Another geek bites the dust, and BLizzard gets sued

[AHVB]

And this time, it's in communist china.

Game Distributor Sued Over Boy's Suicide
By JOE McDONALD


BEIJING (AP) - The parents of a 13-year-old Chinese boy who they say jumped to his death from a tall building after playing one of the popular ``Warcraft'' online games for 36 hours straight are suing its Chinese distributor, a news report said Friday.

Zhang Xiaoyi died on Dec. 27, 2004, leaving behind a suicide note saying he wanted ``to join the heroes of the game he worshipped,'' the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It said Zhang's parents, who live in Tianjin, just east of Beijing, are seeking 100,000 yuan ($12,500) from Aomeisoft, the Chinese distributor of ``Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.''

The suit says Aomeisoft failed to include a warning that the game's U.S. maker rates it as suitable only for players above age 13, according to Xinhua.

The Warcraft games are made by Blizzard Entertainment, a unit of Paris-based Vivendi Universal SA. Xinhua said a Tianjin court rejected a claim by the parents against the game maker.

The vice president of Aomeisoft, Bai Jie, told The Associated Press that he saw news reports about the lawsuit but that the company hasn't received any official court notice.

Bai said Zhang's parents were suing the wrong company, because Aomeisoft was set up in August, eight months after his death. Bai said he didn't know which distributor sold the game in 2004.

China has 111 million Internet users, second only to the United States. It is one of the world's biggest markets for online games, with tens of millions of players, many of whom hunker down for hours in front of PCs in public Internet cafes.

But the government has expressed concern about the violence and sexual content of some games. It has imposed curfews and time limits on children in Internet cafes and banned them near schools.

Also Friday, a newspaper said the Beijing city government has launched a review of the Chinese capital's 1,007 licensed Internet cafes to ensure they are complying with rules on admitting minors.

Violators could lose their licenses, the China Daily said.

In 2004, China shut down thousands of Internet cafes nationwide after a series of fatal fires and other accidents.

Xinhua said Zhang played at a ``game hall,'' but didn't say whether that was an Internet cafe, which would have been required to limit his time there to a few hours.

Several cities have clinics to treat what psychiatrists have dubbed ``Internet addiction'' in users, many of them children and teenagers, who play online games or surf the Web for days at a time.

Specialists at a Beijing hospital examined Zhang's diary, school records and suicide note and concluded that ``Zhang had excessively indulged in unhealthy games and contracted serious Internet addiction before his death,'' Xinhua reported.

His parents' suit also calls on the distributor to put a warning on the game's packaging saying ``playing games excessively harms health,'' the report said.

Bai, the Aomeisoft executive, said the company plans to add ``anti-addiction warnings'' to future games.

The Warcraft games have 2.5 million players in China, with copies in more than 100,000 Internet cafes, Vivendi Universal chairman Jean-Bernard Levy told reporters in Shanghai in April.



Damn nerds should get lives.

[TheDarkPhoenix]

He was only 10....

[ocelot_357]

All I did was read the first paragraph. Wow, 36 hours? I did 48 hours and then went to school on monday.

[_MJ_#R]

freeee fallin...

[Sheng-Long]

wow they could file lawsuits in China ?!?!

[maxx]

Parents: Stop Blaming Game Companies And Start Being Parents
Goverments:stop Blaming Game Companies And Stop Playing Parent!

[Cool-Breeze]

How in the blue hell did a kid that young sit down and play ANY TYPE of game for 36 hours straight??

Is his parents porn stars or something and never home??
Eminem drove home a great point in his music when he first came out, and this is getting sickning to me.

Parents Sue-ing the game companies for providing there children the attention they crave due to there parents neglegence

[PozerWolf]

freeee fallin...
Think he did a front flip?
I know I would've.

[_L_]

its kinda of amazing how these little kids now a days can sit down for a full 30 some hours and actually play this kinda of game!.. parents fault.. it just has to be

[VG Emblem]

He's just sad because I only play on the west server. :(

[Night]

I remember a similar thread a while ago heh.

Man, there really must be absolutely NOTHING else recreational to do in Asia where it's all internet cafes and WoW and EQ and Starcraft all damn day and people getting suicidal, collapsing, going out and committing crimes like stalking and murdering a guy in real life that fucked you on an item, etc.

[Yasashiyama]

its kinda of amazing how these little kids now a days can sit down for a full 30 some hours and actually play this kinda of game!.. parents fault.. it just has to be
QTF My parents wouldn't let me play Super Mario Bros. for more than an hour. Where's the standards?

[Hoonyo]

parents' fault IMO

[maxx]

its so weird that i never wanted to play nintendo for more than hour as a kid. everything in my childhood screams i should have played that sucker for hours. Barely any kids in my neighborhood...never anyone at the park..yet i still went outside and used..umm whats that thing..my imagination.

[Pat the Great]

what gets me the most is that they're suing the distributors of WarCraft: Orcs and Humans, AKA the original Warcraft. Kid could have at least died playing WoW, geez.

[TheSix]

36 Hours....thats all? Thats noob hours compared to the people I know. Get some skills.

[Akuma4Real]

I'm confused, he killed himself to join the heroes in the game?? Like, he thought he'd be with them after death or something? Sad.

[Cool-Breeze]

The kid's a moron, and the parents are even bigger morons. How do you let your kid play for 36 hours straight? That's just fucking neglectful. And to top it off, they try to blame the creators, and all for a pitiful sum of $12,500. Pathetic.

Yea what I already said

How in the blue hell did a kid that young sit down and play ANY TYPE of game for 36 hours straight??

Is his parents porn stars or something and never home??
Eminem drove home a great point in his music when he first came out, and this is getting sickning to me.

Parents Sue-ing the game companies for providing there children the attention they crave due to there parents neglegence
:bluu:

[MagnuScruB]

BEIJING (AP) - The parents of a 13-year-old Chinese boy

He was only 10....

i dont understand, did i miss something?

anyways, this is perfect for me! im writing a report on how violence in video games effects children. cant get any better!

oh, sorry about the kid, i blame the parents though.




rated M for mature.

[Athanasy]

anyways, this is perfect for me! im writing a report on how violence in video games effects children. cant get any better!

lol

[Nagata Lock II]

Am I the only one that found it insulting the parents are only suing for 12.5K?

I don't blame parents, I blame kids. I'm sure all of us have plugged in some insane hours on games over the years and you don't see us killing ourselves over it.

I think the worst thing to come out of a game experience for me was burning a few hours on a mission in FF:T and failing it. I snapped my controller in half on the spot in frustration.

Kids need to get some fucking perspective and get a grip on reality.

[aa_overmind]

Those Chinamen can do some pretty weird shit.

I think WoW is going to get its own religion soon, or already has but we just don't know it yet.

[The Bucket Of Truth]

kid should have had a soulstone

[Figcoinc]

This is Blizzards fault how?

So If I decided to watch the uncut versions of all three LOTR films back to back then choke on a peanut and die. My family can sue the movie makers of LOTR or fucking Planters Peanuts for it?

Sad about the kid but still utterly stupid.

[Geese Pants]

Give the parents free lifetime subscriptions to WoW..............

[KrassHole]

Give the parents free lifetime subscriptions to WoW..............


He wasnt even playing WoW.

Im shocked someone could play Warcraft 1 for 36 hours straight.

Shits too hardcore

[b1gazn]

kid deserved it for playing this crappy game.

[9TNine]

I've been saying it for years, Blizzard should just buy Asia, more specifically South Korea since they practically own it already.

-9

[VG Emblem]

rated M for mature.
I'm pretty sure every Warcraft game is rated Teen. :confused:

[Rhio2k]

Think he did a front flip?
I know I would've.

Triple Salchow for the win...and the gold.

Seriously though, I know what happened. The note's just a front. He tried that nude patch and happened across a Tauren female. His young mind was unprepared for the sight of a literal fur-burger.

[Vanilla]

So if you die you can join fictional videogame characters in the afterlife eh? That's some sound logic. Here I come Chun Li

[snakedizzle209]

I'm coming Grey Fox!!!:sad: :crybaby:

[Bounce]

............我的皮肤爬行

translation:

craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwllllllllllll iiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnn mmmmyyyyyyyyyy skkkkkkkkiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn..........

heres a very american thought: dont even bother settling, for 12k save your lawers the trip and payout.

[_L_]

Hrmm...mabey its planed by blizzard 0_0 i mean come on... they get all the stupid people to kill them selves.. then what will happen after the cleaning! Starcraft 2 OMYCAR!

[Starhammer]

Hrmm...mabey its planed by blizzard 0_0 i mean come on... they get all the stupid people to kill them selves.. then what will happen after the cleaning! Starcraft 2 OMYCAR!

Don't tempt me man. I'll be on a water tower with a sniper rifle and a backpack full of bullets.

-Starhammer-

[tondashocka]

All I did was read the first paragraph. Wow, 36 hours? I did 48 hours and then went to school on monday.



That's nothing... you should stay up for a week off of drugs and play Battlefield.

[Serp's Attorney]

So if you die you can join fictional videogame characters in the afterlife eh? That's some sound logic. Here I come Chun Li

lol! Oh well, there goes half off SRK.

[RoninChaos]

Am I the only one that found it insulting the parents are only suing for 12.5K?

I don't blame parents, I blame kids. I'm sure all of us have plugged in some insane hours on games over the years and you don't see us killing ourselves over it.

I think the worst thing to come out of a game experience for me was burning a few hours on a mission in FF:T and failing it. I snapped my controller in half on the spot in frustration.

Kids need to get some fucking perspective and get a grip on reality.

Age is the big factor here. If this kid is 13, how did his parents NOT notice he was playing a game for 36 hours straight? That's straight negligence. Part of the parent role is to give guidence to kids because they lack experience and wisedom. They're supposed to step in when their children are being retards and go "Hey, quit doing that shit!". Not doing shit about your kid being glued to a computer for 36 hours is attrocious. If you let your kid go into an environment where he could do something like that, and then kill himself, then you've failed as a parent. Everybody here has put some serious hours into games I'm sure, but being that young and having parents who didn't even go "Hey, uh... maybe you should take your ass outside for a minute" is where the blame should be layed.

Sure the kid is retarded for doing something like that, but he's also a kid. Where's the line drawn?

[fishjie]

WTF?!

that kid is CHINESE?! his parents should have been forcing him to STUDY 36 hours straight! wtf is this bullshit, letting him game? How the fuck is he going to get into the good middle schools of china if he's not hitting the books?!

horrible parents. Any real chinese parent would have beat his ass silly for playing video games for more than an hour.

[TrueSephiroth]

Parents: Stop Blaming Game Companies And Start Being Parents
Goverments:stop Blaming Game Companies And Stop Playing Parent!

Co-sign:encore:

Fucken depressing really, kid was stupid to jump off a cliff, parents are too lazy so they shove the blame somewhere. Gov. wants to appease the parents so they do something without thinking...thus the circle of life.

[VG Emblem]

Age is the big factor here. If this kid is 13, how did his parents NOT notice he was playing a game for 36 hours straight? That's straight negligence. Part of the parent role is to give guidence to kids because they lack experience and wisedom. They're supposed to step in when their children are being retards and go "Hey, quit doing that shit!". Not doing shit about your kid being glued to a computer for 36 hours is attrocious. If you let your kid go into an environment where he could do something like that, and then kill himself, then you've failed as a parent. Everybody here has put some serious hours into games I'm sure, but being that young and having parents who didn't even go "Hey, uh... maybe you should take your ass outside for a minute" is where the blame should be layed.

Sure the kid is retarded for doing something like that, but he's also a kid. Where's the line drawn?
So because he's 13 years old he has the right to be a supreme dumbass and get away with it?

I've probably played some games for around 36 hours straight (hell, in fact it WAS Warcraft 3), and I don't go and do stupid shit like this. You really can't even blame the parents, blame the kid for being a total tard.

What the hell was he thinking?
"OOOH! If I commit suicide after playing this game for so long, I'll go to a fantasy realm with all my favorite characters because I deserve it!"

Seriously, common sense is in a serious state of shortage these days.

[Autocrat1]

I'm pretty sure every Warcraft game is rated Teen. :confused:
OK how bout this

"Game Experience May Change Online"

:wasted: OWNED :wasted:

[RoninChaos]

So because he's 13 years old he has the right to be a supreme dumbass and get away with it?

I've probably played some games for around 36 hours straight (hell, in fact it WAS Warcraft 3), and I don't go and do stupid shit like this. You really can't even blame the parents, blame the kid for being a total tard.

What the hell was he thinking?
"OOOH! If I commit suicide after playing this game for so long, I'll go to a fantasy realm with all my favorite characters because I deserve it!"

Seriously, common sense is in a serious state of shortage these days.

You completely missed the point of what I was saying. The parents should be held accountable because this kid was allowed to play a game for 36 hours straight without getting told to get the fuck off the computer. If they let him do something like that, what else did they let him do?

And you're right, you may have played a game for 36 hours and you didn't kill yourself, which is a shame because you've never said anything that was remotely worth while. Maybe you should give this suicide thing another chance. Maybe you'll end up in the mushroom kingdom and you'll be able to play with Mario and kill gombahs and shit like that.

In the future, please refrain from responding to anything I say because you've proven time and time again that you're a fucking moron, and your input is not neccesary, nor is it wanted.

[abacabb]

How can you play anyhting for 36 hours? That shit is crazy/.

EDIT:"Maybe you should give this suicide thing another chance. Maybe you'll end up in the mushroom kingdom and you'll be able to play with Mario and kill gombahs and shit like that."

Thats too funny. Peep the new sig

[VG Emblem]

You completely missed the point of what I was saying. The parents should be held accountable because this kid was allowed to play a game for 36 hours straight without getting told to get the fuck off the computer. If they let him do something like that, what else did they let him do?

And you're right, you may have played a game for 36 hours and you didn't kill yourself, which is a shame because you've never said anything that was remotely worth while. Maybe you should give this suicide thing another chance. Maybe you'll end up in the mushroom kingdom and you'll be able to play with Mario and kill gombahs and shit like that.

In the future, please refrain from responding to anything I say because you've proven time and time again that you're a fucking moron, and your input is not neccesary, nor is it wanted.
They should be held accountable for letting their son, who should be responsible enough about this crap already, play a game for a long time then being a dumbass? The kid was a retard and obviously had mental problems, and him committing suicide can only help the world in the long run.

Unfortanutely for you, I'm not really as dumb as you think. I wouldn't do something that stupid, and I know something that absurdly stupid wouldn't happen. And furthermore, wtf is a "gombah"?

In the future, please get the fuck out.

[Senjutsu Sensei]

How come I'm the last to know that China has electricity? o_O

[Autocrat1]

And furthermore, wtf is a "gombah"?
PAUSE.

*head explodes*

[RoninChaos]

They should be held accountable for letting their son, who should be responsible enough about this crap already, play a game for a long time then being a dumbass? The kid was a retard and obviously had mental problems, and him committing suicide can only help the world in the long run.

They should be held responsible for letting their son do something that was obviously going to be severely detrimental to himself. There's a reason why kids aren't tossed out into the wilderness when they're 6 months old. Further, there's a reasons why GOOD parents stay involved with their kids thru their various stages of development; parents provide perspective and wisedom to counteract their own children's lack of experience. The fact that a parents was not there to tell this child to stop is absolutely attrocious.

I don't expect you to understand this, not because you're young, but because you're a fucking idiot. You stated it was obvious he had mental issues and you're trying to tell me that his parents SHOULDN'T be blamed? If this kid had mental problems, that's even MORE of a reason that he should have been watched more carefully and not be allowed to do something like this.

Unfortanutely for you, I'm not really as dumb as you think. I wouldn't do something that stupid, and I know something that absurdly stupid wouldn't happen. And furthermore, wtf is a "gombah"?

Yes you are. Every time you post, you prove you're even more retarded than I thought.
In the future, please get the fuck out.

The above is another prime example of you being retarded.

Matter of fact, where are YOUR parents? How is it you're able to be on SRK so much? I'll go ahead and tell you something they never wanted to tell you; you weren't wanted. You were an accident. You should have ended up in your mother's throat but she got lock jaw.

[Superking]

And furthermore, wtf is a "gombah"?



Wow, some hardcore Nintendo fanboy you are. :confused: :wonder: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[VG Emblem]

Wow, some hardcore Nintendo fanboy you are. :confused: :wonder: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
It's "goomba", not "gombah".

[Hellion]

You were an accident. You should have ended up in your mother's throat but she got lock jaw.

Sig worthy material all over the place!

[Darkstalker]

I wanted to sig that... :crybaby:

EDIT: I guess I could...but I'm lazy.

[RoninChaos]

It's "goomba", not "gombah".

Oh forgive me for not knowing how to spell the name of some stupid ass character from your favorite franchise.

You got anything else to say?

[Cool-Breeze]

They should be held accountable for letting their son, who should be responsible enough about this crap already, play a game for a long time then being a dumbass? The kid was a retard and obviously had mental problems, and him committing suicide can only help the world in the long run.

Unfortanutely for you, I'm not really as dumb as you think. I wouldn't do something that stupid, and I know something that absurdly stupid wouldn't happen. And furthermore, wtf is a "gombah"?

In the future, please get the fuck out.

:rofl: Man you suck Anyways so are you saying at an age YOUNGER than 14 you played video games for 36 hours or do you mean currently??

Ummm aren't you OLD ENOUGH to control those inner thoughts that may try to convince you that these things in the game you WISH could be reality or ARE reality?

36hours is one day and a half. What happened to school?
What happened to eating dinner with the family?
Where is the parents concern for there child who they have NOT seen leave his or her's room in more than a day?

I admit my mother didnt care about me playing games while young, but she did think it was not healty to sit on them for days on end.

And no the kid is not a TOTAL idiot for playing the game for 36 hours because I knwo some of US SRK'ers who get a Final Fantasy or STAR OCEAN, or Metal Gear, or God of War, and play it the entire day off of work and dont realize it til our alarm clocks go off letting us know a new day has started.

See we are adults, able to take care of OURSELVES, this young person is still under (Or is supposed to be) the supervision of his parents, to me that is child neglect, to not check on your child in more than a day, ask em if he or she is feeling ok, if he or she needs anything SOMETHING!!!










It's "goomba", not "gombah".

How in the blue hell you dont know what a goomba is but you can spell it quite well... fucking retard:bluu:

[Senjutsu Sensei]

Peeple ain't to smart lolz he wuz pointn out dat typo but ur not 2 smart 2 c it. lolz dummeez :wasted: It hurts to type like that. o_O

[tondashocka]

Peeple ain't to smart lolz he wuz pointn out dat typo but ur not 2 smart 2 c it. lolz dummeez :wasted: It hurts to type like that. o_O




Fuck you!


Sorry... I was having flashbacks of teen angst.

This thread brought it out.


"Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwling in my skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!"

[Vyral React]

xbox 260 is a joke, its a bare bones system and with all the hidden prices (xbox live and wifi) and the hd tv thing costin 200 bux it will end up being the most expensive next gen system w/ add ons

[defcon]

WTF?!

that kid is CHINESE?! his parents should have been forcing him to STUDY 36 hours straight! wtf is this bullshit, letting him game? How the fuck is he going to get into the good middle schools of china if he's not hitting the books?!

horrible parents. Any real chinese parent would have beat his ass silly for playing video games for more than an hour.

QFT dammit. sucky parents ftl. lrn2beaturchild kkthx

[ShinAkumax]

He's just sad because I only play on the west server. :(

You are unblocked kiddo. You said you were going to " give it to me " or something? Well, let's see it.