Might As Well Face It, You're Addicted To Love Games

yep vid game addiction DEOS ruin relationships, it sucks

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Just yesterday my problem was drawn out in a conversation with a friend.

He asked me, "Would I rather buy a new video game or spend an hour with an incredible escort?" Well, I guess I delayed to long before I answered him. Cuz he was like, "My God man, you had to think about that?!"

My arguement was, a new game is $50 and I can get years of pleasure from it, while an escort is $300 for an hour of fun. So ya, I said I'd take the new game. He was stunned.

Don't get wrong, I love Hookers & Blow. I just love games more.

And how many people died of basic alcohol poisoning in one day there? Probably nearly more then died of 'video game addiction' in an entire year.

Same thing with terrorism, more people die worldwide in a single day of food poisoning then they do in an entire year of terrorism, yet so many people are irrationally afraid of terrorism and don't even remotely think of food poisoning.

Obligatory "I can stop anytime I want."

alt-tabs back into game, turns around and unpauses console game.

I don't know if I have ADD or not, but I can't sit still long enough to get addicted to anything. I guess sitting in a chair staring at a computer all day at work is enough to put me off.

I have to say i find a gaming more fun than sex. Probably because i have plenty of both but still i need counseling. :-/

I pretty much admit my addiction. It's been this way ever since Lemonade Stand, when I would -- and this isn't exaggerating -- spend the better part of 3 hours/day playing. It got worse in the 80s, when I started frequenting arcades; I'd usuallay blow $20-$30/visit there, or whatever my allowance / errand money came out to.

When the 8-bit NES came out, my parents refused to buy it for me or allow me to buy it, because I was playing games to the point my academics were suffering. So they made me a deal -- if I could get 10 straight 100's on the next 10 tests, they'd get me an NES. I've never studied so hard in my life.... I got the 10 100's, they bought me the NES... and my grades promptly slipped back into mediocrity.

These days, it's not about having the latest-and-greatest systems, hardware or games anymore. But when I find a game that I like, I play it to the exclusion of everything else. I'm glad my fiancee doesn't get (majorly) offended by it, though... it's an aspect of my personality that I doubt I can ever fully remedy, and I don't really think I'd want to get rid of it anyway.

To suggest that playing video games is as bad as drinking or smoking is as!n!ne. Stupid idiots also can get themselves and others killed by doing stuff like base jumping or just generally being a stupid teenager, but we don't have clinics for that. Its not that I don't want these "clinics" or anything.Its just that "education" and help should be optional only, instead of having something like DARE come into schools and warn kids of "the danger of video games". Lets keep this to a sane level.

What's ironic is that video gaming in Korea or anywhere is incredibly safe compared to almost any other recreation. The number of gaming related deaths is small compared to the number of driving accidents, smoking, drinking alcohol, playing football, swimming, having sex, eating food, drinking water, and taking a walk.

only 50 hours of gaming and died? pussy!

Well I'm alive. o_O

Seriously though, I believe this kind of thing won't happen in u.s. or other western cultures, at least not as much where I live. People here simply don't have a damn clue how to kill their free time.

Video games are just like any other enjoyable experience in this world, just like sex, drugs, food, etc. The problem is not the substance itself, its the persons problem. We live in a world where more and more addictable substances are easily available. People need to stop the problem at the source. Learn to maintain balance in your life. To much of anything isn't good you know

RIP Robert Palmer

I'm more addicted to being online than any game I've ever played.

This actually could be the next big problem for the industry in America. I've spoken with developers who worked on EverQuest and DAOC, as well as lawyers who work FOR the gaming industry (i.e. not Thompson), all of whom live in fear of a legit lawsuit over this. Wrote a column about it (in an unusual style) a year or so ago (http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/25/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm).

Believe it or not, this could ultimately be a bigger problem than the violence issue has been to date.

I am without a single doubt in my mind addicted to BF2.