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CONTENTS NATION WORLD BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY HEALTH/LIFESTYLE
Online Gaming:
Addiction or Just High Engagement?
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BY JOANNE ANGELA B. MARZAN
STRATEGY POINTS
There is an ongoing debate among experts as to whether excessive gaming should be considered as an
addiction and therefore elevated to the category of a mental disorder
Those that support classifying gaming abuse as an addiction cite numerous instances where excessive
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structure and activity of moderate to excessive gamers and gambling addicts are similar
Those opposed to labelling excessive gaming as an addiction believe that further studies are needed to
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HEALTH/LIFESTYLE
cockroach
long tattered nails
poor vision
bloodshot eyes
burger trash
24/7 ketchup stain
muscular degeneration
weight fluctuation
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:NKcenSEI8KVUXZ September 3-16, 2012
D
uring the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy in
zooq, u pIoLo oI LIree boys pIuyIng wIuL
appeared to be online video games while half-
submerged in water went viral. It is uncertain where
this photo was taken but one might wonder what these
boys could have been doing to make them oblivious to
their environment, not to mention risks to their health
und suIeLy?
In an attempt to understand how the brains of
moderate to excessive gamers worked, a study was
conducted in Berlin, Germany, the participants of
wIIcI were 1q IeuILIy 1q-yeur oId kIds wIo, uL
un uveruge, pIuyed vIdeo gumes 1. Iours durIng
weekdays and 2.3 hours on weekends.
AccordIng Lo LIe zo11 sLudy, The Neural Basis
of Video Gaming, published in Translational
Psychiatry, the adolescents who became a part of the
research showed brain structures similar to those of
gambling addicts.
TIe key hndIng oI IIgIer voIume In IeIL venLruI
striatum associated with frequent video game playing
Is In concepLuuI uccordunce wILI hndIngs oI enIunced
dopamine release during video game playing and
excessive gambling in Parkinsons patients due to
dopaminergic medication, the study revealed.
Psychology Today dehnes dopumIne us LIe
neuroLrunsmILLer LIuL IeIps conLroI LIe bruIn`s
rewurd und pIeusure cenLers, und IeIps reguIuLe
movemenL und emoLIonuI responses. A dehcIency In
dopamine would result in Parkinsons disease while
peopIe wILI Iow dopumIne ucLIvILy muy be more
prone [to] addiction.The ventral striatum is the
rewurd cenLer oI LIe bruIn.
GreuLer dopumIne reIeuse In LIe venLruI sLrIuLum Ius
been shown in Parkinsons patients with addiction,
obsession and gambling compared with Parkinsons
puLIenLs wILIouL LIese sympLoms. TIese hndIngs
identify striatal function driven by dopamine as a core
candidate promoting addictive behaviour. Of note,
it has recently been demonstrated that pathological
gamblers have an increased striatal dopamine release
while losing money, a biological signal that may hinder
the termination of gambling, the study explained.
Another view of dopamine. Dr. Judy Willis,
a neurologist and middle-school teacher, talked
about the relationship between dopamine and
excessIve vIdeo-gume pIuy In Ier OcL. zo11 coIumn In
Psychology Today on RudIcuI TeucIIng.
Gaming, come heII or high water
Chart of dopamine pathways from "Addiction Science:
From Molecules to Managed Care," National Institute of
Drug Abuse
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TIe IueI LIuL compeIs compuLer gume
perseverance and can also motivate academic
or other skill learning is the brain chemical,
dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that,
when released in higher than usual amounts, goes
beyond LIe synupse und ows Lo oLIer regIons oI
the brain producing a powerful pleasure response,
Dr. Willis said.
Dr. WIIIIs udded, LIe rewurd Irom LIe reIeuse oI
dopamine prompts the brain want to repeat that
action and receive more dopamine-pleasure.
So, much like a gambler who continues playing
despite continued losses, an excessive gamer
would also keep on playing in the hopes of
overcoming the next game challenge or level.
TIese bursLs oI pIeusure drIve LIe bruIn Lo seek
the next burst, so gamers upon reaching the next
level want to continue on playing, even through
increasing challenge and frequent failure, Dr.
Willis warned.
6FLHQWLFFRPPXQLW\VWLOOQRWLQ
DJUHHPHQW While this latest discovery might
have bolstered the belief of some experts that
excessive gaming is an addiction, Rotterdam-based
Erasmus Universitys Antonius J. van Rooij, in his
zo11 PI.D. LIesIs, OnIIne VIdeo Gume AddIcLIon:
Exploring a New Phenomenon, observed that
LIe scIenLIhc communILy Ius noL yeL reucIed u
consensus on whether gaming abuse should be
regurded us un uddIcLIon. RooIj dehned vIdeo gume
uddIcLIon us u Ioss oI conLroI over gumIng, IeudIng
Lo sIgnIhcunL Iurm |p.11|.
ScIenLIsLs ure sLIII sLrongIy dIvIded ubouL LIe
necessity to label problematic gaming as an
addiction. In fact, while some authors argue in
Iuvor oI creuLIng un ocIuI dIugnosIs Ior vIdeo
gume uddIcLIon . oLIers urgue LIuL LIe concepL oI
In August 2010, Software Top 100 compiled the
top 25 gaming companies in the world based on
2009 software revenues. According to Software
Top 100`s list, the top 25 gaming companies
amassed 2009 revenues of just under $30.7
billion, of which the top 10 gaming companies, as
listed below, account for just over $24 billion.
1. Nintendo
With estimated revenue of $6.8 billion in 2009,
the Japanese multinational company
revolutionized gaming experience when it
introduced the Nintendo Wii in 2008. Three of the
top 10 highest grossing video games worldwide,
according to www.digitalbattle.com, were
developed and published by Nintendo, namely:
Mario Kart Wii, Nintendo`s most proftable game
ever, with revenue reaching $1.4 billion as of 2011
and over 28 million copies sold; Wii Play, with
revenue of $1.25 billion and over 27 million copies
sold, and; New Super Mario Brothers Wii, already
with $1.2 billion in revenue two years after its
release in 2009.
2. Activision Blizzard
In 2009, the estimated software revenue of the
company was $4.3 billion.
The Sta. Monica, California-based Activision
Blizzard, Inc. has under its portfolio four of the
highest grossing games of all time, according to
Digital Battle: World of Warcraft (designed and
published by Blizzard), the highest grossing video
game of all time, with an estimated revenue of
more than $10 billion in the last decade; Call
of Duty: Black Ops (designed and published by
Activision), with an estimated revenue of more
than $1.5 billion at second place; Modern Warfare
2 (designed and published by Activision) is at
The serious business of fun
and games
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:NKcenSEI8KVUXZ September 3-16, 2012
number eight, with revenue amounting to $780
million; and Modern Warfare at tenth place earning
$700 million. The company`s portfolio also includes
other popular games, such as Starcraft and Diablo.
3. Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA) is the creator and publisher of
The Sims, the ninth-highest grossing video game
ever on Digital Battle`s list, with an estimated 2011
software revenue of $740 million. Based in Redwood
City, California, EA`s 2009 revenue amounted to $3.7
billion. In fscal 2012, its website said that EA posted
GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Other games
created by EA are Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need
for Speed, Battlefeld, and Mass Effect.
4. Sony Online Entertainment (SOE)
Based in San Diego, California, Sony Online`s
software revenue in 2009 was $1.9 billion. Some
of its best-selling online games are EverQuest,
EverQuest II, Champions of Norrath, PlanetSide,
Free Realms, Clone Wars Adventures, and
DC Universe Online. Its most popular game,
however, is the Gran Turismo, which reportedly
earned $850 million as of 2011, making it the seventh
highest grossing game of all time, based on Digital
Battle`s list.
5. Microsoft Games
Microsoft Games develops and publishes games for
Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Windows and Windows
Phones. In 2009, the company earned a total of
$1.7 billion. Its bestselling games for Xbox are: Halo
series, Gears of War, Fable and Project Gotham
Racing, while the Age of Empires series is Microsoft`s
most popular PC game.
6. Konami Digital Entertainment
The second Japanese company to enter the top
ten list is the developer and publisher of popular
video games, such as Castlevania, Contra and
Dance Dance Revolution. In 2009, the Tokyo-based
company earned $1.6 billion.
7. Ubisoft
French company Ubisoft is the only European
company that made it to the top ten list, with $1.2
billion in revenue. Some of the company`s cash
cows are Assassin`s Creed, Just Dance and
Prince of Persia.
8. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
In 2009, this New York City based company earned
revenue amounting to $916 million. Based on its
website, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has
two wholly-owned labels: Rockstar Games, which
developed and produced Grand Theft Auto series
(according to 2011 fgures from Gaming Battle, Grand
Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas are
the fourth- and seventh-highest grossing video games
ever, with revenues of $1.35 billion and $850 million,
respectively) and 2K , the developer and producer of
2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play.
9. Square Enix
Based in Tokyo, Japan, Square Enix earned an
estimated $916 million in software revenues as of
2009. Its popular games are Final Fantasy, which sold
over 100 million units worldwide; Dragon Quest, with
over 58 million units sold, and; Tomb Raider, which
sold more than 35 million units.
10. Toy Head Quarters (THQ)
THQ is an American company based in Agoura
Hills, California, with an estimated 2009 revenue
of $909 million. Some of its products include the
following series: Saints Row, Darksiders, Metro,
WWE and Homefront.
Online gaming: Addiction or just 'high engagement`
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vIdeo gume uddIcLIon Is IurdIy bused on scIenLIhc
IucLs, buL ruLIer on medIu IysLerIu . . Some
worry that game addiction might in fact be a
dIerenL nume Ior 'IIgI engugemenL` or LIuL IL Is
merely the expression of an underlying, primary
psycIoIogIcuI probIem ... . Moreover, IL seems
LIuL LIe empIrIcuI evIdence uL Iund Is InsucIenL
Lo reucI dehnILIve concIusIons regurdIng 'gume
addiction (Council on Science and Public Health,
zoo;) (p.11), RooIj dIscussed.
A June zoo; AssocIuLed Press sLory on the
Fox News site reported that a major council
of the AmerIcun MedIcuI AssocIuLIon (AMA), jusL
before the associations annual policy meeting,
wus goIng Lo recommend LIuL LIe AMA usk
the American Psychiatric Association (APA)
to include video-game addiction as a mental
disorder in the latters Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders.
Two months later, an article on the Psych Central
mental health social network site reported that
LIe AMA`s CouncII oI ScIence und PubIIc HeuILI
backed away from its own recommendation
after the outcry from mental health and addiction
experts from across the country.
TIere Is noLIIng Iere Lo suggesL LIuL LIIs Is
a complex physiological disease state akin to
alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders,
and it doesnt get to have the word addiction
attached to it, Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American
SocIeLy oI AddIcLIon MedIcIne und ML. SInuI
ScIooI oI MedIcIne In New York, wus quoLed us
saying in the Psych Central article.
nsLeud, LIe AMA usked LIe AmerIcun PsycIIuLrIc
Association to consider the issue in its process of
updating the next edition of the Diagnostic and
SLuLIsLIcuI MunuuI oI MenLuI DIsorders, scIeduIed
to be completed this year.
n Jun. zo11, a CBS News article reported that
the clamor coming from some doctors to classify
gaming addiction as a mental disease was alive
once uguIn. n udvunce oI LIe AMA`s unnuuI
poIIcy meeLIng, LIe reporL sLuLed LIuL, A IeudIng
council of the nations largest doctors group
wunLs Lo Iuve LIIs beIuvIor ocIuIIy cIussIhed
as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness
und enubIe suerers Lo geL Insurunce coveruge
for treatment.
Not an ofciaI disorder, at Ieast not yet.
More recenLIy, Dr. CIurIes O`BrIen, cIuIrmun oI
LIe APA`s DIugnosLIc und SLuLIsLIcuI MunuuI oI
MenLuI DIsorders (DSM-) CommILLee LoId CNN
In un AugusL 6 InLervIew that more research is
needed before they can classify Internet, gaming
or uny oLIer IubIL us un ocIuI dIsorder.
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PLJKWEHLQIDFWD
GLHUHQWQDPHIRUKLJK
HQJDJHPHQWRUWKDWLWLV
PHUHO\WKHH[SUHVVLRQ
RIDQXQGHUO\LQJ
SULPDU\SV\FKRORJLFDO
SUREOHP
~ Antonius J. van Rooij
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:NKcenSEI8KVUXZ September 3-16, 2012
We LIInk (nLerneL uddIcLIon) Is someLIIng. even
went to Beijing to visit a hospital that is dedicated to
what the Chinese call Internet addiction, and it was
full of young men who had been brought in by their
parents because they had been spending hours a day
and neglecting their studies and their health, even,
pIuyIng LIese vurIous gumes. TypIcuIIy IL`s 'WorId oI
Warcraft that theyre playing. But they dont really
have what we consider to be evidence (that this is a
dIsorder), Dr. O`BrIen cIurIhed.
At 15.7 mbps, South Korea has the fastest Internet
in the world.
And according to an Oct. 2011 The Daily Beast
article, more than half of the nearly 50 million
people in South Korea are online gamers. In
fact, the same article revealed that the country`s
undeniable passion for online gaming has produced
professional champions, such as Jung Myung-hoon
and Yo Hwan-lim. According to a Wikipedia page,
the Olympics of the gaming world called the World
Cyber Games (WCG) began in South Korea with
no less than the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,
Ministry of Information and Communications,
and Samsung as the co-sponsors of the frst-ever
WCG Challenge held in Yongin, South Korea,
in 2001.
But just 10 years after the frst WCG, the South
Korean government has adopted legislation to curb
the perceived Internet and gaming problem in the
country. In November 2011, the country passed the
"Shutdown Law," which restricted online gaming
access of teenagers 16-years-old and below from
12:00 midnight to 6:00 a.m.
"The law is designed to limit Korean youth`s late
night gaming as well as online game addiction. It
also aims to ensure Korean youth get six hours
of sleep each night, with online gaming banned
between midnight and 6am," said a November 15
article posted on www.kotaku.com.
In addition, an NBC News article said that the South
Korean government is mulling the passing
of another law that would "regulate the amount of
time a student spends with video games in a
24-hour period.
In an Aug. 5 documentary that is part of its series
on Gaming Reality," CNN looks at South Korea`s
gaming problem.
According to psychologist Hwang Sang-Min,
"Internet addiction is the most signifcant issue
in South Korea. The term Internet addiction is
used in this documentary to also mean online
gaming addiction.
When asked by CNN why online gaming has
become a cultural phenomenon in South Korea,
Sang-Min answered, "In Korean society, people
do not feel they have the freedom and the kind of
power to change their own social roles and their
own identities." He added though that the lure of
online gaming is that in the virtual world, wealth or
education is insignifcant. "Especially young people,
they simply give up their real world and just escape,"
Sang-Min observed.

CNN's "Gaming ReaIity" discusses the South
Korean gaming culture
South Korea's gaming probIem
Online gaming: Addiction or just 'high engagement`
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StiII a reason for concern. Whether gaming
wInds up beIng cIussIhed us u IuII-edged uddIcLIon
or a symptom of some other underlying problem,
recenL IeudIInes mIgIL sLIII provIde sucIenL reuson
for concern.
According to an Aug. 2 report in The Australian,
which cited United Daily News, un 18-yeur-oId boy In
Taiwan died after playing online video game Diablo
Ior qo Iours sLruIgIL in July. The article said it was
LIe second deuLI In TuIwun In zo1z Irom pIuyIng vIdeo
games, following the death of a man in New Taipei
after playing for 23 consecutive hours in February.
UnIorLunuLeIy, LIese ure noL LIe hrsL deuLIs InvoIvIng
excessive gaming.
A ebruury 11 bIog enLry by one ShezCrafti entitled,
GumIng Lo DeuLI: SIx WoeIuI TuIes oI PeopIe
Who Died Playing Video Games, included a list of
compulsive gamers who have died while playing video
games. The list showed that, except for one gamer
wIo dIed durIng un Xbox muruLIon, MussIveIy MuILI-
PIuyer OnIIne RoIe PIuyIng Gumes (MMPORPGs) muy
be the most susceptible to abuse.
A Wikipedia page on MMORPG described these games
us u genre oI role-playing video games in which a
very large number of players interact with one another
within a virtual game world. Based on the Guinness
Book of World Records, LIe mosL popuIur MMORPG,
wILI q.1 mIIIIon subscrIbers us oI AugusL zo1z, Is
WorId oI WurcruIL (WoW).
Getting out of a virtuaI worId
In a 2007 study for the Digital Games Research Association, Leaving a Never-Ending Game: Quitting
MMORPGs and Online Gaming Addiction," professors Ichia Lee, Holin Lin, Chen-Yi Yu of National Chengchi
University and National Taiwan University interviewed 12 gamers who consider themselves "addicted to a
MMORPG sometime in the past, but no longer addicted to that game or have stopped playing altogether."
Their main fndings: 1) The factors that contributed to gaming also infuence the player in his decision to stop;
2) "(M)ultiple factors infuencing gamer decisions are intertwined when leading to a fnal decision to leave a
game," and; 3) Gamers are "continuously conscious of the effects of their excessive playing and are aware of
social expectations from important people in their lives."
The study also provided some tips on how its subjects and other self-confessed gaming addicts were able to
curb their huge appetite for playing MMORPGs:
1. Do other things, e.g., falling in love, joining a club, fnding a time-consuming job, purposefully
going out with friends, and playing other games-especially free-to-play games with enforced
time limitations.
2. Remember the difference between real and virtual worlds.
3. Eliminate game access-the "cold turkey" option.
4. Welcome catastrophes and take advantage of them. Let your account be hacked and looted so that
all of your money and equipment disappears.
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:NKcenSEI8KVUXZ September 3-16, 2012
Motivational Factor MMORPG Outlet Attraction Factor
Low Self-Esteem Being Competent and
Powerful
Achievement
Poor Self--Image Being Beautiful and Attractive Immersion
Lack of control over their own lives Being In Control Achievement
Trapped by Circumstances Making a Difference Relationship + Achievement
Undervalued Valued and Needed Relationship
Making and Sustaining
Relationships
Simplihes Communication Relationship
Stress and RL Problems Evasion and Avoidance Imersion
Table from Ariadne: Understanding MMORPG Addiction, p. 14
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS SAID TO BE ADDRESSED BY MMORP
ShezCrafti shared in her blog that as a previous player
of WoW, she witnessed how too much gaming led to
the loss of a job, child neglect, dropping out of school
and divorce.
Understanding the attraction of MMORPGs.
BuL wIIIe IL Is eusy Lo bIume LIe creuLors oI MMORPGs
for making the games never-ending, Ubisoft gaming
behavior research scientist Nicholas Yee, in his
zooz sLudy, ArIudne: UndersLundIng MMORPG
Addiction, showed that gaming abuse is not a one-
way street. Yee discussed the attraction as well as the
moLIvuLIon oI pIuyers Ior pIuyIng MMORPG.
n IIs sLudy, Yee IdenLIhed LIe LIree IucLors LIuL muke
MMORPG uLLrucLIve: rewurds cycIe, reIuLIonsIIp
networks and the immersive nature of the virtual
environments. On the other hand, Yee describes
moLIvuLIon IucLors us reuI IIIe pressures or probIems
that can use Attraction factors as outlets.Below are
some motivational factors that are addressed by
mukIng MMORPGs us ouLIeLs.
Dr. OBrien also expressed the same observation
us Yee In LIe uIoremenLIoned CNN urLIcIe. TIere
are some people who are seeing a therapist and
its interpreted that theyre sort of escaping into a
computer and using this to deal with their anxieties.
Or maybe they have bipolar disorder or obsessive
compulsive disorder. But these are just theories. There
needs Lo be some evIdence bused on u sIgnIhcunL
number of cases.
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Not necessariIy an addiction? MeunwIIIe, LIose
who are not convinced that excessive game play is an
addiction have found an unlikely ally in Keith Bakker,
Iounder oI LIe SmILI & Jones uddIcLIon cIInIc, LIe hrsL
clinic in Europe to provide treatment for gaming abuse.
Bakker, a former hard-drug addict himself, is not
convinced that the young gamers who go to his clinic
can be considered addicts.
|T|Ie more we work wILI LIese kIds LIe Iess beIIeve
we can call this addiction. What many of these kids
need is their parents and their school teachers - this is
a social problem, Bakker told BBC News in November,
zoo8. EIgILy per cenL oI LIe young peopIe we see Iuve
been buIIIed uL scIooI und IeeI IsoIuLed. Muny oI LIe
symptoms they have can be solved by going back to
good old fashioned communication, Bakker explained.
What his clinic was able to do to help the kids was
provIde u pIuce wIere LIey IeeI uccepLed und wIere
their voice will be heard.
:HNQRZWKDWEUDLQFDQFKDQJHLQDGXOWKRRGEXW
WKHEXUQLQJTXHVWLRQLVZKHWKHUWKHYLGHRJDPLQJLV
WKHFDXVHRUWKHHHFW
~ Dr. Luke Clark
Dr. Luke Clark, who researches gambling at
Cambridge University, likewise believes that more
studies need to be done in order to be able to
correcLIy cIussIIy gumIng us un uddIcLIon. We know
the brain can change in adulthood, but the burning
question is whether the video gaming is the cause
or LIe eecL, und LIuL sLIII needs Lo be unswered,
Dr. Clark told The Daily Mail`s MuII OnIIne In u
November zo11 article.
But while experts continue the debate on whether
or not to call excessive gaming an addiction, more
and more children and adults become exposed to the
virtual world of gaming. And while most gamers are
probably able to go on with their lives and consider
gaming just a hobby, some have found themselves
stuck in fantasy-land. It is important, therefore, that
structures in the home and school be strengthened
and relationships nurtured, so that most gamers
cun hnd enougI reuson und resoIve Lo Ieuve LIe Iure
of Azeroth.
Online gaming: Addiction or just 'high engagement`
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