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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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World of Warcraft: the 'Cocaine of Gaming'

Fantasy game involved in nearly every case of game addiction, foundation says

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(Newser) – World of Warcraft is the most addictive video game on the market, the Local of Sweden reports. WoW is the most popular of the online multiplayer fantasy games—by far the most addicting game genre, according to a study by the Swedish Youth Care Foundation. The Blizzard title is "the cocaine of the computer games world," the foundation's report says. In one case, a Swedish boy collapsed after playing for 20 hours nonstop.

"There is not a single case of game addiction that we have worked with in which World of Warcraft has not played a part," a foundation rep said.

This file image from the game
This file image from the game "World of Warcraft" was provided by its publisher, Blizzard Entertainment.   (AP Photo/Blizzard Entertainment, file)
A screenshot from Blizzard's MMORPG, World of Warcraft.
A screenshot from Blizzard's MMORPG, World of Warcraft.   (©tangi_bertin)
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10 comments
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Doctor_Zaius
Feb 27, 09 5:26 PM CST
I was actually looking for the Crystal Meth of online gaming. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Collusive
Feb 28, 09 9:57 AM CST
how could they label "the most addicting game" as cocaine. obviously it should be called the heroine of gaming, or the cigarettes of gaming.
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IN RESPONSE:
Chilblain
Mar 2, 09 2:22 PM CST
I prefer the LSDMMORPG
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Vostok
Feb 27, 09 7:31 PM CST
Why is it so addictive? Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Doctor_Zaius
Feb 27, 09 7:48 PM CST
The scope and scale of the game is huge. You are literally in a world with 20,000 other players going about doing whatever you want to do. Imagine your life and what you could do if you had one day to live and super powers.
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