Whiz Craft

(Gaming) When Good Games Go Bad

By john mce

 There is a growing number of stories in the press about gamers who play for extended periods of time and whose lives and mental stats suffer as a consequence. But is online gaming as addictive and dangerous as some claim?

I know I for one have stayed up late playing computer games in the past. I have even noticed the detrimental effect it has upon other elements of my life but continued playing regardless. Increasingly horror stories about online gaming’s side effects has prompted a growing awareness of the problem, with some gaming companies even facing court cases brought by bereaved parents.

Online gaming addiction is most prevalent in Asia, with many of the more extreme news stories about them coming from South Korea. Thirty percent of South Korea’s population is registered with online games, and they also have the highest broadband connectivity rate, at seventy percent. Any people who don’t have broadband can visit one of the country’s popular internet cafes, which can charge as little as $1 an hour. In this kind of environment it would be easy for anyone with an addictive personality to get addicted, so can you really call it an addiction?

Researchers say that gamers share important reactions with drug addicts. One of these is ‘drug memory’. A crack-head will be tempted to abuse the drug when they are presented with ‘trigger’ circumstances - If they have entered a building in which they have frequently used the drug, for example. Gamers have the same reaction to game-related stimuli.

One of the earliest stories concerning online gaming addiction was of a 21-year-old man who was discovered to have been playing the game within minutes of killing himself. His mother, who claimed he had been playing the game for 12 hours per day, took Sony to court.

Players of one popular online game, ‘EverQuest’ have dubbed it ‘EverCrack’ because of its addictive qualities and online help forums have been set up for the partners of obsessive gamers, such as the ‘Widows of Warcraft’ forum.

In August 2005, a 28 year old man died, not after committing suicide, but after playing Starcraft at an internet cafe for 50 hours straight. He had not slept properly and had eaten very little, and is thought to have died of exhaustion.

So what kind of person is likely to become an online gaming addict? According to researchers, those most likely to become addicted are those who tend to be isolated, lonely, and prone to boredom or have little interest in sex. Other factors include low self esteem and poor body image.

Isolated, lonely people, who are unsure of themselves, turn to online gaming as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. It is seen almost as an alternative to going to a bar, enabling participants to compete against and win the respect of their peers.

Whilst online gaming obviously has severely detrimental effects for those who are hopelessly addicted, you can’t really blame the pub for the alcoholic.

Increasingly online gaming addiction is being treated as an addiction, rather than a bizarre consequence of ill-conceived games. It is up to the individual to use alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and computer games responsibly and you can’t always blame the manufacturer for the abuse committed by a few obsessive addicts.

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A Brief History Of Online Gambling
By john mce

 It all began in 1994 on Antigua Barbuda in the West Indies, the home of gambling licences. This is still an online gambling Mecca with most online gambling companies still based in Antiqua in order to take advantage of this licence.

Before the games could begin gaming software needed to be put into place in order for the online casino revolution to begin. This was where the Isle of Man becomes an important place and the company Microgaming, the god fathers of the first fully operational inline casino software, leading the way for many other online gambling sites.

In 1995 Cryptologic was founded with a goal to develop a series of software packages that can securely and effectively process transactions to keep online gamers safe.

By 1998 Cash Splash a progressive online jackpot slot was operational, but there is stiff opposition from the US. Senator Jon kyl apposed online gaming with the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, this would make it illegal for any US company to offer online gambling to US citizens, but the act was not passed.

Throughout 1997 and 1998 online casinos continued to develop improved software and refine their operations. Due to the slower bandwidth speeds and servers of the time, there were many connectivity issues and network dropouts in the early days of online gambling, however business research and consulting firm, Frost & Sullivan, reported that the industry still generated 834.5 million dollars in revenue in 1998 alone.

Party poker quickly grew to become the world’s largest online poker room, and it’s parent company, Party Gaming was one of the first online gambling companies to go public, listing on the London Stock Exchange in June 2005.

Broadband has increased speed and atmosphere within these sites, making the graphics and experience pretty much like you have taken your comfy office chair and placed it round a table full of high rollers. The sounds and personas can be recreated with online characters, the only thing missing is the lack of ability to order a drink while you play as you can in the real world.

After the US passed a bill that stops residents from some states partaking in online gambling, many online gambling sites have become wary when accepting bets from members in the USA. This could come as a blow to online casinos as the US makes up half of their income. France, Italy and Austria are set to ban online gambling, but the rest of Europe for now online gambling is still legal. So advertisers will be targeting online advertising campaigns at them to gain revenue.

It is estimated that by 2010 UK clients will double and revue will increase from 660 million pounds to roughly 1.6 billion pounds.

As technology develops soon it will be possible to take part in gambling from your mobile phone. The future of the industry is promising and user interactivity and online atmosphere set to make casino’s more and more exciting. It’s not been easy for the industry but it has created stable foundations for the industry to continue to grow.

John Mce writes on behalf of Pentasia. Search & apply online for iGaming, online gambling, betting & casino jobs with Pentasia

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Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 4:00 am and is filed under gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.