From au.gamespot.com (via slashdot.org):

What is video game addiction? What are its boundaries, its symptoms, its treatments? How wide is its scope? And is it even a medically recognised condition in the first place? In Part One of this GameSpot AU feature we speak to researchers, psychologists, medical bodies, and gamers to gauge their thoughts on the causes and effects of video game addiction, the significance of its recognition as such, and the potential for future research. We also look at this issue from the game makers’ side, as well as explore some real-life cases of addiction.

From vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn (via gamepolitics.com):

There is good news – well, news – for teenagers and even adults who are addicted to playing online games. A rehab centre has just opened in HCM City to bring them back from their insidious virtual world.

Such centres are popular in major “gaming” countries like South Korea, Japan and China, but this is the first of it kind here.

Though the first game only appeared in Viet Nam four years ago, there are six million people playing them, mostly aged 13 – 18.

Huynh Hong Hiep head of training at the Southern Youth Centre – a centre for sport and culture that has set up the rehabilitation facility – says many parents complain they are unable to drag their children away from the computer.

Source

From canadianpress.google.com:

Parents must enforce moderation if they’re going to keep their kids from getting addicted to video games, the developer of one of the hottest games to hit the market said Friday.

Vance Wallace, the lead designer of “Tomb Raider: Underworld” which is set for release later this month just in time for Christmas, admitted gaming could become an obsession for some kids.

“I’m not a politician, a judge or even a parent, but I would say that just like with anything else, moderation is really important whether you’re talking about video games or anything in your life – movies, TV,” he said.

“You can go overboard with it, but it needs to be taken in moderation.”

His comments come just days after the body of gamer Brandon Crisp was discovered in a wooded area near his Barrie, Ont., home.

Read more…

From popsci.com:

“For some, though, video games are too compelling — too addictive. The warning signs are obvious: compulsive playing, scorning friends and family in the real world, an inability to think about other subjects. Ten million people have signed up to play the PC role-playing game World of Warcraft. In Halo 3, the wildly popular first-person shooter for Xbox 360, almost 7 billion people have been killed online since its debut, and 11 million die each day, according to ITwire.com.”

Read more…