190°

Video gaming joins smoking, gambling on list of common addictions

Australia's Okan Kaya likes Call of Duty: Black Ops II. In November he played the blockbuster video game for a world-record 122 hours.
"I'm a massive fan," he said. "I've been playing the series since the World War days and absolutely love it."
Circumstantial evidence suggests gaming can be as addictive as gambling. In July a Diablo III fan in Taiwan collapsed and died after a 40-hour session at an internet cafe.
Australian National University psychologist Olivia Metcalf has found concrete evidence that gaming is indeed addictive.

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timeslive.co.za
USEYOURFIST4131d ago (Edited 4131d ago )

I would argue that this is far from "concrete evidence". its strongly argued the media have created the concept of videogame addiction through a moral panic, creating a panic in society by over exaggerating the problems caused by gaming, in addition to comparing it to more serious problems such as gambling addition without much rational reason for doing so. Why dont any of the major world health organiztions recognise video game addiction as a clinical condition? overplaying is not addiction! it comparable to over reading not over smoking.

zerocrossing4131d ago

In all my 20+ years of gaming I have never been unable to tear myself away from a game.

Some peopled are more susceptible to becoming addicted though, but over gaming is more a form of extreme escapism rather than addiction, IMO of course.

Lord_Sloth4130d ago

Exactly. These rare and isolated incidents are nothing more than a serious lack of self control. I haven't even played a game in a month at current. If this were an addiction, wouldn't I be yelling at people for no reason like smokers?

jrbeerman114130d ago

in that vein than watching television should be added to that list. more people are glued watching honey boo boo, and singing shows than video games.

Canary4131d ago

I think you're overreacting.

Gaming /IS/ a common addiction.

That doesn't mean it's dangerous, let alone life-threatening.

You know what else are common addictions?

Coffee.
Chocolate.
Sex.
Masturbation.
Biting your nails.

It's not a big deal.

ajax174131d ago (Edited 4131d ago )

Well, it can be life-threatening... Mainly to those who play StarCraft... Remember that South Korean guy who died after playing for 50 hours straight! Now that is an addiction!

rainslacker4131d ago

I'd stop gaming and smoking...but my mom taught me to never be a quitter.

USEYOURFIST4131d ago

you missed the point. From a clinical standpoint the phrase 'gaming is a common addiction' is factually incorrect, untill more research leads to a reclassification, which i dont see happening.

I may have come off as OTT lol its just ive been studying gamings effects on kids and found the medias representation of gaming is usually as a negative hobby that through their 'gaming addiction' makes kids violent and shoot classmates. This view bugs me as its basically not true and i could, have, write an essay about it lol.

Coffee and chocolate are are chemical addictions like drugs.

Im not sure if sex and masturbation are clinicaly recognised addictions, hypersexual disorder maybe but again not clinically recognised as an addiction disorder.

Sorry im going off on one again lol just defending gaming! (sh*t, maybe im wrong and actually am addictied lol), look i agree with most of your points but the word addiction is used wrongly quite commonly in these cases which leads to gaming being related with 'bad' things such as drugs.

Bimkoblerutso4130d ago (Edited 4130d ago )

It might be more accurate to label them a "compulsion" to some people. "Addiction" suggests a degree of physical dependence. If you quit gaming, you're not going to go into withdrawals.

When you start getting into mental dependence, it becomes a matter of mental disorder. A human can technically exhibit mental dependency on literally anything, so it seems silly to me for all these "scientists" to automatically target specific sources when they can't just throw it under the physical dependency category.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4130d ago
shutUpAndTakeMyMoney4131d ago

They should have seen xbox in 2005! It would be considered a smoker.

Nykamari4130d ago

Lol! That's too funny! I choked on my chronic smoke when I read your comment!

2pacalypsenow4131d ago

Except Smoking and Gambling can ruin your life gaming not so much

dark-hollow4131d ago

It can. If you spent too much time on it you can abandon work/school/uni for it.

I know several people who lost their jobs due to their addiction to gaming.

swice4130d ago

You need to slap them. Hard.

EddieNX 4131d ago

I agree with this. I am OCD when it comes to gaming. Although I actually love and appreciate the art that I choose to buy As I do film or music.

I do seem to spend a LOT of money on gaming. And I have a terrible addiction.

I'm addicted to buying sealed games and slowly unsealing them and then smelling their factory fresh innards.

God have mercy on my soul...

BrianC62344131d ago

To help get off your addiction in 2013 all games you buy must be digital downloads. :)

EddieNX 4131d ago

DON'T SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!! DIGITAL DEVIL!!!!!!

I will buy my retail games from the store for a long as possible. A- I like to colllect. B- I like to sell what I don't want to collect.

Digital doesn't offer such flexability.

Indie games and smaller games all day long though:)

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50°
6.0

TMNT Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants review - Games Asylum

Games Asylum: "Well, this is neat. As the name suggests, Wrath of the Mutants is the rarest of things – a genuine arcade conversion. With most modern arcade games being ticket redemption machines, this is something seldom seen. In fact, the last arcade conversion we can recall was Raw Thrill’s own Cruis’n’ Blast on Switch back in 2021. This is also based on an older iteration of TMNT, harking back to the series from 2012-2017. It’s essentially breaking franchise continuity (we’ve had two different iterations of the Turtles since) and could even be considered nostalgic for a select few – those who grew up with 2012’s Turtles are probably in their late teens."

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gamesasylum.com
60°

No Rest for the Wicked - Early Impressions | The Nerd Stash

Fuse ARPG, Soulslike, and cozy crafting mechanics for a one-of-a-kind adventure. Here is The Nerd Stash's early impressions of No Rest for the Wicked.

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thenerdstash.com
80°

Starship Troopers: Extermination Deploys New Class System With A Trailer

Starship Troopers: Extermination is continuing its early access period with a class system overhaul that will give players more options when it comes to pushing back the bugs.

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cgmagonline.com
TorpeAlex3h ago

It must be frustrating for these devs to see Helldivers 2 absolutely devour their lunch lol

VenomUK2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

-Oh my God, this game looks like a complete rip-off of Helldivers II!

-At least it gives Xbox players the chance to experience something similar to the PlayStation game!

Jokes aside it does make you wonder why Sony, who owns the IP for both, is continuing with two products when there is such overlap. Should it one day make a new Starship Troopers film or a Helldivers film instead?