Why World of Warcraft is the Most Addictive Videogame
Smoking a plain piece of paper is not the same as smoking a cigarette. Smoking a cigarette is not the same as smoking marijuana. Smoking Marijuana is not the same as smoking crack.
The same can be said for video games.
When it comes to addictive videogames, there is only one high score. The massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) is far and away the most addictive type of videogame on the planet. MMORPG's are social games that can be played with thousands of other players online at the same time. The social component alone often entices the teen gamer to play this type of game.
World of Warcraft (WOW) is the biggest, best, and most popular of MMORPG. Launched in 2004, this game now has upwards of one million subscribers who pay a monthly fee to play the game. This amounts to $1 billion in annual sales for one video game.
What makes this game so appealing? More importantly, what makes this game the most addictive game at the moment?
Here are the top nine reasons why MMORPGs, and more specifically WOW, are so addictive:
1) Teens Don't Want to Throw Away Date Money – To play an MMORPG like World of Warcraft you must pay the monthly fee of $14.99. Though $15 a month may not seem like much to Mom and Dad, this is still a pretty big deal to most teens. This price of admission often causes teens to feel that they need to play, or they will be wasting money they could have been spending on dates or things that would attract dates.
2) Teens Want to Make the Varsity Team – So, the teen won't be able to take on the Warren High Dolphins this year because he didn't make the JV swim team. No problem, now he can join the cool tough online WOW team and be able to defeat armies of thousands of evil minions. Not only will he be helping out the team and be one of the guys, he will be saving the known world. It's hard to quit a game that makes you feel respected and needed.
3) Teens Want to Become the Captain of the Varsity Team– The more you play WOW and other MMORPGs, the higher you rank in the game. Similar to the military, you gain respect from the other players due to your rank. So there is a lot of motivation to continue playing the game in order to gain a higher ranking.
4) Teen Boys Want to Meet (and be Adored by) the Prettiest Cheerleaders – Let's be honest, there are not nearly as many females videogamers as there are male players. However, in WOW and most other MMORPGs there are plenty of people playing as female characters. To a socially awkward teenage male, this means, "I have a chance at finding a girlfriend that I don't really have in the real world." In addition, the female characters on the MMORPGs are unnaturally "perfect" bodied women. When the teen finally does get a serious girlfriend, the nagging thought in the back of his mind might be, "Well she looks OK, but my last girlfriend was a sword-wielding, troll-killing, bikini babe."
5) Teens Want to Be More Powerful Than the Biggest Bully In Their School – Imagine that not only will you be powerful among your few friends, but you can also become the most powerful person in a whole universe – and people will be able to know that just by looking at you. Also, you get to become a virtual bully, because when you have a higher rank in WOW, you are more powerful than the new guys. So, any pent-up frustrations about being beat up in school can be reenacted in the game – only this time, you’re the bully, and the victim is under your control.
6) Teens Want to Be All Wise and All Knowing – Most people like to be in the know, to have a little insider information. This is infinitely possible in the world of MMORPGs. The more the gamer plays, the more hidden content he discovers, and the more valuable items and information he amasses. Soon, other players begin turning to the all-wise and all-knowing gamer for advice and guidance.
7) Teens Want to Attend the Ultimate ‘No-Parent’ Party – in MMORPGs, the kids can run wild. Want to slaughter everyone on your own team? No problem. Want to do vulgar things to a female player? No problem. There are no limits to activities, other than knowing that some people won't hang out with you or let you join up with their gang. Sometimes, this is enough to keep things a bit on the tame side – but even being tame is more fun when Mom and Dad don't know what you’re doing.
8) Teens Want to Try Out New Looks – Experts believe that teens who adopt outrageous fashion choices do so in an attempt to find their true identity. However, most teens are usually not free to enact their wildest fashion-related dreams. But when they’re playing WOW they can get a Mohawk, green teeth, and a full-body tattoo. They get to create their own character and then see how others react to them.
9) Teens Want a Never-Ending High – WOW and most other MMORPGs are designed to never end. There is no one plot line that some all knowing creator has contrived. This means that players never experience an in-game conclusion that would cause them to stop playing, as they usually would with other more traditional games. The story line is what the players make it. And, in a teenager's mind, this means "the universe revolves around me." This is truly a teenager's idea of heaven – the perfect high.
Aaron Shaw started his professional career as an adoptions counselor for the Department of Children and Families in Tampa, Florida. While working as an adoptions counselor, he earned a masters degree in Mental Health and Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of South Florida. After completing his M.A., he and his family moved to Utah where he worked for three years as a therapist with teens. Also during this time he completed the coursework for his Ph.D. in marriage and family therapy from Brigham Young University.
