Video Games linked directly to violence (in China)

[KurtNYC]

When Qiu Chengwei reported the theft of his "dragon sabre", he was laughed out of the police station. So the 41-year-old online games player decided to take matters into his own hands.

Swapping virtual weapons for a real knife, he tracked down the man who had robbed him of his prized fantasy possession and stabbed him to death.
...
Newspapers are filled with reports of internet-game related crimes and tragedies, such as the suicide in January of a boy of 13 who left notes saying he was so addicted to online games that he had difficulty distinguishing between reality and virtual reality. Last March, two students in Chongqing fell asleep on a railway track after an all-night internet session, and a 31-year old Legend of Mir addict reportedly dropped dead after a 20-hour session. Many of the crimes are related to the thefts of virtual possessions.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=200561&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/

Years back, I worked on an article on Everquest and interviewed many players who either knew people who's lives were seriously disrupted or admitted that their own lives were. People got divorced, went broke, lost jobs, etc. while hooked on Everquest.

And what the heck is "death by exhaustion"? or do they mean the students who 'fell asleep on a railway track'?

[Aiptasia]

1. I say, good riddance...

Hey, I was a bona-fide computer nerd in the 80's. However, reality has to kick in at some point. If kids are playing online games 24/7, who'se fault is that? Where are their parents and why are their parents so clueless as to their activities. Probably ignoring them, like the Columbine Trenchcoat Mafia kids.

Johnny was such a nice boy until he started playing Doom 3 for months at a time.

I just try not to be around when these psychos explode is all.