for science
Journalists and academics clash over the World Health Organization’s ‘gaming disorder’ classification
Ever since the World Health Organization decided it will include its "gaming disorder" classification in its upcoming disease classification manual revision, game journalists, mainstream...
Fortnite: Pollsters and academics examine purchases, pay-to-win, and motivation vs. addiction
Remember the old adage that less than 10% of a free-to-play playerbase pay for the other 90%? A poll conducted by LendEDU and Pollfish...
Video game industry groups across the globe reject WHO’s ‘gaming disorder’ classification
As we noted yesterday, the World Health Organization has gone ahead with the inclusion of "gaming disorder" in the publication of its most recent...
The World Health Organization advances its ‘gaming disorder’ classification in spite of heavy criticism
The World Health Organization has gone ahead with the inclusion of "gaming disorder" in the publication of its most recent edition of its disease...
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG would you want to ‘live’ in if you had to live there forever?
MOP reader Oleg suggested today's Daily Grind in the bowels of the mystified comments under our piece on Entropia Universe on Wednesday. In a...
Entropia Universe studio wants to let us live on forever inside an MMO – literally
If you're a fan of Altered Carbon or Westworld, you're going to love what MindArk says it's working on: The Entropia Universe studio aims...
The Daily Grind: Which MMORPG features the most ‘hostile design’?
Last week, the Extra Credits crew did a feature on hostile architecture aka unpleasant design - a way of papering over a problem in...
The Daily Grind: How much MMO game info should be hidden from the players?
A blog post on The Psychology of Video Games blog a few weeks ago seems relevant to our interests: It explores the "pleasure paradox," which...
EVE Fanfest 2018: CCP Games has big plans for data collection and machine learning
Every day in the sandbox of New Eden, several hundred thousand EVE Online players perform millions of unseen actions. Every item manufactured, module activated,...
Noted statistician blasts 2013 paper that links aggression and video games
Last month, as part of our ongoing dialogue about video games and violence, we covered a brand-new paper that found that playing video games...
GDC 2018: Games can help humanity, be profitable, and get support from gamers
Games alone won't make the world better. They won't even make gamers better. We publish some articles that certainly seem pretty pro-games, but we're...
GDC 2018: Ready Player One Now, billion person gaming, and mitigating abuse
It's no surprise that Ready Player One was constantly being referenced at GDC 2018, especially in VR, AR, and MMO panels. It's not just because of...
GDC 2018: Yokozuna, big game data, and the future of MMO monetization
GDC isn't E3. It isn't PAX. It's not even what I think stereotypical gamers can appreciate. But I think the Massively OP crowd is...
MMO designer Raph Koster reveals ‘Trust Spectrum’ research for online games
If you'll be at GDC this week (we will!), you're in for a treat, as research from MMORPG designer Raph Koster will be on...
For science: New long-term study shows video games don’t make adults violent
Before we start, yes, I'm sure many of our readers are feeling a big wave of "duh" at the statement in the headline, but...
MMO business roundup: Steam, toxicity, Kartridge, contracts, dopamine, and guns
What's going on in the online video games business this week? Let's dig in.
Steam, toxicity, and Kartridge
The Center for Investigative Reporting (via Motherboard) has a...
Academics argue WHO’s ‘gaming disorder’ is arbitrary, criticize lack of evidentiary transparency
Researchers and self-regulatory bodies are continuing their denouncement of the World Health Organization's plan to classify "gaming addiction" as a "gaming disorder." The Entertainment...
German commission takes up lootbox issue as academics link whaling to gambling markets
Germany has added its voice to the anti-lockbox chorus in the US, UK, and Netherlands. According to an article on the German-language Welt (picked...
Academics debate WHO ‘gaming disorder’ classification and global political implications
Remember how the World Health Organization is angling to classify gaming addiction as a "gaming disorder"? Researchers and self-regulatory bodies have been pushing back...
The Daily Grind: Have you ever taken drugs in an MMORPG?
Probably my favorite screenshot in an MMO is the one I took back in 2003 or so, when my Star Wars Galaxies character was...
