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Joystiq

Inmate sues Blizzard for mind theft

by Justin McElroy on Nov 6th 2008 11:30AM

Finally, someone is making Blizzard pay for its crimes. South Carolina inmate Jonathan Lee Riches sues a lot of people, but we think he's really on to something with this new suit, which he, apparently, has filed in conjunction with Gordon Gekko. It's impressive not only because Gekko is fictional, but because he rarely takes sides in messy legal squabbles. (Seriously, the guy is Switzerland ... and fictional.)

You can read the full text right here, but, in short, Riches says that World of Warcraft "caused Riches mind to live in a virtual universe, where Riches explored the landscape committing identity theft and fighting cybermonster rival hacker gangs. Riches was addicted to video games and lost touch with reality because of defendants."

Shame on you, Blizzard. SHAME. It's not bad enough you make the guy lose touch with reality (you know, the reality of being in prison), but you have to pit him against rival hacker gangs? Is nothing sacred?

[Via /.]

Source

Tags: blizzard, PC, world-of-warcraft, wow

Reader Comments (40)

Is this even newsworthy? This guy is just a random retard that sues everything...

That's alright, if Gekko is involved than I'm sure Charlie Sheen will show up to put an end to his shenanigans.

Wait, Gordon Gekko is Switzerland?? Do you mean he's IN Switzerland, or are you saying that he is, indeed, Switzerland?

This is hilarious, I wonder if Riches has a case.

@343: You're joking, right? They mean Gekko is Switzerland in the fact that they're almost completely neutral in all global affairs, as Gekko is in most legal matters.

Man should we even comment on this?................................Damn

Wow, it's people like this that let you know the American prison system is working...

Too bad he no longer is able to access his character account in jail. Otherwise we could kill his character and see if the guy will sue us for virtual murder.

Ugh, the sad part with some good behavior he WILL be able to log on.

I hate America's prison system.

huh they should pay him fake virtual money to shut him up.

Is this the same idiot that tried to sue Mike Vick for a trillion dollars?

Yep, the same.

unbelievable

were I the judge... I'd have to pass down a ruling shaming blizzard for this terrible.. terrible act, and force them to cancel his account immediately and pay him in a sum of no more than one-red-cent.

Make sure it's not a new one, or he'll sue for being distracted from reality by it's beauty.

Ooh shiny!

lolwut?

This is terrible. I can't believe everyone's just taking this in stride! I mean, Blizzard stole the man's mind! Forced him to thieve identities and war against cybermonster hackers?! Is there no end to what Blizzard will do? Can we just sit back and allow them to hurt people over and over again? Rise up! Rise up against the evils that are...

oh, he's batshit crazy?

... nevermind....

"has filed in conjunction with Gordon Gekko"

Not exactly. Next to Riches name is "d/b/a" which means "doing business as." I imagine it refers to Riches online screenname, which might, in fact, be Gordon Gekko.

I would like to see what the court has to say about the assertion that Riches' "mind became a living video game." Trying proving that one.

I haven't experienced so much lulz on a wiki page in some time

good show

Operation: Mindcrime.

That's why he's suing. He suddenly woke in his cell.

"I remember now."

Where do I sign up to be part of a Cybermonster Rival Hacker gang?

This guy is the new poster child for swift executions.

HAHAHAHA On that guy's Wikipage it says "His projected release date is March 23, 2012."

Just in time to run for president!

Hey, that's the lead programmer on Duke Nukem Forever, lololol.

Quick, someone please tell me he's joking before my head explodes from rage.

Gosh, it's a good thing this man was addicted to WoW and not GTA IV. Otherwise Jack Thompson would have him on speed dial...

Yeah but there is this gem on his wiki page about his suit against Rockstar for GTA4:

He said because of the game "I face imminent danger from violent inmates who played Grand Theft Auto who will knock me out and take my gold Jesus cross."

That is pure comedy right there.

Hilarious. Personally, I can't get enough of this guy. Makes me laugh every time. Keep those suits coming!

Next he'll try suing big tobacco for his nicotine addiction.

Sounds like this guy need a cell with padded walls and a straight jacket.

Wow, this guy is totally obnoxious...

but I guess that's cool, since he wrote this: "I face imminent danger from violent inmates who played Grand Theft Auto who will knock me out and take my gold Jesus cross." It's so true, right? Grand Theft Auto isn't based on reality, rather REALITY IS BASED ON GRAND THEFT AUTO!!!

So on one hand this guy gives South Carolinians a bad name by being a fucking moron, but on the other hand you COULD say that he's one of SC's biggest comedy exports.

Either way, my home state is screwed.

I know, right. Everybody already thinks we're full of morons and rednecks. I cringe every time I hear a news report featuring SC.

Hes probably planning his lawsuit against joystiq right now.

his death sentence will be to mind flay.

Does that mean I can sue now BLizzard for Life Theft?

I mean, cause, for a while there I might have had a little addiction...

The things this guy is saying. Don't the sound alot like a fanfiction from .hack/?

*/.

I kinda like this guy after reading his wiki page, he's jokes.

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Breaking News

Inmate sues Blizzard for mind theft

Reader Comments (40)

Posted: Nov 6th 2008 11:36AM (Unverified) said

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