Yes, it is addictive. It is giving teenagers a chance to play with other gamers around the world, and it is destroying their parent's hopes of them ever being Medical Doctors. It is so addictive, 40% of the nine million plus players are completely obsessed, clinically "hooked". The buzzword is"World of Warcrack". It is the epitome of a digital drug.
The reason it is addictive is not because of the character upgrades. If you want a new breastplate, go play Diablo or Icewind Dale. It is not because of the real player interaction. IRC has been around for a very long time, and while there are undoubtedly exceptions, I don't know anyone who is addicted to that. Chatting and playing around with friends can be done anywhere. The graphics aren't that inspiring, and the game runs on years-old technology.
No, the reason it is addictive is its culture. Culture is what every other MMORPG (so far) has lacked, and WOW has tons of it. It has more culture than the city of Lincoln, Nebraska and the entire state of Alabama combined. You want to get immersed in politics? Do you hate the oppression of the weak? Do you want to do something to help your country? Do you want to rid the world of prejudice and evil?
You can be a part of causes like these and more for only $19.95. (Or an additional twenty bucks for the expansion, and a hundred dollars a year for the subscription. This is for you AND per friend you want to play with. This is also, of course, excluding the $50 expansion coming out later this year.) Blizzard has found a legal way to tap addiction, and this venture is possibly more lucrative than the 60's cocaine.
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