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ST Jan 21, 2007
Caught up in a Burning Crusade
It was non-stop playing for the gamers who got their hands on World of Warcraft's expansion pack, The Burning Crusade, when it was launched on Tuesday
By Benson Ang
SINCE Tuesday, Mr Low Gim Chuan's family has seen little of him.
He has been holed up in his study 19 hours a day. Once last week, he came out and played for a while with his 41/2-year-old daughter.
At meal times, the 31-year-old systems engineer would make a dash for the coffee shop just three minutes away from his home, wolf down his food and be back in his study after that.
It has been like that since he got his hands on the World of Warcraft expansion pack on Tuesday, said his wife, Ms Ang Poh Ling, 35.
Her husband was among the earliest to collect the expansion pack, called The Burning Crusade, when it was released here.
He took four days off work to play full time with no distractions, not even from his family. Finally, he could progress from where he had left off, he said.
'I used to get so irritated because I had to train new characters every two weeks when I hit the maximum level cap.
'Finally, I can build on my existing characters,' Mr Low said.
World of Warcraft has eight million players worldwide, 30,000 of whom are in Singapore.
In the game, players may take on the characters of mages or warlocks to seek out monsters and complete quests. With each challenge, their character becomes more powerful, and collects more gold and other battle equipment.
The Burning Crusade, the first expansion set to the popular game, adds new content, including a new continent for players to explore, as well as new quests, monsters and dungeons.
It also allows players to advance an additional 10 levels, to Level 70. Mr Low has already hit Level 66.
All this playing takes him away from his family but his wife is resigned to his craze.
She said: 'I know he is already an addict but I have come to live with it.'
She is sympathetic because she, too, is a gamer.
'I play a lot of consoles. We have never fought over games,' she said. 'He works a lot, so I feel bad disturbing him. Sometimes, I sit next to him to talk. Other times, watching him play and knowing that he is happy is enough."
Another player, Mr Alan Lee, 42, also collected his expansion pack on Tuesday. Every night since then, he would start to do battle at 9pm and continue till the wee hours of the morning, playing up to eight hours at a stretch.
Mr Lee, who is single, has stepped out of his home only once since acquiring the game. He spends six hours a day giving tuition to students and spends whatever time he has left catching up on his sleep before getting himself ready for gaming at night.
The first batch of 20,000 copies of the game are expected to be sold out soon. On Tuesday alone, about 15,000 sets were snapped up at the launch in Suntec City.
Another 20,000 boxsets have been shipped in, and will be available in retail stores tomorrow.
Each new expansion set costs $74.90. But newbies also need to buy the starter pack, which costs $39.90. There is also the $24 monthly subscription.
But it all seems worth it to serious players like Mr Low and Mr Lee.
Said Mr Lee: 'The new challenges, characters, continent - the game just keeps my adrenaline pumping!'
But obsession with the new game has raised concern among their family members. Mr Lee did not want his mother to be interviewed. He said she has occasionally nagged at him in the middle of the night, telling him to 'go to sleep'.
'It's natural for parents to be concerned, but I still do what I want,' he said.
Mr Low's experiences are similar.
But both gamers do not plan to allow this to stop them. Said Mr Low: 'I'm going to play for as long as I can stay awake.'
