Contrary to popular opinion, competition is not a dirty word (see 81-84 Beck & Wade).  With competition, there is often a winner and a loser – but in a game, where the experience is often individual, this is not the case.  Video games have taught millennials that the rigor of the game requires some level of replayability if success is not immediately achieved at a given task.  Thus, winning and the feeling that ensues translates to immediate success for the player.  There is no existential angst should this not be achieved.  One simply uses another life or hits the reset button or returns to the previous save point.  Beck and Wade note that “every group in the game generation is more likely to believe that competition is the law of nature […].  [T]his belief in competition gives the game generation a welcome drive to perform” (82).   This drive to succeed in the game creates situations for an increase in creative risk taking – if failure is fixable, then true creativity and experimentation can occur because the fear of failure is a non-issue.  One other component of achievement is the fact that consoles like the Xbox 360 allow for immediate viewing of the in-game benefits that have been unlocked via mastery – by both the gamer and his friends (or even strangers).    Positive reinforcement and recognition for one’s ability is immediate.

These three factors are independent of the ways that students utilize their social capital via online communication, how they alter/ control/ personalize games through hacks and mods, and other important benefits of video game concepts.  But these three are a good overview of some of the benefits for students.