Activision Family Game Summit Highlights #ATVIFamGames

I recently had the privilege of attending the Activision Family Game Summit as an online hostess on twitter.  It was my first time experiencing an event like this, but I walked away with some great information to share with you.

The panelists included:

Soleil Moon Frye @moonfrye (not only an actress but also an amazing mom and author)

Nicole Armstrong @ATVI_Family (Activision's Marketing Director)

Patricia Vance @OKtoPlay (President of the ESRB) 

Suzanne Kantra @Techlicious (Blogger).

The overall theme was about playing with your kids and using video games as another tool in your parenting tool kit.  I learned quite a bit about how video games can be a positive part of your Family Game Night and some unexpected benefits of playing them.

Some of the benefits were:

*Game players perform higher in perceptual and cognitive tasks, and are often more creative
*Video games can promote cooperation; gamers spend 80% of their time failing, encouraging resilience
*62% of gamers play collaboratively, games teach everyday skills including promoting teamwork!
* Studies show that video games may help kids with anger issues, & those with depression
*Girls who play games w/parents are better behaved, feel more connected w/their families (BYU study)



Another very informative part of the session was how the ESRB does their ratings.  They now have a 3 part system:  Age Rating,  Content Descriptors, and Interactive Elements.  All box games have rating summaries to provide parents with insights into what was seen in the game to trigger that particular rating.


Of course, parents need to be involved in monitoring their children's game time and game choices.  They had some great tips for moms and dads such as limiting game time, keeping consoles in common areas , making use of parental controls, and checking out the specs on sites such as Common Sense Media and Plugged In before purchasing.



You can check out the full video of the event here:
www.activision.com/family 

It certainly wouldn't be Family Game Night without the games.  Activision has some hot new releases that just might be on your kids' wish lists.  

Here are some of my particular favorites:

GAME F EATURES: • Tackle the craziest courses ever, like Deck the Balls and the Wild west! • Run the Wipeout course like never before with all new, 3rd person camera angles! • Battle your friends to reign supreme in Side-By-Side Multiplayer! • Compete in over-the-top Wipeout episodes and over 50 obstacles designed to test your agility, endurance and abilities! • Relive your hilarious wipeouts with all new Slow-Mo replays!

Features: -Classic, comical, addictive gameplay! -3 Best-Selling Angry Birds Games in 1 Angry Birds Angry Birds Seasons Angry Birds Rio -19 episodes—each with an exclusive, NEW level -New Achievements and Trophies Become a Bird Slinger, Banana Fanatic or the Grinch! -New HD Animated cut scenes -Kinect and Move support

NEW AND FAVORITE CHARACTERS Play as all of the AUTOBOTS: OPTIMUS PRIME, ARCEE, BUMBLEBEE, RATCHET and BULKHEAD in single player campaign. Battle against DECEPTICONS including MEGATRON and STARSCREAM, and a secret character never seen before in any TRANSFORMERS game! SINGLE AND MULTIPLAYER MODE Multiplayer mode offers different battle action experience from the single player story mode. It features 11 playable characters including AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS in several modes including Brawl, Battle for Energon and Emblem Match. The Wii™ multiplayer mode is two player split screen with up to four characters on screen at once. Nintendo 3DS™ multiplayer has a four player mode over Wifi . There are no multiplayer capabilities available on the Nintendo DS™.

FEATURES: • ON THE FLY SWAPPABLE CHARACTERS Use Wreck-It Ralph’s brawn to destroy obstacles or Fix-It-Felix’s magical hammer to repair them! • UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTS Venture through exciting worlds based on the featured film; from Sugar Rush to Hero’s Duty, every world is unique but equally action-packed and fun! • BRAGGING RIGHTS Find and accumulate collectibles like Hero Medals and Easter Eggs that you can display in your trophy collection! • FUN THAT NEVER ENDS Beat the game? No problem! Play it again and discover more challenging levels under a new set of rules!

You can find some great deals on these at Target for your gamers this holiday season!


Which games are on your kids' holiday wish lists?

Disclosure:  I received a goody bag for attending this event online.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.  For more info. see my full Disclosure Policy.