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"Fun" not the real reason you continue to play games?

You know the routine; nearly every idle moment of your day is spent either pondering or playing video games. Gotta get past that boss, roam another dungeon, or beat your buddy one more time. Why is that? The obvious answer is "because it's fun" but a recent study suggests it may be more than that.

Researchers at the University of Rochester found after surveying 1,000 gamers that the real reason games are so widely played is because achievement, explorative freedom, and connection with others (be it human or in-game characters) trump the "shallow sense of fun" which the study believes doesn't keep players as interested.

From the article: "'It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence, and relatedness,' says Ryan. The researchers believe that some video games not only motivate further play but 'also can be experienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term,' he says." So instead of having to look in the mirror every day telling myself that people like me, I'll just play more Halo. Ahh...

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