Learning to live with gaming fanatics
The following was the most popular conversation on Twitter in the last few days.
A woman asked, “What is all the fuss about Diablo III? Why do men go crazy about it and stand in line for hours in Wangsimni to buy it?” A man responded, “Let’s say Chanel has not made a bag for 12 years and finally introduced a new model to the market.” The woman responded, “Oh, I see,” to which the man added, “And Chanel sells the limited edition of the bag only at Wangsimni.” Then the woman really got it.
For those who still don’t understand, Diablo III is an action role-playing game by American video game developer Blizzard Entertainment. It was released in Seoul for the first time in the world on Tuesday. On Monday, a launch party and sales event took place at Wangsimni Station, and 5,000 gamers began lining up two days before the official release in order to buy the highly coveted limited edition.
They stood in the rain and ate cup noodles to celebrate the return of devil. Diablo, which means devil in Spanish, is the game’s title character and the “Lord of Terror.” Blizzard Entertainment released Diablo II in 2000, and more than two million copies were sold in Korea. Diablo III is the third installment of the franchise.
Diablo of all varieties is especially significant to gamers in their 30s and 40s, who have eagerly anticipated the new release. Many of that generation who played Diablo II often reminisce about the old days, and perhaps this new version will bring them back to their youth, even as younger players joke about their obsession.
On Teacher’s Day, a student presented his instructor with Diablo III and flowers. The teacher was so touched that he cried. Some who aren’t plugged into the gaming world wonder why adults make such a big deal out of the virtual reality. “What are we contributing to the world if gamers spend so much time trying to kill demons?” asked the Democratic United Party’s Chung Dong-young.
Just like any other online game, Diablo is highly addictive. It also contains strong visual violence. But to those who spent their youths with the games, they are also part of very precious memories. Online games have already deeply penetrated society, so we simply have to figure out how to live in a world with them. We can no longer blame online games for keeping kids away from their homework or for encouraging crime. There are other solutions to those problems.
*The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.
by Lee Na-ree
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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