Zynga shares up on takeover speculation

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Zynga Inc., which makes games for Facebook and smartphones, jumped Monday to their highest level since July, after the company was mentioned as a possible candidate for takeover by Yahoo.

THE SPARK: In a research note Monday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Blake Harper said that while last week's speculation about Yahoo acquisitions focused on the reviews site Yelp Inc. and reservations service OpenTable Inc., Zynga could make sense as a target, along with companies like the blogging service Tumblr and location app FourSquare.

THE ANALYSIS: Harper says Yelp is the most attractive candidate. Its market capitalization is half that of Zynga. Larger deals would be discouraged by Yahoo's shareholders who want the company to focus on improving its core business, Harper said.

San Francisco-based Zynga's fortunes have declined with the popularity of its games, which include FarmVille. It's revenue has flattened, and it is cutting jobs.

SHARE ACTION: Zynga shares rose 35 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $3.92 in afternoon trading. The shares hit $2.09 in November. That was the lowest level since the company went public in Dec. 2011, for $10 per share.

How to Hack the Video-Game Industry's Male Domination

Everyone likes a butt-kicking heroine, but the gaming industry is never going to give in - male-centric titles sell way better, and Katniss fever isn't going to stop that. So Mike Mika, a programmer and, importantly, father, decided to build a workaround for his 3-year-old daughter so she could 'play as a girl.' The result - well, for starters, it's about time Mario got saved in the end, but here's Mika's female-friendly version of Donkey Kong that's going viral to start off the week:

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In the accompanying YouTube description, Mika explains how the hero-for-heroine swap came to be in this very geeky but very equal opportunity family:

Two days ago, she asked me if she could play as the girl and save Mario. She's played as Princess Toadstool in Super Mario Bros. 2 and naturally just assumed she could do the same in Donkey Kong. I told her we couldn't in that particular Mario game, she seemed really bummed out by that. So what else am I supposed to do? Now I'm up at midnight hacking the ROM, replacing Mario with Pauline.

Forget, if you will, the new standard in awesome parenting set by this Mike Mika character, and remember that video-game publishers don't exactly support games with female main characters. Penny Arcade's Ben Kuchera pointed out in November that a study examining 669 titles found that,'Games that allow you to choose your gender are reviewed better than games that offer male-only heroes, but the games with male only heroes sold better.' Kuchera added some context: 'If you're funding a large-budget game and you see these numbers, you see that you lose sales by adding the capability to choose a female hero, and you lose significant sales by releasing a game with a female hero.' Essentially, numbers trump quality and a hard-to-break self-fulfilling prophecy. The video-game industry ignores female characters for the bottom line.

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Faced with that, Mika delivered to his daughter the only other option available with an ignorant industry: re-code a popular game for his daughter. This isn't unlike what father Mike Hoye did back in November, when he coded a version of The Legend of Zelda to swap the male pronouns for his daughter. But Mika's solution - having his daughter play as Pauline, the damsel in distress and Mario ex-girlfriend who always gets kidnapped by Donkey Kong, and actually saving Mario - is pretty much the best geek-dad move of the year so far... and a good segue until the little one's old enough to get into Metroid.

7 health benefits of playing video games

Your parents may have tried to kick you off your Super Nintendo just about every time you sat down in front of it because they were concerned about how it might affect your long-term health. Plenty of studies have shown that games that don't require a lot of physical movement can have an adverse effect on children as they grow older. But perhaps counter-intuitively, there have also been several studies touting the health benefits of gaming.

1. Video games are therapeutic for children with chronic illnesses
The University of Utah released a study last year that examined the effects of regular gaming on children diagnosed with illnesses like autism, depression, and Parkinson's disease. Kids who played certain games, including one designed just for the study, showed signs of improvement in 'resilience, empowerment, and a 'fighting spirit.'' Researchers believe the games' ability to act on 'neuronal mechanisms that activate positive emotions and the reward system' helped improve kids' demeanors as they faced the daily challenges of their illnesses.

2. Video games improve preschoolers' motor skills
Letting a 4-year-old sit in front of a TV with a game controller might not seem like the most productive use of her time. But researchers from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, would disagree. Their study examined the development of 53 preschool-aged children, and found that those who played 'interactive games' had better 'object control motor skills' than those who didn't. It's not clear, though, whether children with better-than-average motor skills tend to gravitate toward video games in the first place.

3. Video games reduce stress and depression
2009's Annual Review of Cybertherapy and Telemedicine included a study that found that gamers who suffered from mental health issues such as stress and depression were able to vent their frustration and aggression by playing video games - and showed a noted improvement. The study hypothesized that games gave certain 'Type A' personalities time to relax in 'a state of relative mindlessness' that allowed them to avoid reaching 'a certain level of stressful arousal' as they tried to relax.

4. Video games provide pain relief
Video games don't just provide relief from emotional pain. They can also help those who are suffering from physical pain. Psychologists at the University of Washington developed a game that helps hospital patients suffering from immense physical pain by using an age-old mental trick: distraction. The virtual reality game 'Snow World' put patients in an arctic wonderland in which they throw an endless arsenal of snowballs at a series of targets, such as penguins and snowmen. Military hospitals found the experience helped soldiers recovering from their battlefield wounds. The soldiers who played 'Snow World' required less pain medicine during their recuperation.

5. Video games can improve your vision
Mom may have warned you that sitting in front of the TV wasn't good for your eyes. But one developmental psychologist found it could actually be beneficial to your vision. Dr. Daphen Maurer of the Visual Development Lab of Ontario's McMaster University made a surprising discovery: People suffering from cataracts can improve their vision by playing first-person shooter games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty. She believes these games are so fast-paced that they require an extreme amount of attention, training the visually impaired to view things more sharply. They can also produce higher levels of dopamine and adrenaline that 'potentially may make the brain more plastic,' she said.

6. Video games improve your decision-making skills
Most video games require fast reactions and split-second decisions that can mean the difference between virtual life and virtual death. Cognitive neuroscientists at the University of Rochester in New York found these games give players' brains plenty of practice for making decisions in the real world. Researchers suggest that action-oriented games act as a simulator for the decision-making process by giving players several chances to infer information from their surroundings and forcing them to react accordingly.

7. Video games keep you happy in old age
Researchers from North Carolina State University looked closely at our aging population to see if there was a link between playing video games and mental well-being - i.e. 'happiness.' They found that senior citizens who said they played video games - even occasionally - reported 'higher levels of happiness, or well-being,' says Rick Nauert at PsychCentral. 'Those who did not play video games reported more negative emotions' and were more likely to be depressed. It's unclear what exactly is behind this link - or if the relationship is even causal.View this article on TheWeek.com Get 4 Free Issues of The Week

Other stories from this section:

• 7 gross-sounding foods that might help you live longer
• 'Stroke Belt': The public health menace of the deep-fried Southern diet
• How stem cells could lead to 3D-printed organs

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Original Angry Birds now free for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Rovio has made one its classic mobile games available on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch available for free by slashing the prices of Angry Birds and Angry Birds HD to nothing for iOS users in both the United States and United Kingdom. It is unclear if this is a permanent move or just a limited-time offer, however Rovio also removed the free demo versions of the apps, which were limited to only a few levels. Since debuting in 2009, the Angry Birds franchise has found great success and the games have been downloaded more than 1 billion times.

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This article was originally published on BGR.com

'The Nintendo Medal'? New Military Award for Drone Pilots Draws Hill Protest

The Pentagon's newest military honor, symbolized by a two-inch bronze medallion, has sparked fierce debate over the nation's growing corps of drone pilots and cyberwarriors and how to commend their service, which happens far from an actual battlefield.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal, approved by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last month, is the military's first new combat-related medal in nearly 70 years. It is intended to recognize extraordinary contributions to combat operations by a service member from afar and will rank as the eighth highest individual award behind the Medal of Honor.

But placement of the new medal in ahead of the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, which are given for valor in the line of fire, has created significant stir.

Critics have panned it as the 'Chair-borne Medal,' 'the Nintendo Medal,' 'Distant Warfare Medal' and 'the Purple Buttocks,' alluding to fact that computer-based warriors do their work from a chair, among other names.

Top veterans groups and a rare bipartisan alliance on Capitol Hill are intensely lobbying the Pentagon and President Obama to downgrade the award.

'We are supportive of recognizing and rewarding such extraordinary service, but in the absence of the service member exposing him or herself to imminent mortal danger, we cannot support the DWM taking precedence above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart,' a bipartisan group of 48 lawmakers wrote new Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday.

'Possibility of death or grievous bodily harm' are key factors that should elevate recipients of those awards above others who didn't face those risks, the group wrote.

The letter was penned by 34 Republicans and 14 Democrats, including Republican Reps. Joe Wilson of South Carolina and Darrell Isa of California and Democratic Reps. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Susan Davis of California.

Officials with the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars said they have already been pressing the administration to downgrade the award, saying that bestowing a higher-ranked medal to service members who fought from 'behind a desk' is disrespectful to those serving in harm's way.

So far the administration has shown no sign of backing down.

Last month, in one of his final public events before retiring, Secretary Panetta hailed creation of the new medal as a reflection of an evolution in modern warfare and of the growing importance of the drones and cyberwarfare strategies.

'The medal provides distinct, department-wide recognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combat entails,' Panetta said.

'I've always felt - having seen the great work that they do, day in and day out - that those who performed in an outstanding manner should be recognized,' he said. 'Unfortunately, medals that they otherwise might be eligible for simply did not recognize that kind of contribution.'

A White House official declined to comment on the criticism. Obama, who has significantly increased drone warfare during his administration, on Tuesday awarded two purple hearts to wounded service members at Walter Reed military medical center in Washington.

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Despite imminent PlayStation 4 launch, now is a great time to buy the PlayStation 3

Gamers around the world are excited for the holidays following Sony's (SNE) recent PlayStation 4 unveiling, but not everyone will want to shell out an estimated $500-$600 on the company's new console. As such, budget-minded gamers who aren't afraid to adopt a current-generation system on the eve of a new launch will be happy to know that PlayStation 3 pricing is likely about to plummet.

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"The PS3 was officially announced by Sony at E3 in May of 2005. Prior to its announcement, deals for the PlayStation 2 had been averaging $160," Louis Ramirez of deal aggregation site Dealnews wrote in a recent post on the company's blog. "After the PS3's announcement, the PS2 dropped to an all-time low of $129, or 56% off its full retail price. At the time, that price was unheard of for the PS2."

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And if you can wait a little longer to pick up a new PlayStation 3 console, you're in for even more savings.

"Fast forward to the PS3's actual release to customers in November of 2006, and the PS2 dropped in price again; this time it fell to a new all-time low of $116, or 61% off the full retail price," Ramirez continued.

Dealnews expects sale pricing on the 160GB PlayStation 3 to fall to as low as $144 in the coming months, or 64% off the current retail price.

Finally, those looking to purchase a brand new PS4 once it launches later this year might want to fight the urge to be an early adopter. According to Dealnews, gamers who wait just two months to purchase the PlayStation 4 once it launches could save as much as 14% through various deals.




This article was originally published on BGR.com

Video Games Can Help Dyslexic Kids Read Better

Discovered: Video games can help dyslexic kids read; pregnancy increases foot size; around 100 million sharks are killed annually; mammalian sperm swims upstream.

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Video games offer reading lessons. Parents who restrict their children's Wii sessions in hopes of seeing them spend more time with books might be surprised to learn that, at least for some kids, playing video games improves reading skills more than reading does. Andrea Facoetti of the University of Padua and his colleagues found that dyslexic children who played video games for 12 hours made more progress on reading than they would in a year's worth of typical reading development. Such games seem to hone these children's visual attention, a skill that comes in handy when they later try to make sense of text. 'Action video games enhance many aspects of visual attention, mainly improving the extraction of information from the environment,' says Facoetti. 'Dyslexic children learned to orient and focus their attention more efficiently to extract the relevant information of a written word more rapidly.' [Science Daily]

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Having a baby can lengthen your feet. Needless to say, having a baby will change a mother's life in big and small ways. One of the smaller, but scientifically proven, changes that come about from pregnancy has to do with women's feet. University of Iowa orthopaedics professor Neil Segal finds that pregnancy permanently alters women's feet, flattening their arches and slightly increasing their shoe size. This effect could be due to the extra weight women put on while expecting and how their joints loosen during pregnancy. 'I had heard women reporting changes in their shoe size with pregnancy, but found nothing about that in medical journals or textbooks,' says Segal. 'In order to study this more scientifically, we measured women's feet at the beginning of their pregnancy and five months after delivery. We found that pregnancy does indeed lead to permanent changes in the feet.' [The University of Iowa]

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Sharks are being killed by the millions. When shark bites man, the news is splashed on headlines. But no such coverage surfaces when man bites shark, which - according to the first worldwide estimate of shark killings - happens constantly. Researchers compiled data from fisheries and scientific studies for a report in Marine Policy that estimates global shark killings in 2010 at anywhere from 97 million to 273 million. 'This is the best attempt, published to date, to bring together the available data to quantify fisheries impacts on sharks at a global scale,' says John Musick of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Some sharks are targeted for their fins - a delicacy in some countries - while others are caught in trawls meant for other fish. [ScienceNow]

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Sperm swim against the current. Sperm already face quite a challenging race, with only one in the pack of millions standing even a chance at fertilizing an egg. On top of that, new research shows that they're swimming against the current in fallopian tubes. Kiyoshi Miki of Boston Children's Hospital and his colleague David Clapham studied dissected mouse fallopian tubes, finding that secretion in these winding reproductive alleyways comes head-on at sperm. But sperm actually use this cross-current to navigate their way towards an egg, the researchers found. 'When we first saw this, it was very exciting,' Miki says. 'It was a beautiful, coordinated thing.' [Science News]