Video game addiction is one of those ailments that a lot of people still refuse to take seriously, even though in its most extreme cases it has caused people to lose their jobs, have relationships break-down and even in a few really bad instances, it has been the cause of some deaths.
Granted, I wouldn’t begin to put the problem on the same level of pervasiveness as something like alcohol or drug abuse, but video games, through their nature of rewarding certain “behaviours”, is a far more addictive commodity than any other form of entertainment out there.
Within the confines of control, an addictive game is a great thing, but if the game manages to take hold on someone with a truly addictive personality, it can ruin their life. Here are 10 games with life-destroying powers…
10. The Sims
There’s a sure irony in the fact that it’s a game about simply living your life that ends up taking some people’s away! I imagine you have to live a pretty dissatisfied existence to disappear within the idyllic dream-world of Maxis’ The Sims for hours on end, but I will give the developers credit; they have given players a wealth of mechanics to play with, meaning that it’s easy to whittle away an entire day just building up your family, getting a job and trying to move up in the world.
It’ll ruin your life by causing you to lose perspective of your own; a true addict will be more excited about the 78th expansion pack being released next week rather than their own wedding anniversary, and by doling out this steady stream of additional content, Maxis and EA are able to enslave people forever more.
And really, this applies to just about any game with the word “sim” in the title; the mere wealth of possibility in the latest SimCity game, for example, is pretty damn boundless, especially with the new online modes.
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22 Comments
There is no such thing as a “addictive video game” because there is no game where every last player is actually “addicted”.
It’s easy for non-gamer’s (and people who hate games in general) to ignorantly forget that there is a fine line between “addiction” and just plain really liking something.
Example- I used to Love playing WoW but as the years went by i started to grow more and more bored of it, always letting my subscription expire and leaving it every now and then. Now i’ve stopped playing it all together due to lack of interest.
TLDR version- Some people become addicted to games, Some people don’t but just really like them, No single game is an “addicting” game because not everyone who plays it is an addict.
So you’re saying that for something to be classified as “addicting”, it has to ensnare every last one of it’s users? Hmmm… I’m pretty sure that takes every last thing that was ever called “addicting” off the list.
There’s no such thing as an “addicting”, there are only certain people that have the ability to become “addicts”.
Try reading the post next time.
you bum
You made me laugh with this: “…ignorantly forget that there is a fine line between “addiction” and just plain really liking something.”
Reminded me of what an alcoholic or crack head might say before they realize they have a problem.
Now I’m not implying you are an addict or everyone who drink are, but simply saying that you -can- be addicted to a game just like someone can be addicted to alcohol. Therefor, saying a game can be addicting is in fact correct.
Anything can be addicting I suppose and maybe that was your intended point. For your sake I hope so, otherwise you are the one being ignorant.
Thanks for the laugh!
Sims was boring, as soon as you had a house that was it, it was the same thing as real life basically, get up go 2 work get back from work eat balh sleep. WoW never played never will. GTA naa, Call of duty only play it with friends otherwise its boring as hell
No Fallout? List is obsolete.
Most Sid Meier games like the Civilization games, Pirates and Alpha Centauri. Those damn Kairosoft games like GameDev Story.
You forgot to add in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim…I have blown more house of my life playing that game than I have on any other game ever…period! LoL
What about Minecraft? i find that the most addictive game I’ve ever played. I never really found WoW addictive, I don’t know what people are on about.
I agree with you that Minecraft should be on this list. I didn’t really find WoW addictive either…
The first Modern Warfare did not introduce the prestige system. that came with Modern Warfare 2.
It introduced the constant flow of unlockables which enabled you to customize a class to your playstyle.
Not sure what you’r talking about, cod4 was the one that introduced the prestige system.
All I know is this:
My friend and I decided that after five days of work we had had enough and we’re going out on the town. We decided to ask our two roommates if they wanted to go. They were playing WoW.
The first one didn’t even look at us. The second said, “No, man. I didn’t get to play much today.” He had been playing for 7 hours straight. “But, but, but,” he continued, “I have chores to do.”
What?
“The game gives me chores that I have to do everyday,” he said and kept playing.
Both these guys were 26 freakin years old. SADDDDDDDDDDD.
I’ll second Minecraft; i have a 5 yr old son who’s mom allows him to play it and it’s all he talks about, even if i have no idea frame of reference. No, for the record, i don’t agree w/ him playing this game 1-3 hours a night but as most single dads will attest, i really have no say in what he does at his mom’s.
I also have 1 17 yr old cousin who also is addicted to the game; he failed school and been caught stealing a laptop (so he could play online). Skipped school to spend 6 hours a day playing it w/ friends which, yes, is better than doing crack but still…
both have zero to little social skills.
as an old sponsored gamer I will have to say that League Of Legends is by far the most addictive one plus there is a crazy amount of money spent on competitions (£1,000,000 prize last year). Also they have a very interesting business model as the actual game is free but people spend double of what they spend on wow from instore extras
If solitaire is on the list, shouldn’t online poker be here too? SIM CITY was my original addiction of choice but GTA has long since taken that away.
Everquest should have been #1 over WoW, easily. Any former player will agree with me on this one.
I’m surprised that ROLLERCOASTER TYCOON wasn’t mentioned on this list. When it came out years ago, I must have played that game after work every night for MONTHS. My (now-ex) wife was addicted too….
Minecraft would have been in there for me. It’s unholy when you look at the clock and it says 16.32 and then 2 minutes later it says 18.46 (or something along those lines :))
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Haha, I was waiting for Wow in the count down. Couldn’t agree more.