2. What is an addiction?
◦ An addiction is the condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity
◦ It’s strong and an uncontrollable urge to carry out a particular activity
◦ Viewed as a weakness within the person who lacks control and motivation
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Addictions/Pages/Introduction.aspx
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/book/9780123736253
3. Impact of Gaming on Audience
◦ Hypodermic Needle Theory suggests media ‘injects’ audience with their message.
The audience are passive and they don’t question the media they are consuming.
◦ Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that the media is there to pleasure the
audience.
◦ Personal Identity: Relate to characters within product
◦ Social Integration: Connection with friends/family, social empathy
◦ Escapism: Stress free
◦ Blumler & Katz (1974) – Personal Identification with product
◦ When people are addicted to games there is a loss of definition between reality and
game play. This relates to Jean Baudrillard’s theory of Hyper reality.
◦ Copy cat theory: When the audience is influenced to copy what they have consumed
from a media product.
E.g. Stab someone because they have played GTA.
4. How big is the gaming industry?
◦ In 1973 the video game market was worth $40 million
◦ By the end of 2015, analysts predict the market will be worth as much as $91
billion
◦ How does this compare to other markets?
Market Value
Music $30-40 billion
Movie $27 billion
Book $63 billion
DVD $23 billion
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_industry
5. The new era of video games
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_industry
6. What other industries affect the
gaming industry?
PewDiePie, most subscribed
YouTuber of all time
• YouTube is one of multiple e-media platforms that individuals
gamers use to share their gameplay
• PewDiePie has over 34 million
subscribers and 7 billion video views
from uploading footage of himself
playing video games
• Estimated net worth of over $12 million
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/pewdiepie-net-worth/
7. MMORPGS
◦ MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing games
◦ A survey conducted in 2005 on computer game players noted that players of
MMORPGs were more likely to play for more than two hours per day than other
gamers.
◦ 40% of people who play World of Warcraft are deemed to have some characteristics
of an addict.
10. Social Impacts
◦ Common misconception that gamers are isolated individuals with few social skills.
◦ This is not the case!
◦ A study done by researchers at North Carolina State University, York University and the University of
Ontario Institute of Technology concluded that playing online games does not replace offline social
lives, but is expanding it. Loners are the outliers in gaming, not the norm.
◦ In a recent survey undertaken by streaming website Twitch, 1000 gamers were asked if they agree
with the statement, "My friends are the most important thing in my life.“ 57% answered yes.
◦ Several studies have also found avid gamers to be successful members in the workforce, as they
acquire leadership and team working skills through playing games with friends which are
transferable to work based tasks in later life.
http://www.raisesmartkid.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=34
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/06/05/study-gamers-are-more-
educated-more-social-than-the-people-who-make-fun-of-them/
11. Co-operative Gaming
◦ Over 70% of gamers play their games with a friend, either cooperatively or
competitively (Entertainment Software Association, 2012).
◦ Games are now implementing more co-op objectives as gamers seek to be able to
play along with their friends and share out rewards.
◦ MMORPGS such as World of Warcraft have massive online communities where users
can discuss different aspects of the game in forums and through voice
communication in game. Opening different avenues for making friends.
◦ Playing with friends has produced positive effects regardless of the genre of game.
https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-a0034857.pdf
12. Implications of Gaming Addiction
◦ Gamers can find themselves isolated from the outside world as they look to
complete challenges in game.
◦ Games are becoming more expensive and gamers are constantly required to
upgrade their hardware in order to play the latest games.
◦ In a few cases gamers have been known to become so sucked into a virtual world
that they begin to lose a sense of reality
◦ Procrastination can be a massive problem for gamers as they look to spend more
time gaming than completing educational or work based tasks.
Notas do Editor
But we can very much see that these industries have matured and there is little room for growth. Whereas the gaming industry is pretty much in its boom right now, being able to grow $23 billion dollars within 3 years.
Obviously from the title, the graph is inflation adjusted therefore the figures were dealing with in today’s market are far higher than they are represented on here.
There are two main types of games here and these are the arcade games and the consumer games incl. console, PC, handheld, mobile, tablet
The interesting part of this graph is that the peak of consumer games is only slightly greater than that of arcade games. However because of the online interaction of consumer gaming it is considered a more promising market for future years than that of the 1990’s arcade gaming industry.
However, because of the isolation of consumer games, gaming addiction has only just recently entered the public eye. In reality, arcade games were not something you would keep in your bedroom and this made them considered theoretically “social”.
•Interactivity within the community of people who share the same social values
•Is it a good example to set – drop out of school and become a youtuber?
Very little reward for time invested(unless you consider in game rewards worthy)
•By gaining levels you become better respected within the community due to experience
•Communities are formed in game of people who share the same social interaction and therefore these people feel comforted by the fact they are not the only person to spend 8-12 hours per day on these games.
•Forever accessible – no time zone issues because people are always online
Mila actually had to force herself to give up WOW after she realised how much time she was spending on the game with friends.
Common to think that gamers are socially awkward “nerds”
Studies have found this not to be the case, modern gamers require extensive social skills in order to complete multiplayer tasks (quests)
Going against the stereotype of isolated individuals as the norm.
Allows people from all walks of life to communicate and connect, creating new relationships
Gamers are more likely to be employed over those who don’t play games at all
Shows that gaming has a real value in the development of people on a whole and can in fact boost the chances of employment
Again proving that while to the outside world someone may be sat playing alone, they could be communicating with friends from the otherside of the world
Latest assassins creed game – players can bring in friends to their worlds and complete missions together, same with gta V where it is impossible to complete inline tasks without the aid of other people.
Forums are yet another way of opening communication between users. Can aid each other if players run into problems.
Some claim playing violent games can lead to some pycological issues as users become more aggressive however these problems have not been noted when playing with friends where instead a sense of unity and teamwork is noted.
In some cases playrs have found themselves completely cut ooff from the outside world – one story of a guy who gained 3 stone and lived in filth for 5 weeks as he was hooked on WOW
Extreme cases of violent video games leading some to try and recreate the games in real life as they believe it to be acceptable. Story of girls attempting to “appease” slender man by offering their friend as sacrifice.
