Warcraft more addictive than crack cocaine
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Warcraft more addictive than crack cocaine Yeah, but to put this in perspective, Cadbury's Creme Eggs used to be more addictive than crack cocaine, until they removed all the hydrogenated fats, and reduced the size ( in the US. )
I think addiction is genetic.
I don't have any urge whatsoever to try either.
I don't have any urge whatsoever to try either.
MMO's get boring, really really fast.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
MMO's get boring, really really fast.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
Which is why I prefer crack cocaine instead.
I don't have any urge whatsoever to try either.
That doesn't really say anything about addiction though, does it? If you haven't tried it, the addictive properties - whether it has any or not - are unable to have any effect on you.
Until I see babies being born addicted to WOW, illegal WOW houses and people commiting crimes and prostituting to fund their WOW addiction then this story is just the latest pile of crap story leaping on the bandwagon of junk journalism.
Addiction is just one of life's many splendors, and it's relative.
Depends how you deal with it and whether it's to your detriment.
People generally see addictition as instantly negative, as it circumvents 'free will'.
I'm addicticted to playing music, has done me quite well & earn a lot from it.
Leave the media to themselves and carry on with life, and enjoy.
Depends how you deal with it and whether it's to your detriment.
People generally see addictition as instantly negative, as it circumvents 'free will'.
I'm addicticted to playing music, has done me quite well & earn a lot from it.
Leave the media to themselves and carry on with life, and enjoy.
@Qube - that's a bit of a limited viewpoint, what about gambling addiction which from my point of view is similar to game addiction? I know people who've lost their jobs because they couldn't tear themselves away from WoW long enough to do things like shower, or go to work. So while children may not come out of the womb addicted to WoW, they will likely have a good chance to have similar predispositions and will also likely suffer from neglect.
Addiction has multiple potential root causes but is generally a compulsion similar to obsessive behaviour (people who can't leave a room without flicking the light switch off and on 15 times exactly etc). Generally its still a chemical dependence though, as gambling/gaming cause the addict to release certain endorphins and other body produced chemicals that the addict becomes addicted to. I even know one person who is addicted to exercise, who has been hospitalised several times due to overdoing it.
A big difference between drug addiction and game addiction is that in most countries certain substances are labeled narcotics and deemed illegal - this then brings in a whole host of other issues that make addiction to these substances more problematic than they would be otherwise. So far WoW is still legal.
The problem is that most media and those that lap it up like it is gospel look at the game as being the root cause - conveniently ignoring the fact that if not WoW then something else would likely have triggered a similar response in that person. We are a society that treats the symptoms and looks for something to blame.
Addiction has multiple potential root causes but is generally a compulsion similar to obsessive behaviour (people who can't leave a room without flicking the light switch off and on 15 times exactly etc). Generally its still a chemical dependence though, as gambling/gaming cause the addict to release certain endorphins and other body produced chemicals that the addict becomes addicted to. I even know one person who is addicted to exercise, who has been hospitalised several times due to overdoing it.
A big difference between drug addiction and game addiction is that in most countries certain substances are labeled narcotics and deemed illegal - this then brings in a whole host of other issues that make addiction to these substances more problematic than they would be otherwise. So far WoW is still legal.
The problem is that most media and those that lap it up like it is gospel look at the game as being the root cause - conveniently ignoring the fact that if not WoW then something else would likely have triggered a similar response in that person. We are a society that treats the symptoms and looks for something to blame.
Until I see babies being born addicted to WOW, illegal WOW houses and people commiting crimes and prostituting to fund their WOW addiction then this story is just the latest pile of crap story leaping on the bandwagon of junk journalism.
Well you just never know if the current econmic crisis gets worse ;-)
If you do both at the same time, they cancel each other out.
lol!
Warcraft is boring as hell...I don't see anything addictive in it. Ultima Online WAS more addictive before EA happened.
That doesn't really say anything about addiction though, does it?
Did I say it did? @Qube - that's a bit of a limited viewpoint, what about gambling addiction
@Juxta - All my points apply (except the unborn one), you get illegal gambling houses and people commiting crimes and prostituting in order to fund their gambling addiction.
WOW and crack are in a completely different league.
Personally when I add up the total I am willing to pay on any game and NO WOW is worth this annual payment, you buy the game and then pay pay pay... Blizzard have it made, get them to buy a game, then rent out play time ad infinitum...
... It may be a good game but IMHO no game is worth this amount of money annually.
... It may be a good game but IMHO no game is worth this amount of money annually.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
Yeah, couldn't do that, but Never Winter Nights is free, and you can build your own worlds!
I've never really seen the point in games that don't have an ultimate goal. Maybe I'm just too oldskool.
/me shrugs
/me shrugs
I played wow for a few years, the game itself has to be good enough to play but not great, what keeps people comming back is the group aspects i think. Getting on vent and playing with buddies you had made. If they could get a really good action based team game mmo with good frame rates.. id be back in the mmo arena again.
MMO Counterstrike , make it happen.
MMO Counterstrike , make it happen.
Did I say it did?
No, you didn't, hence the ambiguity, and why I asked the question.
Warcraft more addictive than crack cocaine
I was addicted to Twirls... The chocolate bar... not me actually walking down the street spinning like a woodern top! :)
Also, a mates mam was addicted to carrots and literally turned orange, she had to be weaned off them.
Put something in front of people and theres bound to be X amount of people will not be able to get enough of it, be it drugs, food, sports, objects and yes, even software.
I guess thats part of being human...
Dabz
I've never really seen the point in games that don't have an ultimate goal. Maybe I'm just too oldskool.
I used to be able to play games till the end... don't quite have time to 'finish' many games these days - it can be interesting to fight baddies with other people online, its the live interaction side of it - like a chat room with wizards goblins and stuff - but with Never Winter Nights its somewhat cheaper than the bleed customers dry WOW.
I like Curly Wurlies. Not addicted though. Netto do 5 for £1.
Netto do 5 for £1.
Ohhh, I gotta get to Netto! :)
Dabz
Stay in school! AND SAY NO TO WOW! crack ftw.
lol joking.
lol joking.
Aww, curly wurlies are full of holes, much better of with Mars Bars - coz one a day helps you work rest and play. Oh, not addicted... now (;-)
Did Grange Hill ever feature WoW obsessed kids? Maybe it should have?
Anyway plenty of other games have been fiendishly addictive, but there is something about online interaction which maybe boosts addiction somehow. I got well into Quake3 and Unreal Tournament "back in the day" and had to force myself to stop playing.
Anyway plenty of other games have been fiendishly addictive, but there is something about online interaction which maybe boosts addiction somehow. I got well into Quake3 and Unreal Tournament "back in the day" and had to force myself to stop playing.
There's a reason some refer to these games as World of Warcrack / Evercrack....
Anyhoo, until gamers start hanging around bus stations trying to prostitute themselves for $5 to pay for their 'habit' it's hard to take then seriously as a 'real' addiction.
Anyhoo, until gamers start hanging around bus stations trying to prostitute themselves for $5 to pay for their 'habit' it's hard to take then seriously as a 'real' addiction.
An addiction can be real even if you have the money for it. For instance there are probably a lot of rich drug addicts. It's even easier for them to get drugs than for poor people. And World of Warcraft is not very expensive.
I prefer to call it Crap of Crapcraft..
i know people addicted to age of empires, same "symptoms" as wow addiction
I love me some good 'ol AOE every once and awhile. Hard to believe people are still 'addicted' to it though. (Or are you referring to the newer ones? They're not as good as the original imo.)
aoe 2 conquers expansion :) one of the best games I have ever played
I havnt had a curly wurly in years.
aoe 2 conquers expansion :) one of the best games I have ever played
Agreed. So the general consensus that I'm hearing is that unless it impacts you directly (eg: bothered by prostitutes at the bus stations, or degrades property values because there's a WoW/Crack house in your neighbourhood) then this should not be considered a serious problem and dismissed?
I'll not deny that the media treatment of this issue is both shallow and overly sensationalized, I'll also not deny that the impacts of this problem are not as dire nor as far reaching as other addictions such as crack, gambling or alcoholism. But I get a little depressed when I see people treating it as a joke or something that is unworthy of any consideration. I guess its typical of today's self centered and isolationist western society. I'd probably even be the same if I hadn't just gone through 6 months of helping a friend out of suicidal fits of depression, partially driven by losing his job due to WoW addiction. That stigma is still causing him issues.
One thing this hammered home though is the fact that the world at large still treats video games as a childs pursuit and this flows into all aspects of the field, meaning that very few treat the area with any seriousness. It's a shame that even hobbyists and professionals of the industry are influenced by the same perceptions.
I'll not deny that the media treatment of this issue is both shallow and overly sensationalized, I'll also not deny that the impacts of this problem are not as dire nor as far reaching as other addictions such as crack, gambling or alcoholism. But I get a little depressed when I see people treating it as a joke or something that is unworthy of any consideration. I guess its typical of today's self centered and isolationist western society. I'd probably even be the same if I hadn't just gone through 6 months of helping a friend out of suicidal fits of depression, partially driven by losing his job due to WoW addiction. That stigma is still causing him issues.
One thing this hammered home though is the fact that the world at large still treats video games as a childs pursuit and this flows into all aspects of the field, meaning that very few treat the area with any seriousness. It's a shame that even hobbyists and professionals of the industry are influenced by the same perceptions.
I'm with GfK. Addiction is purely genetic...and thank goodness I don't have that gene.
Is every hobby becoming an addiction now?
I also spend a few hours everyday on Rappelz(MMORPG) lately, but I still don't let my normal life be affected by it too much. The game is not free when using the ingame cash shop to get some advantages/nicer gear, but I don't care too much about that because I like to invest in something I like. I still visit my friends, work fulltime and spend time with my girlfriend.
So am I addicted to Rappelz in this case? There are some weird cases with people who do not shower or work or other important things when playing WoW for example, but how many % of the total WoW players is that?
Same thing can be said when drinking beer. I like to drink 1 bottle each day, so that makes me an alcoholic?
I think it's just important what the priorities are in life!
I also spend a few hours everyday on Rappelz(MMORPG) lately, but I still don't let my normal life be affected by it too much. The game is not free when using the ingame cash shop to get some advantages/nicer gear, but I don't care too much about that because I like to invest in something I like. I still visit my friends, work fulltime and spend time with my girlfriend.
So am I addicted to Rappelz in this case? There are some weird cases with people who do not shower or work or other important things when playing WoW for example, but how many % of the total WoW players is that?
Same thing can be said when drinking beer. I like to drink 1 bottle each day, so that makes me an alcoholic?
I think it's just important what the priorities are in life!
I think WoW having 10 or 11 million users, surely some are going to take it to extremes, same as anything else in life really.
I used to play the original Warcraft, I have 1, 2, and 3. I played WoW for about 30 minutes when it was fairly new, never touched it since.
I used to play the original Warcraft, I have 1, 2, and 3. I played WoW for about 30 minutes when it was fairly new, never touched it since.
MMO's get boring, really really fast.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
And having to pay monthly is just pathetic.
Ever considered what server hardware, bandwidth requirements and staff costs are involved in running an MMO? It is impossible to NOT have a subscription model :)
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course. I for one can't stand games that you play against computer controlled opponents.