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Paragraph 1: addiction

Is there such thing as a video game addiction? With the opening of video game rehab centers popping up all over the world, ranging from Japan to the United States, I would have to say yes. One rehab center in Washington called reStart is reportedly charging $14,500 for a 45-day detoxification, proving them with a 12-step program similar to drug and alcohol abuse. As defined in the medical dictionary; addiction is a “Habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one’s voluntary control.”(dictionary.com) Most people associate addiction to a substance, that being said the most common forms of addiction include alcohol, smoking, and drugs. But there are a number of other addictions that fall under the category of practice, these include: gambling, sex, internet, shopping and you guessed it: video games! Video game addiction is found in both men and women, due to the simple chemical in our brain called dopamine. Dopamine is believed to deal with the experience of pleasure, and high levels of dopamine have been associated with addictions to drugs. Due to the fact that these same high levels have been found in video gamers, this provides a definite answer to my question: Yes, it is possible to become addicted to video games.


Industry

How much money is there in the video gaming industry? Does $ 1.52 billion in a month sound good to you? According to The NPD Group, the leading provider of consumer and marketing research in the world, $1.52 billion was the video game industry’s total sales for the month of March 2010. In December of 2009, the industry exploded recording their best month ever: an incredible $5.53 billion (cnet news)! Don’t get me wrong, the recession took its toll on the industry; dropping the sales just under $2 billion less in 2009 than in 2008 (games.venturebeat.com). But think about this: in the year 2000 the video game industry sales totaled $7.98 billion, and in 2009 generated revenues close to $19.66 billion; it is clear to see with the modern technology that games are only going to get better, making them higher in demand, and ultimately creating more profit. While most of the big name companies are located in California, they range throughout the United States, with at least a half dozen of them in Massachusetts.