Games - the ethics issue

When games bleed into real life

Why do some people get hooked and some people don't? Most armchair psychologists might suggest that it's to do with addictive personalities. Some people are simply more likely to get hooked on something than others, whether its Warcraft or chocolate.

A quick glance on eBay shows how far this obsession will stretch. Currently you can purchase, for the miserly sum of $1500, a Level 60 World of Warcraft account. There is a huge amount of choice of expensively priced ‘super characters’ to pick from as people desperately seek invincibility in the online worlds. Who can forget the Project Entropia space resort sold for US$100,000 last year?

Of course, buying and selling online can get ugly, and this is where we start to get into even more difficult ethical questions. A recent incident in China related to role player game Legend of Mir 3. In this case a piece of virtual property was lent by one man to another in a LAN café; the borrower then sold the piece of virtual property for £473 to an online bidder, an act that obviously didn’t please the original owner as he quickly stabbed the borrower to death in his own home. The Chinese government reports this not to be a solitary incident as many gamers are filing reports to the police about virtual property stolen in-game.


The definitive answer to why people are so obsessed with these games is one that is perhaps too broad to answer in this article. Why would people pay this much money? Well, one possible answer is that, like all hobbies, games sometimes require investment. Why pay $1000 for a guitar? Because you love playing the guitar. Why spend $1000 in WoW? Because you love playing, perhaps. What's unethical about that?

Some might say that depression is a factor in most forms of addiction and online role playing games offer people a chance to completely escape their own lives. Another is the nature of the game, the infinite reward system of achieving that next level and obtaining the next prize keeps people addicted. It is many ways similar to games like Championship Manager, which has been cited as a reason for divorce in four cases in Britain.

Is it dangerous that games have got to the point where people are killing each other and divorcing each other over them? Shouldn't we be examining their content, clamping down on this scourge in society? The unfortunate truth is that far lesser things have been responsible for far more. A computer game is a hobby, and like any hobby can get out of hand. So Championship Manager has been cited in divorce cases: big deal, footballing obsession in 'real life' has been cited in thousands. People have been killed for their iPods. Should we ban football and music?