Blizzard Sued for Death of Gamer

Somatic writes "In the latest saga over online gaming addiction in China, the parents of a 13-year-old Tianjin boy are suing the makers of World of Warcraft, blaming the game for the death of their son, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua. The parents filed a suit against Blizzard Entertainment on Wednesday, saying their son jumped to his death while reenacting a scene from the game, the report said. The parents are backed by the anti-Internet addiction advocate Zhang Chunliang. Mr. Chunliang has spoken to 63 parents whose children have allegedly suffered from online gaming addiction and plans to file a class-action suit, according to the report."

Relavent link

[suso]

Fun toy banned because of three stupid dead kids [theonion.com]

Darwinism?

[Anonymous Coward]

Or is it Intelligent Design?

You be the judge.

awesome

[everphilski]

Anything that has a chance of bringing the wayward children back to Everquest is gold in my book -_-

-everphilski-

Stupid kid

[garylian]

Why didn't he cast invulnerability, like the other kid that jumped? Oh, he was only a warrior? What a moron!

These kids today... They just don't read the game manual and class abilities in game.

Maybe it was a Chinese translation error?

"Unintelligent Design?"

[Shoten]

Okay...so a 13-year-old kid plays a video game where there's magic, all kinds of non-real species and objects, all of which transpires on a place that isn't real. And from this, he develops some notion that he can fly, or survive jumps from very high up, or some other physics-ignorant notion. And some people believe that somehow, in some fashion, Blizzard is responsible?

All I have to ask is this: have the evangelical Christians been much more effective at discounting the theory of evolution in China than they have here? Kind of sounds like it...

Mario bros.

[El_Muerte_TDS]

Please raise your hand if you ever tried to smash a brick wall reenacting a scene from Mario Bros.

Dumbass!

Re:Dear Parents...

[ankarbass]

We are pleased to report that your son is now being considered in this years running for a prestigious darwin award [darwinawards.com]. You should be very proud.

If you get your penis knob stuck in a CD.......

[CyricZ]

Suppose a man wishes to have sexual intercourse with a video game CD, and proceeds to place his penis into the hole in the centre. Now let us suppose that while thrusting, the CD manages to tear his cock's knob off. Should the video game designers and the CD pressers be held liable for creating a dangerous product, one so heinous that it resulted in a man losing his glans penis?

Re:Good luck with that one

[kypper]

Matrix Release Date: 31 March 1999
Columbine: April 20, 1999
Parental Blame: Dateless.

Re:If you get your penis knob stuck in a CD.......

[Anonymous Coward]

No.

If you have further questions about your particular problem I recommend contacting a lawyer/physcian to discuss further actions.

Re:Mario bros.

[jcorno]

Please raise your hand if you ever tried to smash a brick wall reenacting a scene from Mario Bros.

It left me paralyzed from the neck down, you insensitive clod.

Re:Relavent link

[BlacBaron]

I rather expected that to be a link to this [reuters.com]

Re:Mario bros.

[ziggamon2.0]

Well, if this insensitive clod joke was modded informative, I can see why these people may actually have a case...

Re:Mario bros.

[Anonymous Coward]

Please raise your hand if you ever tried to smash a brick wall reenacting a scene from Mario Bros.

I sure did. I also:

• tried jumping on my pet turtle and kick it after that to make in bounce from walls (RIP Leroy the Turtle).
• tried to push myself through the kitchen sink to get into the sever system (Flushed toilets almost worked.).
• tried to bang my head to the ceiling to find out if it would throw me some golden coins (I'm still working on this one. No coins found YET!).
• tried to get super powers by eating red mushrooms (You need Superman's kidney for this to work.).

But none of these has worked sofar. As a result I'm about to sue Nintendo, but the guys with the white jackets told me it wouldn't be possible unless I ate my pills.

Re:Re-enacting?

[rob_squared]

Next thing you know, they'll be suing the creators of Mario when people start jumping down open manholes.

Re:Relavent link

[Anonymous Coward]

I love how that article states "No one know exactly why the grenade exploded."

IT WAS A GRENADE.

Re:Relavent link

[Jeremi]

You can't sue the maker of a legitimate product just because the person using said product has an addictive personality.

Evidently, you can. :^(

Re:safety warnings

[Surt]

I don't understand. I've never had a problem drying cats in the microwave.

My favorite recipe for dried cat:
1 40 oz cat.
1/2 oz orange peel.
1/4 cup mustard.

Shave the cat if not purchased pre-shaved or hairless. Wash cat in disenfectant soap and warm water (warning, many cats do not like water and may become agitated).

Coat cat liberally in mustard, then garnish with orange peel. Dry on low power in microwave for about 50 minutes at 300 watt power (check your microwave manual, microwave power will vary). Dry for additional 10 minutes if cat is still moist or squishy to the touch.

Dice and serve in a bowl or party tray.

Level?

[trollable]

What was his level? Because, even in WoW, you die when you jump from a 60m-high tower. Sad anyway.

Natural Selection in Action

[corngrower]

Sounds like the boy is a candidate for a Darwin Award.

Also, Bill Gates in DOOM with a trenchcoat...

[antdude]

... when Bill Gates was talking about games, DirectX, and DOOM. See the video clips of it on AQFL [aqfl.net]. Notice he has a trenchcoat too. This presentation was way before the movie and tragic event.

Re:Darwinism?

[wormbin]

How can think that?

It's obvious that this is the result of His Noodly Appendage [venganza.org].

geez...

[kavau]

In other news:

Boy drowns while trying to walk on water; parents sue God.

And the good side?

[thesnarky1]

At least now I know how to spell Jack Thompson in Chinese!

Re:Darwinism?

[sik0fewl]

Whatever it is, it seems to be working.

Come on man, be more responsible!

[Jerk City Troll]

Obviously, in the context of this story, a half-dozen Slashbots are going to grab their cat and prepare an entree with it the manner which you described. Come on, what were you thinking!? They'll no doubt end up suing Slashdot and depriving us all of one of our favorite drugs.

Re:Relavent link

[aidfarh]

Problem: Dumb ass parents.

Solution: MOD PARENTS DOWN!

Wonder what he screamed out when he jumped...

[otis wildflower]

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Re:Relevant link

[Skevin]

> Sue yourself, idiot.

I tried to sue myself, but then I counter-sued for undue distress and emotional damage. I then added another lawsuit because I defamed my character, but unfortunately, I had a much better lawyer than I did, and I could not recoup damages once I won. I'm upset that the court awarded me judgement, but I'm afraid that I'll find other frivolous charges to sue myself with. My other suit is still pending, but my lawyer says I have a pretty good chance that I'll drop my charges if I'm willing to settle out of court. I'm currently demanding $500,000 but I'm negotiating to see if I'm willing to come down in my demands. So far, I'm not willing to budge, and I insist that I just don't have that kind of money readily available, but the worst case scenario is that I might garnish my wages for the next 20 years if I win the case. My best hope is to try to discredit me in front of the judge and make my lawsuit seem really stupid, or better yet, make me appear to be of unsound mind.

Solomon Chang