News just in from the University of the Bleeding Obvious and the Research School of Stuff We Already Know. Apparently gaming is addictive.. So much so that according to Jerald J. Block, from the American Psychiatric Association, it merits inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

This probably comes as no surprise to you as you sit reading today’s Incomplete Gamer post in your underwear, bleary eyed, smelly and unwashed, knocking back another Red Bull, and scraping the remainder of last night’s spaghetti dinner that you ate cold and straight from the tin during a forty-eight hour Oblivion marathon.

More evidence of the addictive power of video gaming from Nick Yee. Nick, a PhD. student from Stanford University surveyed more than 35,000 MMORPG players since 1999. Look, I’m happy to see the study has a large sample size for once… But seriously Nick. 35,000 people in the last seven years. Just who’s suffering from obsessive behaviour here?

Not as addictive as the DS Lite but it still packs a punch.

Of course addiction to anything is a serious problem, and there are a few signs you can look out for to determine whether you’re in an at-risk category. You’ve probably been at it too long if the last time you left the house the Liberal Party was still in power, if you only put the controller down and feed the dog when it actually starts chewing on your leg, or if, like Nick Lee, you are into your 7th year of your thesis, have interviewed 35,000 people and still haven’t been awarded your PhD. Nick, you are either addicted to the university life or doing something seriously wrong. Stop interviewing the kids playing EverCrack and submit your thesis already!