Your Game is Too Addictive, I Sue You!

[Adm_Hawthorne]

NCsoft sued for 'addicting' Lineage II

NCsoft of South Korea is facing some major trouble as a gamer of their MMORPG Lineage II has filed a negligence suit against them, which a federal judge has allowed to proceed.

The addicted gamer/plaintiff is Craig Smallwood, and he is seeking redress because of the addictive nature of the game, resulting to him being "unable to function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends."


According to Smallwood, he has spent some 20,000 hours from 2004 to 2009 just playing Lineage II. Because it got him hooked so bad, he is now asking for an unspecified amount of money as damages from NCsoft.

He also alleged that NCsoft "acted negligently in failing to warn or instruct or adequately warn or instruct plaintiff and other players of Lineage II of its dangerous and defective characteristics, and of the safe and proper method of using the game." Had he known that the game would be that addicting, he said he wouldn't have touched it in the first place.

The judge handling the case, U.S. District Judge Alan Kay gave out a ruling earlier this month, making it possible for the case to proceed to trial: "In light of plaintiff's allegations, the court finds that plaintiff has stated a claim for both negligence and gross negligence."


NCsoft is not immediately available for comment on the ruling, but has already filed an appeal to the judge for the dismissal of the case.

Okay, I realize that people have sued companies because they have become addicted to that company's products. This is nothing new. The first thing that comes to mind are tobacco companies.


But, I just have to ask myself about the concept of video games not being addictive to some extent. It's kind of like saying, "You should warn me the coffee is hot" or "You should tell me not to put this electric hair drying in water".


I'm not sure he should win this.


But, I'm curious. What do the rest of you think?

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Oh for the love of god! I think this would be a good time for a colorful metaphor!

 

[Holdfast]

What do the rest of you think?

That is all.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

"You should warn me the coffee is hot"

I would like to point out that, whenever this little bit is brought up--usually referring to the woman who got third-degree burns on her genitals from McDonald's coffee--the discussion ends up being about that case, in which McDonald's really was negligent. The idiot masses view it as a case of a litigious society run amok, but in reality McDonald's coffee was insanely hot--too hot for human consumption--and caused third-degree burns within seconds. Coffee is supposed to be hot, obviously, but not so hot as to cause so much damage so quickly, and to be unfit for consumption at the time of purchase (again, because it's so fucking hot!)

I agree that this particular lawsuit is stupid, I just wish people would stop bringing up the McDonald's "hot coffee" case as an example of frivolous litigation, because it was anything but.

 

[F. King Daniel]

This guy needs a slap. You think you're addicted to a game? TURN IT THE FUCK OFF, RETARD!!!

Can't? Get a friend to do it for you, hide the discs, scramble your passwords etc. It's not hard.

This is simply another pathetic loser trying to get money for nothing.

If I were NCsoft, I'd cancel his accounts, boot him from the game and send him a "problem solved!" email.

 

[Adm_Hawthorne]

RM, I'm talking more-or-less about the labels put on things to warn people of the obvious.

"Preparation H is for external use only."

That sort of thing.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

RM, I'm talking more-or-less about the labels put on things to warn people of the obvious.

"Preparation H is for external use only."

That sort of thing.

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

"Preparation H is for external use only."

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

You didn't follow the directions for use correctly, did you?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

"Preparation H is for external use only."

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

You didn't follow the directions for use correctly, did you?

If I were that stupid I'd be blissful, and I'm clearly not.

 

[TheBrew]

RM, I'm talking more-or-less about the labels put on things to warn people of the obvious.

"Preparation H is for external use only."

That sort of thing.

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

What else would you use Preparation H for except for CYA?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

RM, I'm talking more-or-less about the labels put on things to warn people of the obvious.

"Preparation H is for external use only."

That sort of thing.

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

What else would you use Preparation H for except for CYA?

All that post is missing is the *rimshot*.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I think sitting down would be a bit sticky if you CYA -- SIUYA is more effective.

As one of the ingedients is shark's liver, I wonder if there was ever a problem of people forgetting to take the liver out of the shark first.

Anyway, hemorrhoids is probably a side effect of the diet and inactivity associated with video game addiction. I expect more law suits are in the pipeline.

 

[Mary Ann]

RM, I'm talking more-or-less about the labels put on things to warn people of the obvious.

"Preparation H is for external use only."

That sort of thing.

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

I'll never forget buying a box of those logs for open fireplaces at WalMart and reading "Warning: Risk of Fire" on the side of the box. I wept for my species.

As for the gaming addict, the term "mental illness" comes to mind. He needs professional treatment, and I wonder if, by pressing the lawsuit, he's skirting around this issue.

 

[Holdfast]

"Preparation H is for external use only."

I guarantee you every one of those warning labels came about because someone was stupid enough to try it. It's CYA and not much else.

What else would you use Preparation H for except for CYA?

Awesome timing.

All that post is missing is the *rimshot*.

OK, that one was even better....

 

[scotpens]

“Preparation H is for external use only.”

What? NOW you tell me? Oh, shit!

 

[Adm_Hawthorne]

As for the gaming addict, the term "mental illness" comes to mind. He needs professional treatment, and I wonder if, by pressing the lawsuit, he's skirting around this issue.

Well, addiction is a mental illness. People have personalities that lend themselves to be addicted to something can just as easily be addicted to video games as crank... or both.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

This guy needs a slap. You think you're addicted to a game? TURN IT THE FUCK OFF, RETARD!!!

Can't? Get a friend to do it for you, hide the discs, scramble your passwords etc. It's not hard.

This is simply another pathetic loser trying to get money for nothing.

If I were NCsoft, I'd cancel his accounts, boot him from the game and send him a "problem solved!" email.

This.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Okay, I realize that people have sued companies because they have become addicted to that company's products. This is nothing new. The first thing that comes to mind are tobacco companies.

But, I just have to ask myself about the concept of video games not being addictive to some extent. It's kind of like saying, "You should warn me the coffee is hot" or "You should tell me not to put this electric hair drying in water".

I'm not sure he should win this.

But, I'm curious. What do the rest of you think?

The difference, of course, is that tobacco has nicotine which directly alters brain chemistry in order to make you become addicted to it. The same goes for caffeine, cocaine, and other addictive substances.

While video games can alter brain chemistry to a limited extent by releasing endorphins when you get achievements or do something else good, it's not like there's a chemical it releases upon consumption that is directly forcing you to continue by causing addiction. You choose to do it because it feels good.

There are countless activities that release endorphins, so if we start going down that path anything that makes you feel good could potentially be considered lawsuit-worthy by greedy lawyers and people looking to make a buck off of their poor choices. We already have people suing over gambling addiction, and if it hasn't already happened yet, I'm sure sex addiction lawsuits aren't far behind.

Food addiction is a little trickier in that saturated fats directly alter brain chemistry as well, tricking the brain into not telling us when we've eaten enough or making us crave food even when we don't need it. I'm opposed to suing over that as well, since you know what you're getting into (at least adults should), but at least there's some basis for it. The fast-food industry also uses some of the same tactics the tobacco companies do to target children, which makes them more culpable.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Good God!!!!

If it hadn't been this particular game it would have been another.

I was addicted to Zoo on Facebook for a while. I would worry about my animals going hungry or worry about missing out on an animal only available in the stream. I found myself going shopping in between breeding sessions! After a while I realised just how stupid my life was becoming and gave the game up. Why didn't this guy realise how his life was changing and do something about it back in 2004?

I worked out that averaged 11 hours a day for 5 years to get these 20,000 hours up. When did he realise he had a problem? What did he do to help himself?

 

[Ood Sigma]

I used to play World or Warcraft quite a bit (although nowhere near this level). Maybe a couple hours a day on weekdays and then usually a good chunk of the weekend. I realized after a while that I wasn't doing anything else that I used to like to do - play console games, watch TV, sports, browse the Internet, etc. Also having 3 players in a house with 2 usable computers made for some arguments that I didn't like. I finally gave it up and haven't played for 18 months. I find I don't really miss it at all. It can feel addictive, but for me it was liberating to no longer place so much value on any one thing that in the end really didn't matter.