An American study actually found that playing video games is good for your eyes

A video games study conducted at the University of Rochester in the US has found that people who play video games, especially action games, for a couple of hours a day over the a month may see a 20 percent improvement in their vision. Video games, according to this study, changes the way the brain processes visual information.

Action games, according to the study, push the player's visual system to its limits and the brain learns to adapt to it and consequently improve. The subjects were given an eye test such as used at regular opticians and then divided into 2 groups--one played FPS action games for an hour a day while the control group played a less visually complex game. Their vision was tested after the study and those who played the FPS games scored better on the eye exam. This means that visual defects and injuries could in future be treated with, probably not a session on COD4, but some other type of visually demanding games.

We've seen this year nintendo release sight training on the DS to the scepticism of the usual video-game-sceptics crowd but this research suggests there is more weight behind Nintendo's health/sight benefit claims that many thought. Afterall it's not that much different to using a DVD training game for the driving hazard awareness test. The findings of this study probably aren't a surprise for many gamers. Vision and sight skills together with things like reaction are what makes some gamers better than others through practice. So too can you tell when you get better at FPS games when your eyes and vision react better and quicker after practice.