Well, we play these things pretty often and they certainly help out our levels of concentration and hand-eye coordination, so....do they help you in real life in any way?
I cycle to work everyday in the city and there's something about dodging through the massive pedestrian crowds that move across intersections when lights turn green that remind me of the bullet clouds of manic shmups. The cycling/shmupping combo has upped my skill level in both hobbies.
