Man Marries Video Game, Forgets to Sign Prenup
By now, some of you have no doubt heard the news that a man in Japan married a character in the Japanese release Nintendo DS game “Love Plus". It seems to me to be a headline shock value article, in the vein of, “Colorado Boy Floats across State in Weather Balloon” or “Escalating Argument between Bert and Ernie Devastates Downtown San Francisco: 1 Dead, 2 Wounded”. Aren’t we all too familiar with these headlines.
And after watching footage of the actual wedding ceremony, it’s relatively obvious that the wedding is a publicity stunt. Let’s be real here for a moment: if I could’ve married Princess Peach in real life, let’s just say she would have settled down a long time ago.
The interesting issue at work in this article is its implication. It’s implying that this man is over-obsessed with the game. I think that all gamers recognize that gaming obsession will sequester a large portion of time. Personally, I believe a major contributing factor to the modern stigma against video games is how much time they take up. In experiencing other popular art forms, none really takes as much time from the viewer as a video game. Even the early arcade games, like Donkey Kong or Centipede or Pac-Man, are not designed to take up a lot of time for the average player. When you are obsessed with a game nowadays, when a game is good and you truly enjoy its story and gameplay, it should/ will take a lot of your time.
For gamers, that obsession is a good thing. We want a game to suck us in, to push us to obsession and to flood our brains while at work with images of force-choking Imperial Soldiers or using an airfoil from long distance in order not to disturb the other guards or finally reaching star road. The invention and popularity of the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) genre is an homage to this fact, which provides players with a unique experience every time they hop on their computers. Look at sites like IGN.com and Gamespot.com and others, who rank World of Warcraft, a game notorious for its addictiveness, as one of the best PC games of all time.
In the end, what can you say about a glorified and induced obsession? Recognize this beast (paleontologists refer to him as Obsessiodauntus), understand that it is an essential element of the gaming world today. The crux is to remember that video games are an induced obsession. We choose to become obsessed, although obsession is kind of like a barbed hook. Once it gets ahold, you goin’ son. Just try to limit yourself to two hours a day…I am such a hypocrite.
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