With the debate on video game violence having come to a head once again with the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, I knew it was only a matter of time before resurfaced claims of “game addiction” got bandied around as well.
But before today, I never expected to read a balanced piece on the subject in a mainstream publication like the New York Times.
Here are a few brief excerpts:
“People say that if consumers are down to their last $50, the last three things they’ll buy are milk, eggs and video games,” said Colin Sebastian, a video game industry analyst with Lazard Capital Markets.
“I’d probably give up my cellphone,” he said. “Probably not food. That’s really tough. I like food.”
“When gamers are in it, it’s like a druglike state. It feels so good,” said Jennifer Aaker, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.
“The last thing that comes to mind is: ‘Can I afford it?’ That question isn’t even on the radar,” Professor Aaker said. “The question is: How fast can I buy it?”
“You can go along with the stories, which are pretty good, or you can just play around and blow stuff up,” Mr. Jobe said. “If you don’t feel like blowing stuff up, you can jump in a cop car and run over criminals.”
“My wife wants me to go shopping or go to P.T.A. meetings, and sometimes I don’t want to do that,” he said. He thinks he is entitled to something in return. “I explain to her: When I get off work, it’s my way to calm down. It’s like my cigarette.”
Out of context, these quotes could easily form the basis of a very nasty story, painting a picture of gamers as the other, the depraved anti-social addicts that make life miserable for normal, hardworking citizens. The quotes are harmful to their owners, and more so to gamers as a whole.
But Matt Richtel of the NY Times doesn’t do that. With his reticent language and efforts to put every quote into its proper social context, readers learn that games aren’t addictive designer drugs; rather, the learning process they facilitate is addictive all on its own.
Readers learn that while games are individually expensive, per gameplay hour they’re comparatively cheap entertainment.
Readers learn that video game explosions are a way to relieve stress, not practice homicide.
And in summation, readers learn that video games are socially acceptable — and the reason they have a place next to milk and eggs is likely because we’re in a recession, not in spite of it.
Of course, gamers knew all this already… but we can take pride in the fact that soon, others will as well.
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