Computer games can 'make your brain younger', study finds

For years many have believed that sitting glued to a screen playing computer games rots your brain.

     Playing games could actually sharpen your mind, the study found.

But a new study has found that video games can delay the ageing process and playing one for just ten hours can make your mind up to seven years younger.

Older people who play video games which challenged their mental processing speed slowed their cognitive decline. Instead, a year later, their minds were actually sharper, the researchers found.

But the team warn that the benefits only come with their specifically designed game “Road Tour”.

Scientists at the University of Iowa in the United States discovered that elderly people who played just 10 hours of a game delayed declines by as many as seven years in a range of cognitive skills.

Those that played the game at least 10 hours, either at home or in a laboratory, gained on average three years of cognitive improvement when tested after one year, according to a formula developed by the researchers.

A group that got four additional hours of training improved their cognitive abilities by an average of four years. In speed and attention tests their brains were up to seven years younger, it was found.

Lead author Fredric Wolinsky, professor in the University's College of Public Health, said: "We not only prevented the decline; we actually sped them up."

He attributed the benefits to the range of skills required in the game, adding: "We know that we can stop this decline and actually restore cognitive processing speed to people.

"So, if we know that, shouldn't we be helping people? It's fairly easy, and older folks can go get the training game and play it."

The study comes amidst a burst of research examining why, as we age, our minds gradually lose "executive function," generally considered mission control for critical mental activities, such as memory, attention, perception and problem solving.

Studies show loss of executive function occurs as people reach middle age; other studies say our cognitive decline begins as soon as the age of 28.

Either way, our mental capacities do diminish and medical and public health experts are keen to understand why in an effort to stem the inexorable tide as much as possible.

Professor Wolinsky and his colleagues separated 681 generally healthy medical patients into four groups, then further separated them into those 50 to 64 years of age and those over age 65.

One group was given computerised crossword puzzles, while three other groups were exposed to the game Road Tour.

The game involves identifying a type of vehicle and then re-identifying the vehicle type and matching it with a road sign displayed from a circular array of possibilities, all but one of them false icons.

The player must succeed at least three out of every four tries to advance to the next level, which speeds up the vehicle identification and adds more distractions, up to 47 in all.

The goal is to increase the user's mental speed and agility at identifying the vehicle symbol and picking out the road sign from distractors.

Professor Wolinsky said: "The game starts off with an assessment to determine your current speed of processing. Whatever it is, the training can help you get about 70 per cent faster."

The researchers found those who played Road Tour also scored far better than the crossword puzzle group on tests involving executive function.

The game has previously been credited with improving quality of life, easing depression and cutting medical bills.

The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.

However, some were sceptical about the research. Dr Doug Brown, director of research at the Alzheimer’s society, told the Daily Mail: “Many of us enjoy puzzling over a game.

“However, there is currently little evidence that brain training has any cognitive benefits.”