Where Politics And Video Games Collide

@Tom:

I don't disagree with your summation of South Korea, and long-gone WoW nuts. We joked around with a friend who began to play WoW too much, mainly that we would never see him alive again. He came up for air eventually and left the game, tried something else, went back to it, and left again. He is a lot more disadvantaged than others seeking refuge in games, being that his health is not kind and he is in a wheelchair due to a degenerative nerve disease. For now, games are often his comfort zone since the people he meets around here somehow equate mental disability with physical disability. However, he has no consoles now and keeps busy watching TV until the Fall semester begins and he finishes off his second degree. So in effect he switches his vice as need be to not only pass time but escape his situation for a little while. The only guy I have ever known to play more games was a friend whom had a cheating, drug-dealing, thief wife (whom he later divorced). I don't claim anyone with such an intake of games has a very fulfilling life.

As good as I think games can be for some people (based on my own eyes) I don't however think all people should play games more than just in passing, much like not all parents should coach or watch youth sports. I imagine we all know people who go too far in something, whether it be games or not. We've all heard the stories of fathers who run onto the field and tackle the opposing teams' children or punch out nearby spectators who tell them to keep their trap closed. This is something that should be discovered early on, and monitored by an adult themselves after they leave home, just like other hobbies or situations they need not put themselves smack dab in the middle of. It's not hard if we're honest with ourselves and parents take an active role in monitoring consumption. There can be too much of anything, whether you're likely to fall sick of it or not. Many of us know the limits thankfully. Once games begin to truly spike our adrenalin levels, down the road with the Wii 3 console or Microsoft's grand "play sports for real" plan (to counter dismal failure of their early efforts to emulate the Wii), we may have issues with violent outbursts. I'm thinking it will be people emulating John McEnroe or the Angry Nintendo Nerd more than anything though.

As per future stories maybe they'll find a super addictive powder that pours from the exhaust vent of a console and enters the brain through the nose, taking up residence and giving anyone who denies the urge to run the console violent shakes (proving a black screen is just as deadly). That or tiny nanobots that amplify the gluttonous pleasure of "trapping someone in the can" in Bomberman. (lingo for when you block off someone's escape from an alleyway of hard barriers with bombs) Gamers already know how "addictive" the new plastic smell of a new console (and on a smaller degree) a game is. Oh no! The secret is out...