A gamer-friendly way to read The Bible
The Layman , December 22, 2009
LifeWay Christian Resource’s B&H Publishing Group has introduced the first complete Bible available on a video game console.
The “Bible Navigator X” software now is available for XBox 360 game consoles and Windows-based PCs.
Launched in early December, “Bible Navigator X” is available on the popular Xbox 360 game system. Providing a complete copy of LifeWay’s Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, the application can be purchased and downloaded through the “Indie Games” channel of Xbox.com.
As video game lovers crank up their systems and try new games during the holiday break, the application’s designer, Aaron Linne, sees a tremendous opportunity. Though it’s a medium where violence is among the most popular themes, Linne envisions people reading the Word in a whole new way on the video game consoles.
“The Xbox isn’t just secular entertainment anymore,” he said, adding that video game systems also are popular for viewing television, listening to music and watching movies. “We can use technology that other people developed to study Scriptures through a new medium. Some people are just more comfortable with a controller in their hands than a book.”
Offering the complete Old and New Testaments, the application also is available for Windows-based PCs. Other features include: a basic search that operates like a concordance, a bookmarking function that marks passages and reorganizes them into an order appropriate for teaching or study, and a presentation mode that features a larger display for projecting content onto a screen.
“Bible Navigator X” also offers various themes so users can customize its look, while maintaining its readability, according to B&H Publishing. Though it’s designed for users of all ages and experience levels, Linne had a specific kind of ministry in mind.
“This is also a great tool for youth ministers who teach in youth spaces that already have Xbox consoles in them,” he said. “It’s a quick way to create teaching aids from equipment you already have.”
The Liberty University graduate also was quoted on his alma mater’s Web site saying he hopes other publishers will release different translations and develop new ways, like “Bible Navigator X,” to share the Gospel.
“Bible Navigator X” isn’t the first Bible-related video game to hit the console gaming market, but it is the first that’s more study resource than entertainment. There are several Bible adventure and trivia games available for the Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation systems.
LifeWay Christian Resources is the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Holman Christian Standard Bible, published by LifeWay, is a modern English translation.
For more information about Bible Navigator X, visit the B&H Web site.