While the rest of the world worries about global warming, guns and which countries may or may not be building nuclear weapons, there are evidently some people out there who ought to be more concerned about things a little closer to home.
According to Japanese website Game Spark, a 21-year-old man in China has been found dead after playing an as yet unnamed online role-playing game for some 40 hours.
Although the precise cause of death has yet to be revealed, the man – from Guangxi, an autonomous region of mainland China – is believed to have logged into his game at around 2 a.m. on Christmas day after completing a shift at a karaoke centre. Taking only minimal breaks to use the toilet and to eat, the 21-year-old is reported to have clocked an incredible 40 hours of play time before collapsing and dying.
The man’s death comes after a similar incident in July last year when a Taiwanese gamer died after a mammoth session on popular action role-playing game Diablo III.
As someone who has lost more time to Black Ops 2‘s online multiplayer mode than he would care to admit, this writer knows all too well that “just a little bit more” feeling and how difficult it can be to walk away when you can almost smell the next in-game upgrade or unlockable item. As Game Spark comments, however, no matter how enthusiastic we are about our video games, “it’s important to keep in mind the effects playing for long periods of time will have on your health and to take regular breaks.”
Too much of anything will kill you, boys and girls. Play safe.
Guangxi is located in Southern China, bordering with Vietnam
