Video game systems have changed a lot since they were first introduced to the public. Early systems were quite simple with games meant to amuse and occupy a busy child’s mind. Today’s video game systems are designed for everyone of every age and do more than entertain. They teach, engage and keep a person busy for hours. The changes in game systems have taken them from a simple toy to a tool that can be found in almost every American home.
The Introduction of Video Games
One of the first game systems to come on the market was the Atari. This system was simple. It featured a joystick type controller and the games had minimal graphics and sound. There were also a fairly limited number of games for the system. It was designed mainly for children and teens and adults did not usually play with the Atari.
Later Nintendo and PlayStation got into the video game market, introducing their first platforms. Nintendo quickly became a household name with its game system that improved upon the Atari with better graphics, more chooses in games and addition gaming gear to make the games more exciting and appealing to teens and adults. Playstation did the same. This was the first step towards the video game systems we have today.
Evolution Over the Years
Video games systems have evolved tremendously since that first Atari system. Today there are extreme games on the market. Game systems have cordless controllers, gun style controllers, sports type controllers and other special controllers that allow people to play all types of video games. Video games today include racing, sports, fitness, role playing and typical arcade style games.
Besides the game systems being more advanced and using advanced technology, the games have changed. They now feature graphics that almost look real. They have amazing sound and they provide a real life type experience. It is almost as if you are directing real people when you play one of today’s modern video games. This is just one of the major changes that has really taken video games to a new level. Another major change was the introduction of the Wii by Nintendo.
With the introduction of the Nintendo Wii, video gaming changed forever. This game system is an extremely advanced video game that engages the player. No longer does playing a video game mean sitting on your bum in front of the television. With the Wii system you are up and moving. Many adults use the Wii Fit system to exercise.
Video games systems have really taken off and you can find some type of video game system in almost every home in America. There are tournaments where people play video gamers for money. Adults, teens and children all play video games today. Systems are used for many reasons, from playing for entertainment to playing for fitness to playing for money. When that first video game system was invented, nobody could predict just how much of an impact these systems would have on society.
By: Rod Dagan
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Filed under Gaming by on Sep 2nd, 2010. 
You may have seen different advertisements on the Internet saying you can make $300 or more an hour as a beta tester for video games. Is this true? Not usually. Typically, when you see an advertisement like this, it is giving you a “fantasy scenario,” as most game testers don’t make anywhere near that. In this article, I will give you a realistic approach on how much money you can get paid to play video games.
First of all, you can earn as much — or as little — as you want. The fact of the matter is, if you want to earn more, you just have to work more and build up a reputation as a high-quality video game tester. If you can do that, you will not be limited to the amount of games you can test. In reality, you’ll only be limited to the amount of jobs you can handle, as well as by the time you can devote to this.
Many people test video games in their spare time, as a way to earn some extra cash on the side. Those part-timers usually feel that it ruins the gaming experience if they test too many hours a week. Other people, however, are more motivated and work up to 60 to 80 hours a week doing this for money. For them, the paychecks will be significantly larger and much more pleasing to the eye.
In addition, your reputation matters as well. If you can provide high-quality feedback and become known as a game tester who works hard and always completes every assignment handed to him, then naturally you will qualify for more jobs and command a higher testing fee.
At the same time, your skill level will also help determine how much money you earn per hour. If you’re able to go through a game very quickly and beat it without much effort, then you can devote drastically lower amounts of time to your game testing. In layman’s terms: the better you are at playing video games, the more money you can make every hour as a paid game tester.
So even though most gamers will never make $300 an hour, it is very possible to make at least $40-$80 an hour testing games for companies. Anyway you slice it, that’s not a bad fee for testing and playing video games all day long.
By: Sean Saunders
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Filed under Business by on Sep 2nd, 2010.
Most game lovers have debated about subscribing to an online video game rental website. There are many, many benefits to online video game renting.
–There are no due dates. You can play each game title as long as you want without having a set time you have to return it.
–There are no late fees. You can keep your game titles for as long as you like without having to worry about late charges to your account.
–You won’t have to return your games to the store. It can be somewhat of a hassle having to make a trip to your local store to return your gaming titles. Returning your games with online video game renting is as simple as going to the mailbox.
–You don’t have to buy a game before you know if you’ll like it. Don’t you **** purchasing a brand new release before you’ve played it just to find that it wasn’t as great as you suspected? By using online rentals, you can play games first before you commit to buying them.
–You don’t have to sit around waiting for available titles. With local renal stores, there is a limited supply in stock. You often find yourself waiting for interesting games to become available. With online video game renting, there is always a game in stock, so you won’t be waiting on the game you want forever.
–Discounted used games are awesome with online video game renting. Gamefly and RentZero both offer discounts if you try something out and would like to keep it. This way, if you play a game before buying to make sure you’ll like it, you won’t have to make a separate trip to the store to purchase the video game. You can simply choose to keep the game and it will be charged to your account at a very low cost.
–You can set ESRB parental controls on games if you wish. The ESRB is a non-profit program that rates video games as to what age group should be playing them. Their ratings are placed on the outside front and back of every video game so you will know if it is appropriate for your child. ESRB ratings are: Early Childhood–for ages 3 and up, Everyone–for ages 6 and up, Everyone 10+–for ages 10 and up, Teen–for ages 13 and up, Mature–for ages 17 and up, and Adults Only–for ages 18 and up.
Gamefly is the most well-known online video gaming rental company. They offer a free 10-day trial or $8.95 for the first month. There are over 7,000 game titles to choose from, which is the most of any online video gaming rental company. Gamefly has many shipping locations all over the United States, so the turnaround time to receive your games is 1-2 days. Games are available on 9 of the major gaming platforms and new releases are available immediately. Gamefly also provides gaming information and walk-throughs.
Gamemine is another online video game rental company. Gamemine offers all the perks listed above and more. They also rent movies for PSP. They have game titles for new and older Generation systems. Gamemine also provides game information and walk-throughs. Another plus to renting from Gamemine is they offer a “speed-boost” after 90 days of renting with them. On your 91st day, you can click a button online, telling them you are sending your current video game back, and they will automatically send you a new game without waiting for your current game to be mailed back to them.
Another good online video game renting company is RentZero. RentZero offers a free 14-day trial for signing up. They only have around 4,000 game titles available on 6 different platforms, but they also have plans starting at just $9.95. RentZero is the cheapest online video game renting company there is.
By: R Morris
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Filed under Gaming by on Sep 2nd, 2010.
I make my living gaming. Can you imagine – doing what you enjoy doing most – and getting paid for it? Sounds like a wild fantasy, right? Think again. Many gamers get paid very well just to spend time with their consoles playing the latest games, because they are video game testers. Here’s how you can become one in 3 easy steps.
Step One: Make Contacts
You can’t just browse the jobs section of the classifieds to find companies looking to hire game testers for the latest games. You actually have to go straight to the companies that develop games and let them know who you are, what your gaming skills are and why you would be a great video game tester.
Make sure to present yourself in a professional manner. At the same time, don’t be afraid to brag about how many games and consoles you own and how many hours a day you spend gaming. Experience counts!
Step Two: Take Your Job Seriously
As long as you actually own the console or PC you’d like to test games on, chances are you’ll eventually get your first assignment. Make sure to read the instructions carefully. Especially make certain you know exactly what kind of information and feedback the company is looking for from you. Keep this in mind as you play the game they provide you with.
Keep notes as you go along and write clearly. Don’t forget to check your spelling and grammar. Most importantly, make sure you get the data back to the company on time! Even though you’re having fun, don’t forget to stay on track.
Step Three: Be Proactive In Taking On New Projects
After completing your first assignment, you may be so excited when you receive that first paycheck that you spend all your time gloating about it. Don’t! Keep up the process of contacting companies and providing quality reviews and feedback. You will build up an impressive resume of game testing assignments that will help you get even more and better paying ones in the future.
Sounds like a great job, right? So, if you want to be able to tell you friends “I game for a living”, follow the steps above and you’ll soon be on your way to making a full time income from the comfort of your console.
By: James Allen
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Filed under Gaming by on Sep 2nd, 2010.
Valuable And True Information About Video Game Tester Jobs
All gamers know that when a new video game is presented they can expect to find some errors in the game. This is pretty common and there is a logical explanation for that. Game developers are not automatically gamers. They create the video game and test it the best way they can, but they don’t fill all the gaps. Their thoughts are fixed on creating a successful product that has to satisfy the customer.
This doesn’t make them ideal video game testers.
Gamers have their own way of thinking and so they see the game in their own, non-economical way, except for the purchasing price of course. This creates the need for game developers to find and fix errors where their own personnel can’t. Gamers find the most glitches in a game, that is just a hard proven fact.
Why Are Video Game Testers So Important?
When you visit a regular gaming forum you can find a lot of posts of gamers reporting flaws. Other gamers post in the same topic until the place becomes a hot spot with the hope the game developers will do something about it. Sometimes it gets really ugly in those forums and because of that the game developers lose reputation and with that some profits too.
Paint yourself a picture here. When gamers find an error in a game, they get irritated. Not only do they get irritated, they talk about it to other gamers, friends and acquaintances. If these people were considering to buy the game, guess what?
Most of them don’t want to buy the game until the problem is fixed.
Game developers know about these things and of course they would like to increase the satisfaction level of their customers and the profits of their company so they actually hire gamers to test games before the games get published. We call these games ‘beta games’.
How Do They Work?
When video game testers test games and find errors, they report it to the game developers, the developers process and fix the problem, create a patch, and upgrade the game.
Just like that.
These new job opportunities are received with open arms. Of course the idea to get paid to test games is very welcome to a lot of people, but the results of the concept are even better.
With the help of video game testers a video game starts its path with much more success. The forums are calmer and the overall customer is more satisfied with off course the everlasting exception of a few people, but that is nothing new.
Where Do I Apply?
So, where can you go to become such a video game tester? There are some sources to check out, but beware, there are many people out there that will try to fool you and rob you of some money and your trust in other sources that might just be what you were looking for. I have created a website and did some research for you, so that you only deal with the sources that have been checked. At the same time you can learn about the advantages and the disadvantages of being a game tester.
Check out the enclosed link of this article to find out more about video game tester jobs. You can also sign up on the site if you wish to be contacted as soon as new information about the concept is available, or even if you want to learn how to make money online.
Thank you and have fun!
Visit Video Game Tester Jobs
To your success,
Ramesh Klinkert
By: Ramesh Klinkert
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Filed under Business by on Sep 2nd, 2010.
My thoughts on the suicide of a extended-standing friends. Did I do something incorrect? More information: something different
Filed under Uncategorized by on Sep 1st, 2010.
If you’ve spent any time looking for a video game testing job, you’ve probably been offered a membership to a site that promises to get you hired as a video game tester for a fee. On one hand, you really want to be a game tester. On the other, it could be a scam. So you ask yourself, “Do I have to pay to become a video game tester?”
First, let’s think a little about the job. It’s in very high demand, because many people underestimate the requirements of it. Although game testing doesn’t require any special training or education, it’s much more than just “getting paid to play games”. Video game testing jobs do require effort, and they should be taken as seriously as any other career.
With that said, it should be noted that most people will have to pay to become a video game tester. Because so many people expect it to be a very “easy” job, gaming companies struggle to find serious testers. It is rare to be directly hired by the developer unless you already have connections in the video gaming industry.
Instead, game developing companies turn to video game testing membership sites. Because you have to pay to join, it shows that you are prepared to take the job seriously. Serious game testers are just what the companies need to make sure that they get the most for their money. Many legitimate game testing membership websites exist and come with money back guarantees, for the rare chance that you don’t get hired.
By: Serenity Carson
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Filed under Business by on Sep 1st, 2010.
Yes you can become wildly successful as a video game tester and yes you can create a full time income from testing video games if you do it right and do the right jobs, BUT, you shouldn’t be paying someone in order to get into a job. That is where these programs become dodgy. Why should you pay to get into a job when the only way to get the job is absolutely free? I did some research on one of these companies called game tester guide, and have come up with the following results.
The truth about video game testing programs
There used to be a sponsor named Alex Lum, but after being bashed as not legit, the sponsor was quickly changed. Now there is a new sponsor named Matt Lankard! This sponsor claims to be a successful video game tester, and when he shows you the checks that he makes, it’s signed by a company called Lumco LLC. Namely, as I did some more research, I found that the checks themselves were being signed by Alex Lum to Alex Lum. With more research, I have this evidence to be reoccurring in different examples. As a quick search for Alex Lum on Google, his biographies say that he’s a “successful video game tester”. Since he’s not a company owner, than how is it that his name seems to be coming up whenever you search up Lumco LLC on Google, turns out, it comes up as squat and is only flooded with a bunch of websites saying how the company is null and inreputable. Sad to say it people, but you cannot make $80 from video game testing. The starting pay is actually close to minimum pay, which is sad, but it is true. however you can make about $15 and hour if you become a game tester/quality assurance depending on the games budget. You do not get paid in paychecks when doing testing. It gets wired into your bank account. Do you think that companies would be dumb enough to simply stick a check into your mail box? I’ve seen maybe a few companies do it, but usually they just wire it in. So then why are people getting paid in checks from the game tester guide website?
Video game testing programs are scams that shouldn’t be touched with when you can join gaming companies as a tester for free rather than paying more than $40.
By: Matthew Castro
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Filed under Gaming by on Sep 1st, 2010.
Fire in Moscow, Floods in Pakistan and in the most parts of Europe, wars in the Middle East, earthquakes everywhere with thousands and hundreds of victims, tsunami, famine in Asia and Africa… Is this something ordinary that has always taken a place or something quickly arriving… something this earth have never seen before and these are only its signs? What the Bible says is that human beings will nervously expect what will happen to the earth at the end of the times, since the heaven and earth will seem like shaken (Luke 21 chapter, 26 verse). Much if you do not believe in Bible, you cannot deny the truth of this circumstance. More information: random stuff
Filed under Uncategorized by on Sep 1st, 2010.
Ever since the economy started going down the drain, a lot of good, hard working people lost their jobs. Most people don’t even know where to look cause their so used to having a job and following the same routine every week. But what if i told you, you can make top dollar playing video games? No it’s not too good to be true.
Thousands of people like you and me make a living out of playing video games. They’re called video game testers.
Video game testers get paid to sit at home, or a testing center, and play video games. Yes this is a really job. Video game companies are constantly working on a new game. It’s a never ending cycle. So, naturally they will need people who can test the games for them before they release it. This is where the video game tester comes in.
The game tester has to play through the game thoroughly to make sure the that everything in the game works properly. Game tester are always in contact with the company.
Whether it’s the developers, programmers, designers, the game tester must be in contact with them at all times when testing the game. They do this so that you can exchange information bout the game currently being tested.
Sending feedback to the gaming companies is the only “actual work” you will probably do. I don’t even really consider it work, to be honest. It’s just a part of game testing. It’s important that you know how to clearly explain a situation to the company.
Let’s say you get to a part of a game and all the sudden everyone you went to open up the in-game menu, the game froze. You will have to explain what actions you took that caused the game to freeze. So you see, even the “actual work” isn’t too hard. But where do you go to find jobs?
It’s hard to get a job testing video games on your own. But fortunately for us, we don’t have to do it alone. There’s plenty of people out here willing to help. People in professional web site communities can help you with everything you need to know for the job. Some of these communities as k for a monthly fee. But you can avoid paying a monthly fee if you find a legit community that you only have to pay for once.
I signed up for one of these communities and they really helped me kick my new career off. They had a “Video Game Tester” guide that really helped me understand how the gaming industry works. It also taught me what i would do throughout the work day.
The best thing about the community is they have a web page with a list of jobs. I’m ALWAYS on this page. they have over 120 gaming companies listed with jobs for video game testers. Not only that, but they update it daily, adding about 20 new jobs every week. So as you can expect, I’m ALWAYS working.
By: Diego Pires
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Filed under Gaming by on Sep 1st, 2010.