Why 3-D video games might actually be good for your child

Washington

THE late film critic Roger Ebert famously declared that video games could never be art, much to the outrage of die-hard gamers everywhere. While the artistic value of classics such as Portal or Doom continues to be a matter of debate, another group of sceptics about the value of video games - namely medical researchers - are starting to come around to the idea that becoming engrossed in the virtual world of a video game may have value beyond pure fun.

Recent research in the fields of neuroscience, psychology and cognitive science has found evidence that playing certain video games can be like exercise for the brain. Studies from the past decade have found that individuals who frequently play action games such as first-person shooters outperform non-gamers on a variety of perceptual and cognitive measures - visual acuity, decision-making, object tracking and task switching to name a few. Even players of casual video games, such as Bejeweled Blitz or Candy Crush Saga, report memory improvements and quicker response time as a result.