Video games and growing kids

 

                                When were video games created

The video games era started as early as the 1950’s. But because of the high costs back then these video games were used only for boring research purposes. In 1958, a video game was created for entertainment. It was a tennis game for two. It seemed huge, hence it was discontinued in a year, because of its high cost. As the decade progressed, many game designing enthusiasts…came out with different kinds of computer games. Like sports, puzzles, cards, logic and even board games. However, these too didn’t make it to the common public. 

                                Who is the father of video games

But one man decided to take the road travelled. And today, we know this man as the ‘Father Of Video Games’, Ralph Baer, was an engineer, who saw an opportunity in the falling prices of TV sets. To bring down the costs, Ralph began to explore the idea of playing video games on TV screens. But his early attempts were not fruitful. However, in 1966, Ralph decided to present his brain child to one of his supervisors. A smart move indeed. As he was given a sum of 2500 dollars immediately. Along with the time and help of 2 other engineers,,,,,and then they began with the days and nights of hard work. Soon Ralph and the 2 men developed the first Video Game Console. And to play the exciting games, all you had to do was connect the console of your TV set. 

                                  How video games became popular

Ralph took his invention to apply for a patent. Interestingly, within 15 minutes, every examiner was on the floor……was around it wanting to play the game. It was a pleasant moment, adults fought over a video game. And they say kids are addicted to it. Soon Ralph started seeking a buyer for his invention. But no one took him or his invention seriously. 

Luckily, there was one electronics company, who saw its potential and in 1972, the world’s first video game system was rolled out to the public. As you know how entertaining video games are; in just one year, 100,000 consoles were sold and 300,000 by the end of 1975

Through the years the cost of computers fell.

The coin based Arcade video games came in and ruled the gaming industry. Technology progressed by leaps and bounds and so did the home gaming system. And today, we even have motion sensing video games

      Some facts regarding video games which you will be probably unaware of

You must have heard things like, “Video games are bad for you kids”,  or “Video games harm your brain”. The good news is, this isn’t quite true. Studies have shown that playing action games help us make the right decision faster. 

The international Video Game Industry generated a whopping 99.6 Billion Dollars in 2016! Which was more than double the revenue of the International Film Industry. 

The characters in games are bigger stars than our movie stars.  

                                Some Disadvantages of video games

Each year new innovative video games make the experience even more intense and virtual reality is just around the corner, games will become even more addictive, but have you ever stopped to think of video games as bad for you, let’s find out. There's good news and bad news on this one.

                                       Let’s first start by bad news

*Out of the way, things like muscle pain, lack of vitamin D and sleep deprivation are some of the problems you can develop by over playing console or PC games, muscle pain is one of the most commonly reported problems among hardcore gamers since most video games still involve sitting motionless in front of the TV, for long periods of time. 

*Humans get their daily dose of Vitamin D from the Sun, so when gamers spend a whole day inside, they miss on the key vitamins.

*Sleep deprivation affects kids, who stay up super late to beat the next level 

                      How much is too much gaming is for kids

Most experts recommend no more than an hour's video games per day, the problem is most gamers play more than an hour which leads to negative consequences but now for the good news there’s some surprising benefits too. That’s right, studies show that playing the recommended amount of video games can improve your vision, social skills and even slow down the ageing  process.  

                                          Conclusion

Video games are good for mental growth of a kid, but for physical and mental balance to  stay sound, such games should be played for a stipulated time period, and a check should be kept on kids that they don’t watch these video games more than an hour. For adults, they are the best judge for themselves.