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U.S. researcher worried about the "PlayStation Generation"

Posted Mar 4, 2007 at 4:59PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: PS3, PSP Tags: Jay Cohen, playstation 3 updates, Ubisoft

PC World reports that the head of science and technology research at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that there's a "crisis in this country" and that some students are part of the "PlayStation generation". Jay Cohen (not to be confused with Ubisoft's publishing VP), said that he is worried that the U.S. isn't producing the talent needed to further national security research.

The "PlayStation generation" he is referring to are some students who want immediate gratification and those who avoid math and science subjects because they're "too hard". And that's where the crisis part enters the picture. Cohen said this at a conference last Friday held by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. Tech firms that develop systems used in homeland security attended the event.

Well, we don't know if Mr. Cohen plays video games, but nobody would dare say that homebrew developers are shying away from challenges and projects because they are "too hard". But then again, we all have different perspectives of issues. With that, tell us what you think through the comments section below.

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THAT IS BULLSH**! I am 16, and I play video games. In addition, I take 6 AP classes and just received a 4.667 GPA this semester. These people are idiots. They simply assume that people that play video games are lazy. That is false. Although I probably play less video games then most people since I have time constraints, I still play quite a bit.

# agreed — cory1492 2007-03-04 18:19

Not to mention the small fact that most 3d games these days takes an extremely high level of calculus to create (applied science?)

# ,,,, — Guest 2007-03-04 18:21

4.0 is the highest gpa...

# re — Guest 2007-03-04 18:29

http://pspupdates.qj.net/index.php?pg=49&aid=83986

# ... — Guest 2007-03-04 18:31

4.0 isn't the standard at every school.

# 4.0 isnt the max — r3ap3r7 2007-03-04 18:32

4.0 isnt actually the highest... u wouldnt know cuz u probably dont even know wat ap classes r

# RE: GPA — Guest 2007-03-04 18:33

Every AP Class you take is inflated by 1 point. Therefore 6 AP Classes can give you a maximum of a 5.0

# yeah — Guest 2007-03-04 18:34

a GPA of 4.667? wtf?? anyways jay cohen, suck my *****.. i had a gpa of 3.4 in high and i'm about to start college with a full scholarship, oh and i played video games four hourse everyday

# oops — Guest 2007-03-04 18:36

hours*

# whatever dude... — Guest 2007-03-04 18:39

aww this fool,this is the making of a flame war,xbox360 fanboys will start pulling this out as their main card now,man,make sure you understand that by saying that they obviously recognize sony as #1,so that's not all too bad,but hey,i play the 360,the other people on live (including me) dont care about this stuff,we're like "whatever dude.."

Xbox Live Gamertag: E of the G (make sure the E and G are capitaks)

anybody wanna play crackdown? battlefield 2 perhaps?

# the Nintendo generation must be doing alright then — Guest 2007-03-04 19:00

Damn you Playstation!!!! YOU CAUSED 9/11

# ?? — Guest 2007-03-04 19:08

it actually takes someone smart to play video games or at least good at it, you can just play an FPS and expect to shoot everything in sight and win, not typically. You gotta have strategies and *****. i mean anyone who's good at game has to be educated in some way, not every dumbass can pick up a control and be good at it, i do see what he means but shouldn't this be changed to the Wii Gen? in my opinion *****s aren't going to do much good.

# yeah — Guest 2007-03-04 19:23

agreed, is it just me or are all politicians dumb?

# Quite a Broad Difference Here... — Vaifollower 2007-03-04 19:26

Although the argument is easy to flame about, it's quite stupid to even compare these two. Department of Homeland Security and Homebrew Programmers/Gamers aren't really supposed to be tossed around together. The old guy is just saying MANY students, NOT ALL, but MANY students avoid tough classes such as math and science because it's "too hard" or whatever, which is true. I see it every semester at college. It is scary to think about because, believe it or not, our youth is our future and with the majority of our youth/students avoiding "hard" classes...well, you get the picture. It's okay though, because students of other ethinicities(su ch as the Japanese, or maybe some Middle Easterners) have no problem with coming to the U.S. and going to our colleges and taking the "hard" classes and making A's. I also see that every semester at college. This debate goes on and on so I'm flying away now.

# OMG! — Guest 2007-03-04 19:44

this is the most important peice of news i've read today! what about the gameboy generation?

# lolwut? — Guest 2007-03-04 19:51

"THAT IS BULLSH**! I am 16, and I play video games. In addition [. . .]"

I'm sure you're also quite aware that anecdotal evidence in support or critique of any argument is well... anectodal.

"Not to mention the small fact that most 3d games these days takes an extremely high level of calculus to create (applied science?)"

Not true. While the development of a 3d engine may require varying degrees of calculus, many games are built upon preexisting, licensed engines for which only media need be created using tools that eliminate or graphically represent complex mathematical interactions.

I will argue that it takes more mathematical skills to run the finances of a video game company than it does to make the games they produce.

# huh — Guest 2007-03-04 19:55

wrong my good man, yes some games are built upon preexisting licensed engines but fact remains that even these games HAVE a very high level of programming skills put into.(game physics, AI, etc)

# Hate to agree but i do — Guest 2007-03-04 20:10

I guess you can call me smart, having done algebra in 4th grade and all. I, on an average day, play atleast one game, and I still manage to get straight A's. I would say what that dude is saying is bull but he is somewhat true. I actually have a friend who mastered many games and has played many games on all platforms, but he takes special ed classes. Its true that you need some brains to play games, but apparently not much. My friend barely manages a C but kicks ass on games. Like that dude (Jay Cohen) said, "Most" kids who play games avoid math/science. Not all, most.

# The crisis is not games, it's low standards for school — Guest 2007-03-04 20:23

I'd say that people who play video games are actually more likely to go into the maths and sciences. Look at the people who major in the humanities. Many of them don't play video games because they think if you do you "have no life". I personally got into electrical engineering because I was impressed by computer/game console hardware (particularly graphics cards).

I think the only way to address this man's fears is to raise the standards in school and actually start failing people who are less capable. Nowadays you need a college degree to work at a job that you probably don't even need a diploma for. But since too many people have diplomas it's no longer a tool for measuring capability. I fear that thirty years from now, you'll need a master's degree to even hold an office job.

# wrong — Guest 2007-03-04 20:31

Very wrong my friend. You might have a licensed engine but you still have to program the game. If it was so simple you would see a lot more programmers.

Sure the engine is the hardest part of the coding, but that doesn't mean that once the engine is done it's all just media creation.

It's like saying that because of the .NET framework, we don't need Windows programmers anymore, just people who can click buttons.

# oh no — Guest 2007-03-04 20:36

I'm sure that the Department of Homeland Security is pissing their pants worrying about a flamewar between console fanboys. Yeah, thats it... that must be their number 1 concern right now...

# Gameboy — Guest 2007-03-04 20:40

The Gameboy generation became the Playstation generation when their gameboys got too old.

Either way the government needs to have one voice on the issue if they're gonna be so vocal about it. One on hand they create the Americas Army game as a recruitment tool, on the other hand they're saying that games are bad for people. So is the US government funding something it knows is bad for it's people?

# Silly politicians. — Guest 2007-03-04 20:43

Politicians are so silly. Vomiting sun-shiny idealism all over every demographic, including that of gamers.

Not everyone likes math or science. That isn't to say that gaming is to blame - Don't be ignorant, Cohen.

I'm not sure where he gets off somehow associating gaming with a lack of mathmatical knowledge. I'm a 12th grader, and I've already taken AP Statistics and Calculus. I also play several hours of various consoles and portables throughout the week...

So does that make me unproficient in his eyes? Who cares?

Ignorant Cohen. Just disregard him.

By the way, article posts on qj.net are becoming obscurely recognizable as appropriate. Stop posting crap like this article.

# Nice. — Guest 2007-03-04 20:45

I like how you spell everything completely incorrectly and yet criticize this other guy about what he doesn't know. Hahahah.

# Eesh — Guest 2007-03-04 20:57

TV makes people into unmotivated drones, but where's the argument on that? Is passive entertainment outright better than one that requires participation?

# prone skill — Guest 2007-03-04 21:04

Video Gamers are more prone to having skills in keyhole surgery,sounds crazy yeah,but think about it,if you were the best sniper in halo 2,it'd be no problem to do that sort of stuff,who thinks so?

# . — Guest 2007-03-04 21:15

It's also quite obvious on all the message boards that many youths today are too lazy to stick with anything difficult. They'd rather have someone hold there hand through even the simplest process rather than actually research, and learn on there own.

# . — Guest 2007-03-04 21:18

I don't know. The keyhole on my front door has a clogged aorta. Any Halo2 players wanna give it a go?

# Nerds Rule the Earth — Guest 2007-03-04 21:21

Computer gaming encourages technological advancement. People who "Game" are more likely to pursue a career in computers and technology. Gamers are comfortable around high technology and are often familiar enough with the their hardware and software to build PCs or modify there own equipment.

people who develope games are among the smartest people on the planet. Most modern video games use far more advanced programming techniques than many military applications.

My first games console was an intellivison in 1980. Ive been gaming on most platforms ever since. In parallel, Ive always worked around computers and technology. Im now developing future communications systems.

Think of gaming as interlectually detrimental as reading fictional novels, going to the cinema or persuing a hobby.

Shall we start with the book burning?

# hahaha — Guest 2007-03-04 21:40

^so funny but so true. "Console war" is only slightly more substantial than a debate as to whether brown or pink sprinkles are better on a banana split. I actually prefer brown sprinkles. LET THE FLAMING BEGIN!

# ... — Guest 2007-03-04 23:34

dude...you rule.

# . — Guest 2007-03-05 00:43

You mean UMD burning. lol

# No.. — Guest 2007-03-05 01:25

No he doesn't. He means what he said, maybe next time you'll think before you type?

# You're wrong. — Guest 2007-03-05 01:29

So according to Cohen, if I play video games I'm lazy? Haha! I laugh at you, you ignorant old fool. You don't know the first thing about gaming! Playing most games requires skill, ofcourse that's not the case for all games, but for most games it is. Also playing games doesn't make you lazy in any way, even if there are alot of lazy people playing games, it doesn't mean that it's the games that make them lazy! So in my oppinion you're 100% WRONG! And I believe alot of people would agree with me on this. I myself got into programming and such through playing games, without them I wouldn't probably have ever gotten into programming and such. The people who go out and get drunk are the ones who most likely become stupid and unemployed. Allthough this is just my view on the subject, you may comment it as you wish, however I doubt I'll be reading on this topic for long.

# School Ranks — Guest 2007-03-05 01:40

At my school, the we rank it out of 6 GPA points. It's really weird.

"Advanced" (normal classes) are 5 points, and "Honors/AP" are 6 points.

Anyway, while there are lots of exceptions (I'm a sophomore taking 3 APs this year and I skipped 3 years in math - but I enjoy the occasional video game!), I do see lots of laziness in my school. The guy does have a point. At a neighboring school, the valedictorian wants to be a fashion designer because "she doesn't want to do anything hard" (read: math and science). It's pretty sad.

# I slighty... — Vecha 2007-03-05 03:47

agree...I mean...kids today do shy away from math and science...

The highest math I took was Algebra 2 Trig(the highes at our school is Calculus)

I really don't think it is that bad. Some kids have a weakness in certain subjects(mine is anything mathematical...Science and History are my strong points)

I don't see how this effects our "national security" If they force kids to take simple problem solving classes(algebra /geometry) then I believe we will be fine.

As for the playstation causing this. Maybe. But i think TV has just as much blame...

there are people out there that play video games more then they have a life out in the real world.....WOW pops in my head pretty quickly.

# Hmm — Guest 2007-03-05 04:19

Wait, I thought that not wanting to do stuff the hard way was a good thing...

I mean, most technological progress has been the result of attempting to make life easier for the common person...

^_^;;; Maybe I am just taking this out of context.

# Rubbish.... — Guest 2007-03-05 04:34

I play video games all the time, i am 13 and doing my KS4 SATS (UK) In May! I get pretty high grades n stuff at the mo....so well These Goverment guys should start picking up some controllers and having fun with their life instead of always being serious lol

# pffft — Guest 2007-03-05 04:39

I've played video games everyday since I can remeber. I also smoke a large amount of pot. Yet, I am a computer science major...These people just look for ***** to ***** about.

# ... — Vietone 2007-03-05 04:52

This isn't anything new. Its not the Playstation generation.

There have been lazy kids in school ever since its inception. They are just looking for more ways to make video games look bad.

Saying that video gamers tend to like instant gratification and quit when things get too hard is BS. I can say the same thing about more people who dont play video games.

# ... — Guest 2007-03-05 05:16

well, where I am from ( Not America ), 4.0 is the highest gpa, and is not affected by what classes you take, just what grades you get.

# ...cause it rhymes — Guest 2007-03-05 05:58

he probably only chose playstation generation (as opposed to nintendo, xbox360, gameboy blah blah blah) because it rhymes. playstaTION generaTION.

as far as education goes, i've got my BS in mechanical engineering. that definitely took dedication.

# Playstation Generation rulez — Guest 2007-03-05 06:30

Playstation Generation + Nintendo Generation vs Xbox 360 fanboys!!!

# Another way to attack gamers, YAY! — GODzillaSDM 2007-03-05 06:49

Those bastards. How many way can we attack gamers without scientific research? Lets count them.

The blame on the poor results of student test scores, lie in the poor management of funding for schools. There are so many poor schools without the most basic materials.

But its probably not because kids don't have enough books in classes, no... its because they play video games.

# this is crap — Guest 2007-03-05 09:15

im 13, in 8th grade, have a PSP and a PS3, and i take Geometry Honors, I took Algebra I Honors in 7th grade, and i have all honors for other classes. Plus i have always made the honor roll. ANd all my friends who play video games a lot also are in honors classes.

# yeah — Guest 2007-03-05 13:06

so if your just concurring with me, why are you saying that i was wrong? or is your comment aimed at the original poster?

# What a jerk — Guest 2007-03-05 13:17

Sure, pin it all on Sony. Does he even follow gaming at all? Apperantly not, seeing as how Sony is (unfortunately) losing...*sobs*..anyway, he should call it the "XBOX Generation" instead. Not that I mind being compared to a PlayStation.

# the way i see it... — Guest 2007-03-05 13:56

what do politicians do that requires so much intensive math and science? im not trying to say everyone could stand up and convince stupid America to do specific things, but alot of people can convince thier friend to pull a favor for them for example. whats so intensive about the art of corruption? it takes practice, just like a powerpc user sits on their ass all day. but both of them learn, to further themselves at thier craft. the only diffrence between them is, when a computer breaks, who can fix it?

# Calm the hell down... — Guest 2007-03-05 15:46

Your attitudes are the same crap that makes me people think video game violence affects a young ones minds. Acting out at politics becuase they have different views is not only stupid, but you are not even bothering to look at where any references to the PlayStation are coming from. Your on the internet for starters, YOU ARE NOT EVERYONE. You all need to calm down. Your not helping the situation by acting like an idiot and saying this is all "bull-*****". Also if you want people to take your opinions respectfully learn to type...

# agreed — Guest 2007-03-05 17:57

I agree that the ones in school that get the best grades are the "nerds" and since most nerds don't have a chance of getting laid, they play video games. Most of the people at my school (high school) that play video games, are also, not coincidentally, the ones who are the "nerds". I am a nerd and have a 4.0 gpa and play 3 hours of WoW after school usually (even more on the weekends). BTW math and science are most definitely my two favorite subjects respectively.

# RESPONSE TO UNREAL CLOCK — Guest 2007-03-05 18:31

Learn to type huh? learn to spell "because" *****! (2nd line of the above comment)...

Anyways many gamers are lazy and out of shape. It might be considered a threat to national security because the future of the country is in the hands of today's youth. During the Cold War, there was a similar worry about America's young people because the Russians were pushing their young people to work very hard academically in order to surpass the American nation as a whole... Now that was a reason to react on the US's part...instead we just built more nukes than them...

# .. — Dodo 2007-03-06 03:34

OH YEAH BLAME PLAYSTATION! coz it's not an AMERICAN product so it's "NATIONAL SECURITY"

What a bunch of BULL.

# .. — Dodo 2007-03-06 03:41

Anyway I'm not from USA (thank god) so I don't f*king care.

Still I'm an undergraduate (2nd year) at UCL, majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Math.

Video games haven't stopped me from excelling, and studying doesn't stop me from enjoying myself.

# ***** them all — Guest 2007-03-06 04:08

***** you and every body that's work's with you, you peace of ***** come to FL and see the school's here lack well...everything you peace of ***** the goverment don't give a ***** bout the youth you in prison us, cop's harass us and your alway's trying to make yourself look good. suck my ***** ***** you aint ***** and ***** the goverment you work for cuz they're just as corrupt as the next....this is'nt the land of freedom it's a hidden dictatorship your goverment forgot bout us in FL that's why the school's here don't got ***** you bulid bar's and club's put all your founding in you goverment but leave the school's to rot, ***** you *****....... oh and guess what i dropped out of high school and never went to collage i own 3 japnese car tuning shop's, i sell car's and part's and i specialize in suspension dumb ass do you know what's important to work on that *****er it's math and geometry so ***** off and leave us gamer's alone *****

# nerds rule — Guest 2007-03-06 04:10

maddox for president

http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=dumbassjocks

# Think of it this way — mreverdred01 2007-03-06 06:03

Even if it were true that the "playstation generation" doesn't want jobs in math and science, that would mean that there would be a higher demand for those jobs since nobody wants to do it, which would make people pay more money to people willing to take those jobs, which in turn would make more people want to take jobs in math and science. It's basic economics. Does this mean I'm smarter than the US department of homeland security?

# its not you — Guest 2007-03-06 09:16

the dumb politicians are the only ones that suck up enough to make it that far in government

# YES!!!! — Guest 2007-03-06 09:46

Videogames doing a charitable act for the world. The more people from the USA become lazy people who only play videogames in their life then their economy starts deteriorating faster. I already want USA to go down so my country (Puerto Rico) can liberate itself from this colonial power of ignorants and the world becomes better since it won't have USA to abuse it (this is ti'll another country gains great power and becomes abusive which may be China, of course it would be nice if my country gets it's independance from the USA so it can progress, and hopefully we won't get colonized again, when we where gonna free ourselves from Spain in 1898 USA invaded us and we had even already achiaved our countries autonomy!).

# Guys — Guest 2007-03-06 10:01

This is not about that playing videogames affects people's intelligence or about a console war or whether you'r school's maximum GPA is something, this is about the true problem in USA that videogames IS causing lazyness in many people. Now, I don't wanna offend anyone but how many of you play videogames more than 1 hour a day? 2 hours? 4hours? more than 8 hours? Well many kids here in USA have developed a tendency to play videogames a lot instead of doing chores and pertaining their responsabilitie s. Well this tendency develops while the kid grows and at the end he may be a smart kid but he will fail because he's not responable or hard-working. This society is not one you may be born smart and you get a job and since you're smart and were the highest grade at school you will live well, no, you have to work and sacrifice yourself and at the route our country is taking it seems there's no future for our country. Unemployment is growing, foreigners take our jobs, the reason is because they're hard working and responsable and while our people played videogames their people delivered newspapers, learned different languages, worked a part-time, ect. In the end, most of our people end up working in fast-foods or as supermarket employees, and not even that because even at jobs that require less sacrfice and less education are taking by the hard-wroking mexicans. In this capitalist society the #1 thing to survive is competition, before our people worked and sacrificed themselves, now the new generation is one centralized on videogames, media and dependancy and that is the main reason while our country is not gonna last and our people will be unemployed and leaving in the streats.

# you're right. — Guest 2007-03-06 11:49

Laurel is completely right - Cohen needs to stop speaking out of his ass. But then again, who cares what he does? It's a free country, and we can just as easily choose to completely ignore him.

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U.S. researcher worried about the "PlayStation Generation"

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