Today’s Metro reports that ‘Playing driving games on consoles makes people more dangerous in real life’, citing research carried out by Continental Tyres. Strangely, I can’t find any mention of this ‘news’ on the Metro web site or the Continental Tyres press site but it is in the print edition of Metro, page seven, top left corner.
According to Metro, ‘Fans of titles such as Gran Turismo and Grand Theft Auto are more likely to crash when they get behind the wheel. They also have a higher tendency to try risky overtaking moves, run red lights and suffer road rage.’
Oddly, Continental Tyres do not make any inference that playing Grand Theft Auto makes you want to beat prostitutes to death, surely if their research shows that driving in GTA influences you in real life then it is logical that every aspect of the game will determine how you behave?
“Gamers take more risks than non gamers, possibly due to the lack of real consequences in the game,” said Continental safety expert, Tim Bailey.
In other news, Continental Tyres seem to have forgotten the award picked up Chris Rado of WORLD Racing when his Scion tC was named Best Asian Import in the seventh annual Gran Turismo Awards ceremony. The Scion has Continental tyres, as proudly boasted by this press release.
Continental Tyres seem blissfully unaware that over half the UK population are regular gamers and that Grand Theft Auto IV is one of the best selling games of all time. So they, and/or Metro have just labeled an awful lot of their customers as bad drivers.
Source: Metro (Print Edition)
Bodachi
Well I don’t make a good driver but that could be because I don’t have a licence.
gazzagb
Saw this this morning, and tbh I agree with it. Who hasn’t pretended traffic lights are the race starting sequence, or taken the racing line of a corner? :D
Forrest_01
I haven’t, but to be fair I don’t have a car – You do tend to look a little silly leaning into the corner to take the racing line & overtake the car in front on your own two legs! (especially when you start to make the tyre screech sounds!)
freezebug2
I wonder if that’s why the other day whils’t driving, I looked at a speed bump and thought “If I get the angle and speed right I could roll the car and get that rolled over bronze trophy”
Of course I did!!!…. No, as your sub title suggests Tuff “utter drivel”
I play the racing games genre more than any other and always have, but I have never had a single point on my license and have enjoyed maximum no claims for several years now.
I guess that there is a strong possibility though that some young chav’s on planet cuckooland would believe that they are still holding the controller instead of the cars steering wheel.
Basically though the press are trying to tar the majority with the bad name of a small minority. UTTER CACK!!
Radiitz
I was playing Turok at the age of about 7. I played GTA to death aged from 10 onwards. I’ve mutilated zombies, run over pedestrians, blown up buildings. Hell, I even crushed a Sackboy or two with a sponge. Why am I not a mass-murderer yet? the same goes to all other gamers (or atleast most of them). The media is a LIE. So is the Cake…
Bladesteel
This is cattle by-products.
Point 1: Studies have shown that playing games actually improve the ability to take in, and process visual information. In short, the gamer is going to see and react to the girl chasing the ball faster then the fat journalist that spends his evening sitting passively in front of a TV.
Point 2: A driving games lets us try things we shouldn’t do in real life, and get an idea about the consequences. I have seen enough brutal fake car crashes to cure me of any urge to go drifting round a corner in the city.
Point 3: Using a racing game and a wheel I have experienced how much my driving ability is reduced by just one single beer (1 is dangerous 2 or more is suicidal). I _know_ that even if I feel fine I’m not, and that makes me less likely to do something stupid and illegal.
TheDeathAvenger
In today’s Metro:
“Good Game: If you’re a parent and think you’re too old for video games, take heart – teenage girls who play on games consoles with a parent behave better, have stronger mental health and feel more connected to their families than others, researchers reveal. The finding smacks of common sense, said lead researcher Laura Padilla-Walker, of Brigham Young University. ‘Any face-to-face time with your child can be a positive thing, especially if they are interested in the activity,’ she said.
Spotter5
So two of the most popular games that most people will play means they will crash? Well I found a statistic where if people eat food they are 67% more likely to swear at people while shopping.