Video Game Addiction

Lately, there's been this concern in America about video game addiction, linking it to the same addiction gamblers face. Well here's my take on it:

1. Duh. Games, whether video games or live games (whatever they may be), are supposed to be addictive in some form or another. Or rather good games should be. I don't think any game designer should say "hey, I'll create a game that no one wants to play over and over again!"
2. The crackdown on gambling, in my opinion, results from the loss of money. That's always the excuse isn't it? "We're playing Poker but don't worry, no real money is involved so that's okay." But I won't deny that gambling and any other form of gaming isn't a huge time sink if you let it.
3. Perhaps the biggest problem (or advantage, depending on how you look at it) of video games is that you can play it by yourself (whether MMORPGs count as "playing for yourself" is another discussion but in this case, let's just count it as well). When playing Monopoly, you need to get at least one more player. And as for D&D, it becomes a huge logistical task as you not only need to gather several players, but "train" a GM as well. Video games, on the other hand, are easily like masturbation (and no one's publicly decrying getting addicted to masturbation).