Parents suing Blizzard for World of Warcraft addiction
A thirteen year-old Chinese boy jumped to his death last year from a 24 story building,
allegedly after playing too much World of Warcraft. The parents of the boy are now suing game maker
Blizzard with the help of lawyer and "internet game addiction researcher." The legal team also plans on filing class
action suits against "the whole game industry on behalf of other parents."
How liable should game developers be for the consumers that use their products? Though unfortunate, this case and the passing blame over a tragic situation seems very similar to the age-old violence and video games debate.
[Thanks, anon]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Thomas @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Well I guess it's a good thing that Blizzard launched this today.
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/faq/parental-control-faq-small.htm
So now parents can control when their kids play.
JW @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I think we all need to look about 20 years before now, and see that people were violent long before violent video games came about....how can you explain that? And what about kids that were allowed to watch gladiator games back in the roman days?? I think our generation is a bunch of babies if you ask me. Where are the people who were man enough to let their kids watch real people being killed? Oh my god you killed someone in a virtual world you are going to hell....
JW @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I think we all need to look about 20 years before now, and see that people were violent long before violent video games came about....how can you explain that? And what about kids that were allowed to watch gladiator games back in the roman days?? I think our generation is a bunch of babies if you ask me. Where are the people who were man enough to let their kids watch real people being killed? Oh my god you killed someone in a virtual world you are going to hell....
Taavi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
@#57, I think it's great that you think companies should have to do things for the good of their users, but think again. Very few ever do, and none are required to. Have you heard of pharmaceutical companies that charge extra for their products, because it's what the market will bear? Invariably things like these result in some people dying because they can't afford to buy the medicine. This is a much bigger problem than some kid who happened to play a MMORPG and also killed himself.
If Alcohol companies are not required to limit a persons buying and consumption of a product which can help people to commit murder, suicide, rape, and many other crimes, why should Blizzard be forced to limit consumption of a game, with no proven side effects.
The most Blizzard would have to do, if proven that games can be addictive would be put a small warning on the box. Does anyone honestly believe such a warning would have prevented the parents from buying the game? No.
It'd be great if companies were built around trying to help people, but get with the real world, they just aren't. Sad but true.
Flex @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
oh well its true, GTA makes me want to burn people with home-made molotovs, and cut the corpses with chainsaws
Manhunt made me a violent man
Marilyn Manson made me kill
ok i'm gonna stop now because at this point i'm ABUSING sarcasm to the point of breaking
Ro @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I don't find WoW addicted. It's fun and all.. but I'm not exactly playing it 24/7 or anything. They just want money and something to blame on. Pretty much sums it up. I mean..what does his addiction to WoW have to do with him jumping off anyways? :
chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Blizzard does do good for society. They generate income which helps fuel the economy. The help keep people employed and not just the Blizzard employees or VU executives. They help keep places like Gamestop going strong.
Businesses benefit society because of their economic impact. As long as they aren't contributing negatively societally then it's fine. It's the parents jobs to raise their kids. Most products in American society are abusable and potentially dangerous in the hands of irresponsible user. These parents need to admit the ultimate failure at argueably the most important jobs of their lives. Please don't let them have any more kids.
Jimbroskee @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
the parents probably realized how well wow is selling, tossed the kid out the window and called a lawyer.
Nathan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
this is lame. Are they trying to sue Blizzard for making such an addictive game? Geeee sorry for making a Game of the year game that was so fun to play...
T @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
#15... that is a popular post for ravers to use in their info. Is Pac-Man responsible for the rave culture? I don't think so, but anything is possible I suppose. Anyways I'm gonna rock the black light for a bit, eat some E, and drop some tabs. Peace.
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."
-Kristian Wilson, Nintendo Inc. 1989
Samuel C. Pontaigo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
To me this is just another example of shifting blame. It amazes me that the parents probably were to busy to notice that their kid was really depressed and needed help. Reminds me of another example of blame shifting.
Drawnings increase as ice cream sales increase. Thus ice cream causes drowning Ignoring the fact that both increase as heat increases.
Similarily, kid plays WoW, kid committs suicide ignoring the fact that he had been depressed for weeks and was mentally ill.
Allan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Okay, I don't want to repeat myself, but apparently people are ignoring me or entirely misunderstanding what I'm saying.
I'm not suggesting that Blizzard take the place of parents AT ALL. I'm suggesting that perhaps their product should be controlled IF (READ THE "IF") their product is harmful. Citing pharmaceutical companies as an example of companies not taking responsibility doesn't work -- drugs are more heavily regulated than any other product out there.
It's exactly this blind eye attitude that's going to make the problem worse. Don't you think we owe it to ourselves and society to at least THINK ABOUT how games affect mental health?
Please take the time to think about it. That's all I'm saying.
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Why don't you understand that a game is just a game? If some kid kills himself it's not because of a game, the kid had problems way before he started playing. If it was because of the game, (maybe he lost his gold or something and thats just sad) he probably deserves to die because people that stupid shouldn't be alive. If i kill someone i'm not gonna say, "Oh, I used to play counter-strike, so this isn't really my fault. I need a lawyer so i can sue valve". Get real...
Karyyk @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
How about it being the parents' responsibility to check up on their kids and talk to them, see how they're feeling, etc. If anything, how negligent do you have to be to not know your child is so far down as to be suicidal?
People want to set their kids in front of computers and televisions and let them raise their children because they're too busy, too selfish and don't want to be hassled. When something goes wrong, do they then accept the responsibility of their negligence and inaction? No, they sue.
I hope these suits fall flat, because if any charges should be brought here, it's to the sorry-a$$ parents who basically ignore their children and ignore (or don't know their own children well enough to see) all the behavorial signs that ultimately lead to unfortunate events like this.
OldSchool @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
When I was a kid, fundamentalist Christians used to think that the pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons game would lead kids to suicide and devil worship. (And rock and roll contained secret backwards messages that made their children turn into Satanist pot-smokers.) Now it's just the same tired arguments shifted to the computerized offshoots of the same game. If you have a troubled kid, don't put the blame on a psychiatric problem or (god forbid) your own bizzarre behavior and irrational belief system. Instead, blame elements of new culture (video games, movies, music) that you aren't a part of and don't understand.
Paulo @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I have a WoW character on my brother's account. Sure, it's fun to play every so often... it lets you get creative.
I'll admit, my brother even plays it a lot more than I do. But you know what? He has friends that he's playing with and messing around with. I mean, load up Ventrillo and WoW at the same time and you're basically playing a big board game around a table with all those people. Only difference is the board is the internet and those people are half way around the world (sometimes) rather than in chairs right in front of you.
I was actually tempted to bring it up in the jackson case that if the mother won, Jackson counter-sue for child endangerment. Much like this case, the methods for knowing what you're putting your child into are there, in Jackson's stuff it had happened before... In this case, there's a box, with not only a rating on it (rated with a system much more descriptive than the movie rating system) but there's a description of the game and SCREENSHOTS on the box normally.
All this together means you have a way to know what your child is getting into.
Also, as others have said, these parents were most likely not checking up on thier kids.
Let's sue Little League Baseball the next time we buy little Timmy a bat to go play with his friends, and it comes home bloody because he mugged someone with it instead >,>
Cam @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I, for one, don't think it's any stretch to suggest that product manufacturers bear some social responsibility for the products they create and the way in which they are marketed. But I think it's very important that we all recognize on an individual, community, and greater social level that it is ultimately an individual's choice what type of behavior they engage in. This is, for instance, why there is a criminal justice system in even the least developed societies. It's important for the development of our culture that we understand what factors affect our behavior, but ultimately that we are still responsible for it.
eric @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
i hope his parents are thrown out of a 24-story building
Plezops @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
FROM #7 -----------------------------------------
MMOGs have already shown cases of murder, suicide, social exclusion, fraud and theft. We should really take them seriously and look at how people using them behave because it seems quite different from any other game.
-------------------------------------------------
First off, how many people are murdered that are not playing games? I know in my city 250 so far this year. Just the other day i heard a radio segment on NPR that 10 transexuals had been murdered this year. Some were claiming that it was discrimination. But in reality they were just some of the thousands that had been murdered this year.
Greg @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
So they think that video game did this eh? Not something else that they didn't about him? Maybe they should see his school life and his room and secrets before casting blame on a particular game. How did playing it too much cause this? Maybe he had some mental problem that just triggered. To blame it on 1 game( he probably had more)is the most ridiculous thing. Grieve parents, but be responsible in accusations of death. To blame it because you feel so is worse than any injustice. There was something....
tommy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
did anyone get a post-jump picture of the kid? thatg would be to fuckin awsome lol...imagine...24 floors!
Vlatro @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Why not blame the contractors who built a 24 story apartment building with windows allowing unsafe access to outside 190ft above ground. Or mabey the internet service provider for allowing bringing access to these violent brainwashing games to children. Mabey it's the governments fault for putting a concrete road beneath a very high window some poor child might fall from. The should've put some nice soft surface beneath it to absorb any impact from potential falling objects, but they opted for placing a road instead, as if they didn't anticipate this tradgedy happening. they just didn't care if anyone got splattered the pavement. Who else here thinks he was pushed out the window in hopes daddy might get a nice out of court settelment and a new car.
Gon?o @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
"OMFG, l0st [Staff of Chinese Dumbness], m3 s00 nEwb, thrw mslf 0ut window n0w cYa!!!!"
taemobig @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
@#62 I think he LIVED on the 24th story, not working. I went to HongKong and people live in apartment skyscrapers.
Anyways, I agree with the people who says that we should learn more about the kid before blaming a video game.
Evolutionist @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
DARWIN ACTED AGAIN
Umby @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Hey, guys, I'm gonna jump off a 20 story building because i played too much Mario Party 4. Someone sue Nintendo for this tragic event.
flaro @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Damn, whats this like the 4th death due to world of warcraft? Parents need to really start taking more responsibility instead of then goin around bitchin to game developers.
kgsw @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
What the FUCK!!!???....THIS has gotta be the stupides excuse for a prent to sue online games!!!!..hack its it not like it blizzards fault or everquest when it 1st came out its the players fault more likely ,each person of huan being has their own responsabilities for their life ..if this kid died becuz of a game tht seriously A SORRY PIECE OF SHIT EXCUSE TO DIE FOR... most onlie addiction is due to intro duction or challenges from other poeple of parties ..but for god sakes its just a game!!! hardcore players? sure why not tht means they are more interested in the games secrects and gameplay nothing more....there had been seriously disturbing news or murders and suicides and law suites for game addiction...which to me is a poor excuse...counter strike clans killing each other over dispute , suicide ppl becuz onlie games too their lively hood away, law suites for disgression of violance and gore ...sure why not...NOT!..is silly really if the player couldnt know the difference reality of a game and life might as well not play it at the 1st place if your addicted please go seek help...
to me games is for entertainment or for hardcore player a test of skill and divotion as in "honor" in a battle thts all virtual game man...
sigh!! in the 1st place did the kid even wrote a suicide note saying "tht my life was waisted beuz of the game WOW"....did he ? if he did he really deserves to die a stupid death for bieng too serious about a game to throw away his life.... wht do u people out there think?
Yo MOMMA @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Dude.. This is the most retardest thing I have ever heard in my WHOLE life.It's the son's or whatever that dude's name is that he jumped off the building. And it basically says for Mature people only.
jonni @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
this stupid moron my brother is always inn her and told my mom and now im probibly never gonna get this game and i want it so bad common this stupid mother fucker will decay in hell if i would get to choose omg i didint get my epics my life is worthless common he most have some kind of insaniti sickness sorry for my bad spelling im from Iceland most of you have never heard of it
p.s. all theat bad things i sad about him i didnt mean but im so angry i cant get this game
Nathan H. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Yeah, And marilyn Manson was responsible for school shootings, Grand Theft Auto is responsibe for the murder of police officers, and so on, and so on.....
Give me a break. These people where all old enough to make a concious decision, so let's blame the people truely responsible, them.
-______- @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
That boy probably thought if he jumped off, he would lose like 1000 life? Well, he jumped, he died and now he can't ressurrect himself..
LikeWoah! @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
it blows my mind that people like #7 and Adam exist. They are both clearly wrong. Go back to pre-school, they will make sure you don't put small objects in your mouth and choke too! you'll be in heaven!
it's too bad these games don't effect you guys the same way it did this kid... the way you think is much more dangerous.
Black_Jester @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Video games do not cause violence, ignorance causes violence.
Next up, we have addiction. When I got WoW about 7 months ago, I played it for, as someone said above, from 4am to 2 am, more or less. Addictive, yes, reason to sue, no, hell no. How many friends did this person have? Were they healthy? Did they do anythign else? There are masses of questions that should be asked before the lawyer's move to games. Oh, I know, one of my friend's commited sucide because his g/f left him. SO his family should be able to sue the girl, her parents (they made her), grandparents, the government for letting them live there, and god? Yea, sure. Quit passing the buck, and get a grip.
This is a prime example of why we have rights. You have the right to play the game, they have the right to sell it to you, and we have the right to tell people they know nothing of our culture.
Let this be said, loud for all lawyers to hear.
Millions of games have played games their entire life, and have never killed anyone, nor caused any crimes baised on them. Don't fuck with us, we know how to kill people, we just don't, and why is that? We can still process thought.
Oh, and for the person saying "This is an example of how unbalanced gamers are!" Everyone knows how to kill someone, it's not secret info, you can kill them with a fucking pillow.
Jeremy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Scott of post #8, I think you're onto something. However, it's not God who is responsible for your oversleeping, it's those scheming pillow manufacturers who are making pillows so comfortable that WE CANNOT WAKE UP ON TIME!
That's right everyone, it's time to show those pillow manufacturers that we will no longer tolerate their cushy and comfy articles of control and manipulation.
Consider the number of hours every day we have lost. Imagine the productivity of our country that has gone to waste. Imagine the quality time we could have spent with our loved ones that was instead spent in slumber.
Well, it's time for us to stand up (with the help of our lawyers) and fight!
Sue, sue, sue!!! Who is with me, guys!!!!!!!!
Rob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
WoW is being sued ? Who would have thought that. One would think the true leader and kingpin of MMO addictives EQ and EQ2 SOE would have been the first to be sued for some loser off'ing themselves over an MMO.
WoW is no where near as addicting and is so easy to play that anyone who kills themselves over the game just fell pray to natural selection finally asserting itself through technology.
This case should be without a doubt thrown out of the legal system. The parents are to blame if anyone is and I'm absolutely certain the child in question would have killed themselves eventually anyway.
Graphite @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I blame Jack Thompson for my internet gaming. Being a rebel as I am, he said games were the big bad wolf, so i had to check it out. It ruined my life.....
Could this be a lawsuit?
drumboi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
OK, first off, Where were the fucking parents of this kid!?! Anyone can tell you that if you are spending every waking moment playing one fucking game, you might have a problem. But who hasn't been addicted to one game or another at one point. I know I have. I was once addicted to Castlevania: SOTN and played it nonstop for twelve hours until I beat. But after I finished it, I went on to do other things. I don't understand much about MMOGs, but I know enough to know what they do to some people. But the fact that someone has to throw himself from a fucking 24 story building has to raise a big red flag in your head. I mean, where were the parents? Aren't parents supposed to regulate what you do until you are at an age where they see that you are fit to make your own decisions? At 12, I could make my own decisions if I wanted to keep playing or not. This just seems like another cheap attempt to bring hell upon the gaming industry for some little asswipe's stupid behavior. When you have to accuse and then sue a multi-million industry for something that was not in any way their fault, you are just looking for a cheap buck and someone to blame. I mean, isn't that the new American dream? Why work when you can sue and get rich? That's what it seems like to me.
Drakslave @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
That is like someone buying a set of knives and then they kill themselves with them, does that mean I can sue the company because if it wasn't for their knives, he wouldn't be dead, they need to get a life, they just want money.
Jaxon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
#46, the fact that the people who happened to be playing WoW at the time were acting childish can in no way be used as evidence that WoW affects people's lives more than other games. Did you stop to think that maybe the people who were playing the game were causing their irrational behavior and NOT the game? That's like saying that people who watch comedies are more childish than people who watch dramas. WoW may be more varied than shooting the same people (I know it's fun, but it is in no way varied). Those gamer "babies" (I now refer to them according to their level of maturity) are a disgrace to maturity and gaming. Don't blame the game for the dipshit-ery.
Leana @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
that is total bullpoop. the parents sueing a million dollar gaming company when they kid jumped out the window?
where were the PARENTS when the kid needed some comfort?
where were the PARENTS when the kid needed some grooming?
if a kid would be mad enough to jump out a window then it must have been some thing esle that cursed that chain of events
Strict parents?
maybe the kid got beaten to much?
was forced to do to much stuff?
Had no power to even defend his arguments?
many thing that would make a kid flip
heck i have stayed on the computer for over 20 hours you dont see me going CoCos the worst i get is over drosy eyesight
DrmChsr0 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Wow, Starcraft:Brood Wars was right.
As long as a population of organic beings gain sentience, they'll fight one another and their makers.
Yes, it's ironic bringing up an old Blizzard game to the arguement, but the fact rings true. We are arguing over who's at fault here. Why not just sit back, relax with a cold one, and laugh at the stupidity of the human race. The same thing happens all over the world.
Be it in China or America, the amount of human stupidity is apparent. Well, we only have ourselves to blame.
I'll be in the corner summoning an army of homosexuals to hump you all live on FOX News(or the equivalent thereof) should you need me.
chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
everyone knows the parents are just retards looking for a pay out after there sons death, unfortunatly because of the whole VIDEO GAMES=satan thing im pretty sure that the parents are gonna have blizzard by the balls.
nidomus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Wow... I bet Jack Thompson will be all over this crap.
Umby @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Well, since I'm making an essay for class around this, and since this pissed me off, I'm gonna post my essay on my forums. I'll post the link here when I'm finished.
kaenash @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
I made this comment in response to the grieving parents.
http://tinypic.com/fx9iso.jpg
tlove482 @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Maybe he killed himself because his parents stopped him from playing it. :)
awesomeade @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
If Parents can blame the game makers then an idiot should be able to blam a school for being stupid.
morgan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
"..Chinese boy jumped to his death last year.."
Did he jump cause he couldn't wait longer for the game?
It wasn't even released last year.
WebMan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:02PM
Lousy parenting is all it is. As also mentioned in the comments, they are looking for anyone to blame - other than themselves. The teen shouldn't of been allowed to play for 20 hours a day to begin with, this is why we have lawyer commercials every 5 minutes on TV. Stub your toe - come and collect some cash!