A man was stabbed outside of EBGames in Detroit tonight for his copy of Burning Crusades. Let's hope it wasn't this guy in the article.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070115/ENT06/701150387
Dave Bredenberg of Ferndale, 42, and his children -- Cameron Crawford, 14, Stuart Crawford, 12, Maddie Crawford, 9, and Jackie Bredenberg, 9 -- crossed over into the "Warcraft" universe about nine months ago. They have created 122 different characters among them. Three of their computers are set up with copies of the game, and they often play together.
"Yes, it costs us $45 a month for three subscriptions, but we don't have cable so it all evens out," Bredenberg said. "There's nothing more fun than playing 'WoW' in a room with two other people yelling at the screen along with you."
Victoria Tacia of Alma got talked into playing by her sons David, 14, and Benjamin, 11. Now, a year later, she plays with them, her husband, and her sister and brother-in-law at least twice a week for four hours at a time. She's 40; her husband, Peter, is 43.
"They said, 'Oh, Mom, you've got to get a character, you've got to get a character,' " she said. "They convinced me it would be a nice family thing to do."
Players talk to each other in game using text, and guilds (large groups of players that band together to work on harder encounters in the game) often use voice chat programs so that members can talk with one another while they go adventuring. Close-knit guilds can start to feel like a virtual gang of poker buddies, people who see each other often and become friends.
Running a guild is like running a small company, albeit one made up of volunteers. Players start to make arrangements to visit with each other's families in real life, and in-game dramas become just as important as conflicts between friends over the phone or in person. Eventually, players say, it feels like one more place to hang out with friends -- a virtual equivalent to a coffee shop or a bar, but with more interesting things to do.
"You get to play as this other thing in a fantasy world," Bredenberg said. "You collect armor and weapons. Your character is progressing, learning new things and new skills. There's always something to do. You can never get bored."
Darren O'Neill of Sterling Heights, 34, got the game after a friend started playing and he saw it on a special episode of "South Park" last year. The episode was one of the series' most popular, drawing 3.4 million viewers.
"Just watching the game unfold intrigued me," O'Neill said. "I immediately bought it and was hooked."
Now he plays nearly every day, from 15 minutes to several hours at a time. Typically, he does quests with a friend, he said.
"I've made a few good friends that I play with nightly that are the same age, married and have children," said Ed Childers, 44, of Davison. "I'm fortunate to have a very understanding spouse. She is of the opinion that it's just my hobby, costs very little money, and she has me available in the home if need be."
The attraction of the expansion pack will be what it's always been for these addictive online games: the complex social network that connects "Warcraft" players worldwide.
The new expansion is already breaking sales records: Amazon.com says it's gotten more pre-orders for it than for any video game in its almost 12-year history, beating out "Halo" and "Grand Theft Auto."
Gamestop/EBGames stores in metro Detroit will open at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to start selling copies.
So over the next few days, people you know will be leaving work early, arriving late -- or not coming at all.
They'll talk about friends you've never met and laugh uproariously at jokes that make no sense ... and all because of a video game.
For most players, the draw of "Crusade" won't just be the new areas to discover, the new in-game objects to play with or the new monsters to battle.
"There's days when you get up in the morning and play, and you get up at night and say, 'I've just spent most of my day playing, that's really bad,' " Bredenberg said. He said his family could play four to eight hours a day. "So you try and get out the next day for a walk, or go shopping."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070115/ENT06/701150387
Dave Bredenberg of Ferndale, 42, and his children -- Cameron Crawford, 14, Stuart Crawford, 12, Maddie Crawford, 9, and Jackie Bredenberg, 9 -- crossed over into the "Warcraft" universe about nine months ago. They have created 122 different characters among them. Three of their computers are set up with copies of the game, and they often play together.
"Yes, it costs us $45 a month for three subscriptions, but we don't have cable so it all evens out," Bredenberg said. "There's nothing more fun than playing 'WoW' in a room with two other people yelling at the screen along with you."
Victoria Tacia of Alma got talked into playing by her sons David, 14, and Benjamin, 11. Now, a year later, she plays with them, her husband, and her sister and brother-in-law at least twice a week for four hours at a time. She's 40; her husband, Peter, is 43.
"They said, 'Oh, Mom, you've got to get a character, you've got to get a character,' " she said. "They convinced me it would be a nice family thing to do."
Players talk to each other in game using text, and guilds (large groups of players that band together to work on harder encounters in the game) often use voice chat programs so that members can talk with one another while they go adventuring. Close-knit guilds can start to feel like a virtual gang of poker buddies, people who see each other often and become friends.
Running a guild is like running a small company, albeit one made up of volunteers. Players start to make arrangements to visit with each other's families in real life, and in-game dramas become just as important as conflicts between friends over the phone or in person. Eventually, players say, it feels like one more place to hang out with friends -- a virtual equivalent to a coffee shop or a bar, but with more interesting things to do.
"You get to play as this other thing in a fantasy world," Bredenberg said. "You collect armor and weapons. Your character is progressing, learning new things and new skills. There's always something to do. You can never get bored."
Darren O'Neill of Sterling Heights, 34, got the game after a friend started playing and he saw it on a special episode of "South Park" last year. The episode was one of the series' most popular, drawing 3.4 million viewers.
"Just watching the game unfold intrigued me," O'Neill said. "I immediately bought it and was hooked."
Now he plays nearly every day, from 15 minutes to several hours at a time. Typically, he does quests with a friend, he said.
"I've made a few good friends that I play with nightly that are the same age, married and have children," said Ed Childers, 44, of Davison. "I'm fortunate to have a very understanding spouse. She is of the opinion that it's just my hobby, costs very little money, and she has me available in the home if need be."
The attraction of the expansion pack will be what it's always been for these addictive online games: the complex social network that connects "Warcraft" players worldwide.
The new expansion is already breaking sales records: Amazon.com says it's gotten more pre-orders for it than for any video game in its almost 12-year history, beating out "Halo" and "Grand Theft Auto."
Gamestop/EBGames stores in metro Detroit will open at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to start selling copies.
So over the next few days, people you know will be leaving work early, arriving late -- or not coming at all.
They'll talk about friends you've never met and laugh uproariously at jokes that make no sense ... and all because of a video game.
For most players, the draw of "Crusade" won't just be the new areas to discover, the new in-game objects to play with or the new monsters to battle.
"There's days when you get up in the morning and play, and you get up at night and say, 'I've just spent most of my day playing, that's really bad,' " Bredenberg said. He said his family could play four to eight hours a day. "So you try and get out the next day for a walk, or go shopping."
