Project Lore

I have played my fair share of games in my life - many, many hours - and I finished college with a 3.85 GPA.

I play WoW and I rock it like Fred Flintstone.

And all those who say one thing creates another have no idea what they are talking about. None whatsoever.

Life is simple and extremely complex. It is fair and unfair.

And in the end, her statement, much like mine, will be lost to history when we are all gone and our great-great-great-great-grandchildren play WoW in their VR suits.

I graduated college with a Bachelor's of Music, all the while having 21 credits a semester, a full time job, a part time job, and I still managed to play WoW on a regular basis.

People don't drop out of college because of video games. They drop out because they don't have that degree on top of their priority list. It's as simple as that.

I also played a heck load of games in my life but i couldn't disagree more with Mrs. Tates statement. Freedom is the number one cause for college drop-outs or anyother harmfull social act . Its becouse of this new found freedom we enjoy watching tv or a movie or just blind ourselves progressively in a world thats different from our own. Overall i could say "she doesn't know what shes talking about" -> hence she might have never played any video games in the first place....

"Hell, I, an avid video gamer, even agree with her statement (for once)."

1st, as a point of order, you don't get to choose whether you agree or disagree with a statement of fact. A fact is true, or it's not a fact, if you smell what I'm cookin'.

2nd, of course, is the reality that she made the statement as if it were a fact, but of course it's not - it barely qualifies as conjecture. Unless she can produce some hard scientific research that unequivocally supports her statement, she is using her position to elevate her ill-informed opinion to the position of a fact (what non-politicians commonly refer to as "lying.")

3rd and last, I don't think your statement actually means what you meant to say anyway. Your personal experience certainly allows you to claim an understanding of her OPINION (if she'd acknowledged that this is all it is) but the remainder of your post actually demonstrates that MANY different things can and do distract inexperienced young college students - some to the point of failure - and that unless colleges take on the duty of "doing some parenting" (a ridiculous expectation, IMHO) this is likely to occur regardless of what particular FORM the distraction takes.

So, to answer your question: Hell Yes - even if she'd left it at "one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction" I believe many people would still be astonished and incensed that we have what appears to be a nearly-complete fool on the FCC Commission.

wow, this lady must be a right wing. first of all, i would like to say i am an avad gamer i spend at least 3 hours a night on wow. second i hold a part time job as well, and i go to school full time. i have a 3.5 gpa, and when my friends want to do something i have no problems not playing wow, if it is something i want to do. as for some college kids, that spread VD's and are just plain dirty people because of there life style. i think at least gamers are helping to not infect the world. i am a nerd at heart and always will be. i still understand my priorities in life, college, work, social life, WoW. if people drop out of school because of wow, then they probley wouldnt have made it anyways. imo.

Hopefully this is the last death throws of rife corporate inclusion and Bush appointed Clear Channel whores. I'd no sooner listen to this woman than jab my ear with any number of sharp objects.

Maybe I'm overreaching. : )

Better than being addicted to drugs right?

I'd reply, but I'm too busy with my online gaming addiction -- such as World of Warcraft.

Yeah, at this point I just wanna drown all this out. When are people gonna take responsibility in their lives and just admit it was their fault because they couldn't prioritize what they needed and didn't need to do. It's absolutely mind numbing at this point to hear people who seemingly don't have anything better to do with their time than blame pixels for the problems in America, when its the people in the country being lazy bums to begin with.
Seriously, when is this nonsense gonna end? Probably till they find the new fad to say is horrible, but oh well, not gonna let these illogical Suit Mongers ruin my MMO and FPS fun. Let them worry about pixels and how a 15$ a month bill "destroys lives" ......not like there's other things to worry about like crime or hard substance use out there.

Sadly, it is all psychological. Most addiction is a part of a persons personality. If not for World of Warcraft, they would be spending their time on another game, or if not a game, perhaps just another hobby, that would suck up their time and cause their grades to lapse.
Hell, I've known a lot of people that screwed up school because they spent too much time socializing. And even had a friend who almost got kicked out of school because, guess what, he was focusing too much on one part of school and neglecting the rest of it

I agree with Deathadder. I played WoW in college for several hours a day, but it got nowhere NEAR the point where it affected me showing up to class, etc. Sure, my GPA might have been a few points higher if I hadn't played, but like another person noted, there will always be some other game or form of entertainment to siphon those hrs away, especially if you are a procrastinator like me :)

video game are a drug must be use with moderation (beyond hope for me). But video aren't a cause to make you drop out it's a lost of interest in your own personal education or the realization of the fact that you have to pay for your scholarship so you find a part time job get money want to make more get full time job quit school etc...

I graduated college and I have been serving in the United States Army for the past 7 years. I have never seen anyone drop out of college due to gaming many was due to hard partying. Maybe if I didn't play WOW I could've single handedly killed Usama Bin Laden. Brought Peace to the World. Found the cure for Cancer, solved the worlds econimic problems, eliminated poverty and found an alternative energy source to gasoline. Then again. These great politicians who's job it is to do this haven't.

I've got an addictive personality. Make me lick stamps for half an hour and I'll establish an unbreakable behavioural pattern. That's why I don't do drugs.

As a colelge student I would like to say, it is because most college students get drunk every night and skip classes

last time i checked the head of the FCC transition team played a certain online game that i pretty sure 11 million others play coughworldofwarcraftcough

but w/e sum ppl just hate the nerd life style my family constantly yells at me for my "addiction" but i still maintain a 3.9 gpa and all my @^%$ gets done b4 i play

Oh dont get me started.
I'am a 39 yr old married father of 3, 2 being teenagers.
My youngest son who si 7 and my oldest son , 15, both have wow accounts and I have 3. I have always been the kind of father who doesnt blame violence and failure on games, movies etc.. The fault rest within the parents more times then none. Or just in the fact that as the saying goes " excuses are like assholes, everybody has one"

My kids are excellent students, I own a home, manage a buisness with my wife and have a nice life. All while playing wow almost everyday. So Mrs. Tate this is a question for you. And someone on your staff is no doubt monitoring the popular blog sites so I'm sure someone will read this.

Would you rather have the gamers not gaming and perhaps have them out drinking and driving after hitting the bars?

Would you rather have the college students at frat parties binge drinking?

Would you rather have us live in a society that we dont get to choose our form of recreation?

Are you suggesting that college students who DONT play WOW will actually graduate college and are you prepared to back that 100%?

Not all college students binge drink. Not all college students who play WOW will graduate and not all who dont game at all will graduate. And not everyone who doesnt game will be out drinking and driving.
However, while I'm playing WOW after paying my taxes, my mortgage and earning a living in a society that has people like you making statements that are completely rediculous, my wife is happy that I'm in my computer room and that we know where are kids are and what there doing. So yea, we are gamers and yea some of us are addicted to WOW or another mmorpg but there are worse addictions, worse things we could all be doing.

So Mrs. Tate, stick to what you know or atleast think you know and leave the rest to us. I feel sorry for your kids if "mommy" doesnt allow them to game if they choose. Or better yet, they do actually game and the press gets wind of it. :)

I consider myself a great father who teaches his children that they can make there own choices, whether it be religion, politics, partners ( gay or straight ) gaming etc...
We live in a country, a world where freedom is our right.

So take your simple minded opinion and shove it where it needs to be.

And thanks from all of us ( maybe even blizz :) for the free PR.

She could have said EQ, AOC, WAR but she said "World of Warcraft" :) Thats right, who is #1.

Oh, one last thing.

Someone should tell Mrs. tate that perhaps her and Mr. Werbach aka our very own resto shaman, need to have a little sit down before she goes off running her mouth.

Lets face it, she was appointed by the BUSH admin.

He was appointed by our soon to be and my household voted for him, soon to be Obama admin.

So good one Tate. lol.

she cant really bad mouth WoW if she doesnt even play it
stereotypical woman

She's never played the game and choose to say it because it's the most famous mmorpg (or whatever those letters are) out there that many people have at least heard of, who, lets face it, are going to agree with her. The games industry as a whole has been dealing with questions of addiction since the very beginning and this lady has just chosen an easy target rather than dealing with the real and harder to traget issues.

Oh btw a very interesting article, Itz. Keep up the good work

/points at Halo 2

Guys come on. These are some of the most bizarre fan boy arguments i've ever seen.

Its really entertaining that person after person is saying "i've play alot and im a good student!” or “i've play alot and im a fine father!” like it is relevant or meaningful to the argument.

WELL i play WOW and im a ROADSCHOLAR ASTRONAUT.
And you know what guys? My personal experience has nothing to do with her statement.

Do you know what the statistics are for alcohol addiction?
Its estimated 8 to 12 % of people who drink alcohol, are "addicted" or exhibit “addictive behavior,” of that, 70% are able to live in a normal matter, with low impact upon their functional lives. Its only though that roughly 25% of alcoholics or 2 - 3 % of people who drink alcohol are high impact alcoholics.

Now if you were to take those rough numbers and impose the OMFG-NOT-TRUE specter of "Online Gaming Addiction,"

Would be completely crazy to think that at least 15% of people who play are not negatively impacted in some negative way? And further, is it really that crazy to think that out of those, at least 3 % have been negatively impacted in a major way?

the answer is obvious.
(regardless of how oblivious the FCC chairman is.)

I beleive the statement is over the top. I too am 39 years old, 3 kids, full time job and I am about to graduate from college with my BS in Accounting. I have played WoW regularly for the past year and been a contributing member to my guild. It is not the game that causes college drop-outs, it is the college drop-out that causes college drop-outs. That is like saying guns kill people (not a gun advocate). Each person must take responsibility for their own destiny. Besides, life is too short not to play WoW.

It's very easy for people to point the finger and blame other things and/or people for their or loved ones' mistakes, but in my opinion, shouldn't laying out the right path for your kids begin at home?

I, for example, have been playing video games since I was 5... Yes people, I go that far back... From the Atari days, to one of my favorite games, "World of Warcraft"! Normally, I play about 2-3 hours a day; and on the weekends, well... When there's nothing else to do, there's nothing else to do... =)

But aside from my passion for playing video games, I finished my bachelors in Computer Science with a 3.8 GPA while working full-time. Now, I'm a successful Software Developer, and as hobbies I play beach volley-ball and practice mixed martial arts.

You ask about how do I fine time? Well, I make time. I guess people with great ambitions in life can learn how to balance everything they do, including their love for their games.

So to that n00b appointed FCC official; I suggest you start looking about your own accomplishments (or achievements as Blizzard well put it in WRATH) before stereotyping about what we, gamers, love most!