Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

February 2, 2009

In an interview with Reuters, Wedbush-Morgan financial analyst Michael Pachter has characterized MMO players as "addicts."

In the article, Reuters examines the effect of the current economic climate on the online game business. Pachter suggested that MMOs would see little impact due to the nature of their players' relationship with the games:

I don't think (online multiplayer games) get impacted at all, because people who play them are addicts, Losing their jobs makes them more likely to play because they have more time to play.

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Comments

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by the1jeffy on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:30.

Are you kidding me? The first thing I'd do if I lost my job is cancel my WoW accounts.

That's $30 bucks a month I'd need for, I dunno, food? I am helplessly addicted to food though. Food needs nerfed.

However, he's got a certain point. At least one notable wow-blogger is unemployed and still plays. Maybe not "addicted," but certainly not cutting what should be an easy way to save cash.

~~All Knowledge is Worth Having~~

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by Waffles on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:26.

Another day, another blanket statement.

Did he remember to punch the clock?

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by Zaruka on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:24.

wow guess im addicted to wow then even tho i only have two character one level 70 and one level 10 and play off and on plus dont own the new expasion. yep im addicted. now exucuse me i must go raid for my level 18 8 str and 8 stam leather belt. lol im sry but this guy is way off when it comes to me and mmo.

Thanks Zaruka

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by Cerabret100 on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:22.

Well...yeah, but not necessarily because they're addicts, losing your job is probably pretty hard. I know my dad hasn't had any work and is bored out of his mind. It's not too far of a stretch to see playing an MMO more as a means of escape/coping, or just trying to do something during the time you were usually busy at work.

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by d20sapphire on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 13:09.

I agree. If you keep your finances low and you do nothing but look for a job all day, it's nice to be able to escape into a video game community during your free time. I don't think you can label such a big group of people "addicts" just because they support their leisurely escape that everyone does from time to time.

www.20sidedwoman.blogspot.com

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by JustChris on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 13:31.

Isn't a widespread obsession or affninity for a leisurely activity just called a "pastime"?

GameSnooper

Re: Pachter: MMO Gamers Are Addicts

Submitted by black manta on Mon, 02/02/2009 - 09:20.

Pachter's been off the mark before when it comes to his analyses, but this time he's missed wide. And frankly, I'm surprised hearing it coming from him. I never thought he'd make asuch an ignorant blanket statement like that.

Poll

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DorthLous: Anybody tried Hiversaire? Thoughts?05/22/2013 - 5:48pm

E. Zachary Knight: New Humble Bundle Weekly Sale. Alan Wake: https://www.humblebundle.com/weekly No Linux or Mac support. :(05/22/2013 - 1:46pm

E. Zachary Knight: Microsoft talks about the lack of backward compatability. You're backwards. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192801/If_youre_backwards_compatible_youre_really_backwards.php05/22/2013 - 1:39pm

E. Zachary Knight: That is absolutely nuts there. As bad an experience XBox Indie Games was, the problems weren't with the self published side of things. Forcing a publisher onto independent studios is not going to help.05/22/2013 - 10:43am

MaskedPixelante: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-05-22-microsoft-wont-let-indies-self-publish-on-xbox-one And the hits just keep on coming.05/22/2013 - 9:20am

E. Zachary Knight: AE: You beat me to it. That's what I get for taking the night off.05/22/2013 - 7:40am

E. Zachary Knight: To continue the confused and convoluted messaging system present in EA, They are making Wii U games: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/192753/EA_is_working_on_Wii_U_games_after_all.php05/22/2013 - 7:33am

Imautobot: I gotta admit, I seriously believed Microsoft was going to "Bring It" with this new console. But they failed, and I think that failure might be Epic.05/22/2013 - 7:27am

Andrew Eisen: Well, the Xbox One reveal certainly had an interesting affect on the big 3's stock prices. https://twitter.com/AndrewEisen/status/33705126448977100805/21/2013 - 10:45pm

PHX Corp: http://kotaku.com/so-the-xbox-one-reveal-screwed-up-a-lot-of-peoples-kin-509179256 So The Xbox One Reveal Screwed With Some People's Kinects05/21/2013 - 10:36pm

Zen: On a funny side note...both of my boys have already voted NOT to get the Xbox One as soon as they found out Minecraft won't transfer lol. Some people have priorities damnit! ;)05/21/2013 - 9:27pm

Andrew Eisen: Here's the full quote on EA making Wii U games according to Neogaf: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56112105/21/2013 - 8:19pm

Andrew Eisen: Xbox One may not be always on but that doesn't mean you can use it without an internet connection. http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-50916410905/21/2013 - 7:39pm

Andrew Eisen: Polygon says EA's CFO says it is developing games for Wii U but doesn't provide that quote. http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4351844/ea-developing-wii-u-games05/21/2013 - 7:11pm

Andrew Eisen: Well, I was right. Both Sony and Microsoft's consoles will be out by the year's end and both will be significantly more powerful than the current gen.05/21/2013 - 5:06pm

james_fudge: thnx05/21/2013 - 4:47pm

Zen: Just to let ya know...you called it the "Xbox 260" in the backwards compatibility article lol.05/21/2013 - 4:26pm

Zen: @PHX Awesome, I will hit those up after class tonight. Going back to college finally! :) My kids have had a blast telling ME to do my homework now lol.05/21/2013 - 4:19pm

PHX Corp: @Zen I sent you a friend request on both PSN and XBL, just a heads up05/21/2013 - 4:16pm

Zen: I noticed it with the football players when EA showed off Madden as well.05/21/2013 - 4:11pm

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