Video game addiction is a real problem: I played WoW for about a year and became seriously addicted to it. On days off from work or uni, I would spend at least 12 hours playing. My social life and study were badly affected: I remember cancelling nights out with friends to play, looking forward to times when my girlfriend would be away due to work so I could play uninterrupted and even prioritisng WoW over my dissertation in my final year! Crazy! I reached a point where I felt very apathetic, and bored of the game. It wasn't a fun experience any longer (which is what gaming is supposed to be about) and decided to stop playing. I also removed the game from my hard drive so if I was tempted to log in again I would have to sit and re download all the game patches from scratch. I'm not sure if WoW is to blame: I still find that I can go through periods of excessive gaming with both new and old console games, though it is nowhere near as serious. The main difference is that these games have a clear end goal, unlike WoW, so I find it easier to manage and ultimately enjoy my gaming experiences. For me, gaming becomes all consuming when I am bored and have nothing else to do - i.e. work, chores, other social activities, hobbies etc. It is not a coincidence that starting full time work helped me to quit WoW.