Study: Male gamers have need to conquer - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 27th May 2008, 12:40

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...d-to-conquer/1

A recent study in Stanford, California has revealed that male gamers pursue the hobby primarily out of a need to conquer.

bowman · 27th May 2008, 12:48

Wow, a study that doesn't serve as the foundation for a video game ban, or that hasn't been commissioned by entrepreneuring career vampires (politicians). Interesting. I'll have a read

liratheal · 27th May 2008, 12:58

That looks like a really interesting read. Bookmarked for later consumption!

Veles · 27th May 2008, 13:06

Hmmm, my gf still enjoys killing people on Halo 3

fwalm · 27th May 2008, 13:18

I agree with it, I like to conquer things in games.

Jordan Wise · 27th May 2008, 13:26

definitely true for RTS games, theres nothing like building an all conquering army and wiping out everyone in one single wave, turtle tactics are so satisfying

StephenK · 27th May 2008, 13:34

As with all things there will be some women and men who don't fit this 'rule' but the study does tie in with similar work on male territorial nature. Sounds very interesting.

phuzz · 27th May 2008, 14:03

Interestingly the press release linked above is from the 2nd or April, must have taken a while to reach the mainstream, anyway, original paper is here, but you'll have to pay $31 to read the whole thing. (ref Journal of Psychiatric Research, Volume 42, Issue 4, March 2008, Pages 253-258 )
I'm not sure about a 'need to conquer', but apparently "males showed greater activation and functional connectivity compared to females in the mesocorticolimbic system" . It doesn't say in the abstract how many people were tested however.

sotu1 · 27th May 2008, 14:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowman

Wow, a study that doesn't serve as the foundation for a video game ban, or that hasn't been commissioned by entrepreneuring career vampires (politicians). Interesting. I'll have a read

ya wanna bet? soon they'll use this as evidence to ban all males from playing games for health and saftey reasons!

Tris · 27th May 2008, 14:37

seems perfectly reasonable to me - i definately play games in order to crush hapless opponents. I guess the conquer vs escapism thing can be broken down by type of game played, with shooters falling into the former and rpg's into the latter (with some games offering a degree of crossover of course).

Bauul · 27th May 2008, 14:39

Shouldn't we be looking at this another way? Games are more likely to appeal to men because they are usually designed by men, and are thus pandering to male interests. Games aren't these mystical things that fall out of the sky and attract all the men to them, they are the way they are because men make them like that. If all men suddenly lost the ability to look at monitors, I guarnatee a few years down the line we'd have headlines about why it is that women are addicted to games. It's just affirmation that men are different to women, and that's hardly breaking news is it.

ChromeX · 27th May 2008, 16:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veles

Hmmm, my gf still enjoys killing people on Halo 3

At the risk of an ePunch to the face, does she enojoy a bit of conquering?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bauul

snip

Yeah good point, I cant count the number of female characters with boobs the size of your, head in games. Its what guys like though, sex, explosions / general violence etc

FeRaL · 27th May 2008, 16:30

True words of wisdom Bauul. There will always be something to fill the void when a segment of a market disappears.

hughwi · 27th May 2008, 16:39

I have got a copy of the full article here (Courtesy of University subscription) and it really is quite an interesting read, would it be contravening rules or infringement if I was to offer it?

CardJoe · 27th May 2008, 16:59

Probably, yes.

moshpit · 28th May 2008, 02:58

When I get feeling territorial, I go pee on a fire hydrant, no need for video games to fill that need

Ghys · 28th May 2008, 03:38

I play CTF in UT to gain control of the map and conquer the other team's base ... I also play games in general to win and dominate (I can't play a multiplayer game and have fun just for the sake of playing). I guess it makes sens

Now who am I, Bush, Hitler or Napoleon , mmmmm

[USRF]Obiwan · 28th May 2008, 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by moshpit

When I get feeling territorial, I go pee on a fire hydrant, no need for video games to fill that need

Thats because we can actualy put out a fire that way, and 'woman' would burn their asses off, Unless they can do the rare 'standing pee' methode for woman.. But thats waaaaay offtopic

Cthippo · 28th May 2008, 20:16

All males have a need to conquer, it's intrinsic to who we are. Watch a couple of 5 year olds play sometime, all their games tend to revolve around status and pecking order. Why anyone thinks this should be any different in gaming eludes me.

specofdust · 28th May 2008, 20:25

As usual, I hate to agree with Major. But he's right. Find me a man that doesn't want to conquer (ok, ignore wusses). Life is about winning - video games enable us to win repeatedly, with relative ease, and in a very short space of time. That's part of what is awesome about them. That and they're great fun and allow us to pwn noobs.

Really, why do people waste money on this psychobabble crap when it's all so damn self-evident?

27th May 2008, 12:40	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8,009	Study: Male gamers have need to conquer http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...d-to-conquer/1 A recent study in Stanford, California has revealed that male gamers pursue the hobby primarily out of a need to conquer. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

27th May 2008, 12:58	#3
liratheal Just got a great book on tape Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: High Wycombe, UK Posts: 3,638	That looks like a really interesting read. Bookmarked for later consumption! __________________ Gigabyte MA790FX, X4 9950 Black Edition, 8gb Geil Black Dragon, 2x4870 512mb, Antec TruePower Quattro 850w I game, Do you?

27th May 2008, 13:18	#5
fwalm Supermodder Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 340	I agree with it, I like to conquer things in games. __________________ WORLD CHAMPIONS

27th May 2008, 13:26	#6
Jordan Wise Baby called to see the boss... Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Newcastle Uni Posts: 597	definitely true for RTS games, theres nothing like building an all conquering army and wiping out everyone in one single wave, turtle tactics are so satisfying __________________ Favourite Max Payne quote: "He was trying to buy sand for his hour glass, and I wasn't selling any" Steam ID:jordanwise

27th May 2008, 13:34	#7
StephenK Nanomodder Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 224	As with all things there will be some women and men who don't fit this 'rule' but the study does tie in with similar work on male territorial nature. Sounds very interesting. __________________ Intel e6600 @ 2.4ghz \| 4gb Corsair Twin2X 6400C4 DDR2 \| Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro + Silver 5 \| Gainward 7950GT 256MB \| iiyama ProLite E2200WS \| Black Coolermaster Mystique 631 \| Corsair HX620 PSU \| Asus P5B Deluxe \| 1tb SpinPoint F1 Desktop + 320gb Samsung T166 \| X-Fi Xtreme Gamer \| Creative Inspire T6100 \| Samsung DVD±RW SH-S183A \| LG DVD ROM \| Logitech Mx5000 \|

27th May 2008, 12:48	#2
bowman Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 249	Wow, a study that doesn't serve as the foundation for a video game ban, or that hasn't been commissioned by entrepreneuring career vampires (politicians). Interesting. I'll have a read

27th May 2008, 14:03	#8
phuzz Hypermodder Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bristol, UK Posts: 955	Interestingly the press release linked above is from the 2nd or April, must have taken a while to reach the mainstream, anyway, original paper is here, but you'll have to pay $31 to read the whole thing. (ref Journal of Psychiatric Research, Volume 42, Issue 4, March 2008, Pages 253-258 ) I'm not sure about a 'need to conquer', but apparently "males showed greater activation and functional connectivity compared to females in the mesocorticolimbic system" . It doesn't say in the abstract how many people were tested however.

27th May 2008, 14:37	#10
Tris Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 109	seems perfectly reasonable to me - i definately play games in order to crush hapless opponents. I guess the conquer vs escapism thing can be broken down by type of game played, with shooters falling into the former and rpg's into the latter (with some games offering a degree of crossover of course).

27th May 2008, 14:39	#11
Bauul Sir Bongaminge Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Godalming, near Guildford Posts: 1,553	Shouldn't we be looking at this another way? Games are more likely to appeal to men because they are usually designed by men, and are thus pandering to male interests. Games aren't these mystical things that fall out of the sky and attract all the men to them, they are the way they are because men make them like that. If all men suddenly lost the ability to look at monitors, I guarnatee a few years down the line we'd have headlines about why it is that women are addicted to games. It's just affirmation that men are different to women, and that's hardly breaking news is it. __________________ Pentium 4 CPU 3.4 Ghz \| 1Gb + 2x512Mb Corsair DDR2 667 Mhz Sapphire Radeon HD 4770 512Mb\| WD Raptor 36Gb, Seagate 300Gb \| Asus P5LD2 SE Ibanez RG 470 Japanese Edition \| 1991 Japanese Lo-TRS Tremolo \| V7 S1 Custom V8 HSH Pickups

27th May 2008, 16:30	#13
FeRaL Multimodder Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Truabuco Canyon California Posts: 172	True words of wisdom Bauul. There will always be something to fill the void when a segment of a market disappears. __________________ I thoroughly disapprove of duels. I consider them unwise and I know they are dangerous. Also, sinful. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet retired spot and kill him. - Autobiography of Mark Twain

27th May 2008, 16:39	#14
hughwi Hypermodder Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Southampton Uni / London Posts: 884	I have got a copy of the full article here (Courtesy of University subscription) and it really is quite an interesting read, would it be contravening rules or infringement if I was to offer it?

27th May 2008, 16:59	#15
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8,009	Probably, yes. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

28th May 2008, 02:58	#16
moshpit Minimodder Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 49	When I get feeling territorial, I go pee on a fire hydrant, no need for video games to fill that need __________________ Ci7 860, EVGA P55 SLI, 8Gb DDR3 1600, 2x HIS Radeon HD 5870, Patriot Torqx 128Gb, Corsair TX750, Win7 x64 Ultimate

28th May 2008, 03:38	#17
Ghys DUHHHH Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 2,606	I play CTF in UT to gain control of the map and conquer the other team's base ... I also play games in general to win and dominate (I can't play a multiplayer game and have fun just for the sake of playing). I guess it makes sens Now who am I, Bush, Hitler or Napoleon , mmmmm __________________ Phenom X3 720 Black Edition @ 3.4Ghz - Asus M3N72-D SLI - 4GB PC6400 - MSI GTX260 216 - RAID0 37gb Raptors - 2x 500GB - Corsair TX850 - Samsung 2233RZ 120hz cheesecake - Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bits Kids ! The Samsung 2233RZ is the solution to all your problems in life ! That is, of course, if your biggest concern is not sucking at FPS games

28th May 2008, 20:16	#19
Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 4,475	All males have a need to conquer, it's intrinsic to who we are. Watch a couple of 5 year olds play sometime, all their games tend to revolve around status and pecking order. Why anyone thinks this should be any different in gaming eludes me. __________________ Notice: If we see you flaming we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate measures - The Bit-Tech Fire Brigade.

28th May 2008, 20:25	#20
specofdust Banned Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aberdeen, UK, EU Posts: 7,622	As usual, I hate to agree with Major. But he's right. Find me a man that doesn't want to conquer (ok, ignore wusses). Life is about winning - video games enable us to win repeatedly, with relative ease, and in a very short space of time. That's part of what is awesome about them. That and they're great fun and allow us to pwn noobs. Really, why do people waste money on this psychobabble crap when it's all so damn self-evident? __________________ Like marmite, only no-one hates it Mmm bop!