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"'I couldn't stop myself' - Comments on gaming addiction"

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Fri 12/04/02 at 14:26
Regular
Posts: 787
(Reposted from PS forum - hopefully to a better reaction this time!)

Great. It's 2.59am. The only person awake in the world is the milkman, and even he's not left his house yet. It sounds like cats are fighting in the street outside. Either that or hyperactive babies are screaming for England. But even they should be asleep at this moment, so you doubt it. You jump as the clock strikes four. Damn. Got to get up in three hours. At this rate there'll be nothing to get up from.

And it all seemed so easy four hours ago. Just complete this level, you said to yourself, then you can go to sleep. Shouldn't take too long. You know what you've got to do really. And you're so nearly there now. Just got to make that jump and it'll be a piece of cake. You steady yourself. Come on. You can do it this time. You run, and jump. The screen goes black. The room goes black. Game Over. You'd scream, if it wasn't for the fact that it would be loud enough to wake the entire town, let alone your house. You check the clock. Time for one more go. After all, it won't do any harm, and you know what to do this time...

Sound familiar? If you haven't stayed up all night with only your Playstation 2 for company before, then it's unlikely you'll be reading this. We've all done it. But why? As everybody who hasn't got a Playstation 2, usually above 50, is so fond of telling us, `What's so good about that GameBoyStation anyway? It's just a grey box. You're only moving a woman around a screen. Come and watch telly with your family'.

The bloke who made up Tetris and then sold it for millions of pounds was cunning. He knew that if you enjoy something enough, you always need one more fix. If you don't beat your high score, it keeps on nagging at the back of your mind until you get back to the game and eventually beat it - and then all you're left with is another high score that you have to beat again. Result: you're caught in a Tetris web forever.

Of course, the two-player phenomenon is very different indeed. Be it Pro Evolution Soccer or Gran Turismo 3 or, erm, a round of snap, there will always be that urge to beat your opponent. And if you don't, you'll want to play again to make sure you do next time. From this, many all-night sessions begin. And the joypad breaking, or probably more correctly, punching begins.

Well, as the old parental staple goes, there must be something better to do with your time. So how else could you spend that spare 717 hours 36 minutes if Playstation did not exist?

1.) Fly to the moon and back 10 times - Well it wouldn't be first on everyone's list, but it's unique.

2.) Go to work or school 89 times - Hey, this is a controversial one. Earn a wage? Or get an education? Instead of playing GTA3? Are you mad?

3.) Complete the Final Fantasy series 6 times - It's no good. I couldn't think of another thing to do. Close the curtains, would ya, there's a bit of a reflection going on here.

Thing is, whether we like it or not, we're all addicted. The simple fact is this: Without our craving for bigger games with better graphics and sexier sounds, we'd still be playing Pacman on our Ataris. We want more, and every three years or so one of the main Games manufactorers give us it. Or at least they try to.

Yet this still doesn't explain it all. In the words of the famous advert, we may have 'conquered worlds', we may have 'lived' even, but we still spent our formative gaming years as hooked as we are today. And even though Tetris isn't quite as deep as Metal Gear Solid 2, if you had it here, right now, you'd be playing it, wouldn't you?
Sat 13/04/02 at 11:05
Regular
"Excommunicated"
Posts: 23,284
Nic post again, I read your other one as well.

I wouldn't worry about people not replying at first, keep posting like this and you'll be okay.

Shame newbies can only post in Chat.
Fri 12/04/02 at 18:48
Posts: 0
i must say i just had the same motion. i was thinking last night about how the console wars was really getting to me i couldn`t get to sleep because of it then it hit me it`s only computer games. so i`ve changed my life round when i used to be:
must save up must get game and what your kidding me gamecube is the best and rack my brain for somin god about it.
i`m now
go into shop look around see game i like buy it if i have some money and whos care the gamecube is a console not a way of life and if some one disses it i`ll go cry in my badroom
or somin like that all i`m saying is i`ll just play games for fun not jst buy it beacsue it`s the best game.


in my head i know what i mean it`s just hard to write it down
Fri 12/04/02 at 18:00
Regular
"TAGLINE ERROR!"
Posts: 235
Hey thanks for your comments people
Fri 12/04/02 at 17:45
Posts: 0
ive had those days aswell.Still do...
Fri 12/04/02 at 17:28
Regular
Posts: 4,142
I may be a games fan but I would never stay up that late playing them. BTW Good post.
Fri 12/04/02 at 17:23
Posts: 0
I wrote a topic like this, and it was pretty similar, and no-one replied to it. I Even started talking to myself on it! Anyways

I've had several of those days,
"okay I'll come off at 8:30" in my time, 10 minutes go past, in the real world over two hours has past. And I'm still not satisfied, I've found it difficult to tear away from games!
Fri 12/04/02 at 16:34
Regular
"TAGLINE ERROR!"
Posts: 235
Anyone want to reply to the topic?
Fri 12/04/02 at 14:26
Regular
"TAGLINE ERROR!"
Posts: 235
(Reposted from PS forum - hopefully to a better reaction this time!)

Great. It's 2.59am. The only person awake in the world is the milkman, and even he's not left his house yet. It sounds like cats are fighting in the street outside. Either that or hyperactive babies are screaming for England. But even they should be asleep at this moment, so you doubt it. You jump as the clock strikes four. Damn. Got to get up in three hours. At this rate there'll be nothing to get up from.

And it all seemed so easy four hours ago. Just complete this level, you said to yourself, then you can go to sleep. Shouldn't take too long. You know what you've got to do really. And you're so nearly there now. Just got to make that jump and it'll be a piece of cake. You steady yourself. Come on. You can do it this time. You run, and jump. The screen goes black. The room goes black. Game Over. You'd scream, if it wasn't for the fact that it would be loud enough to wake the entire town, let alone your house. You check the clock. Time for one more go. After all, it won't do any harm, and you know what to do this time...

Sound familiar? If you haven't stayed up all night with only your Playstation 2 for company before, then it's unlikely you'll be reading this. We've all done it. But why? As everybody who hasn't got a Playstation 2, usually above 50, is so fond of telling us, `What's so good about that GameBoyStation anyway? It's just a grey box. You're only moving a woman around a screen. Come and watch telly with your family'.

The bloke who made up Tetris and then sold it for millions of pounds was cunning. He knew that if you enjoy something enough, you always need one more fix. If you don't beat your high score, it keeps on nagging at the back of your mind until you get back to the game and eventually beat it - and then all you're left with is another high score that you have to beat again. Result: you're caught in a Tetris web forever.

Of course, the two-player phenomenon is very different indeed. Be it Pro Evolution Soccer or Gran Turismo 3 or, erm, a round of snap, there will always be that urge to beat your opponent. And if you don't, you'll want to play again to make sure you do next time. From this, many all-night sessions begin. And the joypad breaking, or probably more correctly, punching begins.

Well, as the old parental staple goes, there must be something better to do with your time. So how else could you spend that spare 717 hours 36 minutes if Playstation did not exist?

1.) Fly to the moon and back 10 times - Well it wouldn't be first on everyone's list, but it's unique.

2.) Go to work or school 89 times - Hey, this is a controversial one. Earn a wage? Or get an education? Instead of playing GTA3? Are you mad?

3.) Complete the Final Fantasy series 6 times - It's no good. I couldn't think of another thing to do. Close the curtains, would ya, there's a bit of a reflection going on here.

Thing is, whether we like it or not, we're all addicted. The simple fact is this: Without our craving for bigger games with better graphics and sexier sounds, we'd still be playing Pacman on our Ataris. We want more, and every three years or so one of the main Games manufactorers give us it. Or at least they try to.

Yet this still doesn't explain it all. In the words of the famous advert, we may have 'conquered worlds', we may have 'lived' even, but we still spent our formative gaming years as hooked as we are today. And even though Tetris isn't quite as deep as Metal Gear Solid 2, if you had it here, right now, you'd be playing it, wouldn't you?

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