Could you save money by subscribing to an addictive game?

I don't play WoW, but I am an avid Wii player. It was an expensive initial investment, but I haven't spent money on other forms of entertainment in a LONG time!

My husband plays all sorts of games, and they do get pricey! It is frustrating when we spend 60 bucks for a game, then 3-4 days later he declares "I'm Done!".

Just like there's "good debt" (mortgage, student loans) and "bad debt" (credit cards, etc.), there's good savings and bad savings.

Saving money on social gatherings because all your friends are in WoW is pretty pathetic.

To Ultima Online :) I played for hours and I saved a LOT of money, and spent none. Of course, I was a kid and didn't realize how great of a money saver it was but.... *shrug* It was a real drug

Fabulously Broke in the City

"Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver."

I have found spending more time on the computer has saved me money. The time I spend online now was formerly used to either watch TV or go out. Since I'm finding blogs and online games and all kinds of tutorials and downloads, I am spending less these days.

Remember the young couple whose kids were completely malnourished and filthy because the parents couldn't stop playing World of Warcraft?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9745508-7.html

Absolutely! I'll use WoW and Netflix as two examples.

I just bought the Roku play ($100) and subscribe to the one-at-a-time-unlimited $9 monthly netflix plan. Since I can watch hd tv shows (and new episodes) on my tv now plus an enormous selection of movies, I no longer need cable (saving me at least $50/mo) and I rarely go to the movies (just wait for the dvd). Plus, I always have movies to watch if I have people over, rather than spending $5 for a movie at a rental store for the instant gratification.

As for WoW, I did used to play. That was definitely the most affordable choice of entertainment I have ever engaged in. At the most, it will cost you $15/mo. Now, if you're really into the game and in a raiding guild, you will be home 4-5 days a week raiding. This means no spending money on dinner with friends or Wednesday bar nights. I still had a pretty active weekend but if nothing was going on, I would play the game and not care so much about not spending $10+ at the bar that night. I did not buy any other video game during this time either.

As an WoW player, I definitely agree that it can help you save money. Just deciding to eat in one night a month because you want to play can cover the cost of the monthly subscription.

Playing in moderation is fine.

But the longterm cost of an addiction to the game is going to outweigh any kind of immediate costs. I've seen kids do poorly or drop out of high school or college because of MMOs. People lose their jobs, not get promotions, or just simply lose any type of ambition because of MMOs.

Those types of effects are the true cost of games like WoW. An addition to WoW is most like an addiction to marijuana. It's not that bad, pot's not too expensive or dangerous. But it's escapist and makes you not care as much about the rest of your life.

I can attest first hand that World of Warcraft (WoW) is an extremely addictive game. Most gamers take it even a step further by rarely drinking or eating. In the event that I did eat, I would eat Kraft Mac and Cheese, cheap fast food, and other quick cheap items so that I could get back to playing.

The problem with being addicted to an massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) is that you lose the drive to work. Since your expenses are minimal, you also cut back on the amount of work you do, thus lowering everything.

I wouldn't recommend this as a solution to entertainment, but I can see the logic on saving money if you can control it. Most people, however, have a hard time controlling their addiction to MMORPG's.

Check out the postings at wowdetox.com

My husband is a WoW fiend (I can't get into it) and from personal experience, it's hit or miss.

Yes, he's saving money because that is the only game he plays, he can interact with other players online and strategize or go to work and strategize with some of his co-workers (they are responsible for this new addiction). He plays when I'm at work, so it's not so bothersome to me in terms of quality time (see below). In addition, the hours he plays on WoW prevents him from being sucked into the world of TV advertising or boredom, where he could potentially spend money on stuff he doesn't need.

The downside to this is while he does play when I'm at work, sometimes the game playing spills over into our quality time. I'm not a needy person, however, we do work different shifts so any time we spend together is precious. In addition, this lack of time with non-WoW players (i.e. social gatherings) puts a strain on outside relationships. We used to do a lot more before the game and I've seen it dwindle quite dramatically.

Social interaction is a whole different currency.

If you are addicted to an MMO and all you do is play the game and go to work (or school) you'll definitely save money. The game takes the place of all the other things you used to do for entertainment. There was a time when all I did was sit and play Everquest 2 all day every day. I spent money on food, rent, internet, and the game subscription. That was pretty much it. You won't be accomplishing things in real life, but you will definitely be saving lots of money.

It amazes me that people are still willing to blame a mere video game for things like lateness, poor eating choices, even divorce. I've been an avid WoW player for nearly four years now. My husband also plays, and we enjoy playing WoW together just as much as we enjoy games like Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit or Risk. We continue to cook dinner together and spend time with friends outside the game (in fact, we have weekly get-togethers on Tuesdays and Fridays, and spend Saturdays with my husband's family). It really does save money, though, to have a way to hang out with friends and each other without going to a fancy restaurant or driving twenty or thirty minutes. We canceled our cable television and don't spend nearly as much money on going out every night. My husband works 60+ hours a week at his job while I work about 30-40, and sometimes it's very nice to come home and just spend a night in. He'll chop vegetables, I'll make a nice pasta, and we set our bowls in front of the keyboard and eat while we play. There's no excuse for being "addicted" to a computer game.

I will admit that there are raiding guilds out there who demand that you play a certain amount of time each week to be in their guild and that you accompany them on lengthy dungeon delving expeditions. IF you have time in your weekly schedule, IF you enjoy that sort of thing, and IF you can be responsible about it, then by all means, you have my blessings. But it's up to the person, not the game, how seriously you take your little cartoon character. So, none of my characters (I have seven on different servers) has the absolute best gear. So what? You don't need to have the very best in order to play the game, or even to do well. My husband plays a lot of PvP, and has killed many players who out-gear him. I tend to focus on questing and world exploration and have no problems as long as I'm in level appropriate gear. I've never gone on a high level raid.

Finally, I'd also like to point out that my mother and father both play. My mom didn't play at first, but as she watched my dad play (he's been playing WoW for five years, and he played UO for ... forever before that) she started to get interested in what was going on. She enjoys it and plays alongside my dad now in their PvP guild. But for a long time it put strain on their relationship but they worked their problems out and never considered divorce because it wasn't the game that was the problem, it was that she felt that dad wasn't paying enough attention to her. Once she was able to voice what was really the matter, they worked things out because they're a loving couple who have been together for nearly 40 years. My dad cut back on his game time to spend more time with mom, and, eventually, she decided she might like to try playing. It's also a lot of fun to spend time with my parents in the game world since we live several states away from each other.

So, please, don't blame World of Warcraft for causing problems in people's lives. As someone above mentioned, 11 million people aren't struggling with addiction. If you can't psychologically handle playing the game and continue to act responsibly, then perhaps you should cancel your subscription, and maybe even seek some therapy. It's not the game's fault; it's yours.

I think like drinking alcoholic beverages, it's going to come down to the individual: some people genuinely are "light sippers" who drink to relax, whereas others have addictive tendencies and become unproductive drunks. :(

My wife's played World of Warcraft quite a bit. I've never gotten into it, but we're both looking forward to Stargate Worlds (we are watching SG-1 with much interest).

There are of course free MMOs and such which don't have any subscription fees, or they charge micropayments for upgraded equipment and other benefits.

I was attracted to the lure of virtual world Second Life in late 2004, which was $10 (one-time) for a Basic account. Now they're free, and along the way I ended up getting so addicted I worked for Linden Lab, the company behind it. Still a gladdict (glad + addict = healthy addiction). :-)

I've been playing WoW for a little over two years. It's what I do for fun. My husband's fun is playing music, and together we watch DVDs from Netflix or free Internet TV.

So, with that set, we've cut way back on entertainment expenses in our lives.

It's well worth the subscription money for me -- I get a Mom's night off, I hang with family that live far away, and I don't spend money on new computer games or new computers to keep up with the games or other entertainment.

We still socialize, we still have date night, church activities, and all of this with a 8-month old.

On the flip side, those WoW gurus out there will probably laugh when I say my highest character after 2+ years is level 51. :)

In other words, I play on Tuesday nights (Mom's night off) and sometimes either Sunday afternoons or Friday evenings.

Oh, and from my first-hand experience with WoW, the people I interact with in WoW are typically grandmothers, grandfathers, and 30-somethings. I've never run into addictive behavior where people would skip meals and other stuff.

Although when I was single, I did try to eat spaghetti and play WoW at the same time, but I'm a girl who really likes her food. And, no, it didn't work all that well!

Knowing how people are with anything entertaining, I'm sure some people are addicted to WoW, just like some are addicted to TV, gambling, etc.

Good Idea: Trying to save money on flexible entertainment costs.

Bad Idea: Developing an addiction to any thing for any purpose. Addiction, by nature, reduces the ability of the victim to make rational choices. Debt reduces your choices of how to manage your money; addiction reduces your choices of how to spend your time. Addiction is a form of revolving debt that demands payment in time, which, as we all know, IS money.

dont waste ur time making one for 2 years if ur that addicted