I’ve never been one for electronic games that consist of
performing the same action over and over and over. For me, the monotony not
only fails to ignite any addictive feelings, but doesn’t even manage to be fun
for more than a few minutes. There have been many occasions where I’ve played Tetris or other repetitive games and either just quit or
intentionally lost the game because I got bored quickly.
So, watching this episode, I sympathized less with Stan, who’s shown to be addicted to the new Terence and Phillip mobile game, than with the other three boys who tell him the game is terrible. I, too, just don’t get how people could become addicted to similarly pointless, substance-free games like Candy Crush, or Farmville, or any of the mobile and Internet timewasters that have gotten so many users addicted the last several years. I also very much agree with the Canadian government’s long descriptions about how the freemium business model blatantly and unethically preys on addictive aspects of consumers’ behavior (also, “freemium” is the second term this season that I hadn’t heard before watching).
True, the episode was almost all soapbox, and frankly I probably enjoyed it because it was relating to me an opinion I already had. But to be fair, Trey Parker and Matt Stone don’t beat us over the head with their opinions. The tone is obviously very negative toward games that charge people for full access, but they mostly let the shadiness of that business model speak for itself. I just have to wonder: Is addiction to these types of games really as much of a problem as life-destroying addictions like gambling and alcoholism?
So, watching this episode, I sympathized less with Stan, who’s shown to be addicted to the new Terence and Phillip mobile game, than with the other three boys who tell him the game is terrible. I, too, just don’t get how people could become addicted to similarly pointless, substance-free games like Candy Crush, or Farmville, or any of the mobile and Internet timewasters that have gotten so many users addicted the last several years. I also very much agree with the Canadian government’s long descriptions about how the freemium business model blatantly and unethically preys on addictive aspects of consumers’ behavior (also, “freemium” is the second term this season that I hadn’t heard before watching).
True, the episode was almost all soapbox, and frankly I probably enjoyed it because it was relating to me an opinion I already had. But to be fair, Trey Parker and Matt Stone don’t beat us over the head with their opinions. The tone is obviously very negative toward games that charge people for full access, but they mostly let the shadiness of that business model speak for itself. I just have to wonder: Is addiction to these types of games really as much of a problem as life-destroying addictions like gambling and alcoholism?
It’s no matter, though, as the episode had several good bits of humor that mask any not-so-strong points its trying to make. I was happy to see the show’s smart, sensitive Satan return as the voice of reason (the most unsubtle way possible for Stone and Parker to make their opinions on such games clear), and the Canadian jokes made me laugh, whereas I most often find the Canada plotlines really stupid. There was a line from Jimmy that was kind of mean but also very clever and funny. And although I’m not sure the show was too apt in its comparison of pay gaming addiction to alcoholism, the fake “drink responsibly” ad was hysterical and spot-on.
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