Hmmm...thinking...thinking...why do we spend so many hours of our lives being challenged by programmers/designers of video games? Why we use precious hours in our lives, playing all these games? Escape from reality?

There are a many reasons why people play video game. Some play for fun, some play to pass time, and others play to feel dominant after a win.

My reasons for playing games are to escape reality(as you said) and also for the challenges and new worlds they provide. An easy game with a simple story does not satisfy me, I require more to fulfill my needs

Inspiration, Antidepressant, Stress release and boredom are one of the main reasons people play video games.

it expands on my field of imaginations. reality is good but having a balance of everything else is much better. video games are a form of art and a new form of expressing emotions. it's just like how some people fall in love with some of the paintings they see.

Well I like to escape from reality , but I mostly play games that have a good story and cool characters
I cleared all the games that interested me on ps2, pc .... and haven't played a good game for ages... so it's like am retiring
Must buy PS3

we play video games to end stress,to have fun,to escape. we need video games regardless if they rot the brain or cause us to "do something violent". A video game does what reality cant and that is enjoying to be something we're not in real life. An example if i wanna escape a city filled with infected cannabals on a helicopter with an m16 on my back and an m60 in hand with two fine females i'll play a video game cuz i certinely know i could never do that in real life and thats one of the reasons we play video games.

Hmm, so many reasons, so little time. Personally, I play video games as a way to entertain myself, relieve aggression, or just to have fun.

I have various reasons why I play video games.

1) Sometimes my job has me work late. I work retail, and most weekdays I get off at 9 in the evening and get home at 9:30. I do most of the physical work at the store, which leaves me pretty exhausted at the end of the day. So, It's just kind of nice to come home on a quiet evening, sit down, turn on the PS3 and play Fallout 3 for an hour or two. It's just a matter of unwinding.

2) The thrill of winning. When you beat a challenging game, there is no better feeling, in my opinion.

3) Let's face it. Sometimes days are too rainy to go outside. Like today!

4) Inspiration, sometimes. Well, for Fallout 3, I got a little attached to my original character I made for it and I started writing stories about her. So, sometimes I will pop in Fallout 3 just to get in the mindset of that world and the character, I suppose, and then get some inspiration to write from there.

Sometimes when I'm mad or stressed, I like to play video games. I also play video games when theres nothing else to do. I never really play just to pass the time.