Sure the average video gamer is 34 years old, but the most active group is boys under 18, a group famously resistant to reading. Here is the RTSF Top 10 recommendations of books that have robots plus enough world building to rival Halo or Doom and lots of action or puzzles to solve. What's even cooler is that you can cleverly use the "Topics" links to work in some STEM talking points by asking things like: do you think it would be easy reprogram cars to hit pedestrians instead of avoiding them? How would you fool a security drone? But you may want to read them too, the first six on the list are books that I routinely recommend to general audiences and people tell me how much they loved them.

The virtual stage is set for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, returning as an all-digital event, due to the pandemic, instead of the annual pilgrimage to L.A. to cram into the Los Angeles Convention Center. But the focus of the four-day celebration, taking place June 12-15, remains the same as the annual show that first debuted in 1995: to catch a glimpse at upcoming video games and new hardware, attend press conferences and panels, and perhaps spot celebrity appearances. "For more than two decades, E3 has been the premier event and showcase for the video game industry," says Stanley Pierre-Louis, President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), a Washington, D.C.-based organization that serves as the voice and advocate for the video game industry. Yes, the internet fails:Outages like Fastly's will happen. Here's how to protect yourself "Even before the pandemic, we recognized the importance of reaching out to the digital audience, and so this new format creates exciting opportunities to bring fans, the media and industry together all under one tent" adds Pierre-Louis.

The idea that gamers are antisocial grumps who stay up all night eating junk food while playing Call of Duty in their mother's basement is woefully outdated. According to a new survey, about half of all gamers admit they've been playing more since the pandemic started, but nearly three-quarters use it to socialize. Only ten percent of respondents said they munched on junk while gaming, compared to the 37 percent who don't eat at all while playing. Nearly half of respondents kept their gaming to between 8pm and midnight, while just seven percent burned the midnight oil. UK game developer Jagex first came on the scene in 2001 with RuneScape, a popular fantasy massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG).

ChinaJoy, Asia's biggest video game conference, went ahead at the weekend, although it was very different from previous years' events. Most large-scale shows in the region have been scrapped as social distancing is enforced because of the coronavirus. But about 150,000 gaming fans descended on ChinaJoy in Shanghai for the four-day event. With a mix of real-world and online launches, many feel it could be the new normal for conferences. ChinaJoy, also known as the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, saw around 380,000 visitors last year, keen to preview and play the latest games and new gadgets.

With Prime Day just around the corner, here are 5 products on Amazon that truly deserve their 5-star ratings AND a spot in your shopping cart. Has Amazon Prime Day become the new Black Friday? For the fifth July in a row, the country's biggest e-commerce marketplace – it now accounts for about 50% of all U.S. retail sales, according to eMarketer – offers aggressive discounts on several products, in a variety of categories. This year's Prime Day – it actually runs 48 hours starting Monday at 12 a.m. PT and through Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. PT – looks to be no different, especially if you're into video games.

It's a particularly good year for video gamers, thanks to console releases and changes to the way we play games overall. For the really hardcore video gamers, there's plenty to choose from this year, with devices that will literally up your game. Anyone can feel like a kid over the holidays with new gaming devices to play with -- and, of course, games are more fun with more people so a gift to your gamer is really a gift to everyone. PlayStation Pro or Xbox One X: Sony and Microsoft have updated their gaming consoles, meaning that it's a pretty good time to upgrade yourself. The PlayStation 4 Pro supports 4K gaming -- ultrahigh definition -- and is compatible with all PS4 games.

While some view videogames as a waste of time, researchers have found that spending time in these virtual worlds can actually enhance your perception and attention skills. People who play between one and five hours a week are able to process visual information five percent more accurately than those who don't play at all, finds a new study. These findings suggest that those who play video games are faster and more efficient at processing rapidly-presented stimuli. People who play between 1 and 5 hours a week are able to process visual information 5% more accurately than those who don't play at all, finds a new study from psychologists at Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University asked 43 participants to perform observation tasks presented on a screen. The first asked participants to identify a white letter within the stream of black letters, and the other the letter'T' in one of four orientations, rotated by 0, 90, 180, and 270 and observers attempted to discriminate between these orientations The team found that video gamers were able to perform this dual task on average 5% more accurately than non-gamers, suggesting faster and more efficient processing of rapidly-presented stimuli.

Though fans may not always notice, professional athletes put thought into their outfits off and on the field. They'll choose custom sneakers on the court, fancy jackets at the press conference and color-coordinated headphones in the locker room. Professional video game players rarely do better than jeans and oversized hoodies. So at its first of several planned ventures to amp up e-sports, a Los Angeles start-up is hoping to give the growing industry a sophisticated look. Ultimate Media Ventures on Monday launched ULT Kills, a fashion line of T-shirts, hoodies, hats and eventually footwear that, in the words of co-founder Nate Eckman, isn't the usual "super-embarrassing … kitschy, nerdy gamer wear."