Posts Tagged ‘Gaming’
The subject of computer game addiction has been pretty prominent in both mainstream news and online blogs for a few years now - especially in relation to World of Warcraft (even WIkipedia has a tab under WoW titled ‘Game Addiction’). The release last month of the latest expansion pack, Wrath of the Lich King, again coincided with similar - and mostly relevant and much-needed - debates on the issue.
(NB there is even now an online WoW rehab clinic, WoWDetox, for those worried about their use).
Like many others, this blog covered the debate - but since then has not featured much WOW or even gaming news. So this week we’re going to put the spotlight on something really positive coming out of…
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Last week saw the release of the latest World of Warcraft expansion pack - Wrath of the Lich King, and as with previous releases the hype and anticipation across the gaming community was huge. But in the news and press once again questions are being asked about computer game addiction and the negative consequences of virtual ‘living’ - with WOW unsurprisingly at the center of the debate.
Not for the first time I found myself wondering - how serious is gaming addiction, and also who or what (if anything) is to blame? It can’t be a simple case of pointing the finger at Blizzard and ignoring the wider contexts in play…
Firstly though one quick observation about the release evening. As thousands…
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Last week UK pro-gaming team Birmingham Salvo claimed the prestigious Championship Gaming Series (CGS) title for 2008. The team defied their underdog status and eventually triumphed against US favourites Optx. The ten-strong UK team competed in 4 games (Counterstrike, Fifa 2008, Dead or Alive 4 and Forza Motorsport) and will now share a total prize of $500,000 (£255,850).
This equates to roughly £25,585 each (assuming the money is shared equally between the ten players - which is unlikely, since they also have a manager to pay and other costs to cover) which all begs the question; why are pro gamers paid so little?
Consider that these players must also pay taxes and have training/hardware costs to cover; quite possibly they could well only…
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There was a time in the history of the gaming industry when the barriers to entry were pretty massive, verging on insurmountable for most, other than a few select companies. Games typically took three years to develop from initial concept to shelf title; required hugely talented and skillful teams of programmers and designers behind them; and all at a cost of many thousands if not millions of dollars.
It was hardly an enticing field for creative DIY developers to enter on a casual basis - but arguably this ensured a certain level of quality was maintained across much of the industry’s output (and rightly so; with new games typically averaging somewhere between £29-49 it’s only to be expected that a high…
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