Meta-analysis of action video game impact on perceptual, attentional, and cognitive skills.

Understanding the effects of action video game play is essential given that (a) a large number of individuals regularly spend many hours on these types of games, and (b) proponents are offering suites of video games that are claimed to change behavior or enhance cognition. The 2 meta-analyses in this paper present the current status of this field, concluding that playing action video games has some positive effects on improving cognitive skills. This review also identifies some limitations of current research.