Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

June 1, 2010 -

Ryan G. Van Cleave's new book about his battle with game addiction is in stores today. The book is called "Unplugged: My Journey Into The Dark World Of Video Game Addiction," and it details what the author calls a battle with "very serious addiction" to playing videogames. His level of addiction? He claims he spent 50 hours a week playing videogames which led to self-imposed alienation from friends and family, job loss, and bad health.

A press release this morning in support of the book offers a particularly hard to belive quote on what he experienced when he gave gaming up:

Though Van Cleave went cold turkey himself, experiencing weeks of fevers, chills, and uncontrollable shaking, he doesn’t recommend that for others.

Instead, he says moving gaming consoles to an area where the player can be monitored is the first step to recovery.

Comparing a video game addiction to symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal (delirium tremens, or DT's) seems a bit disingenuous to me.. You might also want to check out Van Cleave's 2006 book "The Magical Breasts of Britney Spears" while you're at it. Find both on Amazon.com.

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Comments

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by sharpshooterbabe on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 10:08.

Writing a book about brittney having magical breasts & then writing a book about addicted gamers......I will take the writer as a joke.

"It's better to be hated for who you are, then be loved for who you are not." - Montgomery Gentry

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by Kojiro on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 13:08.

I have 8 full days logged in MW2 multiplayer. That's 192 hours.

EDIT - that was supposed to be a reply to Bennett Beeny above.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by Bennett Beeny on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 18:48.

Yeah. I have over 100 on Assassin's Creed 2 and it's not even an online game.

I looked at this guy's other titles and it strikes me that this book is obviously just some hack author's latest idea to make a fast buck.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by SimonBob on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 12:13.

"Even when he was sexually molested by a young school teacher at age eleven, it was the promise of a new video game that had lured him to her house."

WOW. I think you got problems goin' deeper than video games, bro. He does sound like the kind of guy who would go into convulsions while trying to quit. Also, the page features a quote from our second-favourite scapegoater after JT, Brad from exgamer dot net. I gotta go renew my library card, this sounds like a great summertime hammock read.

---
Fangamer

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by Bennett Beeny on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 09:31.

LOL, if 50 hours a week is considered addiction, I go through 'addiction' every time I buy a new game.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by lordlundar on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 10:38.

Wait, there's new games that actually are 50+ hours still? I thought they all became 5-7 hour bloomfests.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by Bennett Beeny on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 10:43.

With extra content, replays and online play, a 4 hour game like CoD4 can easily be played for 50 hours plus.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by hellfire7885 on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 09:11.

"Though Van Cleave went cold turkey himself, experiencing weeks of fevers, chills, and uncontrollable shaking"

I honestly call BS on this line. Cigs, cocaine, heroine I can see cuasing thios, but not soemthing that's not even a substance you injest.

Re: Unplugged: Game Addiction Book in Stores

Submitted by Neeneko on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 12:07.

Yeah.. that line tells me that the author is not being honest....

Shout box

Monte: trolls are just at their absolute worst when it comes to women and feminist. You could bet good money that if the developer were male the trolls would be silent and the conversation would actually focus on the journalism.10/18/2014 - 9:18pm

Monte: Papa: Not the first time we've had a journalism scandals before, but the harassment never got close to this level; the difference with this scandal is that feminists are involved. Without the feminist angle, their would be A LOT less harrassment10/18/2014 - 9:15pm

Papa Midnight: Monte: That's honestly rather short-sighted. As has been proven with other persons who have been targeted, if it wasn't Quinn, it would be someone else.10/18/2014 - 6:26pm

Avalongod: I think that's part of what gives an esoteric news story like this real life...it taps into a larger narrative about misogyny in society outside of games.10/18/2014 - 3:29pm

Avalongod: @Monte, well the trolls made death threats that came to police (and media attention). I think this is tapping into a larger issue outside of games about how women are treated in society (like all the "real rape" stuff during the last election)10/18/2014 - 3:28pm

Wonderkarp: Zippy : Havent tried the PS4 controller. might later.10/18/2014 - 2:37pm

Monte: Seirously, If Quinn was not involved and GG was instead about something like the Mordor Marketing contracts, the trolling would have never grown so vile and disgusting. There have been plenty of movements in the past that never sufferred from behavior..10/18/2014 - 1:57pm

Monte: We have seen scandel's before but the trolling has never been as vile as what we see with GG. Trolls usually have such a tiny voice you can barely notice them, but its like moths to a flame whenever femistist are involved.10/18/2014 - 1:53pm

ZippyDSMlee: Wonderkarp: You might be able to if you had a PS4 controller.10/18/2014 - 1:00pm

MaskedPixelante: http://store.steampowered.com/app/327940/ Night Dive starts charging for freeware.10/18/2014 - 12:21pm

Matthew Wilson: the sad thing is there are trolls on both sides of this. people need to stop acting like their side is so pure.10/18/2014 - 12:19pm

MechaTama31: So, only speak out on a scandal that hasn't attracted trolls? I wouldn't hold my breath...10/18/2014 - 10:49am

Monte: I feel like GG just needs to die. The movement is FAR to tainted by hatred and BS for it to be useful for any conversation. Let GG die, and then rally behind the NEXT gaming journalism scandal, and start the conversation fresh.10/18/2014 - 10:33am

quiknkold: and we dont have a Dovakin to call a cease fire10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: The whole thing is Futile. Both sides are so buried deep in their trenchs that there isnt a conversation. Its just Finger Pointing, Name Calling, Doxxing, Threats. there needs to be a serious conversation, and GG isnt it.10/17/2014 - 7:37pm

quiknkold: I thought it was a good article. Jeff is right. I feel like GamerGate did destroy its message. I am for Ethics in game journalism, but man. so much hate. and its on both sides. I've seen some awful stuff spewed on twitter. Its a big reason why I exited..10/17/2014 - 7:34pm

Matthew Wilson: while he focused on gg, he did call out both sides crap.10/17/2014 - 7:18pm

Papa Midnight: That was a damn good read offered by Jeff Gertsmann.10/17/2014 - 7:17pm

Matthew Wilson: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/letter-from-the-editor-10-17-2014/1100-5049/ deferentially a nice write up.10/17/2014 - 6:44pm

james_fudge: I think Evan killed it. He's a great guy and super smart.10/17/2014 - 6:38pm

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