China To Make Its MMORPG Players Register With Their Real Names And Government IDs

To combat a building wave of fear over gaming addiction and its scary, violent manifestations, Chinese players will soon spend 72 hours without bath or sleep leveling up without the comforting blanket of anonymity.

The registration system will go into effect this year. Real-name registration has been proven to reduce strongly addictive behaviour in games because aside from removing the seperation from reality a fake name can provide, it also allows officials and parents to monitor usage directly.

Kind of scary, considering that gaming “addiction” still feels like a few (albeit real) shocking headlines inflated ad infinitum by a media and government that’s hungry for a scapegoat. And now everyone must pay. [Ars Technica]