I have been playing video games since I was a small child and I will probably play video games until I am an old man and my fingers won't hold a controller anymore. From the days of the NES to now I have played almost every system I can get my hands on and have more than likely pumped thousands of dollars into this industry over the span of my lifetime. I know I'm addicted to video games, that has never been a doubt in my mind. I know it's a problem because I spend way too much money on this hobby when I have other responsibilities that go neglected just so I can buy one more game. With games becoming more expensive and me becoming more of a collector my bank account has needlessly suffered so I could by one more games that I may not even like just because I heard something cool about it and want to try it for myself.
 
I will play a lot of games that aren't necessarily that good but just because they feature a character or an art style that I really like. But one thing I do demand of my games is a very in depth and well developed single player campaign. I love very story driven games such as Metal Gear Solid or Uncharted. I have played through the campaign of Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted 2 countless times and It is still a great experience. I buy my games for a great single player experience but I do appreciate a good multiplayer experience. For my multiplayer gaming I tend to turn towards the classics like modern shooters such as Call of Duty, but I am loving the emerging and unique multiplayer experience provided by Assassins Creed Brotherhood and Uncharted 2. I think more multiplayer options need to be explored and can bring a lot to the market of video games and maybe draw in a larger online audience. Multiplayer is getting tacked on to a lot of games now days and most of them don't seem to be worth it, such as Dead Space 2, but are a welcome addition to the mutiplayer experience. I definitely  think that every game should have a gripping single player mode before they are finished and shipped but a tacked on multiplayer is not the worst thing in the world. I think if more games are getting a multiplayer function than we may see some more interesting and innovative multiplayer styles in the future and that is a great concept to me. Infamous 2 was a great addition to the multiplayer experience, as it doesn't have a traditional multiplayer, it does allow community creations that add a lot to the game play and keeps the game interesting for a lot longer and I hope to see more community style creation multiplayer experiences in future games.
 
I'm trying to restrain my video game buying to only games that will keep my busy for a long time, and going back to play older games that I can pick up for a lot cheaper and save some money. Multiplayer is a good way to stay invested in one game and with more games getting multiplayer, for an addict like me, it gives me the hope that I will be spending less money by buying fewer games because one game can keep me invested long enough that I wont get bored and want to buy more games. The ability for a game to last more than just a couple of days is one of the biggest factors in me buying it and a great innovative multiplayer and single player will probably be the biggest factors that will make me stick to a game for longer than a week and help me stave of my addiction.