Video games mean different things to different people. I think the main reason most people play games though is to have fun, so we probably indulge in them for much the same reason as we do any other activity that we find enjoyable: it's reason enough in and of itself.
I think video games are great for relieving stress, as a form of escape from reality and, if multiplayer is your thing, they're a great way to form connections with friends too. They're so attractive in part because they're a fantasy, and in those that are more realistic you can step into a role that you'd never be able to in real life, and get away with things you'd never get away with in real life...like pushing people out of buildings. Or sleeping with three different people at once without any of them really objecting to it in any noticeable way. Or plunging the world into ruin. I could go on.
Can games apply to real life? I suppose that depends on what you play and how you interpret it. Most games have a meaning or a lesson or whatever if you choose to pay attention to it. Personally I don't like being preached to so I tend to ignore "the moral of the story" as it were.
