Yes, absolutely, like almost anything in the world. Food is addicting, sex is addicting, spending is addicting, when I was working I found myself buying games, I didn't even like or I know I didn't have time to play. I think gaming is addictive but literally everything in the world, you have to learn to put the controller down.

If game addiction is real I have been an addict since 1978 when I first got my first console and have owned every console since then in between up until now, and no sign of stopping.

Yes. Anything that could give you the feel good feeling can become addictive.

You know its addicting when you want to stop and aren't having very much fun anymore, yet, you keep playing.

You can become addicted to anything. Gaming is just a potential medium for addiction.

I'd say so. If you keep buying games when you have 10 recent games in your backlog then I would call that an addiction. I personally can't stop buying them lol. I could, but I don't want too.

Of course its real, Is it a Problem? Depends on who you ask, if I ask an Addict if his/her addiction is a problem the typical response is " No, I got it under control, its a non issue ".

The Problem with addictions is it skews your judgement, if your addicted to something, your more willing TO COMPROMISE BASIC PRINCIPAL, for the addiction.

An addict is really a SLAVE. An addict WILL COMPROMISE QUALITY for the addiction, guaranteed. This is another of those subjects that gets pushed under the rug, theres too much $$$$ involved, and addicts are what keep this Industry afloat.

If it wasn't for addicts, there would be NO WAY this Industry would be able get away with the shit it gets away with, NEVER. But again addicts are compomisers, apologists, liars even, they lie to themselves, for there fix, which is video gaming.

An addicts mindset is, "I gotta have my fix, can't live, be happy without my fix", so essentially they will accept, put up with all kinds of Anti- Consumer practices, for there fix, there addiction, gaming.

This ENTIRE Video Game INDUSTRY's foundation is in knowing no matter what , "the addicts will always buy our games". The addicts will defend and deflect for us our anti consumer practices, they will always turn the other cheek, bend over if you will, for us, the creators of there drug of choice, gaming.

It's an electronic drug

Funny , for me my 'About Me' on my PSN account i typed "video game addict" . I have been playing video games since the mid seventies and i can say being addicted to video games is real . My biggest problem is when i need to get personal things done that is not work related, i have a tendency to procrastinate and play video games instead .

Yes, and as I get older there's a voice in my head telling me I'm wasting my time and should be doing something more productive like reading or trying to get better at playing music. I still like them, but the guilt makes it a bit painful!

XP is a hell of a drug

Ask wow, ffxiv and overwatch players 😂

Yeah, just like sex.

Just the fact of having a new game, and learning the new mechanics and new everything about playing a new game is enjoyable. Not to mention the feelings if satisfaction from playing and accomplishing.

Of course it is, but just like anything else it comes down to the individual. Some people are just more prone to addiction than others. The difference from being an addict to just someone with a hobby is having the ability to balance work/school, social activities and just life in general with said hobby. You simply can't let it consume you and take over your life. And for the record, gaming is not addicting like something like cocaine or heroin as their is no physical withdrawal where you get sick if you don't play a video game. The aforementioned substances will cripple some people with the horrible withdrawal. So, it definitely addicting, but much more on a mental level.

Not until you see someone cry when their wifi got taken away... It was that moment i knew gaming addiction was real...

People can get addicted to anything, no exception with gaming. Games are designed to make you want to play more and it works.

No it's not... Move on...

Wow people don't know what a real addiction is.
You guys are talking about video games as if it is crack cocaine...
Getting a video game fix? Dafuq?

With Persona 5 coming out this week, it will be for a lot of gamers.

It is very addicting. That is all.

Any medium can be addicting

What's so controversial about that

Yes.

yes. and the good thing is: addicted gamers are like a role model for how not to do it. at least in my case it was always sufficient to observe an addict (be it heroin or games or sugar) and decide NOT to go down this path.

on a sidenote: addiction is always just a side effect of something else. it's no good to treat the addiction without erasing the origins of their decision to tune out. it would be a fight against windmills.

My ex and I split and became best of friends. Talk daily, and hang out all the time. She got into Overwatch, and as time went by she kept putting a strain on our friendship.

I'd point out and she would defend her actions and her addiction to this game. Now she's made a few online friends through the game, she defends it even more. Knowing she's pushing me away, but acts like she doesn't care because she still has her game.

Addictions horrible. It's easy to become addicted to the things we enjoy. I was addicted to World of Warcraft when I was younger.

Anything can become addictive, it becomes a problem when you do that thing to the exclusion of anything else in your life that brings you balance.
Playing a lot of games, while also making sure you go to work/school, eating, exercising, sleeping a good length of time every night, socializing, paying your bills and learning new things isn't really a problem.

If you put games before everything else and don't keep yourself healthy as a result of only wanting to game, then you have a problem.

It's no less real than any other addiction. People can get addicted to anything; drugs, alcohol, food, sex, TV, movies, music, books, social media, etc. You name it and you'll find there's always a group of people addicted to it. I'm not sure why videogames would need to be singled out.

There's no such thing as gaming addiction, addiction is a chemical alterations caused by alcohol, cocaine or nicotine to name a few. What we all have is a compulsive to play games what why it's called gaming compulsive.

Think I got a little addicted to the borderlands games at one point.

I think I'm addicted to Farming Simulator 14, but reckon I can handle it.

Need.........more.........gra in........

Absolutely! Some games you just can't put down,some you just have to complete may it be single player game & some with co-op or competitive multiplayer like Destiny,C.O.D or Overwatch.

It depends of the person state of mind, everything can be an addiction not only videogames, in other news, water is a liquid. :O

Anything that brings you joy can be addicting. Some people prefer crack others heroin. Some find it in alcohol or porn. Everyone Is different some go overboard some don't.

when people take sick leaves to play a game on launch day....if its not addiction, what is?

Ive had drug addiction's most of my life. I would only play games when high cause it became more of an escape. So yall are all right in every answer. Im 37 ,, and believe it or not the average gamer is 33 years old. As a recovering addict i am more of a compulsive collector now owning 300 on my ps4, ps vr. Alone. Bought a pro and 4k just recently cause i remember my damn atari. Lol. Kids today see games and roll their eyes saying wow. I see the evolution today and say fucking wow!! I dont have time to play anymore tbh. But i always will have a passion for games as they evolve. All answers to this question are correct. I just bought persona 5 cause i had to. I have a awesome problem : ( help me !!!!! And btw i have the cash to spare,, and a job in a creative industry with my own hours spread to deadlines,, i know skanks,,, its just my entertainment center. Dont judge

You can be addicted to video games, the same as to sex, drugs, alcohol, or gambling. Though it affects some more than others.

Is gaming addiction real? No, is poverty real? Yes. When I have to choose playing a $60 game that will last me a couple years and allow me to afford rent verses living on the street.

I had/have a milk addiction 3 liters a day average and thats just milk no cereal sometimes milo's (not hot) while i have severely cut down now i lm always on the edge of regression.

When i was a kid i could only play video games on the weekend so the 5 day wait was torture but was bliss for at least 3 hours for SAT/SUN. I can't help but think that this made it addictive to me because whenever my parents went away for a weekend they wouldn't let me have the playstation (2 then 3) and would either hide it or place it in a storeroom which meant i had to crawl in and out through a window to get it, or if they hid it i would call them up and pretend i found it only for them to reveal the location themselves. (Basically that scene from deathnote where light has to get info from that ex FBI chick)

But now that I'm an adult i can experience those 24 hour gaming sessions and they were glorious. But this also meant i burnt through games alot quicker and i couldnt savour them as much so i started getting bored with games alot quicker i used to finish every game but now i sometimes buy games that i don't even play or will only get halfway at least until witcher 3 which was so dense in content i had to stop playing only to come back and finish it later. Although i did sink into MGSV and FFXV. Which makes you wonder what is the better way to play games a netflix binge or a HBO rollercoaster?

Yes, but it's extremely important to remember that addictions like video game addiction are behavioral addictions, not chemical addictions. Chemical addictions are obviously much more severe and much harder to reverse.

No more than tv addiction, sports addiction, reading addiction, internet addiction, exercise addiction.

The thing that always bothers me with people who bad mouth video games is that they don't have the same reaction to people watching tv.

damn, @jc95 u stole my comment

Yes.

Source: I'm a recovering Addict. I haven't had my fix for about 5 hours.

Well, I'm fully addicted to The Witcher right now. It's all I think about :)

My game streaming service on my Sega Genesis and Nintendo Gamecube are so awesome. I actually get to play the games off a disk, each game has a one time fee, not monthly and I own them all afterwards.

all you noobs have no clue what you're talking about. Xcloud is going to duplicate xbox. So from an app you can load the brand and buy any game you want or service just like u would from an xbox but its cloud streaming app. It will very un likely be priced into game pass. The business model that makes sense is simply paying for live. if it was simply only going to be game pass by streaming option it would be nothing more than a same limited version like ps now. This is a full fledge over 4500 games out the gate when it fully launches. You choose,Buy games or and include game pass.Its all connected to your same xbox profile regardless how you choose to playgames. This is MS plan to simply give you the same option in various ways. Buy the games on xbox one,Xcloud or any future hardware that is all compatible like a pc . To many console people are stuck under rocks not understanding basic business because they wont look else where to what some console has done.

Let him free.

Throw away the key.