Should gamers go COD turkey?

For those of you that missed BBC 1's Panorama investigation into gaming addiction, The Cyber Face will sum it up for you in a few words: online gaming can lead to serious addiction, health problems and even death!

Call of Duty- COD. Global living room warfare
at its best.

That all sounds very morbid and foreboding, but sadly it's true- to a certain point. Since 2005, 12 gaming-related deaths have been reported worldwide. But is this really a statistic that gamers should be worried about?


No. Not really. In the UK alone, it is reported that around 24 million people regularly play computer games. So in the long run, 12 deaths in five years, out of 24 million people is no more significant than a baby's fart in a methane plant.


But the programme did raise some interesting and genuinely valid questions. Are games addictive? And should we be concerned at the rising levels of young people choosing to spend hours in front of a computer/television screen instead of outside? Perhaps.


 In the UK, 66% of 5-16 year olds have ther own console (source- Childwise: The Monitor Report 2009-10). A vast majority of these consoles also have online capabilities. They aren't like the Playstation 1's of yesteryear, where if you wanted to play against a person, they had to be physically beside you.


Could games really be as addictive as drugs?



Now you could be playing against (or with) someone on the other side of the world. Indeed with the introduction and increasing adoption of broadband, many games now have the ability to build an entire world populated by gamers.

One game in particular cannot be overlooked. Blizzard Entertainments' World of Warcraft, or as fans call it, WOW. With a population larger than most small countries, the last count being over 12 million online players, WOW is a true online juggernaut.

It has it's own economy (which interestingly enough hasn't been affected by the recession), it's own countries and realms, even it's own WOW language- which we wont go into as that is more than likely an entire blog in itself!


The game is effectively a self-contained universe (or microverse, depending on which scientific theory you believe in). This inevitably leads to gamers becoming engrossed in the unfolding events and playing the game. Alot.


Indeed The Cyber Face knows of many people that have spent nearly 12 hours, practically non-stop trying to level up their Druids, Warlocks, Hunters or Mages to level 80. Some of these people are barely into puberty but choose to spend more hours on their character than outside, in the real world. This isn't a criticism, because we too at The Cyber Face have been guilty of similar habits.

WOW and anger management video here!

It's understandable where these sorts of gaming traits and habits come from. Everyone wants their player to look as bitchin' as possible (and when you look at those level 80's that have dedicated, literally days to their account, you can see why).


But this is where the addiction becomes a real issue. Gamers are given so many options and incentives to boost their characters to the best possible level and state of dress. They're given added rewards and in-game extras if they show that sort of dedication. To this effect, the game draws these gamers into a vicious cylce of addiction.


However, we must stress that this is only reported in a minority of cases and that just because you play a few hours of WOW or Call of Duty (COD) every so often, it doesn't mean you're an addict!

Korean's don't get the concept of bed side gaming.

Indeed, when you look at one of the world's most internet-savy countries- South Korea, only 2% of the nation's young people are said to be potentially at risk from internet addiction. Interesting the country's government has set up gaming addiction boot camps, very similar to those 'fat camps' in place in the USA, to try and combat the situation.


Many Koreans play MMORPGs (massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-games. Basically really big, online games) in local internet bars, as opposed to the comfort of their own home. Indeed there was a case earlier this year in which a South Korean couple were so engrossed in the online gaming that they let their own baby die of starvation!


However all this said and done, gaming addiction is a very rare beast indeed and shouldn't be worried about too much. Most that become 'addicted' to games (interestingly there is no actual definition to gaming addiction perscribed in medical journals) already possess an addictive personality, so chances are they're already addicted to something else already.


But no doubt as the new WOW, Cataclysm, hits our shelves at the stroke of midnight tonight, The Cyber Face is sure that this arguement, will no doubt once again, rear it's ugly head. Although will the gamers care? Hell no, they'll be too busy playing to gives a monkey's left nut.




  

Blizzard Entertainment's new installement of the WOW franchise,
 that is available tonight