Another man dies after three day gaming binge
by Mike Schramm 
Sep 18th 2007 at 2:07PM
CNN is reporting that it's happened again in China-- a man has died after a three-day gaming binge in a cyber cafe.So many things wrong with this story. First of all, how does someone sit in an internet cafe for three days without anyone else noticing? I'm sure that it must have been a huge, 24 hour, windowless warehouse type of place, with people coming and going all the time, but still, what business would allow people to basically live in their building?
And then, of course, there's the gaming angle. Videogames and the Internet didn't kill this man, people, despite what CNN says:
The paper said that he may have died from exhaustion brought on by too many hours on the Internet.
Actually, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure he died from exhaustion brought on by staying awake for too long. If he'd been playing ping pong for three days straight, he probably wouldn't have come out of it very well either.
The article says they don't know what game he was playing, so this may not even be World of Warcraft. But while it is a very sad story, it's too bad CNN fell into the old lines of "omgz internets killed a man" instead of actually pointing out that this man made some very serious mistakes of his own.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Baluki Sep 18th 2007 2:12PM
I don't want to sound like a jerk or anything, but isn't this just another classic case of natural selection?
Nails Sep 18th 2007 2:13PM
darwin ftw
and it was WoW
jpn Sep 18th 2007 2:14PM
"Actually, I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty sure he died from exhaustion brought on by staying awake for too long."
uhhh...that's what the "paper" was saying....too much time on the internet = staying awake for too long.
and i'm SURE the cyber cafe wouldn't mind keeping him there as long as he kept paying.
Znodis Sep 18th 2007 2:15PM
Anyone else notice that it actually sounds like a classic case of trolling, except that it's done by CNN.
It might as well have the headline "ZOMG teh interweb tubes is OP, NERF plz."
Paw Sep 18th 2007 2:16PM
Queue the 1960's childrens' documentary narrator:
It's all meant to thin out the heard and provide for a stronger gene-pool, Billy. You see, because this frail and diseased member of the heard was not able t pass his genes on to future generations, the heard grows stronger and healthier.
Erica Olson Sep 18th 2007 2:17PM
"but still, what business would allow people to basically live in their building?"
Have you been into the internet cafes overseas? I have, and as long as you've plunked down your money to be on-line they don't care how long you're there.
They also have so many people coming and going that who's to say who noticed him there or not. Same to be said of "How can you forget your baby was in the backseat of your car and you left it there to die in the hot sun?"
Do any of us say anything about something that looks a bit off or hinky? No, we mind our own business and keep on keeping on.
stanley Sep 18th 2007 2:20PM
"The paper said that he may have died from exhaustion brought on by too many hours on the Internet."
Nothing inaccurate about that. They clearly say exhaustion killed him, not the internet, as you're accusing CNN of reporting. They did say his exhaustion was a result of not doing anything for three days aside from sitting in front of a computer, which is absolutely true.
You can go ahead and slip in any biological implications that obviously arose from such a three-day gaming/internet marathon (like loss of sleep), but the fact still remains that the biological catalyst of his death by exhaustion, was brought on by his internet binge.
The guy was clearly an idiot, and the media still would love to pin violence on video games, but no sane person (or sane media outlet) would pin this death solely on the "horrors of internet/gaming addiction". Except FOX news and Jack Thompson.
Hollywood Ron Sep 18th 2007 2:25PM
Has anyone else noticed that people seem to die from being on the Internet too long every time China wants to restrict Internet access and all that pesky access to democracy?
brent Sep 18th 2007 2:33PM
I don't get it, how can 3 days of gaming kill you?
There is never any physiological evidence presented.
If you can do coke for 3 days and live, i don't see how this would drop you.
Epiny Sep 18th 2007 2:41PM
I'm really starting to get disapointed in WOW Insider's opinion pieces. You guys are really trying to skew facts recently to make a blog.
Automod Sep 18th 2007 2:40PM
The internet cafes in Japan provde food, drinks, beds, and showers. All for a cost of course. If this guy had the money, this place more than likely didn't care how long he stayed.
Doesn't dispute the fact that it was his own dumbass fault for sitting there for three days.
Adam Sep 18th 2007 3:13PM
@Brent:
Well, Brent, I'd have to assume that our Chinese friend wasn't in the best of health as it was. Exhaustion can, in extreme cases, cause shock -- due to low blood-sugar levels, horomone imbalances, and a few other things -- and I'd wager that it was shock in combination with already-poor health that caused the poor guy's heart to give out. And if I had it my way, staying up for three days doing coke WOULD kill you, guaranteed.
Guidinglight Sep 18th 2007 2:50PM
OMG now I know why the powerleveling service stopped at 34 on my character..
=)
andywoho Sep 18th 2007 2:54PM
Gaming for three days without sleep? Okay, look, I've done that, and I'm none the worse for wear...er, except for this palsy I've developed in my right hand, a constant jumpiness in real life from a fear of being ganked, and the night terrors I experience every time I've tried to sleep since then. But, hey, STV will do that to you...
Oh, and did he drop any blues? I'll roll y'all for it.
overneathe Sep 18th 2007 2:58PM
LOL @ 12
rick gregory Sep 18th 2007 3:01PM
You're mistaking CNN for a serious journalistic enterprise...
Goose Sep 18th 2007 4:02PM
@ 9: Some people proabably will be able to survive 3 days, but some won't. This guy didn't.
onyx.ceilican Sep 18th 2007 3:04PM
So... that must be the reason that human with the name of werthwtbwrbsan just stood there in front of the Iron Ore deposit.
npm Sep 18th 2007 3:06PM
Sitting for along time can cause blood clots and that can be a quick killer. People even die of them on long plane flights.
FriendlySoviet Sep 18th 2007 3:12PM
He was probably just doing a Maraudon run.