WoW in the Houston Chronicle

hmm. I'm 24 now and play Wow but prolly around 10 hours a week so far.

but i played EQ for 5 years from 19-23 and prolly played 40 hours a week.

But at least i wasnt out doing drugs and having promiscuous sex. thats how i look at it. Let my son be a dork, he's not out in trouble!

I started EQ when i was in 8th grade, and stopped playing last year..I'm almost 21 now, but I dont regret it. It never kept me from a social life or friends or kept me from being active. Only reason i dont play anything atm is a lack of time and desire for the current games on the market

I'm 23, I play from about 6-11pm three nights a week for raids, and a few hours here and there when I'm bored.

The average age is definately lower than it was in EQ. Most of my guild is high schoolers or college kids, and you can tell from the general maturity level of players that most of them are kids.

I'm 27.

I started playing EQ at its release in ~May 99; my weekly average was probably less than ten hours until I quit to have more time for a girlfriend.

I picked it back up again in mid-2000 after Kunark was released, and proceeded to spend no less than 21 hours a week online.

I did take a few breaks here and there; playing an EQ Bard is hell on the wrists and fingers! But finally I logged off for my last time in March 2004.

Then I got in the first WoW Stress Test, and played ~15 hours a week.
When I got into the second WoW Stress Test, I played ~15 hours a week.

Up until my first sabbatical from WoW, I played ~15 hours weekdays, and anywhere from 0 to 24 hours on weekends.

Now, I'm running around ~12 hours during the week, and ~12 hours on weekends.

I don't drink. I don't smoke. Don't do drugs. I don't have promiscuous sex. (Much to certain people's dismay, I'm sure. ;) ) I have a social life - albeit one borne upon the games I've played wtih friends I've met there. Case in point - I met Kaytana via EQ in 2001 and we've been best friends since. I met a gal through her EQ-playing boyfriend and at her wedding in May 2006 I stood at her side as one of her Men of Honor. I go to a yearly Halloween Party with folks from my original EQ guilds. And I go out at least once a week with friends.

MMOs, also, are a much-less-expensive mode of entertainment. 15 bucks a month (alright, I'll be honest, I had two EQ accounts and now have two WoW accounts, so 150 bucks every 6 months) is a hell of a lot cheaper than going to the movies every weekend. I know a small handful of couples that play MMOs as a 'couples thing' but they -also- do out-of-house date stuff, too.

Definately. A month's subscription to WoW is about the same cost as two drinks at a popular bar on a friday night.

I am older than the norm here, and have only been playing WOW for a month and a half, but according to my stats - even though it seems like I play all the time at home anymore - I've only actually been on a total of 7 hours between all my characters.
I think I've played a little every day since I started though, with the exception being when the servers were down.
I love it, and the only thing its taking me away from is other things I would still be doing either online or on the computer. I still have rl friends, and work full time, and manage to see on average two-three movies a month, as well as travel, and do other fun things! lol

32, started at 25, played eq from aug 99 to feb 05 and I probably averaged about 40 hrs a week. =(

I am now 33. I started playing MMORPG's when Ultima Online first released, what 9 or 10 years ago? I would have to look up the year actually. Played UO for 2+ years, played EQ for ~6 years, WoW for 6 months, CoX for ~3 months, DDO for ~3 months and am now back in WoW for the past 3 months.

At the height of play I would say at least 6 to 8 hours nightly and in the lulls I would say 2 hours a week if that. Right now I am averaging maybe 12 hours a week to raid.

Things that I am proud of due to playing online games: I met my husband (his nickname is LB for Litchebane) in UO the first day we played. When I was a single mother (before marrying LB) I saved a lot of money by having an EQ account rather than renting movies or buying books. I even have my 13 year old daughter playing DDO now and loving it. :)

Its a social thing to do, builds typing skills, strategic thinking, planning and math skills. Sure its indoors but what else gives this much return for so little in?

I do have other hobbies. I am learning to sew, i love to cook, I just picked up a drop spindle and wool to learn to spin and I have my Ren Faire fun. hhmmm, maybe I have rambled enough. lol

32 now, started EQ in late 20's. When I first started i easily averaged 40 hours a week. Probably more. I spent more time running around looking at things and trying to solo as much of my 2 epics as possible. Quit, then started WoW. Played it probably 20 hrs a week, sometimes more depending if I had a weekend day free. Quit playing with final fight for epic horse left to do. Not playing anything anymore, because both my computers are hosed. Have other things to buy before new computer(s). Might check out Vanguard, but I hear much more of a timesink than EQ. Still might check it out for S&G's. If I end up not playing that, I probably will spend my time watching my hair grow.

omg i played UO too, i had forgot. I was uh 16/17 lol. fun days.

I'm 32 right now, and I first picked up EQ in 2000 just after Kunark and played until late last year, probably devoted about 40 hours during the week and about 30 hours on the weekend, since then I've played EQ2 at release, then Guild Wars, CoH, CoV and DDO.. quit COV and DDO about 3 months ago and am now active in EQ2 again, but only putting about 12 hours in during the week and maybe 10 or so hours on the weekends.

Must not have been too much fun, if you forgot ;)

it was like 8 years ago! one can not remember fun forever! =D I quit when the released the exspansion of the no PKing side of the world. We got screwed on a castle placement. Land ownership was FN crazy in that game.

I started playing at 22 in EQ1 I played about 10 hours a week until my youngest was able to sleep in her own room, then I started playing more.

I play WoW now for about three hours three or four nights a week.

I wanted to say, that my husband and I play together and it is a nice way to spend one or two evenings a week. It's also way cheaper than "dating"

:yeahthat

i'm 28 and started with EQ in 99 to 2004 about 20 hours to 40 hours back to 20 down to 10 then nothing then came wow in 2005 and used to play 15ish a week and now none, though i am playing Fable when time permits and that is satisfying my killing creatures need.

As far as the social aspect i have never not had one (in RL as well as game life) so i dont think that comes into consideration even those 40 hours a week years people like Glugbug and Diison became close friends and heck i met the guy im gonna marry and live with now on EQin paludal caverns at level 13.

But now im just working on getting into grad school enjoying the heck out of my son being six and keeping house stuffs and humping my hunny as often as i can.