MMO players not loners

By Robert Purchese Published 15 August, 2007

Study talks social interaction.

Nottingham Trent University has dispelled the myth that online gamers are socially a bit backwards, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

The results came from a new study published in the US journal CyberPsychology and Behaviour.

"This study has revealed many aspects of MMORPGs that were not known before," said University spokesman Mark Griffiths. "Previous research has suggested that gamers are socially inactive, but MMORPGs are actually extremely social games, with high percentages of gamers making life-long friends and even partners."

Looking at nearly 1,000 online gamers from around the world, researchers found nearly three quarters of them made good friends with people they met while playing. Nearly half have met in real-life situations, and one in ten went on to develop physical relationships.

The Social Interactions in Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers study unearthed figures pointing to an average play time of 22.85 hours a week. The most popular game being, unsurprisingly, World of Warcraft.

The study also determined that more than 30 per cent of gamers found themselves attracted to another player, and that 40 per cent chose to discuss sensitive issues with online friends rather than real-life ones.

"As well as making good friends online, 81 per cent of gamers play with real-life friends and family, suggesting MMORPGs are by no means an asocial activity, nor are the players socially introverted," continued Griffiths.

"The virtual world that these games offer, allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, age, or other factors. They also offer a place where teamwork, encouragement and fun can all be experienced."

EverQuest II recently made the headlines as two players tied the knot at the Fan Faire 2007 event in the US, followed minutes later by a virtual marriage in-game.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mkreku #1 5 years ago

    Yeah, I read about a girl who sold sex for WoW-ingame currency. Now that's social interaction!

  • Twincoil #2 5 years ago

    That's my wife, bitch.

  • Talha #3 5 years ago

    Certainly not. I know a WOW player who knows a COH player who actually had a girlfriend for nearly 5 minutes!

    Seriously, what's the point of stories like this? They'd look good on 1up maybe, not here.

  • ZuluHero #4 5 years ago

    "Yeah, I read about a girl who sold sex for WoW-ingame currency. Now that's social interaction! "

    Yes she did, but they actually ended up together because of it.

  • EmiliasHorse #5 5 years ago

    I am sat at work and I really want to watch "Make love not Warcraft" right now.
    Edited by 1 at 15/08/07 @ 10:15

  • mattigan #6 5 years ago

    [link url=http://www.allsp.com
    ]http://www.allsp.com
    [/link]

    Is not the site you are looking for...

    Move along...

    Move along...

  • EmiliasHorse #7 5 years ago

    Sooo tempting.

    resist dammit

  • WhyMeeeeee #8 5 years ago

    1000 gamers from around the world, wow what a big study

  • QPRHOOPS81 #9 5 years ago

    This backs up the theory they are socially inept though. Alright they can talk to people hidden behind there computer screen but not in the REAL world. I dont mean to be harsh, good luck to them but come on...

  • Brogan #10 5 years ago

    Yeah, I read about a girl who sold sex for WoW-ingame currency. Now that's social interaction!

    Impossible. Wouldn't the universe fall in on itself if any WoW ever had sex with anyone even another WoW player. As I'm still sat at bloody work this can't have happened.

  • ZuluHero #11 5 years ago

    @QPRHOOPS81

    except:

    "...found nearly three quarters of them made good friends with people they met while playing. Nearly half have met in real-life situations, and one in ten went on to develop physical relationships."

    pretty hard to do all that by being hidden behind a computer screen. And given the sheer number off mmo player's we're not talking one or two here... ;)

  • Chaote-Imagicka #12 5 years ago

    "The virtual world that these games offer, allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, age, or other factors."

    So yeah they're basically still losers in the real world.

  • Rayn #13 5 years ago

    Lots of matture comments in here.
    I myself have enjoyed videogames since my first Atari console in 1979 and live and breathe games to this day. I've been playing WoW since Aug. 2005 now and I'm a guildmaster of one of the most successful guilds on my server. Still I've got time for my missus and our son, I go out, I've got friends and we arrange guild meets every now and again eventhough we're spread out all over europe. Bringing 40+ guild members together in one city where most need to travel quite far to attend show dedication to your online friends as well as a great foundation for a friendship beyond the game. I used to play Ultima Online, Anarchy online and FF XI as well and I'm still in contact with most of my friends from back then, some which I pay a visit at least once a month.

    I find it amusing that whenever those who don't play MMOs reply on the topic it's always something very negative, not only towards the game but also towards the community. To be honest I've rarely seen as many friendly and matture people as I do within the MMO community. I'd chose the general MMO followers over general random match-up players on Xbox Live any day (which is to reflect my experience with those communities, not as a go at the Xbox Live community).

    Another thing I don't get, why are MMO haters so passionate about their loathing of said genre. Whatever forum I frequent and on these pages they crawl out from beneath their rock whenever the letters MMO are mentioned and spend time and energy on posting a rant. Had I done the same I'd be trolling every Football Manager-, EA Sports- and Space Marine shooter thread I could find but I don't as it wouldn't benefit anyone.

    Maybe I look at the MMO genre through rose tinted glasses but, again, I do that because I've got great experience with the genre and its community. I might stop playing these games one day but if/when I do I most certainly wont do as a few other ex MMO players does. I can't start ranting at how shit they are and "I was a fool to think it was great when leveling 3 characters to max lvl" as the fun I've had will remain just that, it was fun and always will be.

  • Skooch #14 5 years ago

    "Massively Multiplayer Online players not loners"

    That is the stupidest headline I have seen in a while.

  • kangarootoo #15 5 years ago

    @Rayn

    Its the same old same old. Everyone likes a target. Funny how the "coolest" things are also the most popular. Safety in numbers I guess.

    Given this is a games forum, and therefore pretty damn geeky by nature, maybe people just welcome an opportunity to somehow be less geeky within their chosen field of geekiness. Small victories etc :)

  • Jigglybean #16 5 years ago

    i thought it read 'MMO players not stoners' i was about to hit the roof!

  • Brogan #17 5 years ago

    "Funny how the "coolest" things are also the most popular"

    Don't get this. isn't WoW craft played by 9 million people so more popular than pretty much all current games and it's still uncool.

  • kangarootoo #18 5 years ago

    @Jigglybean

    "i thought it read 'MMO players not stoners' i was about to hit the roof!"

    But then you couldn't be bothered? ;)

  • kangarootoo #19 5 years ago

    @Brogan

    I mean on a more general scale. WoW represents something of a minority interest when compared with say football or Formula 1. You don't see MPs trying to win favour by talking about their WoW avatars.

  • QPRHOOPS81 #20 5 years ago

    To the MMO followers, i have a questions and its not meant to be rude. Im just interested.

    Do you have more MMO related friends or normal friends (ie people you met first in the real world and have nothing to do with WOW etc)?

  • Rayn #21 5 years ago

    @QPRHOOPS81
    Most of my friends are real ones that I meet up with on a daily basis (or as often as I can). Eventhough I chat with a lot of our guild members I won't call them friends eventhough we're friendly. My real friends are those I go to the pub with, watch a movie with and have fights with.

  • Waffleaber #22 5 years ago

    What annoys me is the friends i've lost to WoW. The two worst have been playing about a year and has caused them trouble at work and they never come out anymore. If I want to see them i have to go round their houses and watch them play Warcraft.

    Despite this both still have girlfriends and "real" friends from before their pre-WoW days but their "social interaction" is serverly diminished.

  • mkreku #23 5 years ago

    My boss' son was studying to become a doctor. Then he started playing WoW and he's since neglected his education (he's been thrown out of Medical school), he's about to lose his girlfriend and he barely responds when my boss is trying to contact him.

    I don't have a point, I just thought I'd mention that..

  • ZuluHero #24 5 years ago

    @QPRHOOPS81

    Its not as simple as that. Most MMO plyers will have more 'friends' on their friendlists than friends in RL, but this isn't a fair comparison as "friendship" is given away more freely in the game world than IRL. I myself have people on my friendlists that i may have only exchanged 2 lines of dialogue with or someone i've helped out in game and they've asked if they could be added for future help that we may be able to offer each other.

    As Rayn has said (and im in a simliar camp) I've made real friends through the game and we meet up and do stuff outside the game. Its easy to make friends when you share a common interest. Some people make friends by a shared interest in football, why should this be any different?

    To answer your question though - I have 12 real-life friends who play WoW - we all started togeather and i knew outside the game before - and about 5 that i've made in my 2 and a bit years in-game. My real-life social circle extends much further than that though, with people who don't play WoW (including a wife and daughter). BUT I would still say my 'friendlist' contains more people that i am friends with IRL (i would say its about twice as many).

  • kangarootoo #25 5 years ago

    @Waffleaber and mkreku

    I think what you describing is people with addictive personalities. They just happen to have found their drug. This may in part be WoW fault, but then not everyone suffers the same way. Most regulate their play time a little better (though many people do put far more time into this than is probably healthy.

    Can WoW really be blamed, just because its apparently really good? Not saying either of you are blaming it btw.

    I understand though. I used to play a shit load of video games, and I remember neglecting friends sometimes as a result. I then stopped and barely play them at all by comparison these days. I have a friend who used to be a housemate who still plays an awful lot, and it could be weird sometimes when he was on a "several dayer".

  • AHiFi #26 5 years ago

    QPRHOOPS81 - Taking WoW into account, nah...I've got more real-life friends.

    As for over the net in general - I'd say I have as many people over MSN that I consider friends, as I do actual non-internet friends. Not as close-knit obviously, but I still consider them friends since I have talked to them regularly over the past few years!

  • Lov3 #27 5 years ago

    "My boss' son was studying to become a doctor. Then he started playing WoW and he's since neglected his education (he's been thrown out of Medical school), he's about to lose his girlfriend and he barely responds when my boss is trying to contact him."

    Dropping out is often a symptom of a wider problem. Its a sad and sobering thought when you realise that playing a video game is more exciting, stimulating and motivating than going to your job, doing your uni course or seeing your girlfriend.

    There are a lot of people in high end raiding guilds who are obsessed with 'progression', or aquiring gear to make their characters perform better. It is not hard to make the association between that desire, and a feeling that their real life is stuck going no-where. As sad as that is, the fact that WoW is a social experience is 100% neccessary - you can meet people online and they see your progression, and that validates your experience. And whats more, the only people you can talk to about your day live on the other end of your WoW client, and have the exact same problems.

  • drunkymonkey #28 5 years ago

    This study should be obvious to anyone who's played an MMO. Even the "feeling attracted" part.

    I've met a few friends from playing MMOs, and I try to keep in touch via MSN and other chat devices floating around the Internet. Not only was it fun to quest with these people, but you really got to know them as well, even going so far as to help them with depression and personal problems.

    MMOs are by and large very social. The clue's in the name, I guess. It's more social than Counter Strike or most other FPS multiplayer games. Guilds are the bread and butter of this social interaction, and seeing everyone get on with each other is a constant joy.