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"Halo 3's launch marks a milestone on the journey of video games from niche hobby to cultural phenomenon. Yet those who don't play can be dismissive. Can the myths be laid to rest?
Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 unleashed his wrath in hundreds of thousands of homes around the country in the early hours. He was looking for a way to beat the Covenant once and for all, and to exterminate the deadly Flood parasites. The future of the human race hung in the balance.
Master Chief in action
For the owners of the 1.25m Xbox 360 consoles in the UK, Wednesday marked the end of the long wait for Halo 3, the final instalment of a hugely popular video game trilogy.
About 1,000 games shops around the country opened at the stroke of midnight so fanatical gamers could buy a copy and assume the role of Master Chief. First day sales may well have grossed more than any other game, film or album in history.
If, on the other hand, you're not male or aged between 16 and 30, you may neither know nor care that Halo 3 has finally hit the streets. The Flood? The Covenant? Master Chief? What's with the vaguely Biblical names?
To hardcore gamers - and there are millions - these characters are cultural icons as well recognised as Luciano Pavarotti to the opera buff or David Beckham to the football fan.
Hidden world
It's a world that's invisible to the uninitiated. And it's a slightly discomforting thought that for the next few weeks, after school - or more likely after work, since Halo 3 is rated 16+ - hundreds of thousands of people will be glued to their television screens putting in the many hours it takes to play a modern video game from start to finish.
You can share the camaraderie of gaming with others even when you are in your own bedroom
Tim Ingham
Gamers snap up Halo 3
Discomforting because over the years, video games have been blamed for everything from destroying marriages to turning balanced adults into murderers and rapists. At the very least, will video games produce a generation of unsociable hermits?
It's a common misconception that gaming is a solitary activity, as today an increasing number of titles are for gamers to get together and play in turn. In this respect, it's no different to golf - a game which can be a source of marital friction but is rarely accused of incitement to murder.
But a key attraction of games like Halo 3 is that many people can play simultaneously - either against each other or as a team. They do this by connecting their games machines together using the internet.
Queuing too is a social activity
"There's now a massive social aspect to online gaming," says Tim Ingham, deputy editor at video games industry journal MCV.
"Online multiplayer is wider and more accessible than ever before, and people are socialising and meeting while playing online. You can share the camaraderie of gaming with others even when you are in your own bedroom, because gaming networks enable you to speak to the people you are playing with."
The amount of time spent socialising while playing games shouldn't be underestimated - players around the world have spent about 650 million hours playing the Halo games online so far, according to Microsoft, the game's publisher.
Shared interest
Many people assume that video gamers who spend hours in their bedrooms meeting people online must lack social skills when put in real-life situations.
Finding a common interest
But school or work friendships often revolve around shared interests and experiences, and talking about Master Chief's latest discovery or tactic is no different to discussing the weekend's football results or the comings and goings on The Archers.
Games like Halo are part of such a large sub-culture that people who don't play them are likely to be seen as oddballs and excluded from many conversations - in much the same way as people who aren't interested in football or who don't have a television.
There's evidence that playing video games can have a positive effect on social life, says Dr Mark Griffiths, a professor in the Psychology Division at Nottingham Trent University.
"Research carried out a few years ago found that moderate game players have a bigger circle of friends than non-game players," Dr Griffiths says.
Buy together, play together
There's also evidence that playing video games can make the gamer more sporty. "It certainly speeds up reaction times and improves hand to eye co-ordination," he says.
And provided children don't play too much, it seems that their academic progress is unlikely to suffer. "School children who play a moderate amount of video games are also more likely to do their homework."
Over-40s could be excused for thinking that video games are irrelevant - after all, most companies target their titles at 16 to 30-year-olds. But gaming involves concentration, decision-making and speedy reactions, leading many researchers to believe that intellectual declines that are part of the natural aging process may be slowed by gaming.
Perhaps zapping aliens as Master Chief might be just the thing to help combat "senior moments" - for medicinal purposes only, of course."
"Halo 3's launch marks a milestone on the journey of video games from niche hobby to cultural phenomenon. Yet those who don't play can be dismissive. Can the myths be laid to rest?
Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan-117 unleashed his wrath in hundreds of thousands of homes around the country in the early hours. He was looking for a way to beat the Covenant once and for all, and to exterminate the deadly Flood parasites. The future of the human race hung in the balance.
Master Chief in action
For the owners of the 1.25m Xbox 360 consoles in the UK, Wednesday marked the end of the long wait for Halo 3, the final instalment of a hugely popular video game trilogy.
About 1,000 games shops around the country opened at the stroke of midnight so fanatical gamers could buy a copy and assume the role of Master Chief. First day sales may well have grossed more than any other game, film or album in history.
If, on the other hand, you're not male or aged between 16 and 30, you may neither know nor care that Halo 3 has finally hit the streets. The Flood? The Covenant? Master Chief? What's with the vaguely Biblical names?
To hardcore gamers - and there are millions - these characters are cultural icons as well recognised as Luciano Pavarotti to the opera buff or David Beckham to the football fan.
Hidden world
It's a world that's invisible to the uninitiated. And it's a slightly discomforting thought that for the next few weeks, after school - or more likely after work, since Halo 3 is rated 16+ - hundreds of thousands of people will be glued to their television screens putting in the many hours it takes to play a modern video game from start to finish.
You can share the camaraderie of gaming with others even when you are in your own bedroom
Tim Ingham
Gamers snap up Halo 3
Discomforting because over the years, video games have been blamed for everything from destroying marriages to turning balanced adults into murderers and rapists. At the very least, will video games produce a generation of unsociable hermits?
It's a common misconception that gaming is a solitary activity, as today an increasing number of titles are for gamers to get together and play in turn. In this respect, it's no different to golf - a game which can be a source of marital friction but is rarely accused of incitement to murder.
But a key attraction of games like Halo 3 is that many people can play simultaneously - either against each other or as a team. They do this by connecting their games machines together using the internet.
Queuing too is a social activity
"There's now a massive social aspect to online gaming," says Tim Ingham, deputy editor at video games industry journal MCV.
"Online multiplayer is wider and more accessible than ever before, and people are socialising and meeting while playing online. You can share the camaraderie of gaming with others even when you are in your own bedroom, because gaming networks enable you to speak to the people you are playing with."
The amount of time spent socialising while playing games shouldn't be underestimated - players around the world have spent about 650 million hours playing the Halo games online so far, according to Microsoft, the game's publisher.
Shared interest
Many people assume that video gamers who spend hours in their bedrooms meeting people online must lack social skills when put in real-life situations.
Finding a common interest
But school or work friendships often revolve around shared interests and experiences, and talking about Master Chief's latest discovery or tactic is no different to discussing the weekend's football results or the comings and goings on The Archers.
Games like Halo are part of such a large sub-culture that people who don't play them are likely to be seen as oddballs and excluded from many conversations - in much the same way as people who aren't interested in football or who don't have a television.
There's evidence that playing video games can have a positive effect on social life, says Dr Mark Griffiths, a professor in the Psychology Division at Nottingham Trent University.
"Research carried out a few years ago found that moderate game players have a bigger circle of friends than non-game players," Dr Griffiths says.
Buy together, play together
There's also evidence that playing video games can make the gamer more sporty. "It certainly speeds up reaction times and improves hand to eye co-ordination," he says.
And provided children don't play too much, it seems that their academic progress is unlikely to suffer. "School children who play a moderate amount of video games are also more likely to do their homework."
Over-40s could be excused for thinking that video games are irrelevant - after all, most companies target their titles at 16 to 30-year-olds. But gaming involves concentration, decision-making and speedy reactions, leading many researchers to believe that intellectual declines that are part of the natural aging process may be slowed by gaming.
Perhaps zapping aliens as Master Chief might be just the thing to help combat "senior moments" - for medicinal purposes only, of course."
