Several outlets covered the recent report from German researchers that playing racing games might make you a bad driver.

But who actually read the study?

I did. And I found some interesting details, which I shared in Monday's Multiplayer. Now I am shocked that no one else reported the great "Medal of Honor" detail lurking within.

From my article:

* The German researchers tested the effects of three racing games: one of the "Burnout" games, one "Need for Speed" and a budget title called "Midnight Racer". For one part of the study, they enlisted about half a pool of 83 students from Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians-University to play 20 minutes of one of those games. The rest of the 83 played 20 minutes of "FIFA 2005," "Crash Bandicoot" or a "Tak" game. After the sessions, the test subjects were shown 10 German words that each had two meanings: a neutral one and an aggressive one. For instance, the report indicates that the word "schneiden" can either mean "to cut (with scissors)" or "to dis someone." People who played the racing games showed a greater tendency to offer the more aggressive definitions than did the ones playing the non-racing fare.

* Why were subjects given 20 minutes to play the game? The report says: "experimental experience has shown that it takes a minimum of 20 minutes of playing one single game before a participant is really 'in' the game." I'm using that line the next time a friend tries to blow off a game I'm having him try. He'll need to give it 20 minutes.

* A final phase of the study was conducted with 68 participants, breaking them out to sample the same three racing games and two of the same three non-racing games. "Crash Bandicoot" got the boot and was replaced with the World War II first-person shooter "Medal of Honor." Similar word tests and a computer test that showed dangerous driving situations were run. The racing games made the men in the test -- but not the women -- more aggressive in their attitudes about driving. "Medal of Honor" did not. Maybe "MoH" publisher EA can put that on the box: " 'Medal of Honor' will not make you a worse driver."

Never underestimate these studies. They're full of fascinating info! 

(If you're reading this entry after the week I posted it, you'll have to flip through the multiplayer.mtv.com site back to the March 19 entry)