It's about 4pm, and an internet café in Sydney's CBD is about half full.
The crowd of gamers are mainly university students fresh from their latest classes, blasting their way through a first-person shooter, or scurrying across the battlegrounds of a role-playing odyssey.
Some are in groups of four or five, hurling insults at each other as they play. Others are hunched over their keyboards - silent and focused.
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Staff here say if a customer plays for six to eight hours they're asked to stop.
A far cry from the reports out of southern Taiwan, where an 18-year-old had booked a private room at an internet café.
He was said to be so immersed in the popular role playing game "Diablo 3", that he kept going for 40 hours with no food.
An attendant eventually found him resting on a table. But after taking a few steps, he collapsed and was later pronounced dead.
Doctors say a blood clot from lack of movement was the likely cause of death.
There have been at least two other similar cases across Asia, but video game addiction is yet to be recognised as a legitimate disorder.
"I probably would've said the same thing five years ago, but having been there I realise it is," explained Ryan Griffiths.
His fixation with “World of Warcraft” took hold during a difficult period in his life.
After moving to Canada to care for his cancer-stricken partner, a lack of friends and inability to work helped fuel an 18 month obsession.
"When I realised I would rather play computer games than accompany (my partner) to chemotherapy, I thought this is obviously a problem," he said.
"Of course it's normal to want to do something else, but when you feel like you don't have any control over it, it's a pretty terrible thing."
Research into video game addiction has increased in recent years.
A study by Victoria University PhD student Daniel Loton is monitoring the habits of nearly 500 gamers here and overseas.
So far it's found those who play for more than 33 hours a week recorded no negative impact on their success or satisfaction at work or university.
But they do feel more depressed and anxious than moderate gamers.
"It makes me question whether those problems were there before the video game addiction, or whether they're the cause," Loton said.
"The validity of video game addiction relies on demonstrating negative consequences resulting from it. Otherwise it could be a legitimate lifestyle choice that's being labelled a mental illness."
For more information, or to participate in the study, visit www.videogamestudies.net
