My friend Jay is fucking amazing at video games. Supernaturally good. For the past six years, I've been telling him that he should quit school or his job and take up video games full time. For a while, I told him that he should move to Korea to do this, but it turns out that North America has a video game league. Players are making hundreds of thousands of dollars in sponsorships and prize money, and I'm really disappointed when I hear that Jay is focusing more on law school than on games. Even if he doesn't go pro (turning his back on cash and chicks), there are still a ton of other benefits to gaming. I've always been convinced that Jay's gaming ability had something to do with an inherent pattern recognition skill, and that he should at least be playing the stock market. While this hasn't been proven, Techdirt points us to an article showing that other people seem to agree with me on this.
A recent article on a South African technology site seems to say that video game players are destined to be the leaders of tomorrow (found via Slashdot). The article is part of a study that found "that 80 percent of managers in the US under the age of 35 had significant video game experience and that gamers had a more positive outlook on life than non-gamers."
Another post from Techdirt points us to similar information, saying that video game players are better strategic business thinkers.
Once when I asked a friend how Jay managed to drive 12 hours straight through heavy rain and darkness in the southern United States, my friend said "he just turns it into a video game."
And to confirm my belief that in any given driving conditions, I'd rather have Jay behind the wheel than anyone else I know, this article from the BBC news website says that video gamers have better visual skills than most of the population.
So Jay, if you're reading this: Drop out of law school and start playing more games. To anyone else: Send Jay a message on Facebook and tell him to pick up a controller. Then go out and play some games of your own. It'll be worth your time.
-Parker PS: Although it probably doesn't surprise anyone, one of the hottest television shows in Japan right now is a reality show about a guy playing some of the hardest video games ever made. It is already in its 8th season.