Every generation has its virtuosos. Music, theaters, movies. But now, you can add video games to the list.

[URL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/28/rock-band-xbox-technology-personal-videogames.html]An article in Forbes magazine[/URL] looks at the latest crop of 12 video game masters and how they got to where they are. The list includes a boy who finished second in a 500-player tournament at age 7, a female [I]Call of Duty[/I] expert, a master at [I]Rock Band[/I], and even a prodigy in the social network game [I]Pet Society[/I].

While looking at the gamers, the story also delves into how hardcore games and social games are not much different, since competition is at the core. From Henry Lowood of Stanford University:

[INDENT]"There's a sociability factor in both where it's really about reputations within a community and to be able to show off, like being really good at basketball in your neighborhood."[/INDENT]Matthew Bromberg, chief executive of Major League Gaming, agrees:

[INDENT]"Competition and social interaction are at the heart of human nature. No matter what you do, you want to know where you stand compared to others, talk about it if you've done well, and improve your skills."[/INDENT]The article offers [URL=http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/28/rock-band-xbox-technology-personal-videogames_slide_2.html]a slide show of the 12 individual gamers[/URL]. Among them:

[URL=http://www.gameculture.com/2010/01/29/next-generation-game-wizards]read more[/URL]

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