Raptor-chan
06-29-2009, 05:17 PM
Players participating in multiplayer online games -- which have been popular in Japan since around 2002 -- find enjoyment in chatting and adventuring with other players with whom they've hit it off, and in advancing a storyline in which they are the main character. Basic monthly charges for these games are generally between 1,000 and 2,000 yen, and some games can even be played free of charge.
"I got to talk to people of various generations, and it was like having a family," says one 18-year-old who used to play games for 10 hours a day in junior high and is currently taking an extra year to study and reapply to university. "We never met in person, so it was hassle-free and we could speak candidly with each other."
While some find online games to have such benefits, it is also true that the problem of students who become engrossed in online games and stop going to school has escalated in recent years.
"Since about six months ago, there have been a growing number of people asking us for advice on dealing with children who become violent when told to stop playing Internet games," said Takeo Muta, who heads the Educational Research Institute, a Yokohama-based non-profit organization that offers counseling and support for families dealing with children who refuse to go to school or are socially isolated.
One mother looked down as she spoke about her teenage son's game addiction. "Sometimes, he'll throw the remote control at the TV, overturn the dining table, bite my hand, or try to strangle me. It's enough to get me wondering if he'll kill me."
A third-year junior high school student, her son became obsessed with the online role-playing game MapleStory last fall. He had gotten good grades up to that point, and his parents, who had had high hopes for him, panicked when he stopped going to school. When they asked the game's publisher Nexon Corp. to disable their son's MapleStory log-in capability this past April, their son turned violent, prompting them to call the police. The boy, frantic, leaned out a second-story window and screamed that he would die if he couldn't play the game. Worn down, his parents pleaded with Nexon to reinstate the account.
The boy now sits in front of the computer 15 hours a day. Once outgoing and expressive, now "he has a stern gaze and looks like a different person," his mother laments. "He's brusque with us, but sometimes, when he's facing the computer screen, he'll suddenly let out a chuckle..."
His father questions why the online game industry allows children to have 24-hour access to their games. "It's the children in their important developmental years who get hooked on the Internet."
MapleStory is an online game geared towards children in which players go through various adventures in the role of characters such as magicians and pirates. Eighty percent of players are students in elementary school, junior high school, or high school. Late last year, in an attempt to assuage parents' concerns, Nexon instituted a function that allows parents to limit their children's gaming time. However, because players' passwords are necessary to enable the function -- and the boy has refused to reveal his password to his parents -- his father has been unable to employ the new system. (By Noriko Yamamoto, Mainichi Shimbun)
Courtesy: Kotaku, Mainichi
"I got to talk to people of various generations, and it was like having a family," says one 18-year-old who used to play games for 10 hours a day in junior high and is currently taking an extra year to study and reapply to university. "We never met in person, so it was hassle-free and we could speak candidly with each other."
While some find online games to have such benefits, it is also true that the problem of students who become engrossed in online games and stop going to school has escalated in recent years.
"Since about six months ago, there have been a growing number of people asking us for advice on dealing with children who become violent when told to stop playing Internet games," said Takeo Muta, who heads the Educational Research Institute, a Yokohama-based non-profit organization that offers counseling and support for families dealing with children who refuse to go to school or are socially isolated.
One mother looked down as she spoke about her teenage son's game addiction. "Sometimes, he'll throw the remote control at the TV, overturn the dining table, bite my hand, or try to strangle me. It's enough to get me wondering if he'll kill me."
A third-year junior high school student, her son became obsessed with the online role-playing game MapleStory last fall. He had gotten good grades up to that point, and his parents, who had had high hopes for him, panicked when he stopped going to school. When they asked the game's publisher Nexon Corp. to disable their son's MapleStory log-in capability this past April, their son turned violent, prompting them to call the police. The boy, frantic, leaned out a second-story window and screamed that he would die if he couldn't play the game. Worn down, his parents pleaded with Nexon to reinstate the account.
The boy now sits in front of the computer 15 hours a day. Once outgoing and expressive, now "he has a stern gaze and looks like a different person," his mother laments. "He's brusque with us, but sometimes, when he's facing the computer screen, he'll suddenly let out a chuckle..."
His father questions why the online game industry allows children to have 24-hour access to their games. "It's the children in their important developmental years who get hooked on the Internet."
MapleStory is an online game geared towards children in which players go through various adventures in the role of characters such as magicians and pirates. Eighty percent of players are students in elementary school, junior high school, or high school. Late last year, in an attempt to assuage parents' concerns, Nexon instituted a function that allows parents to limit their children's gaming time. However, because players' passwords are necessary to enable the function -- and the boy has refused to reveal his password to his parents -- his father has been unable to employ the new system. (By Noriko Yamamoto, Mainichi Shimbun)
Courtesy: Kotaku, Mainichi