A gamer has filed a lawsuit against publisher NCSoft, claiming that he is unable to function because of his Lineage II addiction.
Craig Smallwood says he has played a total of 20,000 hours of Lineage II over a period of five years, from 2004 to 2009. Smallwood believes his addiction has affected his quality of life and alleges in the suit that he is "unable to function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends."
Smallwood is citing negligence in his claim for an unspecified amount of damages and says in the suit, according to Wired, that NCSoft should have issued a warning with the game, cautioning users about its addictive nature.
Wired reports that U.S. District Judge Alan Kay refused to dismiss parts of Smallwood’s complaint this month.
"In light of plaintiff’s allegations, the court finds that plaintiff has stated a claim for both negligence and gross negligence," the suit cites Kay as saying.
Yeeah that would have solved all of Craig's problems. I'm sure had he seen a warning like that in the store he'd have dropped the game and walked away.
Anyway, if an MMO is truly addictive like a drug, then going cold turkey is not the answer. Taking away a heroin addict's fixes completely can sometimes be enough to kill them...
..yep, sure sounds like he had it bad. Yet despite his 'predicament' he still managed to eat and use the toilet, and had enough shelter, privacy and comfort to indulge in a recreational activity for five years solid. Now let me see..one does not have to get up, bath, care how they dress or who they communicate with..how many people would jump at the chance to live that kind of lifestyle?
I think the negligence being claimed is on Smallwood's part; that the alleged damage was self-inflicted. That he got some enjoyment from the game, else he wouldn't have played it for so long. During that time his overheads would have been what: electric? Food and beverages? Toilet paper? So in effect he could have saved a packet by not spending money on other forms of recreation or household bills, or countless other things.
Switch off the game - and switch on your head.
I am not saying computer games and web surfing can't be addictive, to the point where they're treated as a substitute for real life. I just think there can be other factors involved - if it were purely the game that's at at fault then wouldn't everyone who buys it automatically become as addicted as he claims he is? Where does this kind of blame culture end?
Sad, but true.
and will it honestly make any difference? as Hallsworth has already said, would a warning really have changed anything, would it have made him not buy it? or to stop playig after 2 hours? all the warning will be there for is to protect the maker from stuid people like himself
He learned from his experience and grew up to find other interests.
How times change.
Addicted lol
I can barely play more than 2 hour lol