Herald Sun: Game addiction on the rise, industry 'in denial'

Let's face it, folks, game addiction is hot. We've all read the stories, some of them funny and others tragic. And then, of course, there are the scare pieces. Enter Australia's Herald Sun, which declares that gaming addiction is on its way to becoming a national health problem. The article notes that "psychologists" are claiming that gaming addiction is affecting a growing number of Australians and the headline even proclaims "Tech addicts playing video games for up to 10 hours a day."

The source, apparently, is one psychologist by the name of William Campos. Said Campos, "I had one patient who was so involved with one game called World of Warcraft and would play it up to eight [to] ten hours a day.'' To clarify: That's one psychologist referring to one patient.

Furthermore, in reaction to a statement from the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, which claims that gaming addiction is "not a lasting obsession for the majority" of players, the article claims that the games industry is "in denial." We won't deny that gaming addiction is a problem for some gamers, but to imply that the majority of players are addicts -- which the Herald Sun has done by calling the IEAA's statement denial -- is simply fallacious.

Then again, maybe we're just in denial.