With a total of 75 24-hour days devoted to World of Warcraft (WoW), Simeon Vincent, Northville senior, thinks he might have a problem.

"I recognize it’s an addiction, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop—it’s an interesting and fun game," Vincent said. "Tobacco does bad things to you, but the worst WoW does to me is I don’t hang out with my friends as much."

Blizzard Entertainment (WoW’s publisher) claims that as of Jan. over 8 million people have active accounts. Vincent is not alone in the fantasy realms of WoW.

WoW is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game that engages players from all over the globe. Since hitting American shelves on Nov. 23, 2004, players have been forming friendships with fellow players to adventure on epic quests, slay monsters and obtain valuable WoW items like the "Sword of Lifestealing" or "Breastplate of Stamina." Quests within the game can span anywhere from hours to weeks.

While Vincent has no problem spending time on the game, spending the dough is a different story [see sidebar for price information].

"When I realize how much money I spend on the game, it gets depressing," Vincent said.

While some players find the game a money pit, others find it a money maker.

"I sold my character’s account on e-Bay for $450," said Charlie Dwyer, Ann Arbor senior.

Not only can players make real money in a fantasy world, they can also make real world business connections.

"One of the guys in a one of my previous guilds (a semi-permanent group of players with common interests) works in quality insurance testing in the video game industry," Vincent said. "I’ve talked to him about getting a job in California."

Dwyer has also found potential business connections over his WoW server.

"I know a few people in Texas who could hook me up with jobs in human resources at an insurance company if I was interested in moving down there," Dwyer said.

But while it may seem easy to find job connections on WoW, getting a good position in the game tends to be a harder task.

"I had to apply to get into my guild—and getting into this guild was harder than getting two job offers [that were obtained outside the game]," Dwyer said. "It was pretty funny, and I didn’t even have to wear a suit!"

While the game can offer possibilities in the job market, people who do not play WoW tend to see the game in a negative light.

"I have never played World of Warcraft, and I never will," said Greg Balcom, Cadillac sophomore. "My buddies play it, and I think it’s the dumbest game I have ever heard of. The game is for people who have nothing better to do."

Lesley Jones, Beverly Hills senior, admits she does not know much about the game, but from what she has heard, the game seems "nerdy."

"I watched a ‘South Park’ episode about it once, and all the characters turned into pimply-faced blobs the more they played it," Jones said.

Curtis Neal, Port Huron sophomore, is more than aware of WoW’s geeky light.

"Other people look at me like I’m a nerd, but I don’t feel that way," Neal said. "Others are into playing Halo or Guitar Hero and that’s acceptable, but because I play my game at a computer, people think it’s nerdy."

Neal sees that WoW is a time commitment, but he realizes that taking the game in moderation is the key to having a successful real world life.

"You have to have self control when playing WoW," Neal said. "With a heavy class schedule and involvements, sometimes you have to say that you can’t play anymore."

But Erika Politowicz, Port Huron junior and Neal’s girlfriend, finds that Neal has trouble turning off WoW to spend time with her.

"There have been times where he has picked raids over doing something with me," Politowicz said. "I don’t get a lot of time from him, and because I’m so busy I don’t have a lot of time to give either.

"It’s just really frustrating when I walk into his room and he barely says ‘Hi’ to me because he’s too into the game."

Elizabeth Searls, Zeeland first-year, experienced similar problems with her high school ex-boyfriend, who was also a WoW gamer.

"His friends were annoyed with him because he had been spending so much time with me," Searls said. "So on our six month anniversary, he played Warcraft with them and was three hours late picking me up to go out to dinner."

Chris Hodges, Roscommon senior, realizes the importance of prioritizing the real world and girlfriends are at the top of his list.

"I always put real life first," Hodges said. "If my girlfriend came over, I would say bye [to WoW].

"But I’ve seen others who would say, ‘My girlfriend is here,’ and keep playing."

Hodges recently quit playing because the drama within WoW took the fun out of the game.

"I spent so much time playing the game that it wasn’t fun anymore," Hodges said. "People that I played with would get mad if I wasn’t online, but the only reason they wanted me there was so the group as a whole could progress."

While Hodges grew tired of the game’s drama, many others, including celebrities, remain enchanted by the game’s fantasy worlds.

Comedian Dave Chappelle expresses his affection for WoW in a Gamespot.com article titled, "Dave Chappelle loves World of Warcraft." Similarly, Brandon Routh, the actor who played Superman in "Superman Returns," also admits to being among the 8 million active WoW gamers in an interview published on aintitcool.com.

With millions of players across the world, there is no doubt that WoW is an entertaining and attractive game, but many players warn that the game should be taken in moderate doses.

"The thing about playing WoW is having self control," Vincent said. "Video games, like anything else in life, are all about moderation."

•84% of WoW players are males.

•About 1 in 90 to 100 Americans play WoW.

•The average age for a male WoW player is 27-years-old.

•The average age for a female WoW player is 31-years-old.

•About 1 in 30 males age 18- to 36-years-old play WoW.

The game is currently priced at $19.99, and the expansion pack (released on Jan. 16, 2007) currently costs $39.99. But for further play, the WoW gamer must pay a monthly fee. To play, it costs $14.99 per month, a three-month plan costs $13.99 per month, and a six-month plan costs $12.99 per month.