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Criticism of World of Warcraft

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World of Warcraft, an online computer game, has been associated with several scandals and criticisms since its release.


Technology

Server instability

As with other online games, game server and network stability is critical. Due to failures in these, there have been times when the game has been unplayable by a large number of players. For example, in September 2005, Blizzard gave all European players two free days of play as compensation for repeated network failures. During the early days of World of Warcraft's U.S. release Blizzard also gave out free days to compensate players for days lost due to problems on their end; a policy which was, and still is, common in the industry. The issues were suspected to be Blizzard's upstream Internet service provider.[1]

Warden

Blizzard makes heavy use of a system known as Warden on the Windows version of the game in order to detect third-party programs, such as botting software. There has been some controversy as to the legality of Warden. Warden uses techniques similar to anti-virus software in order to analyze other running software on the players' PCs, as well as the file system. However, unlike most anti-virus software, it sends a portion of this information back to Blizzard, which caused privacy advocates to accuse it of being spyware.[2] The Warden's existence was acknowledged in the opening legal proceedings of MDY INDUSTRIES, LLC. vs. BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT, INC.

One example of the information Warden collects is the title of every window open on the system while WoW is running.[citation needed] Blizzard have not stated what information is passed by Warden over the Internet, or if that information is encrypted, so it is entirely possible this information is passed over the Internet back to Blizzard. Blizzard's use of Warden was stated in the Terms of Agreement (TOA).

Other

Treatment of LGBT players

Blizzard garnered criticism for their decision in January 2006 to ban guilds from advertising sexual orientation preferences. The incident occurred after several players were cited for "harassment" after advocating a group for gay-straight alliance.[3][4] Blizzard initially responded by saying their objective was to, ".. promote a positive game environment for everyone and help prevent such harassment from taking place as best we can, we prohibit mention of topics related to sensitive real-world subjects in open chat within the game, and we do our best to take action whenever we see such topics being broadcast."[5]

Blizzard later reversed the decision to issue warnings to players promoting LGBT-friendly guilds. Included in this decision was the announcement that they intend to set up in-game channels intended specifically for guild advertisements, as well as provide "sensitivity training" for their staff after players complained of anti-homosexual language being used openly and without punishment. [6][7]

Game addiction

World of Warcraft has also come under criticism for stories of game addictions to the popular video game. In June of 2005 it was reported that a four month old child had suffocated due to neglect by her World of Warcraft-addicted parents who were reportedly at a nearby cafe playing World of Warcraft.[8] In August of that year, the government of the People's Republic of China decided to enforce control over how many hours the country's 20 million gamers can play.[9]

Dr. Maressa Orzack, a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, was interviewed August 8, 2006 stating that many of the then 9 million subscribers are addicted. She is quoted as saying "... 40 percent of the players are addicted."[10] Note that the 40 percent figure was not derived from a scientific study overseen by Dr. Orzack, but rather came from "a forum that Nick Yee runs". She added in an August 2006 interview that "even if the percentage is 5 to 10 percent which is standard for most addictive behaviors, it is a huge number of people who are out of control."[11] Also, according to Dr. John Grohol, a colleague of Orzack's, "Dr. Orzack is not claiming that up to 40% of World of Warcraft gamers are addicted based upon any actual evidence or surveys of players. This is just her opinion, based upon her own experience and observation of the problem."[12]

However, there is still much speculation of gaming addiction problems caused by World of Warcraft; a November 14, 2006 article in The Philadelphia Inquirer featured individuals who admit becoming addicted to World of Warcraft and other MMORPG's.[13]

References

  1. ^ Gibson, Ellie (2005-08-09). "Blizzard to compensate players for World of Warcraft problems". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  2. ^ Hoglund, Greg (2005-10-05). "4.5 million copies of EULA-compliant spyware". rootkit.com. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  3. ^ "Blizzard of GLBT gaming policy questions". In Newsweekly. 2006-02-02. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  4. ^ Doctorow, Cory (2006-01-27). "World of Warcraft: Don't tell anyone you're queer". Boing Boing.
  5. ^ "Blizzard Does Not Hate Gay People". Kotaku. 2006-01-30. Retrieved 2006-10-21.
  6. ^ "Blizzard says sorry to WOW fan". Retrieved 2006-04-11.
  7. ^ "Blizzard Gets Gay Rights Warning". Retrieved 2006-04-11.
  8. ^ http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59697
  9. ^ "China imposes online gaming curbs". BBC. 25 August 2005. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Expert: 40 Percent of World of Warcraft Players Addicted". TwitchGuru. 8 August 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Ars Technica interview with Dr. Orzack, 8/9/2006
  12. ^ PsychCentral - John M. Grohol, Psy.D., August 10, 2006
  13. ^ Fair game?
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