Gamer Detox Center Opens in Amsterdam

I wrote about this previously at RealTechNews, and now it's open. A detox center for gamers. It's not cheap, at 500 euros (or $640) a day, but it's serious business. People have died from overplaying ... an example is a South Korean who died last year after reportedly playing StarCraft at an Internet cafe for 50 hours. And he was 28 ... can you imagine what it would do to me (and no, I'm not telling my age!).

Addiction expert Keith Bakker hopes the serenity of a 16th century townhouse on one of Amsterdam's canals will coax those snared in the fantasy world of online games back to reality.

It is run by addiction consultants Smith & Jones, who felt there was a need for treatment even though experts are still debating whether excessive game playing is an addiction. Source: Washington Post

If people are dying, yeah, I think it's serious enough to warrant treatment. Personally, my favorite game is City of Heroes, but I have it under control. Yeah, yeah ... hey, did I tell you this weekend there is a double XP event going on!? Heh.

Tags: gaming, detox, addiction