Man Dies From Playing World Of Warcraft Gaming? Harmful?

[pyost 0]

Maybe he had a tube going from his penis to the bathroom Just kidding :)He probably did go to the bathroom, but 50 hours is too much! People must sleep, eat and drink. And it's not good for your eyes either

[Quatrux 4]

Well he really was crazy if he played like that, but I agree that games can become addicting, but personally my record was less than 24 hours ~20 hours of playing, I remember I played thorugh all the night, but in the morning was quite tired and fed up with that game and went to sleep, while playing the game I drank water and had something put to my stomache but not to much of course, it is just when you have a nice/interesting time you forget about food and when you are borred.. I usually eat a lot

[bricktamland 0]

ok that sucks'page could not be displayed' when i postedtime to start overThis guy must have had problemsYou hear all this stuff that video games are badBut im sure that 99% of the bad things people do that the video game 'caused' them to do stem from other problems such as poor mental health, low self-esteem, depression, etc. etc...(ok, it wasnt 2 pages long but still~hate to lose time )

[inconnu1405241515 0]

Certainly this case posted by the OP wasn't the first time someone was said to be killed by playing games too much. The worse thing is, it was neither the last; a few weeks ago, there was another game-designer-wannabe high school student reported to have died of over playing. Only a week ago from now, yet another man has died in an Internet cafe after having stayed there for over 10 days (both in Korea.)No one knows for sure except themselves who've died, but my guess is that they weren't trying to kill themselves. Nor did they notice they were being hurt that badly as they play --- and that's a big part, though not all, of the reason why they died.I guess the lesson is, one can always die of some reason he does not think will even harm himself.But if you happen to be the one sitting right next to that innocent guy who is damaging himself --- then let him know.

[Saint_Michael 3]

hey i heard the same story but it wasn't WOW it was some game that wasn't mentioned but i heard he like died of exhausting or starvation or something like that. so i guess they moved on to wow now.

[YudzzY 0]

now that is weird to die of heart failure when you are starving/dehydrated!! there's no link in that! but it is possible although hard to believe!since there are people that died of heart attack for watching tv, why not playing a game?i had old relatives that was watching a soccer match and his team scored the most crutial goal at a crutial time and he got a heart attack out of over-hapiness.. dats a die-hard fan!!---YudzzY

[iGuest 3]

It's odd though, what if he knew he was going to die, and wanted to die doing something he enjoyed/ Like playing games or something? I think that's the case and he just wanted to live his life the way he wanted to before he died. Although it was 2 days, he was either trying to kill himself, or knew it would happen sooner or later. Or maybe he was being hounded by some group of gangsters for doing something we haven't heard about? THE POSSIBILITIES !!I think it's not because of the game, but because something else was the issue for this man. It's just we weren't given all the details and were just given what happened during the incident. Now if they added what he was doing there, or why, and how his past is, then that's a different story.

[James_K 0]

eh it's not like it's the first time this has happend

 

Notice from szupie:

Please use the quote tags when quoting information.

 

A South Korean man has died after reportedly playing an online computer game for 50 hours with few breaks.

 

The 28-year-old man collapsed after playing the game Starcraft at an internet cafe in the city of Taegu, according to South Korean authorities.

 

The man had not slept properly, and had eaten very little during his marathon session, said police.

 

Multi-player gaming in South Korea is extremely popular thanks to its fast and widespread broadband network.

 

Games are televised and professional players are treated, as well as paid, like sports stars.

 

Professional gamers there attract huge sums in sponsorship and can make more than $100,000 a year.

 

 

They are the types of games that completely engross the player. They are not games that you can play for 20 minutes and stop

Professor Mark Griffiths

The man, identified by his family name, Lee, started playing Starcraft on 3 August. He only paused playing to go to the toilet and for short periods of sleep, said the police.

 

"We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a Taegu provincial police official told the Reuters news agency.

 

He was taken to hospital following his collapse, but died shortly after, according to the police. It is not known whether he suffered from any previous health conditions.

 

They added that he had recently been fired from his job because he kept missing work to play computer games.

 

Small minority

 

Online computer games are some of the most popular and largest growth areas in interactive entertainment.

 

Players can easily get immersed and feel compelled to play for hours at a stretch, particuarly in massively multiplayer online role playing games - MMORPGs - in which thousands of gamers play and interact in shared fantasy or science fiction worlds.

 

Reports of gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of video games, such as the highly popular World of Warcraft and EverQuest, are becoming more frequent. Experts say gamers should take regular screen breaks.

 

Psychologist Professor Mark Griffiths, author of several in-depth studies into online gaming and gambling addiction, told the BBC News website that, according to his research, playing excessively was not problematic in any shape or form for the majority of gamers.

 

He said: "It does seem to be the case that online gaming addiction for a small minority is a real phenomenon and people suffer the same symptoms as traditional addictions.

 

Screenshot of EverQuest

MMORPGs are social and immersive so require long periods of play

"But the good news is that it is a small minority."

 

In one detailed survey of 540 gamers, Professor Griffith and his team found that there were four playing more than 80 hours a week, which is considered "excessive".

 

He explained many people liked to play MMORPGs for long periods of time because of the social aspect of the games.

 

"They are the types of games that completely engross the player. They are not games that you can play for 20 minutes and stop.

 

"If you are going to take it seriously, you have to spend time doing it," he said.

 

But he warned there was a difference between "healthy enthusiasm" and "unhealthy addiction." People who sacrificed jobs, partners and loved ones were considered "extreme players".

 

Unlike help for traditional addictions, such as gambling, there is very little help for computer game addiction, he said.

 

"It is not taken seriously yet - it is the same for internet addiction," he said.

 

He advised anyone worried about gaming addictions should contact their local GP and get referred to a psychologist.

 

More than 15 million people, or 30% of the population, are registered for online gaming in South Korea. The country also host the annual World Cyber Games.

-----From http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm -----szupie

 

That was from um BBC dont remember the exact URL tho

[MarkBla 0]

Probably the games are getting better and better, thats good.But, they are getting more addictive every day. Thats a problem for some people, who dont think about themselfs anymore, but just keep playing and playing. These games just get in the mind of that person, and that person doesn´t think about anything else, just about the game. Thats the problem of some people, they just get to addicted to it.

[Shooting Star Haven 0]

So, some other poor guy died from overgaming, again. You always find this kind of stuff happening in Korea. It happens generally once a week there. And no, I'm really not surprised.

Games like EverQuest and World of Warcraft are so addicting that people literally give up their lives just to play it. I remember one time long ago, The Legend of Zelda, Majora's Mask came out and I remember playing it for eight hours without knowing. People who are addicted to things, no matter how bad it gets (family problems, etc.), they don't even know it. They just give up everything, for the game. And as they do, they aren't even content with everything. They stay there miserably replacing game time with sleep, homework, school, family, and everything else that matters. It's not just kids doing it. Check out this article:

When games stop being fun:
http://news.a.com.com/

A psychologist wanted to find out what in the game was so addicting that he wound up addicted himself. Of course he was smart and deleted the game to save his career. Because these things ruin people. They take away lives. And it'll be sad to think twenty years from now, you've given up everything and are still playing the game. I mean, you go giving up everything, and when asked, "What have you done with your life," you can't just say, "Hey everyone, look. I'm a Level 58 Madrid, the Great Shaman of the North. I'm better than everyone else. And that's all that matters to me." Except there is nobody else. They chose to make something out of their time. The problem with video games nowadays is that you never really get anything done from it.

[Jdz 0]

I heard a similar thing but it was a guy playing Starcraft, Korea or some place like that. I admit those games do pass time quiet fast and you forget.

[-PK- 0]

Oh my god. That's bad! This is the first time i heard of someone died because of playing games. He even give up his job to become a full time gamer. Will WoW be sued for this? lol.

[gagabepp 0]

And of course Evercrack^h^h^h^h^h quest , the MMORPG with the most addicted players; though, even in this case, the problem lies within the player, not the game.

[smyke 0]

well... if the story is for real, one thing is for sure : it was his twisted mind that killed him, not the game ! i mean. even reading a book for straight out 50 hours with no foos and rest can kill you, so it's not the game ! it's guys like that that make the industry to have more law problems each year !

[EvilNui 0]

thats crazy... but ... for me funny :DWell, when I'm addicted to a game I can play straight, till my mom calls calls me, because dinner is ready and then I notice, after hours of gaming, that I'm hungry... and that guy probably just didn't feel his own bodys life functions anymore ;)I'm still alive, though... thanks to my mom and her dinner perhaps ?