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CNBC ON DIGG

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Mar.08

2:46 PM ET

Thursday, 8 Mar 2007

Mind Games

Posted By:Annalisa Burgos

"I think, therefore I play" could become the new philosophy for video gamers.

Mind-controlled games could be the next trend for the $13.5 billion industry, if Emotiv Systems' new interactive technology takes off. The company unveiled a helmet at this week’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that reads brain waves and translates them into action on the screen.

“We can see it used as a game that employs magic or telekinesis as a fantasy element,” Randy Breen, Emotiv’s chief product officer, told CNBC’s Jim Goldman. “We see it as controlling and adjusting the difficulty for the player naturally rather than doing it manually, to provide a more natural experience.”

Some 15,000 conference attendees are abuzz about trends in the industry’s high-growth segments, including mobile gaming and emerging markets.

"As much focus as there is on the U.S. market, I think the international market for gaming is still warming up, especially in China, and we have a buy rating on China," said PJ McNealy, analyst for American Technology Research, which has "buy" ratings on giants Electronic Arts and Activision, and "neutral" ratings on Take-Two Interactive and THQ.

Meanwhile, Immersion’s VibeTonz System allows players to feel game-related vibrations on their cell phones. Samsung, LG, Nokia and Motorola phones will offer the technology.

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