I’ve seen it happen. People want to just “try out” Blizzard’s wildly popular MMORPG, known by the street name “WoW”; their friends do it, it looks harmless. Soon, they’re completely obsessed, investing hundreds of hours into the game. Psychologist Dr. Maressa Orzack claims that 40 percent of WoW players are addicted. There was even a lawsuit brought against Blizzard by parents claiming WoW addiction contributed to the death of their son. It’s clear that WoW is a serious danger to our children, and needs to be stopped at any cost.
Well, okay, that’s a bit of hyperbole, but I do think World of Warcraft has potentially dangerous addictive qualities. A friend of mine recently was sent to a continuation school due to failing grades he received partially due to his constant playing (4473 hours as of this writing). Other friends of mine have slowly given up other activities, even other games, until eventually WoW dominates their free time.
I think all massively multiplayer online games will potentially have the same effect, though WoW seems to be the worst of them in this regard. Having never played an MMO at length, I’m not sure what qualities lead to this addictive element, and I’d be interested if a WoW player would be willing to try to explain it to me. So far, none have.
Well, first, it’s a fun game. Second, as your character levels, it becomes increasingly more important to groups and instances — if say, your character were a class leader in your guild, or if your character had many swanky items, you would be pulled towards going on in the game rather than falling back and wasting what you have.
It’s also that the game is remarkably easy which gives people a chance to keep trying and progressing.
However, as an ex-WOW player, I have to say that the addictive element is only fun for so long. I’ve been WOW-free for just over a year, and it’s refreshing. The last time I played was when my brother was home. I ran around a little bit and turned it back over. It’s too easy to get hooked again
Just shows how worthless the general mass can be.
Suing blizzard for their great job at maintaining WoW is just plain stupid; especially when the parents couldn’t even control their own son. The fact that they let the son die is just poor parenting. Also, if people are willing to give up things because of a video game… well, they are hopeless because even if WoW didn’t exist, they would’ve screwed their life up with other things.
its just a fucking video game. if u think ur addicted to it you have bigger problems than too much game time.
it is beautiful, it is easy, it is social, it is amusing, it is social, it is social. get the picture. for people who are not good or have issues with normal socializing, being a ranking ogre mage gives you confidence that a 10 to 90+ year old shy, ugly,you name your personal issue here, person just does not have. people can wank on all they want about the 6 million WOW players being losers but they are just normal people with money who feel safer and more entertained through blizzards social interface than …need i go on?
This is true for some people, not everyone gets hook, ive been off and on in playing for the past four years, its possible to restrict it and know how long your going to play for, the dosage is pretty set, and there are no serious health risks, though it may bring out underlying issues. WoW isn’t a drug just because its addictive, but i will admit that it can be very addictive. Bottom line is that the game gives you an alternate reality, where you can be anything you want to be and lets you become someone completely different.
As an ex wow player i would say that its a game that from the begin it needs a lot of playing until you finish leveling. On the other hand the real game starts when you terminate the leveling. With my saying i mean that when you are in this stage you can get access to more teamplay like raids, where about 10 or 25 people force their strength to kill mobs. Its kind of interesting dont you think so? There is the part where you get addicted. The more you play the more you need to go, so there is no point of playing so many hours because even that way its impossible to become the best or finish the game, because it cant be finished. Thats why Blizzard had so much wealth from this game and thats why people play total 6 years with 3-15 hours gameplay per day.
i have played wow for nearly a year i youst to be outgoing with my friends all the time but when i started to play it and leveled i became more and more obsessed with leveling to 80 and having the best gear and earning money on it i must say this is very very addictive! the only reason i stopped is because my pc broke down im gonna log back on soon but im gonna vowl to not play it as long and just play it for 1 hour or so but i find that when i play the game i end up playing for hours on end i hardly got any sleep but i dont think blizzard should be sued 4 this the person who commited suicide had nothing to do with wow but if you have never played it i warn u not to play it either it is like a drug that pulls u in!
Aight i’ll be honest, i play world of warcraft. I’d say i’m probably addicted but if ur like me, you can easily control it. I spend maybe 2-3 hours a day playing, the rest of the day i make time to smoke and hang out with my friends everyday, i kno a few other people like this. I personally think its just pathetic how many hours people actually put into the game, like yeah the game is fun as fuck but u gotta control it. Peace.