Video Game Related Deaths

Video Game Related Deaths

Video games, like any other type of addiction, can lead some people to obsession. We have to ask ourselves: are the games really the influence, or are they a catalyst that can bring out these tendencies as a result of upbringing, environment or genetics? Keep this in mind as you look at these video game related deaths.

Video Game Related Death by StarCraft?

A Korean man obsessed with the online StarCraft game died after playing over 50 hours , stopping only to sleep for short amounts of time and to use the restroom. The exhaustion, combined with lack of food led him to collapse in an Internet café in Taegu. He was taken to a hospital, but passed on shortly afterwards. The official cause of death was heart failure, but this video game related death demonstrates the power of obsession. In fact, while it was not known if he had any specific health issues beforehand, his addiction to the online video game had caused him to lose his job due to the number hours he spent playing. (2005)

Man Killed for Selling “Virtual Sword”

In Shanghai, China, an online gamer named Mr. Qui was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing another gamer (Mr. Zhu) for selling his “virtual sword” that he lent to him. Zhu was surprised in his home one night when Qui broke in and confronted him with a knife. Zhu said he would give him the money, but was still stabbed violently. Chinese authorities say since there are no laws protecting “virtual property”, it is difficult to recover any monetary losses from theft or foul play. This video game related death seems extreme, but it does bring to light some interesting issues. The legal counsel on both sides then debated on whether or not these types of items could be considered private property or owned by the game providers since they had created them. (2005)

Young Man Commits Suicide After Playing Everquest

In 2002, Hudson Wooley played several hours of Everquest, a popular role playing game, before he decided to commit suicide by shooting himself with a gun. Relatives said he sacrificed everything to play the game, losing a job, and ignoring family and friends. Parents blamed the video game as an influence, but Hudson appeared to have some serious emotional and psychological issues. Like alcohol or drugs, the game may have just been an escape he used to get away from real life problems. In some ways, this video game related death was his ultimate escape.

Grand Theft Auto – A Tutorial for Murder and Violent Behavior?

Devin Moore -- a young man from Fayette, Alabama arrested and taken to the police station for suspicion of car theft -- suddenly flipped out, grabbed one of the officer’s 9mm gun and shot policemen to death, each with a shot to the head. Devin was obsessed with the Grand Theft Auto game and played it for hundreds of hours. He was then sentenced to death in August 2005, which was then appealed.

Known for its extreme violence and behavior, GTA then became the subject of a lawsuit against Sony, Take 2 and the retailers of the game. The case of video game related deaths, which claimed that violent games like GTA influence children and teenagers to become more violent and “train” them how to commit deadly actions against authority figures and others, was accepted by the Alabama Supreme Court in 2006 and will commence sometime in 2007.