I remember reading a Danish newspaper article about the same thing. The newspaper article was about senior citizens enjoying games,mostly games played on the Nintendo Wii, though. It told the story of women who, in her early years, loved to play tennis, but could'nt anymore. But now, thanks to to the Wii, she again could play (some) tennis. And the best part of it was that the Wii didn't talk back to her, when she lost
.
I'm pretty sure that's Nintendo intended to do, when they said that they were going to get a totally new market for the Wii, the elderly, and some of the families with kids. (and actually, the wii is great in that regard because it kind of lies the mom's worrying to rest that the children don't get much exercise sitting in fronf of the computer all day. Well, just buy a wii, and they will get the exercise...)
On a more general note, I agree that video games or any games, help keep the brain young, sharp and fit. My brother-in-laws mother actually solves a suduko puzzle each day - just to keep her brain sharp in 'old age' (she's over 80, but doing her sudukos has helped her keep up with t us young ones
).