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Study: One in nine MMOG players addicted

By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UKPosted Nov 28, 2006 6:02 pm PT

Poll of 7,000 online gamers shows that 12 percent exhibit at least three signs of uncontrollable habitual behavior.

Massively multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, and Second Life are becoming increasingly popular. All have celebrated milestones in their user numbers recently, with WOW announcing it has 7.5 million subscribers, Guild Wars selling 2 million copies (including expansions), and Second Life hitting 1 million users--many of whom spend real money in the game.

But games like World of Warcraft are hard to switch off and walk away from, says Professor Mark Griffiths, director of the International Gaming Research Unit at Nottingham Trent University in the UK. That's because they have no end, and there's always someone online somewhere in the world.

A Nottingham Trent research study of 7,000 online gamers showed that 12 percent exhibit at least three of the diagnostic criteria of addiction as outlined by the World Health Organisation. These include: craving, withdrawal symptoms, loss of control, and neglect of other activities.

The survey was filled in by a self-selected sample composed mainly of males with an average age of 21 and was concerned principally with the potential for addiction to online gaming. Griffiths said, "I'm sure if we'd done this survey looking at non-online players, looking at gamers that play on stand-alone systems, my guess is that the prevalence of addiction-like symptoms would have been much less prevalent."

According to Griffiths, the problem with online games is that there will never be a point where the player has battled the final boss, tied up the story, and can turn the computer off with a feeling of satisfaction. "Of course the game never switches off; you can't even pause the game," he told GameSpot. "So if you are really into the gameplay, I can see why a small proportion of people do get hooked and feel like they don't want to leave."

Griffiths was also quick to point out that there are many positive aspects to playing games and that those who play frequently can boast a number of advantages over the nongaming population. Those benefits include increased reaction times and better hand-eye coordination.

The professor also told GameSpot that games had many useful applications, including acting as "distracter tasks" for those in chemotherapy, physiotherapy, and other painful treatment courses and acting as a tool for people learning to drive and those in the military.

276 Comments

  • MrBoomtastic

    Posted Dec 28, 2007 2:02 pm PT

    To Airsoft.. EVE Online is free to get in the first place, you play the first 14 days for free and then if you dont like you can just end without paying a penny. No ones forcing anyone to pay for anything, except world of whorecraft... but if you wanna pay to prance around as a glorified fairy, then im not gonna stop you

  • airsoftmanic

    Posted Dec 17, 2007 12:36 am PT

    i see the point and have only played a minimal amount on EVE before my free trial ran out. my niggle with these games like WoW and EVE is that you have to constantly pay for them AFTER youve actually bought the game! i wouldnt mind if you just paid £2-£3 every month and downloaded the app for free but you pay £30 then have to pay £5+ every month just to play!!
    i cant be arsed with that, especially on my income. runescape pulled me in a bit but it stumps you at a certian level and 60% of the game needs to be unlocked by paying. sod that.

  • SonOfSparda018

    Posted Sep 26, 2007 5:57 am PT

    leave gamers alone!

  • Barhooom

    Posted Jun 10, 2007 2:16 am PT

    oh well... a guy who spends his %60 of his day playing WOW or Guild Wars.. idk if his fast reflexes would help him do anything else... I guess they should put games like GOW in military training or karate gyms to help ppl with slower reflexes..

    However, many people feel depressed becuase of the slow pace of the real world and want to do gr8 things. I think these games give that to this kind of pple and thats the reason they leave the real world and invest so much in playing games where they feel like they count..

    Thats just my take on it

  • Angry_O

    Posted Jan 8, 2007 10:00 pm PT

    Squabo46
    "Well I would argue that most mmorpg's aren't good for you other than the fact that they are entertaining. Games like Guild Wars and WoW don't increase reaction speed or handeye coordination because they're not FPS's and don't have real time battles. If anything they dull your senses."

    Ha! You wish. I play both FPS multi (FEAR, BF2142) and WoW. Both require fast reaction times and hand eye coordination, particularly when partaking of PvP in WoW. In fact, I would say that WoW requires not only fast reaction times, but more thoughtful reaction times, since you have to evaluate a much more complex situation and react to it compared to your standard FPS slug fest. I'm guessing you played a small amount of WoW, and evaluated it on the rather dull and boring low levels. At higher levels, having a 30+ skills on your screen to select from when fighting other players requires substantial reflexes and presence of mind.

  • dudeperson2006

    Posted Jan 5, 2007 2:27 am PT

    thats cool us gamers have increased reaction times and better hand eye coordination...................this is awesome

  • Squabo46

    Posted Jan 1, 2007 1:45 am PT

    Well I would argue that most mmorpg's aren't good for you other than the fact that they are entertaining. Games like Guild Wars and WoW don't increase reaction speed or handeye coordination because they're not FPS's and don't have real time battles. If anything they dull your senses.

    I think the addiction to mmorpg's comes from a desired superiority complex. Basically, in mmorpg's you just do the same thing over and over again: you get a quest, fight something, go somewhere, collect something and then return for your reward. This gets boring quite quickly (at least for me, I suppose some could find fun in repetition) so I am able to easily turn off my game. The only thing that keeps you going is the drive to become better than other people because, these games do not end. It is this drive to be better than others that keeps people addicted until you either realize you will not be the best or there is no actual gain in being the best because, after all, it is a videogame. Some people never reach these points so they are hopelessly addicted. I suppose this addiction could be healthy in games such as 2nd life, IF you are good at it as it will make you actual money. However, in games like WoW, the pride that comes from being "the best" isn't really worth anything.

  • JohnnySoftware

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 3:22 pm PT

    "THIS IS FROM ENGLAND HA ..... NO ONE IN ENGLAND PLAYS VIDEO GAMES WHAT DO THEY KNOW"

    What do you know?!!

    Bullfrog Productions was a huge computer gaming software company founded in the UK and later acquired by US gamemaker EA.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullfrog_Productions

    Psygnosis is another UK video game software company that created games for PCs and home console systems.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psygnosis

    I just corresponded with a programmer in the UK a couple of weeks ago who writes video games, too.

    So the UK is and has been involved in video games for quite a long time.

  • JohnnySoftware

    Posted Dec 15, 2006 3:05 pm PT

    It is somewhat misleading to say that "the game never switches off ... you cannot even pause the game".

    The reality is that the game does let you log out or completely exit the program. That is pretty darned close to the pause feature in other games.

    The world does not grind to a halt, true - when you do that. However, it does mean that your character is not going to get killed. You have therefore very effectively "paused" your character.

    You can do this anywhere, anytime - from what I have seen so far. It is slightly preferable to do it in an inn but in practice there is not really any penalty from doing it anywhere, including right in the middle of a road.

    In the end, it is just a game. There are benefits for playing it some in the first place, and problems with playing it too much as well.

    Just like everything else.

  • Resu_Emanon

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 6:55 pm PT

    Getting addicted to ANY activity CAN BE dangerous physically and maybe even mentally, and the more addicted you are, the more side effects you can get.

    Im saying this to let some people look at this article from other point of view.

    Forget about getting addicted to MMOG, because getting addicted to women is more dangerous then any game and the side effects can be unpredictable!!

  • _Sam_

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 6:36 pm PT

    "Those benefits include increased reaction times and better hand-eye coordination."

    interesting. I didn't know that

  • Dualmask

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 5:04 am PT

    This doesn't surprise me at all. I used to be heavily addicted to City of Heroes, because it was the first (and only) MMO I've ever played, and because I draw my own comics and create my own superhero characters anyway, the game was like heaven on earth. When I was new to it, I all but abandoned everything else in my life--I was late for work often because I stayed up late playing it, I neglected my family, my art, my friends, all of it. Today, I'm pretty much tired of it (and my comp can't seem to handle it anymore) so the addiction has worn off, but I'm definitely wary about trying another MMO. They're extremely dangerous games, but really it all boils down to self control. It's not the developers' fault that people can't stop playing MMOs. You have to have the will power to cut yourself off from time to time, force breaks on yourself.

  • stricot

    Posted Dec 6, 2006 6:51 am PT

    I would say I've been addicted to several games although I would not admit it myself and it would not be perceived from others. From Colonization, Sim City 1 or Diablo 1 to Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Morrowind or WoW I've been hooked several times to the point it impacts your studies/social activities/work, although usually not visibly. I can't count the hours I've spent on games in my life but that would be just impressive (just as time spent in front of a telly by most people, whereeas I have no TV).
    Although I had girfriends and a demanding job at the time, WoW has definitely had drug-like effects during the 15 months I've been subscribing: getting back home and rushing to the PC to login, quickly cooking andd eating in front of the screen, not answering the phone while on a quest, skipping sports and nights out and even visits to my family.
    I CAN GUARANTEE more than 1 on 9 (maybe 1 on 5) MMO gamers are highly addicted and probably more than half somehow addicted; basically you don't spend a monthly EUR12 strolling in that living world from time to time while most just compete to level up, auction items, get active in a guild etc...
    Positive point though: most people have their addiction, mainly TV, or drinking with friends, or clubbing, or going to the gym every single day, even working 12 hours a day and at week-ends; those can all become real addictions which have an impact on your personal/social life.

  • kl3pt00

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 7:34 pm PT

    i think games can be habit forming if u have an addictive personality anything can be addicting even ice cream just got to have the right personality i guess

  • Predatorian234

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 2:57 pm PT

    Wait....video games aren't habit forming? What are you smoking? Next thing you know you will be telling me that smoking pot isn't habit forming either.

    But I was addicted to a game once....Yep....Diablo 2. It consumed by soul. I remember running home from school and jumping right on and playing all night long. Did that for about a month or so. Most addicted I have ever been to a game. And I haven't gamed like that since.

    Sometimes I miss those days...then I look at my tan and my girlfriend and I no longer miss it.

  • Owenjf

    Posted Dec 5, 2006 9:24 am PT

    "NO ONE IN ENGLAND PLAYS VIDEO GAMES"

    Please tell me you are actually joking and not that nieve.

    MMO's are highly addictive, I'm sure any of you that are avid MMO fans will appreciate the "just five more minutes" which turns into an hour or 4.

  • GenTaylor84

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 10:13 pm PT

    THIS IS FROM ENGLAND HA ..... NO ONE IN ENGLAND PLAYS VIDEO GAMES WHAT DO THEY KNOW

  • audioust

    Posted Dec 4, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    you cant get addicted to video games. period. games are not a habbit forming substance.

  • goochtoe

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 11:00 pm PT

    odd... I have never been addicted to a game.... Well maybe mega Man X3 and Mega Man X... But hey you can't blame me! I refuse to ever beat those games because I will never play them again once they're beaten. well still... Everyone that's addicted to MMORPG's, HEED MY WORDS!


    You are a turducken

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