Video Games

Video games are interactive, immersive, player-centered experiences typically played on gaming consoles, computers, and mobile devices. This entry provides information about video game usage outside school contexts, the variety of video game genres, how learning and video games are conceptualized within three distinct approaches, and the characteristics of video games that support learning.

Once restricted to stand-alone console gaming systems, video games have benefited from the rapid expansion of technological tools, allowing them a near-ubiquitous mainstream presence in contemporary culture. Players can now start a game on their computer or console gaming system and continue playing on their mobile devices, allowing a near-constant gaming experience. In addition to crossing platforms, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reported in 2008 that video games also cross genders: ...