Jedi & Sith Lord of Gaming

Electronic Games.

World of Warcraft, online gaming at it's best. It's a huge thing for the PC Gaming World.

World of Warcraft launched it's expansion pack yesterday in Singapore. Huge Huge reception from the gamers here. It was such a long queue that it fillled up the entire shoping mall(SUNTEC SHOPPING MALLwhere the lauch is happening) and have over 1500 people in line. The first person in line apparently started queuing up from 10pm the previous night. Singapore is catching up with gaming and look like it's steering towards countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and USA. Still a small market here(small country, small population) but it is indeed creating more awareness and interest now. With Wii and PS3 due this quarter, it will surely help too.

The positive thing about this kinda online gaming is that you get to play with fellow "humans" all over the world.(finally, there is something everyone from all the different parts of the world can agreed on). You make friends, enemies and even live time partners from such online community.

Then, this morning, as I was flipping thru the local newspaper, Straits Times, with the largest circulation in Singapore, the front page of the Home section reads :

IS THERE A GAMING ADDICT IN YOUR HOME?
Warning signs of addiction are varied, but not difficult to spot.
By Tan Hui Yee & Chua Hian Hou

The half page article talks about the negative aspect of gaming, at the stage of addiction. About how an increasing number of people are being admitted into mental institutes due to gaming addiction here in Singapore. It also mentioned that the addiction and signs are bad enough that a new centre was opened in August last year to help young people to deal with it.

Loss of friends, school grades going down, temper worsened, extrovert becoming an introvert to the extreme. The article is so helpful that they have at the side bar, helpline numbers for those that need it. The article was accompanied by the photo of the Warcraft launch yesterday.

The whole article speaks about the negative aspect of gaming.

Nothing positive.

It is a totally unfair and misleading report.

Young children should received guidance from the parents on what's right and what's not. Too much of anything is never good. It is largely the responsibility of parents to ensure that gaming hobby of their child should not become an obession untill a change of behavior. Proper restriction and guidance will make all the difference. It is not only the responsibility of the society.

Of course it is a concern worldwide on the impact of violent gaming. Teen murders, suicides, etc etc. But, from a daily newspaper with a huge circulation, the report should be more objective, if not encouraging.

It could have mentioned about the huge turnout at the launch, how widely anticipated this event is, how the online community is looking forward to reaching out to each other to have some fantasy fun over a common platform, the internet. How when friends(old and new) meet up for coffee and talk about the games and all the fun stuffs in it. How you learned to say "thank you" in German when playing with someone from halfway across the globe. How the increase in this gaming arena that it's creating more IT job opportunities in Singapore, how the country is keeping up with the world in terms of entertainment. How, gone are the days of "5 stones" and "zero point", and welcome with open arms the technology of the future, the games our new generation will be playing and adapt to the changes.

Then it could have gone on to mentioned also the negative aspect of gaming. How parents can help and be involved with their children's activity and gaming. Understanding them and setting the right curfews. How interval rests can help the children's eyes and concentration etc. It could have list out preventive measures and the steps to do it.

By presenting a more objective report and set the public with the accurate mindset is more appropriate than a article that is trying to yell :"Gaming is bad. Stop it." This is a perfect example that showcases why Singaporeans are all so negative in thoughts and still very traditional and extremely difficult to accept new changes and challenges.

Moving ahead with time? A developed Nation? A global city? World Wide recognition? Please. Start from your own un-biased view first, before bringing the wrong message/perception across to the public.

Me? I am currently enjoying the company of 9 beauties with impossible vital statics, playing beach volleyball with them, changing their bikinis, and watching their huge assets bounce all over their chest. UsagiKiller is as looking forward to each session as I do every night. Oh, maybe I will have to visit the Mental Institute too, cos I like big breast? Should I call the helpline and say, "Help me, I am addicted to big breast gals playing beach volleyball on my TV screen…"

(I think this is why I have slowly stopped reading most of the news in the local newspaper for the past years, besides the Business, Sports and Jobs section. Cos of one sided biased articles like this. Don't even get me started on the local TV programmes, the dramas, variety shows etc…)

Photo : Buying vegetables early in the morning...