Man dies after four-day game marathon

11 Oct 2002 09:47

Obsession isn't healthy kids. Especially when your hobby stops you eating and drinking

A South Korean man died on Tuesday after playing computer games non-stop for four days.

According to the Associated Press, the jobless man was glued to a computer in a cybercafe in Kwanju, 260 kilometres south-west of Seoul, since last Friday.

Deprived of sleep and proper meals, he collapsed in front of the counter desk early Tuesday but soon regained consciousness. He was subsequently found dead in the cafe's toilet.

This isn't an isolated case. Earlier this year, a Louisiana mother sued Nintendo for "unspecified damages", alleging its console games caused seizures in her 30-year-old son which subsequently led to his death. The man spent 48 hours a week playing video games.

While such extreme cases are rare and often a causal relationship between computer games and health ailments can''t be established, the safe doctrine seems to lie with yet another cliche -- do everything in moderation.

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Story URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/emergingtech/0,1000000183,2123719,00.htm