News Four percent of gamers play for 50 hours a week

no Im saying MMO in general are bad... but since WoW is one of the largest yes WoW is bad in that respects... again your still missing the point in all those other games they dont in-stow a since of requirement to have to get on every single day to play to such a degree compared to MMOs. I see every where I go, I know a lot of people that play Modern Warefare but they certain dont bitch if they cant get online or their computer goes down compared to MMO players thats for sure.

 

I logged about 40 hours a week on wow for a brief peroid, I had been laid off (for non performance reasons) and I had about 2 months until my next job had all the paper work cleared and I could start working (defense contractor).

relatively speaking it's a very cheap social activity. if I had unlimited funds I woudla taken vacations all over the world for 2 months spent time with family. Being laid off meant that wasn't realistic so I just played for awhile. once I started working again I quit cause I didn't have the time.

to me video games are a baseline activity. If you don't have girlfriend/school/work etc it's something to do but it doesn't take precedence over those. I don't think I was "addicted"

 

lol I like how people call online gaming, and sites like facebook social activity, we need a new word for that because it isnt really a social activity your not out and with people face to face so dont actually get the social experience and quality or sunlight for that matter =p in fact in most studies people have become "Anti-Social" because of such games and other online activity because they dont learn how to interact with real people. I think maybe we should call it Vocial lol virtual Social ^_^

 

Indeed, that's reasonable enough.

As you say, it's also a relatively cheap hobby compared to things like wargaming (Warhammer 40K, etc), paintballing, heck even going to the cinema (£20 for 2 hours if you go with someone else and buy food) etc.

Naturally, if there's a case where someone is addicted to gaming and gets laid off work due to performance (or lack thereof!) reasons, that's clearly not good (albeit I wouldn't blame the game, I'd blame the gamer, in this instance)


Also I think that sometimes people are all too quick to blame games and try to shift blame away from gamers.

I mean, I played WoW (and clocked up 20 days of in-game time with an average of about 3-4 hours per day), but this certainly didn't affect my 'real life' - my Uni work was fine, things with my girlfriend (now my fiance) were (and are!) fine, etc.

If I had become addicted, who's fault would that have been? Some game company in America, or me? I'd say me (just as when people get addicted to smoking, drinking, gambling - etc - the majority of the public are very quick to blame the people getting addicted). Plus as metarinka shows, playing 'a lot' of games per week doesn't necessarily equate to addiction. It can be borne out of other things (having lots of spare time temporarily, etc)

Just the way it is I guess. In short, I think that 'a lot' of gaming isn't necessarily a bad thing thus generalising and saying it is [bad] isn't the most helpful of statements. *Shrugs*

 

no you were talking about british weather, thats why i said it,
when you learn to read and understand the article we shall finally be able to comunicate

you do realise that comparing this to yourself is irelivant becasue even though we speak the same language as well as the austrailians we all have differnet cultures and do different things

so this article is irelivant if you compare it to yourself

 

I'm sure I used to game about 60-70 hours a week for a period of a year and a half. It was ridiculous how much UT I played but I was only 17-18 and I don't regret it one bit. It was simply awesome and I have missed those days ever since. Social gaming can be really fun. I know it's hard to understand to most people but it's different from anything else and once you get into it for good it's really, really fun

 

Quit being a jackass, he's perfectly within his right to add his own situation, as many other people have done throughout this thread.

You're correct, we may have different cultures but gaming culture i.e. sitting down in front of a computer screen or TV to game and have fun, but this is the same regardless of where you live or which language you speak.

Who are you to define what people can and cannot discuss in an open forum or whether this discussion refers to the UK or US anyway? It may refer to the US in the article, but there's nothing wrong with discussing how this relates to Britain. This is a UK based website remember.

 

i never said anything about anyone not being able to post something i was merly speculating that his hypothasis was inacurret and dosnt work which i am quite within my rights to do

and i doubt you would actually act like this in the real world where as i on the othe hand do, you are just one of those poor people who act like they ar so high and mighty on the internet but whenever anything happens in the real world they are the first people to squirm and complain without doing anything

 

Then he's probably better off. He won't have someone to nag him and take his money anymore.

 

Gaming is like any other Hobby, and one of the least expensive (2000 dollars a year).
I "socialize" with people all over the world online. Without the internet I would only have the random people from the small town that I currently choose to live in, and while there are many fine people here, I doubt there would be enough to fill a 32 players server, esp with people of the level that I like to play with (or against).
In fact, comparing PC Gaming (I reject consoles out of hand) to other hobbies, it is MORE social. If I go play Golf, a much more expensive hobby, I might interact with 2 to 4 friends on the links and a few cute (but probably too old) women at the club. Contrast this with even a small clan of 20 to 40 people, (who have meet-ups in RL also).
PC Gaming challenges alot of preconceived notions about what social is, just because I am not breathing the same air as you (or have to smell your cheesy breath) does not devalue the social aspect of Gaming.
IN FACT, I would say that it is more social, because the interactions are based on the social, intellectual and skill-based aspects of the people. Other aspects such as race, creed and such usually play a very small part of the Gaming interaction.
Imagine if Golf had been color blind 100 years ago, Tiger Woods' father (a great Golf player) could have made his mark in the sport.

So, yes, I am a Gamer™ who plays at very least 30 hours a week and sometimes 2x that (the lower end being when I mountain bike, alone, around this fine natural area where I live). I think in a generation this conversation will not be held on forums, and even now Gaming is becoming more accepted as a valid Hobby (it also leads people to things like Case modding and actually learning how to use tools).
I am proud of the time I have spent in Games, and the Friends that I have made, I shall not apologize for any of it.

Yours in Elite Strategic Gaming Plasma,
Star*Dagger

P.S. If you want to get blown up (or fly with me if you have enough sense to play Klingon in STO) come to the Kerrat system, I am often there expanding the Tactics of the Federation by expanding their ships (through rapid decompression).

 

They must be the hardcore WoW players out there, lol

 

He was simply stating his own situation with regards to gaming which he is within his rights to do as it relates to the topic at hand. No idea why you're getting your knickers in such a twist about it.

Just wow. So you call me high and mighty yet you sit there and judge me as a person and call me 'poor' simply by reading one comment left by me on an internet forum? Seriously dude, get over yourself.

At least he can spell and construct a basic sentence, more than you're obviously capable of.

 

Where in that statement did you say any of this:

All you did was insult me about my reading,

How can a "hypothasis" about my own life be incorrect anyway? How the smeg can something from my own living experience where I explained why I played games for so long when I was younger "not work"? How come if your not from the USA you suddenly can't/won't/don't play games for 50hours a week? Maybe you aren't suppose to play games here, instead games play you.

Straight from the ****ing article, maybe you can't read numbnuts

 

thanks for the compliment give me more!!!!

 

50 hours a week? back in the old days long before the raise of the instant win button MMORPGs when I was still playing Everquest I've done far above 50 hours a week...
These days its more like 5 hours a week for me.

 

Over the last 2 months I've clocked up 2 hours playing on my PC, 8 hours playing on my iPod (I tend to try and beat mates Doodle Jump scores on my lunch break lol) and that's it. I used to hooked on games like WoW, Age of Conan etc but they are massive time sinks. Last game I sunk my teeth into was COD:MW2 but nothings really peaked my interest since, got an Xbox 360 and a Wii sat here not switched on since November. Sad state of affairs indeed - get a life? me? - Never! haha

 

How can you criticise someone else's reading skills when you yourself cannot even adhere to the simple rules of grammar and basic spelling?

You mention that comparing one's self to another's culture is irrelevant simply because the two are different even though the whole point of comparison is to see what is different and think about why the benefits of the two or more things being compared.

 

I think it's all the fault of Hitler and the Nazis ...those boys appear in too many games! LOL.

 

I checked my stats and I average about 16 hours a week according to steam, usually play an hour or so of css when i get in from work and 2 or 3 in the evening on days off...it all adds up

 

How does an MMO require players to play more? I'm really not getting where this notion is coming from. I've played Final Fantasy XI, WoW, Warhammer Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, and have preordered Mortal Online for beta access so there's quite a wealth of first hand experience here. Now, going by just what the game enforces here's what might make a player want to keep on playing non-stop as far as I can tell:

-A desire to progress. This is common to every game, it's called trying to win. Nothing actually requires that a player even pass level 1, but since it's the main goal of the game I will list it.
-A desire to keep having fun. Again, common to any game that a person enjoys. Also not a requirement, but is a goal of every game.
-An event or quest which cannot be paused or interrupted which the player wishes to complete. From my experience there are very few encounters which force a player to stay for longer than 10 minutes. In WoW, most bosses will actually have a timer ending around 10 minutes or less. In WoW and WAR, there are PvP instances which may last 30 minutes or more sometimes with an end reward which a player may want, but to blame a 30 minute event for addictive gameplay is absurd.
-A player wishes to take advantage of a temporary event or item and therefore plays more frequently when such options are available. Things such as the holiday events in WoW fall into this category. Nothing requires that a player play any more than normal, they are simply given additional content should they wish to, but I place it here anyway since it is somewhat of an incentive.

Now how about the things which aren't part of the game but people blame on the game anyway:

-A guild requires members to attend 5 hour long raids in the middle of the night on Tuesday or else you'll be kicked.
-A player is afraid of troubling people by leaving a group early because of other needs.
-An extreme desire to obtain something in game.
-A desire to be better than other players, not simply good enough to complete a challenge in game.

None of those are forced by the game. MMOs, by nature, give players many options and often far more content than any person should hope to reach (such as Mortal Online's goal of quite simply making it impossible for one player to do everything possible). It is their nature to reflect the basic balance of want and need found in life, the choice of Item A or Item B. It is the player's own fault if an excessive desire leads to playing 60 hours a week in order to obtain both. Something which the other WoW players here, current or former, may relate to more is the desire to be a high end raider, yet Arena legend at the same time. Or a 'need' for having multiple characters so you can heal for the guild when a tank isnt needed anymore. MMOs simply provide a gaming experience full of choices for the player, it is the player's own ambition and lack of restraint which leads to addictive gameplay.

Couldn't agree more. Many of my friends, even ones I met in real life, have been scattered around the country/world and social gaming has kept us together. In fact, my only friend in this town is someone I met on WoW in a guild of local people. We even dated for a bit. Who says you can't meet people online? Just make sure they live nearby