WHO Reverses Its Stance On Video Games
As the need for social distancing remains a top priority to slow the spread of COVID-19, the WHO is encouraging people to play video games.
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As the need for social distancing remains a top priority to slow the spread of COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging people to play video games to keep people apart, but still be together in a virtual world by supporting the game industry’s #PlayApartTogether campaign.
Some may find the announcement as a bit of a surprise since the WHO made the controversial decision to classify gaming disorder as an addictive behavior in June of 2018. At the same time, the WHO did take the time to create a clear distinction between what they consider “gaming” and “gaming disorder,” much in the same way that one would distinguish between gambling and gambling disorder.
At the time, certain countries were at odds with such a classification. For instance, South Korea had two different government organizations respond differently to the announcement. Seoul’s Culture Ministry described the classification as a violation of cultural freedom, while the Ministry of Welfare reacted positively to the news.
Some of the biggest names in the video game industry have signed on to the #PlayApartTogether campaign, including CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, who stated, “It has never been more critical to ensure people stay safely connected to one another. Games are the perfect platform because they connect people through the lens of joy, purpose, and meaning.”
Meanwhile, several developers are far ahead of the curve regarding this recommendation and have taken steps towards helping people cope with this period of self isolation. Blizzard has already been mentioned above with the support of Kotick, and the retail version of World of Warcraft has applied a 100% experience buff to all players during this time.
Other games are seeing changes made to help in their own way. Final Fantasy XIV has paused inactivity timers for player real estate, with the developers stating in a post that players may have more pressing concerns at this time keeping them from logging in.
Meanwhile, concurrent player counts on Steam and in games like Rocket League and CS:GO have consistently broken records over the last few weeks as people stay inside their homes, showing that people have already been turning to video games more often than normal.
Keeping in mind that the WHO was clear on its distinction between gaming and gaming disorder, it may be important to keep a closer eye on friends and family who mVideay be susceptible to over-indulging in games once life returns to some manner of normalcy, as this period of time could push certain players towards addiction.
Source: digitaltrends.com
Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/who-reverses-video-games-stance/