The very first entry seems to me to be the most valid: empathy is the one quality that I believe gaming acutely, and solely, contributes to. When you play a game you assume a persona and, depending on what game you play, you develop the necessary skills required to inhabit that persona. You take on the responsibility, whether intellectual or emotional, required to play that game.

This is quite important, too, as games can push our personal and social boundaries and offer us a perspective of ourselves of which we were previously unaware. What is acceptable in society, for instance, and how will I react if pushed to my personal boundary? If games weren't there at all (and in particular, games that challenge moral or social norms like GTA or BioShock) I doubt that society would be as rich in its understanding of social mores. And if anyone of the belief that games are in fact detrimental to society could embrace this perspective with a little, you know, empathy, I believe the qualities that games have to offer would be better understood.

"Over the past decades, videogames have undoubtedly come under fire from ... agenda-driven researchers coming to questionable conclusions."

And articles written in the industry press aren't going to be agenda-driven?

Not that I disagree with you. Just saying. For everyone across society to be convinced of the worth of our beloved hobby, the last word on this is going to have to come from objective observers - for example, mainstream media outlets - not the videogaming industry.

Just personally speaking, I think it would be very interesting to see Edge cover the opposite argument. What are the main arguments for why gaming is bad for you, and how credible are they? It would be interesting to hear direct rebuttals to such arguments that are as respectful and well-researched as this article clearly was.

@ carg0: Unless mxvolta saw your sarcasm and raised you another level of sarcasm :P

Anyway I agree with OmegaVader; The whole text sounds somewhat defensive. Just let us game for gaming's sake. All the so-called benefits may be nice, but are pretty much irrelevant for most of my gaming choices: I just want to have fun!

That said, I did buy Wii Fit thinking it might help me lose some weight.

Interesting read, however I can't help but feel that we're making the industry look guilty by defending it like this -- as if Book Reviews have to point out that reading literature can improve your vocabulary or some such. An obvious "duh" if there ever was one.

But the Reason we game, with a capital R, is perhaps for the aesthetic appeal, the very same Reason we listen to music, muse around an art gallery and, yes, read a book. I suppose "games as art" articles have been done to death, though. In any case, aesthetics is a meaning in itself -- we don't need to defend other uses for our hobby. They are incidental and not primary. I suppose the last entry of "Games are fun" kinda covers this, but...not really. There is a sharp distinction between two kinds of games that have largely been uninvestigated at this point; 'competitive' games, which are more like sports than anything (anywhere from common deathmatch and Counter-Strike to MMOs like WoW and Eve which are basically glorified chat rooms with statistics) and 'narrative' games, in which the entire point is to deliver a story (MGS is probably the most notable example of this, given its flair for cutscenes, but I think superior examples of quality would be found in old adventure titles or esteemed RPGs such as Baldur's Gate). For the former, an article like this is quite appropriate -- enjoyment of sports isn't really an aesthetic one. But for the latter type of game, oh yes, that is where our pride and joy should lay. To become a new medium, as is literature, cinema or art.

absurd. patently ab-surd.

everyone knows videogames are for lazy, ignorant, aspiration-less losers still living with their parents working retail who couldn't make grades to get into ANY institution of higher learning after HS. assuming they even graduated.

there are no "positive benefits" and, quite frankly, all gamers should be sterilized if not euthanized. they're a drain on the economy now and will be catastrophic for the economies of the future when these "adults" are calling the shots in their respective countries. the rest of you better start working towards financial independence NOW and open off-shore savings accounts.

*looks over at corporate sponsor with heavy political/religious agendas*
can i get my check now?