Another death blamed on games

[Aprilgold]

Edit: Changed my whole statement, so let me get this out first, yes, he died, no, it isn't tragic, if I were to die by trying to disarm a bomb I set up at the age of 20, would it be tragic that I died, no, because I was disarming MY OWN bomb. Next, the message of the father is nice, but the tag line itself should be the equivalent of prison time, what is the tag line, GAMES KILL, if it weren't saying GAMES KILL and instead said 20 year old something died of blood clots from interview for job, tragedy strikes home, then it would be ok, BUT ITS GAMES KILL! And my last statement, he looked like a living STD, taking him to the doctor may have helped him out a little.

In concluision to my sentence, the father saying that message to other gamers is fine, but even then IT WASN'T games fault that this man died, it was his OWN fault for not leaving that chair, there fore, the tag line shouldn't have been GAMES KILL instead, SITTING STRAIGHT FOR 12 HOURS KILLS!

 

[Terminal Blue]

To be fair. He got DVT from sitting around playing video games. It's likely that doing so was a causal factor in his death. So it's not remotely inaccurate to say that he was killed by playing games.

Really, aside from the headline, the article isn't too bad especially by tabloid standards. The guy's dad was extremely level headed. They even included a statement from Microsoft. There's actually very little journalistic opinion here, the vast majority of the article is quotations. There's not even a paraphrase in sight.

As it is, I'm kind of glad I've been informed of this and I'm perfectly willing to forgive the eye catching headline because, well, it caught my eye.

Stop being so overly sensitive. There's a huge difference between 'video games contributed to this guy's death, be aware of the medical risks you probably didn't know about' and 'BAN THIS SICK FILTH!'

 

[FalloutJack]

Yeah, just more bullshit. Hell, the father isn't even really blaming games:

"I'm not for one minute blaming the manufacturer of Xbox. It isn't their fault that people use them for so long. But I want to highlight the dangers that can arise.

"Playing on it for so long is what killed him* - and I don't want another child to die."

I think anytime a paper of television show using grossly misleading titles like "Death By X-Box", people should use the argument that they're being racist as discussed here [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111965-Expert-Says-Blaming-Videogames-for-Violence-is-Racist].


*emphasis mine

I agree. Let's call them a bunch of stinking racists. Even if they're not and even if we don't mean it, it'll be funny as hell to watch the results.

 

[Artina89]

My mum was reading this article this morning, and from what I read, the kid seemed like he lived an unhealthy lifestyle. Also, 12 hours A DAY?! I would love to be there when they get their electricity bill.

You can tell it's bullshit because it's the sun and they say "it was fatal and came on without warning in someone young and fit." Now, the Sun won't let me use the image, but look at him. He doesn't look too fit to me.

All this says to me is either: Get a Wii or move around a bit when gaming (I use a bouncy ball for a chair).

I agree whole heartedly.

I for one nearly died of shock that my mother reads The Sun.

 

[Thetwistedendgame]

And so we learned, sitting in the same position for 12 hours is not only uncomfortable, but also deadly. Listen to your buttocks the next time you game fellows.

 

[Varrdy]

AND THEN, think of all the people who spend eight hours a day in an office chair at work. Conclusion: WORK KILLS, STAY AT HOME, LIVE ON WELFARE.

I work 12 hour shifts with FOUR monitors to look at and not once have I come over all dead...although some days make me wish I had!

This article wound me up when I saw it too. The headline parped loudly about how games killed him then the article went on to say that the boys Dad "isn't blaming Microsoft" and is just urging people to be more aware.

I read The Sun a lot if I am honest and if I am even more honest I'd be less inclined to read it if they binned the breasts, Jeremy Clarkson on Saturdays and those hilariously bad "Dear Diedrie" photo-casebook stories where people have midlife crises in their underpants.

That said this is the first time they've done something that has made me consider writing to them, let alone starting the letter with the word: "Oi!"

Let's not forget that a family have lost a son and this is a hugely sad and tragic affair and I offer nothing but my fullest sympathy to them. However, The Sun blatantly tried to blame the game(s) rather than tell it how it is and say that the poor guy died from (technically) abusing his freedom to play games.

When someone drives a car into a bus-queue, nobody blames Ford or General Motors do they?

Wardy

 

[AugustFall]

As many have said, he could have gotten this from watching TV for 12 hours a day or reading book for god's sake.

Stop looking for scapegoats, parent your children.


Edit: Also I do feel sorry for their loss. Can't imagine losing a child but my last statement stands.

 

[TonyVonTonyus]

What happened to blaming the person who did it. Why is it always guilt by association? Maybe it's the guy's fault for not, I don't know...GETTING UP every 12 hours or so.

 

[Sizzle Montyjing]

Well this is sort o- oh.
It's from the Sun.
The Sun is the newspaper, in which if it gives a recommndation to a movie, i will avoid that movie.

It's the sun, EVERYONE knows it's bullshit.
Especially since the News of the world phone hacking scandal, they aren't trusting newspapers.

 

[Rumarue]

For all it's worth, I think it's important to note that there is a message in here for people to take away before saying "I play video games 12 hours a day and I'm still alive!" It is a life style that can lead to serious health risks, even if you haven't experienced them yet. There's a reason so many games tell you to take a break after an hour or two.

True, this could have happened had he spent the 12 hours sitting doing something else, but it doesn't EXCLUDE gaming, especially since it's very popular and people often don't see the harm in in. If you're at work, on a plane, reading a book, or just sitting in front of the TV, get up and stretch every now and again.

My sympathies to the family, and props to the dad for not blaming video games, but rather the abuse of playing them. I think it is important to raise awareness about cases like this so we don't see it happen more often.

 

[PAGEToap44]

It's actually because he was a fatass that did nothing BUT gaming and eating.

If I did nothing but lying down I'd die from it aswell.

Ninja'd. And that is all I have to say about that...

 

[MordinSolus]

Are they sure it was games that killed him? I think it was the chair!

Lololololol.

OT: At least near the end, his dad says he doesn't blame Xbox.

 

[jawakiller]

This is actually very serious... I died last week due to the same problems.

No, I'm serious.

Really.

Totally.

 

[Agow95]

We all know that excess gaming is dangerous, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT "EXCESS" MEANS! anything in excess is dangerous, and just because one idiot played an xbox for 12-hours straight, you can't demonise gaming, you'd probably have a severe medical problem if you sprinted full pelt for 12 hours straight, but we don't demonise jogging or light sprinting now do we. Yes, somebody died, but he is not the norm, everyone who plays on an xbox, ps3, PC, etc, are not in risk of being possessed by the urge to play games until we have a severe medical problem, I can jump off the roof of my house because I live here, that doesn't mean that we should forbid building house more than 5 ft tall, so why don't we apply this logic to everything else, and stop the media claiming that one hour on CoD:MW2 will summon the anti-christ, kill orphan babies, and make people punch nannies in the face. (In this post I mean no offense or distress to the deceased or his family, I am simply trying to express my opinion, unlike the newspapers who are trying to make a martyr of him)

 

[RyanDodd]

I'd have been saved by the need to get up and take a piss every few hours at least.
This is ridiculous someone died like this.

 

[health-bar]

If was a serial killer, i would kill people by beating them to death with gamestations.

Just for the irony.

 

[Nouw]

"Games are fun and once you've started playing it's hard to stop." Guess that was the case for him anyway.

 

[PureChaos]

they don't really blame games for killing him, they seem to understand it was the fact he was sat in one place for so long that killed him