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Video Games, Another Opiate?
Written: 05/09/06
If you are reading this article, then you're probably a gaming aficionado in
some form or another, and you will more than likely understand that video
games are, in fact, addictive. Once someone is introduced to gaming, and
becomes addicted, they will willingly pay the sometimes ridiculous prices to
quench their now insatiable thirst for video games. 500 dollars for an Xbox
360 deluxe package? Surely one must be mad to even consider making such a
purchase, and yet these things fly off of the shelves like they are a cure
for cancer. And with the price tag on the PS3 rumored to be around 600
dollars, things certainly aren't getting any better.
I bet you're all asking yourselves "So what does this all mean, Mike?" Well
I'll tell you!! Addiction to video games leads to all sorts of hilarious
problems!! Rabid fanboy-ism will undoubtedly occur once a video game's
popularity spirals out of control, take Dragon Quest, for example. Now, I'm
a huge Dragon Quest fan, having played the first one when I was a wee lad a
long time ago in a galaxy far far away. I love the style, the music, the
ganeplay, the epic stories, everything just flows together so well... but
I'm getting sidetracked, so I'll shut up. See, In Japan, Dragon Quest is
epic shit, people love this game so much that they passed a LAW preventing
Enix (Now Square-Enix) from selling the game on weekdays, so as to prevent
children and adults alike from cutting work and school.
While most games here in the US don't usually lavish such concentrated
attention, it is safe to say that people will undoubtedly gather in large
numbers for the release of a major console, my case in point being the Xbox
360. Even with it's exhorbitant price tag, the console has become somewhat
rare, and of course, if people don't get what they want, when they want it,
what do they do? Become irritable and violent! According to Eurogamer.net,
around three hundred or some odd people were queued up in line at a Wal-Mart
Supercenter in Maryland, when the manager suddenly decides now would be a
good time to chime in and inform everyone that their supply is limited, and
people will be served on a first come, first serve basis. All hell breaks
loose, people riot in the streets, the government is overturned, I became
supreme overlord of the United States... ...Well okay, only a few people got
trampled after the crowd became unruly, but even so, the effect is quite
noticable. If the demand for video games were not as great, people wouldn't
have a reason to riot! The gaming mass has been transformed into a ravenous
glutton, constantly looking for new ways to provide the ever-so crucial
gaming fix they desire, and at any cost.
Another gaming phenominon which expands upon my point of dangerously
addictive video games is the accursed genre known as the MMORPG. MMORPGs
drain your wallet while effectively excluding you from the greater part of
humanity, and while most people who play one of these games retain their
abilities as a functioning member of society, there are some who become
utterly enslaved by the game, becoming so hopelessly devoted as to play for
hours on end without food or rest, and in extreme cases, completely neglect
their family, their jobs, and even their own health. People have died after
having played for days on end, children have died when their parents were
away at internet cafes playing MMORPGs, people get beat up and assassinated
over rare items in MMORPGs, and for what? Just for someone to say they have
a larger E-Penis than someone else? A fair trade? I think not!!
And through all the chaos and disorder, through the lives lost and the
people maimed... we must ask ourselves, who is truly to blame here? Is it
the game developers, whose hard work and devotion to their fans have brought
them nothing but countless hours of tedious labor and neverending
complaints/requests (as well as untold riches)? Pft, no. Is it the video
games themselves, with their contant gameplay innovations, cutting edge
graphics, and epic soundtracks, all geared towards keeping gamers hooked and
asking for more? Hell no! Video games may be addictive, but it is your own
fault for becoming addicted to them!! So don't blame video games, blame
yourself! Had you not picked up that NES controller when you were a child,
then you wouldn't be here, am I right? I thought so. This is the path people
CHOOSE to walk down, and thusly, they must live with the consequences! They
must live with the bitching fanboys, they must live with the crackhead
MMORPGers, the must live in a world where people die and get beat up over
consoles, simply because they were too impatient to fucking WAIT a week or
two! So, much the opposite of that popular saying... Hate the player, not
the game.
Miguel A. Herrera, Staff Writer
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