180 replies to this topic

[half]

I was reading the paper today about a man in South Korea who went on a 50 hour binge playing World of Warcraft and died of heart failure, caused by dehydration and starvation. Can video games become so engrossing that it numbs all effects such as hunger, thirst, or pain? It's hard to believe that he would not grab something to eat after playing for a little over 2 days straight. The article said that this kind of thing happens all the time in South Korea, not to the extreme of dying though. South Korea's connectivity to the world is very high, very close to the United States if not passed it. Their leaps in technology have made the internet a necessity which is both a good and bad thing.

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, I just thought it was interesting :-P.

[stusrud]

Wow, heatd failure, I think most of those stories are very fake, someone would not just die from playing a game, but it is possible. If you are old, or not familiar with lots of explosions, loud sounds, etc, When you get into too much action, your heart may react in a way that could be very harmful to you, even quitting, which means you die.

[abhiram]

Someone died playing video games? And because he didn't eat or drink anything for 50 hrs? I find that a little hard to believe. I believe I was engrossed in a game once... Half-Life, when I was playing for the first time, I played it non-stop for almost 3 days. But I did eat, drink, go to the bathroom, sleep for atleast 7 hrs .... I mean like come on, you can't sit and play warcraft and forget to eat or take a pee? Besides, how old is this guy who died playing Warcraft? 60+? Why will you have a heart failure if you're starving and damn thirsty? Doesn't seem to make sense.

Anyway, is this news official? Can you post a link? I'd like to read more about such hardcore game enthusiasts, because I myself am one.

[cyph3r]

LOL thats hilarious, I mean bad that the guy dies of heart faliur. But c'mon PLaying a game ? Jeez .. well i sat for the second time playing Halo and completed the game in just 3 days. But yeah like abhiram said, i did have food, water and keep myself clean.

A game of WOW can kill ya ? lol , thats a little hard to believe unless its from a recognised source.

[warbird]

Who said he died by a heartfailure because of playing WoW? Maybe he just got a heart failure, not because of the game, but because there was something wrong with his heart. Isn't that a possibility? It sounds more plaussible I think. For so far as I know can a human survive without water for about 72 hours (3 days), maybe more if it was a healthy young man. (I think it's more possible that a young guy of 16 doing that then a old man of about 60 or 70 like abhiram said. Ok, it's possible, but not realy likely, is it?)

-=Jeroen=-

[xboxrulz]

lol: WoW, it can kill you.
Are there links for this?

xboxrulz

[koolio]

It was in the news last month. He was addicted to gaming. He also quited his job to turn into full time gaming and played World of Warcraft until he was killed from stress. It was from stress and lack of rest he got a heart faliure. As the news report on TV said, he had only 3 hours for rest and food each day. That was really unbelieveable. I can't think that a game could go that addictive to make people play like that and die.
That man should have some mental problems. Anyone sane will never quit their jobs to game.

[Jguy101]

Yup, read this in a newspaper a couple weeks ago. He'd have to be an idiot to not even have a cup of water....or just play that long nonstop.

[abhiram]

That man should have some mental problems. Anyone sane will never quit their jobs to game.

Anyone sane will atleast get up and have something to eat or drink... even if they are playing non-stop. This guy must have been a complete whacko to have completely forgotten everything while playing Warcraft (a strategy game at that... not even an FPS ).

[techocian]

Is Blizzard gonna get sued for this or something? Or are their prices just gonna go up because someone was so addicted to it he died and everybody's like "Wow!!! WoW is such a good game someone died because of it!!!".
I am NOT a usual game enthusiast, (Because my mom restricts me like hell....) but when I'm playing yeah i do want to keep going and going. The addiction part never gets into me though. Usually i'll just wait a few minutes after the usual time before actually having my dinner. Or if i need to go to the bathroom (Right beside my room ^^), I'll just go. Doesn't it ever hurt your eyes? I play for like 3 hours in a row and my eyes get really saggy and tired and i have to take a nice long 2 hour nap to make up for it. It's really hard for me to believe someone can die of WoWmonia. It's just...too ironic...

[Mahanon]

Someone died from playing WOW (World of Warcraft), how could someone sit there for 50+ hours how on the world couls someone go that long without getting up and at least taking a bathroom break and no food for that mattersomeone would get a massive headache from not eating alone, (that much I do know), cause it has happened to me before. That alone would not allow someone to play something like WOW, it would force them to take a break.

Maybe the guy had a heart attack while playing it and was unable to call for help or, maybe he needed some medication and just forgot to take it.

Well no matter what he died playing WOW, so that is kinda bad, well that is bad.

[Sarah81]

That's messed up. I mean ... I become so engrossed in what I love to do (writing, computers) sometimes that I wonder where the last eight hours went ... but I'm still conscious enough to pay attention to things like my growling stomach, overfilled bladder, etc.

I find it odd though that this guy didn't have a whole necessity-driven setup around his computer so that he would have immediate access to snacks, drinks, etc. I mean, I know LOTS of people, myself included, who "set up camp" by the computer when we know that we're going to start doing something that could absorb us for more than half an hour.

[Sarah81]

Well no matter what he died playing WOW, so that is kinda bad, well that is bad.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just hope nobody turns it into some sort of stupid anti-gaming tangent. Happens all the time, at least here in the States. *sighs*

[PC Astray]

I'm not really surprised over this. Does the news media at your respective countries ever mentioned it but from time to time, they'll talk about internet addiction in China and how their goverment had to setup "special" rehab centres for these people (they're all teenagers from urban areas). Somehow, I think Asians are more hardcore gaming/internet addicts and I mean no offense to anyone out there. This is just an opinion.

[DigitalDingo]

It is correct about the Korean man, but you should keep in mind that cases like this one are extremely rare. I don’t believe in the discussions about computer games being dangerous. Yes, they’re dangerous if you can’t control it, but what isn’t?
People like this man should receive a lot of help. We shouldn’t waste the time discussing whether it’s dangerous or not playing 3 hours a day, but instead we should help these poor bastards.

[pcfphp]

lol: WoW, it can kill you.
Are there links for this?

xboxrulz

Try looking on google

[Retaining]

A worse story I heard (it was in the news, but I don't have the link) is where a couple pretty much let their children starve while they played a game for some insane amount of time. I think they're being charged with negligence or something (they deserve it.) Talk about irresponsible...

[mitchellmckain]

I was reading the paper today about a man in South Korea who went on a 50 hour binge playing World of Warcraft and died of heart failure, caused by dehydration and starvation. 

This is so typically Korean. I swear, half of these peope are insane. It is their character to do nothing in half measure or moderated by concerns for little things like physical health. Sure I have gone hours playing a computer game, I am sure many of you have. It was only a matter of time before a Korean found this extreme like they do in most everything else. I think they are proud of this type of insanity and encourage each other to behave this way.

Where are the most radical Christians that go to church every morning before dawn to pray: Korea. Where are the most radical communists left in the world where communism has clearly failed: Korea. They will study the hardest in any subject and play the hardest in any game to prove that they are the best in the world. Do I admire the Koreans? Not really. I think they are just crazy.

[doodels]

comon...You do anything for 50+ hours straight your pretty much screwed

[Slasher]

Indeed it happened, and its completely real, he was addicted and he didnt sleep for 3 days, obviously this wasnt his first time doing that, which caused his bodie and mind to
crash, just like internet explorer... but theres no reboot for him =[.

Its easy to blame videogames, but theyre not the cause, theyre just the trigger for people to commit stupid acts of violence or stupid stunts like this one.