Has Gaming Gone Too Far?
Written by Hopper, Friday January 30 2009
Not overly long ago, video games were simply a hobby. Consoles weren't fancy. Progress could not be saved. And playing with people from thousands of miles away did not even take up an inkling of space in people's minds.
My, how times have changed.
Video games are now, well, a way of life for some. Kids not only play video games for hours on end, but video games, more often then not, get in the way of everyday life. Kids often flunk tests because of this. Some have even been known to get life-threatening seisures because of their non-stop gaming.
Not only do kids play for hours to "beat the game", but some actually join leagues for these games. Perhaps the best example is MLG or "Major League Gaming". MLG consists of individual or team tournaments for games such as Call of Duty, Halo 3, and Gears of War. People gather from all over the country, and the world, to battle each other to see who is truly the best at any given game. Major cash awards are given out to the winners.
But MLG is not the only video game league out there. In fact, if you Google a league for any video game, especially for the Xbox 360 console, you're bound to find hundereds of options. Some leagues are more serious than others, and those leagues' sites are often more sophisticated than for those not-so-serious leagues.
Now, I have a 360. I'm also a part of a NASCAR 09 league. And I'll be the first to tell you that it is truly addicting. I'm also a Halo 3 addict, and play whenever I have the time. The thing to remember if you join a league though, is it must take a back seat to your everyday life.
I'll give you a classic example of what I'm talking about. I know a kid who is obsessed with a certain video game, which I shall not mention. He is so obsessed that he currently participates in tournaments on his own console, as well as at his local Gamestop. He's so good at the game, in fact, that he is sponsored. The problem is that he is also flunking his Junior year of high school, because he is so focused on something that simply won't matter down the road.
Another more known example is that, one kid, who played for 20 hours straight, got a life-threatening seisure. I don't know how he managed to play for that long, but the point is that he was so into playing his video game, that he put his own life in danger.
Video games are incredibly addicting, especially when you add the fact that you can now play with all sorts of different people from all over the world. I know that as a fact, because I too have been known to sit in front of the TV for hours on end playing, just about any sort of video game. And when you join a league, it can become even more addicting. Heck, if not for video games, I don't know what on earth I'd do to use up my spare time(Oh yeah, write).
But, when people let gaming take over their lives, that's when it has gone too far. Kids are not the only ones who are guilty of it either. Many adults get on and waste their life away playing video games. Video games are not bad, as long as you don't let them take control of your life.
What do you think? Has gaming gone too far?
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