Video game addiction: A new diagnosis?

Here are some interesting articles I wanted to share:

Video game addiction: A new diagnosis?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070621/ap_on_he_me/video_game_addiction;_ylt=Ai9aHQ4OPMizBYJg.RQNDMTMWM0F
alternate link
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VIDEO_GAME_ADDICTION?SITE=WVEC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Fighting Cancer with Video Games
http://videogames.yahoo.com/ongoingfeature?eid=519149&page=0

I hope there is room for discussion of ethics in our field. All video games are not created equal. I think that if we are going to develop these things responsibly, they need to be episodic, have a defined goal, a beginning and an end, and a mechanism for setting the game aside without losing ground. The "designed to be addictive," neverending virtual world stuff really doesn't set well with me.

That's my proclamation from the soap box for today! I shall now go and march my army across the screen in "Stronghold 2..."