Gaming has come a long way from its humble beginning a few decades ago. From the days of Pong to the days of Crysis, a lot has gone by. In fact the rate at which gaming has developed is unbelievable. And so have the gaming technologies. The most visible testimony to this is the stunning graphics of today compared to the box-graphics of old. Not only graphics, but even the gameplay is becoming realistic. Employing real-world physics and reactions are becoming commonplace in games nowadays. And with the efforts of making games in Virtual Reality underway, the future of gaming is even more advanced. Games are becoming just so... real.
Here's the question: Are games becoming too real to be called just games anymore? Maybe. A lot of us find gaming an escapade from the real world. It's a place where you know no matter how much times you get killed(in the game) you are still alive(in reality). You game to keep away the bothering factors of the real world(Of course, some game for life, but I am NOT including them). So when the games themselves get so realistic, where wold you go if you want a break from this kinda reality. In such cases games don't remain games anymore.
Already, game addiction is becoming a major issue, major enough to find a place among all the other common forms of addiction. People have begun playing games, not as entertainment, but as a way of life. To many it's become as integral to their life as eating or sleeping. And reality in gaming only acts a catalyst, that makes people even more hooked on to it. At a psychologic level, you may partly be led to believe that the game is something real. That makes you react in a game in the same way as you would react in real-life situations. That includes unwanted emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, etc., for silly stuff like losing a life in an intense FPS(silly, here, is relative). And that'll further harm your social life.
Let me come to the question again - Are games becoming too real to be called just games anymore? Mostly YES. The line between game and reality is becoming thinner and thinner.
Now here's another question: A'right should the quest to make games more realistic allowed to continue at the same pace? If I were to be an unbiased judge, the answer would be a definite NO. But since I am not, I'd answer that, " To hell with it. We gaming addicts are not to be discouraged with such petty talk."