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[jiggles]

I think online gaming should already be following gambling's lead and offer controls to limit how much you can play and always have support contacts in prominent positions for players who feel they are developing an addiction.

After all, the two activities are designed to provide the same emotional response, and play off the same psychological behavior. Addictions are unhealthy, whether they can leave you financially ruined or not (and in this new era of microtransactions, online gaming is pushing more at the fringe of the former).

 

[spekkeh]

And it made sense 50 years ago when people did not know about the risks and when tobacco was sponsored by doctors. It doesn't now, I have no fucking clue why packs need to have warning labels and cancer pictures. Anybody with a little bit of common-sense knows that gaming in excess can be hazardous. Developers shouldn't have to prevent you from playing or explain to you why it is hazardous, use the fucking internet to do something else besides look at funny pictures of cats and educate yourself.

It's not just the risk though. Perhaps you've seen the movie the Insider (and if you haven't, you should, it's great), but it's something altogether more insidious if you know about the damage you're causing and then purposefully seeking to increase that.

 

[BruiserBear]

These game designers are doing their best to MAKE the games addictive. That's one of their primary goals.

So no, I don't see them trying to make them less addictive anytime soon.

 

[M3d10n]

I agree, but I can't really see anything being done about it. There's a whole lot of information out there about "addiction". You can find out why some personalities are more susceptible and much more....no need to play the blame game whilst moving goal posts or hand-waving people.

And what can be done, in practice? Impose weekly/daily playtime quotas? The addict would just create multiple accounts to keep playing (as they already do in China) and then a game of cat and mouse would begin with all online games eventually requiring real IDs or SSNs to create accounts and all the collateral effects that comes with that. All that for a small minority who will still bypass the limitations by using a VPN/proxy to play on a country that doesn't have the same requirements.

The other option is to make games super boring and devoid of content, so there's no reason to keep playing at all.

 

[Twinduct]

More health warnings and TnCs incoming!

Kinda feel that the finger is being pointed for something that's pretty tame when comparing it to the lack of social responsibility cigarette or alcohol manufacturers display.

 

[danmaku]

Now that I think about it, WoW already has some warning messages, does it? I remember some loading screen that said "don't play too much" or something like that.

 

[KiwiLannister]

Would be nice if this meant MMOs moved away from being skinner boxes and started innovating instead....

But still ridiculous that governments would intervene.

 

[dose]

Makes no sense whatsoever, and the argument could be applied to anything.... Apples! Someone could get addicted to them, so let's limit how many people can eat.
It's not the fault of games companies if someone gets addicted. Bullshit.

 

[Sheroking]

How do they accomplish this? Be less fun?

 

[kyoya]

I would like there to be more studies between playing tons of video games and social anxiety disorder, etc. There needs to be an in-depth study on what the lifestyle of an individual who has a bad habbit of excessive gaming, in other words what was missing from their life before the excessive gaming started? What does gaming do to replace what was missing or can't be achieved? This all gets really complicated. It's hard for me to label gaming as an addiction, when alcoholics and drug addicts go through serious physical withdraw symptoms when they stop using and need to be hospitalized.

The last thing I want to see is places like reStart in Seattle, an internet addiction clinic, that charges $300 a day, start having franchises pop up around the country to take advantage of vulnerable people. All because Mom and Dad can't barge in and remove the PC or console from the house.

When you start feeling depressed, physically ill, broke, can barely hold on to a job, no friends, that's when it's time to power down and re-think your life and get outside.

This kind of stuff worries me, $300 a day?:

http://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112559289

 

[Duster]

I sort of agree with the general point, many iOS and social games are deliberately addictive, not in a harmless "one more go" sort of way but deliberately designed to hook people in order to get more money out of them.
I'm not sure how you'd legislate against it though, maybe a maximum total price of all the available IAPS but then that could harm games which aren't so blatantly out of rip people off including the type of MMOs mentioned in the article.

Anyway I can't see the government doing anything as they still haven't cracked down on fixed-odd betting terminals, like this article says even many seasoned gamblers think they should be banned due to their addictive nature.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/27/roulette-machines-crack-cocaine-gambling

 

[Loomba]

They want them addicted so they keep buying micro-transaction items and keep their monthly subs active?

Seems counter productive for the company.

 

[SneakyStephan]

Anyone disagreeing with the article doesn't know what a skinnerbox is.

 

[Senor Kami]

I disagree with this. Gaming and gambling addictions are serious issues and not simply a case of stupid people. But it's always great to be a better person than the rest, am I right?

It's not about being better, it's about having in the slightest modicum of self-discipline. Tons of people go to a casino or buy a lottery ticket when it's stupid high. Only a handful of them get "addicted". It's the people, not the product as most are totally able to handle themselves. Changing games won't help these fools out who get addicted. They'll just hop from games to something else. If they really want to change their lives, well they have to change their lives. That starts with no longer blaming everyone else for their problems and starting to address their inner issues that turn them into a dope fiend for anything they touch.

 

[fastford58]

The State will protect you. It is for your own good.

 

[Joni]

It's not about being better, it's about having in the slightest modicum of self-discipline. Tons of people go to a casino or buy a lottery ticket when it's stupid high. Only a handful of them get "addicted".

Some people don't get addicted to alcohol, but get addiced to games or to drugs. Some people can withstand gambling, but get addicted to food. It depends on what type of person you are what you get addicted to, even with self-discipline.

Makes no sense whatsoever, and the argument could be applied to anything.... Apples! Someone could get addicted to them, so let's limit how many people can eat..

Apples aren't made to be addictive.

 

[Pikawil]

Did anyone point out yet that the article's image was changed from Mario Kart to a generic keyboard?

 

[Grayman]

yeah good luck. addiction is the most profitable route to go.

 

[Portugeezer]

No.

Developers need to give people a reason to come back and play, this is something people who don't get "addicted" enjoy.

If you get addicted to online games then try abstinence. Play single player. Leave online gaming.

 

[GillianSeed79]

Someone photoshop Mario Kart in for marijuana in this.

But seriously, I can't say I've ever met anyone that played for 90 hours straight BUT I do think videogames in general can be addictive.

 

[storafötter]

I do not think the businesses should be responsible for how irresponsible people can be by getting addicted in the entertainment business. Unless the games were somehow hypnotizing people into playing their manipulative games.

 

[Ikuu]

No.

Developers need to give people a reason to come back and play, this is something people who don't get "addicted" enjoy.

If you get addicted to online games then try abstinence. Play single player. Leave online gaming.

If you're an addict then just stop, it's simple!

 

[Doctor Ninja]

I concur ! many of my friends who had no interest in multiplayer before, are now DOTA 2 addicts DX

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

:lol :lol :lol Thinking that game companies are going to reduce addiction promoting parts of games. The opposite will happen.

 

[Annubis]

No, parents and common-sense need to prevent addiction.

While my common sense agrees with you, I'm not sure if it's valid nowadays when some gaming firms try to use advanced psychology to develop compulsive reactions in their audience.

 

[Vic20]

Its easy, just show adds of what a 40+ hour a week MMO gamer looks like...should do the trick nicely!

 

[Acageron]

God help me.. I can't stop playing Mario kart!

 

[piratethingy]

If I want to take three days off work once a year when the WoW expansion drops and play for like 14 hours a day, I'm not sure how I'd feel being stopped by a time limit or whatever. I mean I get it, but I don't think a binge or two is the worst thing in the world.

 

[Kai Dracon]

Crushed blue shell is a hell of a drug.