In Japan, there are more than one million men and boys, referred to as the hikikomori, who live their lives in complete recluse. Some hide in their small bedrooms for months and years at a time, refusing to leave the safety of their bedrooms. In the book, Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation, author Michael Zielenziger describes a growing Japanese sub-culture who favor isolation and indulgence on media, technology, and video games:
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When I first played Diablo, eBay banned the sale of virtual goods online. A Windforce bow sold for $200 on eBay and a Stone of Jordan (SOJ) ring sold for $10 dollars each. The SOJs were used as the in game currency. The going rate for Godly Plate of the Whale were 20-30 SOJs. In a recent news release, Blizzard announced the implementation of an in-game auction house where players can use real cash to sell and buy items.
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This video is funny but sheds light on the mentality of a rapidly growing gamer culture that values digital worlds over real life and real relationships. Read more...

Second Skin takes an intimate look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by online virtual worlds. An emerging genre of computer software called Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs, allows millions of users to interact simultaneously in virtual spaces.

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The combination of sex and pornography in a video game has the potential for explosive growth and has already proven to become so. In Second Life, it’s reported that there are over twenty million accounts with more than half of those being active gamers.

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