Modern gaming addiction - Old Games News

South Korea - Internet cafe

Remember “back in the day” when there weren’t seventy-five save points in a single level? Internet access was a myth and acquiring cheat codes for unlimited lives was almost more difficult than actually finishing a tough level in a legit fashion. Many, many nights were spent staring at the screen…trying just one more time…to make it over that nasty jump or through the field of bullet fire. If the game was shut off, it meant starting over and losing all of that hard-earned progress.

Some governments, today, are trying to prevent those sleepless nights from harming children. While it is impossible to regulate the home consoles that retro gamers bent over well into the night, it is feasible to govern online gaming.

In April of 2011, South Korea became a pioneer in online gaming laws for minors. The new law will ban children under the age of fifteen from playing games in the wee hours of the morning, mainly from midnight to six a.m. It is not clear what formats will be banned, as many home consoles, such as the Xbox and Wii, offer online gaming communities and applications. In fact, Wii Ware is one of the top outlets for accessing retro gaming titles. Computer gaming will definitely be targeted.