Online Study says RP Servers Depressed, but players Fit

Bizanich · 02-23-2009, 09:56 AM

Online gamers keep it local, says new study - On the Level- msnbc.com
Sony apparently cooperated with a study that had a survey go out to 7,000 people in Everquest II. Snippets of the obviously flawed study....women are more hardcore then men, and lie about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSNBC Article

One finding that isn’t terribly shocking: Players tended to underestimate how much they play. But women significantly lowballed their guesses: Women self-reported, on average, 26 hours of weekly play and their actual average play time was 29 hours. Men, by contrast, were off by only an hour.

Williams says that while there are more men playing than women, women are the hardcore players. “That, to me, was a definite myth buster,” he says. “And then the other weird finding, that the players were healthy.”

Huh? Yep, you read that right. According to the data, “EverQuest II” players are fitter than the average American. There goes that obese, sedentary gamer stereotype.

The survey in the game asked players to report their height and weight, and from that, the research team calculated their body mass indexes. On average, “EverQuest II” players had a body mass index of 25.19 compared with the 28 BMI of the average American.

Yeah, right. Continues,though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSNBC

Another finding: Players who reported being depressed was disproportionately high in “EverQuest II.” But there’s a second sentence to that bullet point: Depression was particularly pronounced among those who played on role-playing servers.

Scary thought. Someone out there paid for this study and Sony is using it as accurate to understand its playerbase

.

Araxen · 02-23-2009, 09:58 AM

Why choose EQ2 for this study and not WoW?

Digits · 02-23-2009, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Araxen

Why choose EQ2 for this study and not WoW?

Yea, why did Sony have to study their own stupid game? And what's with SOE delaying Ulduar so much?

They were most likely the only main stream MMO willing to oblige.

Brikker · 02-23-2009, 10:04 AM

Prevalence of depression on RP servers makes sense. People hate their lives and try to escape to a fantasy world where they can be something else.

Now I know why Grumpy Old Fart is so angry :P

vouskaine · 02-23-2009, 10:06 AM

my guess is, blizzard is too big to care to do something like this.

Composter · 02-23-2009, 10:15 AM

Considering women have no concept of time, and lie to themselves about just about everything, those results sound fairly spot on.

UnchainedAcolyte · 02-23-2009, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brikker

Prevalence of depression on RP servers makes sense. People hate their lives and try to escape to a fantasy world where they can be something else.

Now I know why Grumpy Old Fart is so angry :P

I've known several of people in past guilds who have had physical lmitations or illnesses who turn to MMOs and RP servers as a way to entertain themselves and interact with other people.

RP servers make sense. People want and need to be liked, accepted, and appreciated. When you can't get that in real life, it's cheapest to do it online.

Zehn - Vhex · 02-23-2009, 10:34 AM

I must admit, roleplay servers depress me too.

Teron D'Amun · 02-23-2009, 10:43 AM

wait, they say that women lied about their play time and a few lines below they say that they are "fitter than the average american" and take their weight at face value?

Zehn - Vhex · 02-23-2009, 10:46 AM

They go more into it. Average American weight is determined by basically the same kind of survey so they figure if the EQ2 survey results are off, then the national average is off too.

EQ2 may just have bigger liars (lol pun!) though so who knows.

Kodylan · 02-23-2009, 11:03 AM

One truth to that study, at least from what I've found visiting conventions and the likes, is that gamers actually are typically in decent shape... or at least they look like they're in decent shape. Whether they're actually healthy can't really be determined by that survey.

Grumpy Old Fart · 02-23-2009, 11:27 AM

If you have in IQ over 90 - which leaves out almost the entirety of the under-25 gamer population in North America - it's impossible to play on any MMORPG RP server without experiencing massive depression at how completely infested they are with unbelievably ill-educated morons. After getting a couple of WoW characters to 80, I don't even currently actively play any MMORPGs, only logging into WoW to keep up my "AH playing" in case I ever decide to play again and need some in-game money.

It is immeasurably more fun to finish up the many single-player RPGs that I never quite finished over the past ten years than put up with the "u"-speaking retards that populate today's MMORPGs.

As for being "fit", I work damn hard in the oil/construction industry out here in the extremely rural northern plains where the word "work" actually means something. I guarantee I could kick the shit out of most any of you city kid faggots.

Elerion · 02-23-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy Old Fart

kid

Drink!

Regime · 02-23-2009, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy Old Fart

As for being "fit", I work damn hard in the oil/construction industry out here in the extremely rural northern plains where the word "work" actually means something. I guarantee I could kick the shit out of most any of you city kid faggots.

ROFL

Azrayne · 02-23-2009, 11:50 AM

I'm not at all surprised about the prevalence of depression among MMO players. Especially amongst the more hardcore set, there's a huge amount of people I've played with who I don't doubt for a second have some serious issues with depression or social anxiety, which lead them to bury themselves in the game as a coping mechanism.

Likewise not surprised by the stat about women.

The weight one does interest me though. I always thought it would be higher, though not by much. Maybe MMO players tend towards extremes, which averages out to something a bit more reasonable. I know just as many guys who are unhealthily skinny who are obsessed with MMO's as those who are unhealthy fat. That said, 25.19 is still above the range generally accepted as 'healthy' if only just.

I'd be curious to see the weight stats for each gender. Call me sexist or playing on stereotypes or whatever, but I'm quite sure female MMO players would be above the average of the general female population.

02-23-2009, 09:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
Araxen A Bearded Gnome Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Near Chicago, IL Posts: 4,925	Why choose EQ2 for this study and not WoW? __________________ PSN: Araxen http://www.last.fm/user/araxen The Best FAQ on the Internet: The Official God FAQ

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02-23-2009, 10:04 AM	#4 (permalink)
Brikker Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,405	Prevalence of depression on RP servers makes sense. People hate their lives and try to escape to a fantasy world where they can be something else. Now I know why Grumpy Old Fart is so angry :P

02-23-2009, 10:06 AM	#5 (permalink)
vouskaine Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 52 -30 Internets	my guess is, blizzard is too big to care to do something like this.

02-23-2009, 10:15 AM	#6 (permalink)
Composter Registered User Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 165 +3 Internets	Considering women have no concept of time, and lie to themselves about just about everything, those results sound fairly spot on.

02-23-2009, 10:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
Zehn - Vhex Lord of the Dance Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 8,797 +166 Internets	I must admit, roleplay servers depress me too.

02-23-2009, 10:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
Teron D'Amun Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 324	wait, they say that women lied about their play time and a few lines below they say that they are "fitter than the average american" and take their weight at face value?

02-23-2009, 10:46 AM	#10 (permalink)
Zehn - Vhex Lord of the Dance Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 8,797 +166 Internets	They go more into it. Average American weight is determined by basically the same kind of survey so they figure if the EQ2 survey results are off, then the national average is off too. EQ2 may just have bigger liars (lol pun!) though so who knows.

02-23-2009, 11:03 AM	#11 (permalink)
Kodylan Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2,261 -1 Internets	One truth to that study, at least from what I've found visiting conventions and the likes, is that gamers actually are typically in decent shape... or at least they look like they're in decent shape. Whether they're actually healthy can't really be determined by that survey.

02-23-2009, 11:27 AM	#12 (permalink)
Grumpy Old Fart You fucking kids get off my lawn! Join Date: May 2007 Location: North Dakota Posts: 651	If you have in IQ over 90 - which leaves out almost the entirety of the under-25 gamer population in North America - it's impossible to play on any MMORPG RP server without experiencing massive depression at how completely infested they are with unbelievably ill-educated morons. After getting a couple of WoW characters to 80, I don't even currently actively play any MMORPGs, only logging into WoW to keep up my "AH playing" in case I ever decide to play again and need some in-game money. It is immeasurably more fun to finish up the many single-player RPGs that I never quite finished over the past ten years than put up with the "u"-speaking retards that populate today's MMORPGs. As for being "fit", I work damn hard in the oil/construction industry out here in the extremely rural northern plains where the word "work" actually means something. I guarantee I could kick the shit out of most any of you city kid faggots.

02-23-2009, 11:50 AM	#15 (permalink)
Azrayne Registered User Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Awsome Posts: 2,727	I'm not at all surprised about the prevalence of depression among MMO players. Especially amongst the more hardcore set, there's a huge amount of people I've played with who I don't doubt for a second have some serious issues with depression or social anxiety, which lead them to bury themselves in the game as a coping mechanism. Likewise not surprised by the stat about women. The weight one does interest me though. I always thought it would be higher, though not by much. Maybe MMO players tend towards extremes, which averages out to something a bit more reasonable. I know just as many guys who are unhealthily skinny who are obsessed with MMO's as those who are unhealthy fat. That said, 25.19 is still above the range generally accepted as 'healthy' if only just. I'd be curious to see the weight stats for each gender. Call me sexist or playing on stereotypes or whatever, but I'm quite sure female MMO players would be above the average of the general female population.