If video-game makers do not willingly share data, the alternative is that regulators will force them to act
On January 1st “gaming disorder”—in which games are played compulsively, despite causing harm—gains recognition from the World Health Organisation , as the newest edition of its diagnostic manual comes into force. A few months ago China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and none the rest of the week. Western politicians worry publicly about some games’ similarity to gambling.
The prosecution retorts that, unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to engineer their products to make them irresistible. The motive arises from a business-model shift. In the old days games were bought for a one-off, upfront cost. These days, many use a “freemium” model, in which the game is free and money is made from purchases of in-game goods. That ties playtime directly to revenue.
The means is a combination of psychological theory and data that helps games-makers maximise that playtime. Psychologists already know quite a lot about the sorts of things that animals, including humans, find rewarding . Smartphones and modern consoles use their permanent internet connections to funnel gameplay data back to developers. That allows products to be constantly fine-tuned and tweaked to boost spending. The industry is even beginning to use the argot of the gambling business.
While psychologists argue the finer points of what exactly counts as addiction, and whether gaming’s design tricks cross the line, the industry should recognise that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an officialcode, diagnoses will become more common. Clinics are already reporting booming business, as lockdowns have given gamers more time to spend with their hobby. The regulatory climate for tech is getting chillier.
In the long run, that will prove unwise. Gaming firms should make more of their data hoard available to researchers. If—as seems likely—worries about addictiveness are overblown, it is hard to think of a clearer way of showing it. And if not, it is better for firms to recognise the problem now, and do something about it voluntarily. The alternative is that regulators will force them to act. And as China has shown, once a government is seized by a fit of moral panic, it can lash out.
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