MCV - Opinion: Panorama. (See Safety Dance.)
But there’s nothing sinister about this. The reward of further play or extra items/abilities/weapons is the very essence of their success. The promise of another gun, a new killstreak, an extra attachment or high-level perk is absolutely why we play on. The same principle can be seen in FarmVille, in Final Fantasy XIV, Borderlands or in an endless number of titles – both good and bad. And it’s no different to the narrative that propels you to the next chapter in a book or the cliff-hanger that makes you stay up late to watch just one more episode of Lost or 24. And that’s the problem with this Panorama show. Is the impact of widespread online gaming in South Korea of interest? Of course. And are there things to learn from it? Definitely. But isolated cases of people whose addiction happens to be gaming (it could just as easily be alcohol, or gambling, or drugs, or sex, or Weetabix) only serves to cheapen the show.