Oxford researcher blames ESA reaction for prolonged videogaming addiction crisis

An upcoming video game that lets players simulate a school shooting is coming in for criticism from parents of shooting victims and from politicians. — AFP Relaxnews

LOS ANGELES: Regulation, sin taxes, and fines are coming for the videogame industry globally, and you can thank the Entertainment Software Association’s mishandling of concerns raised about addiction for that, according to Andrew Przybylski, experimental psychologist and director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute. 

In a talk on the science of videogame addiction at the Game Developers Conference last week, Przybylski spelled out the many ways that science has yet to prove or disprove that videogames are addictive in the same way as drugs or gambling. But he also noted that the game industry’s response to the World Health Organisation’s investigation into the issue likely pushed the industry toward calamity.