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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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 Sat May 13, 2006 11:31 pm Game Distributor Sued Over Boy's Suicide |
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| Quote: | Game Distributor Sued Over Boy's Suicide By JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 12, 5:28 AM ET
BEIJING - 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. |
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060512/ap_on_hi_te/china_online_suicide
I had to post this, as depressing as it is. Me and two friends from STV always play WC. So its so strange to hear someone kill themselves over it.
Last edited by Founder on Sat May 13, 2006 11:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sat May 13, 2006 11:35 pm |
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Wow...how depressing and sad... 
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Ziona
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 22 Aug 2001
Posts: 12821
Location: Michigan... for now
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| Sun May 14, 2006 1:32 am |
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Wow... that's horrible. Blizzard doesn't deserve to go through that nonsense. Course I'm a little biased... that's the company i'm going to be working for someday soon.
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Link, the Hero of Time
Vice Admiral
Joined: 15 Sep 2001
Posts: 5581
Location: Kokori Forest, Hyrule
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| Sun May 14, 2006 12:42 pm |
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Ah cr*p. This is depressing and very bad for gamers at the same time.
In a few days Jack Thompson will probably be back up on his pedistal trying to ban games like WoW.... again.
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harrykims#1fan
Fan Girl Muskateer
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 2916
Location: Leicester UK
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| Sun May 14, 2006 5:23 pm |
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i really dont understand how games get blamed for everything
-------signature-------
Stoke me a clipper i'll be back for christmas
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun May 14, 2006 5:34 pm |
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| harrykims#1fan wrote: | | i really dont understand how games get blamed for everything |
Because people want someone to blame and make money off of. Quite frankly, the parents should have tuaght this boy that it's entertainment, something to do for fun, not a way of life
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harrykims#1fan
Fan Girl Muskateer
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 2916
Location: Leicester UK
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:10 pm |
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i can certainly tell the difference between the real world and the gaming world...hang on while i jump in my mario kart and leave banana skins on the floor
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:28 pm |
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^LOL...
This is just the problem. A blame sadly, has to be placed, and like most times, the people that either make, or distributed the product are the ones getting the blame.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:38 pm |
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| Link, the Hero of Time wrote: | Ah cr*p. This is depressing and very bad for gamers at the same time.
In a few days Jack Thompson will probably be back up on his pedistal trying to ban games like WoW.... again. |
AND Hilary Clinton. If I recall correctly, she was complaining and moaning about Grand Theft Auto and games of that nature...
I don't completely blame the parents. They may have told him not to do this, but he still might have as well. This is utterly tragic. A CHILD, dying because of a game.
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Lord Borg
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Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:43 pm |
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^It is tragic, Games can be adictive, they release the Endorphins...
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harrykims#1fan
Fan Girl Muskateer
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 2916
Location: Leicester UK
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:49 pm |
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some games like tetris DS are incredibly addictive
-------signature-------
Stoke me a clipper i'll be back for christmas
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Sun May 14, 2006 6:52 pm |
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Yep, that IS part of the problem, belive me, I know I once sat for an entire day on a game, felt like crap the next day for wasting the day etc... So I left it alone for a while. This child sadly seemed to got really addicted, and lost touch with reality
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Leo Wyatt
Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004
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Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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| Sun May 14, 2006 8:36 pm |
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Parents should know about the games their kids plays. It is their responsibility as parents. If it anybody's fault it is the parents for not supervising what their kids play. I sure wouldn't let my kids play any of those games. I am not a perfect person but I know better to buy or let my kids buy those types of games. I know what I am saying may sound mean but I am not trying to sound mean.
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harrykims#1fan
Fan Girl Muskateer
Joined: 08 Feb 2002
Posts: 2916
Location: Leicester UK
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| Mon May 15, 2006 5:48 am |
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what i dont like seeing is kids as young as 10 playing the violent games...there minds are at an impressable age and a game thats violent MAY leave a lasting impression...That said i do let my 10 year old sister play Hello Kitty Racing
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Ziona
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 22 Aug 2001
Posts: 12821
Location: Michigan... for now
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| Mon May 15, 2006 2:40 pm |
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Honestly, I don't blame the parents and I don't blame the game distributors. I mean, I blame the parents a little because 1) they should know what they're kids are playing and 2) they should have noticed that something was a little wrong with this kid to begin with. There are usually always warning signs and I bet this kid had some sort of disability or misformation of the brain, making it difficult for him to tell reality from fantasy.
Likewise, the games that Blizzard puts out, if it's anything like the Warcraft here in the United States, aren't even very violent to begin with. They're obviously fictional, as none of the characters look remotely real and they're all based on maps and such that are totally "cartoonized" so that everything looks really fake.
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Omet'Ikilan
Jem'hadar First
Joined: 28 Jul 2004
Posts: 2045
Location: Bridge of Jem'Hadar Ship
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| Tue May 16, 2006 10:32 pm |
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I wouldnt sue Blizzard and the distributers...Like honestly, these parents are pissed off because their child became obsessed with a peice of technology that THEY let him have...that THEY let him play for 36 hours straight...
You'ld think the parents would have noticed something wrong with the kid when he was on the computer for just 12 hours...let alone 36...The parents...although admittedly it is hard for parents to tell what's going on with a kid sometimes...should have at least not allowed him to play the game so long...
I myself have played games for hours and hours on end...and my favorite online game just so happens to be another of Blizzards addictive games...but realy...the Parents are blaming Blizzard and the distributers for their son's problem when they let it develop....
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
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Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Tue May 16, 2006 10:38 pm |
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I LOVE games, but 36 strait hours? the game I'm playing WCIII if I play single player, I play A round and then take a break. As much as I'd like to continue, I don't wanna kill an entire day like that.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue May 16, 2006 10:42 pm |
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| Omet'Ikilan wrote: | | I myself have played games for hours and hours on end...and my favorite online game just so happens to be another of Blizzards addictive games...but realy...the Parents are blaming Blizzard and the distributers for their son's problem when they let it develop.... |
Unfortunately that's the world we live in now. It's an entitlement world, if you will. Kid commits suicide due to a video game, it's the game company's fault. Kid kills another kid, it's the video game he's been playing's fault.
Yeah, that's right. It's not the parents' fault, it's not his fault--it's the company's fault. I love how we can blame businesses for everything committed by ourselves. It happens way too much in America, and we've become nothing short of a sue-happy nation for it.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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charlie
American Soldier
Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 598
Location: In The United States
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| Wed May 17, 2006 7:02 am |
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I disagree strongly with you RM. It is the parents fault due to the fact they should have supervised their kid on what he plays. I am a father myself, and I don't blame the company's fault. Any good parent would know that letting their kids play with violent games or any games that would cause such things, wouldn't let their kids play those types of games.
I don't let my sons play any games that I see that it is not right.
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Lord Borg
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Joined: 27 May 2003
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| Wed May 17, 2006 12:02 pm |
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^I think he was being sarcastic 
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charlie
American Soldier
Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 598
Location: In The United States
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| Wed May 17, 2006 1:00 pm |
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oh! Then, my apologizes RM 
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Admiral Dani�l
Dutch Admiral
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 2177
Location: Borg Cube 31572 - Join us now!
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| Wed May 17, 2006 3:18 pm |
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I do not understand that parents let a child 36 hours straight play, I think the child had a low lvl character and he wanted to do everything the big lvls did too, and that every big lvl called him a noob and all other ugly stuff, and after 36 hours you are tired and you are not thinking really clear
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Wed May 17, 2006 6:08 pm |
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| charlie wrote: | | oh! Then, my apologizes RM |
It's alright, my soldier-friend Yes, I was being sarcastic
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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WeAz
Commodore
Joined: 03 Apr 2004
Posts: 1519
Location: Where you aren't
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| Wed May 17, 2006 7:26 pm |
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How does one play for 36 hours straight...
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Wed May 17, 2006 7:31 pm |
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| WeAz wrote: | | How does one play for 36 hours straight... |
IDK, time CAN get away,but you are right, 36 hours? Just what were the parents doing?
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