“The parents of a 13 year-old boy who died falling from a building are suing World of Warcraft developer Blizzard, claiming that the massively-multiplayer online game is to blame for their son’s death. According to Chinese news agency Xinhua, the parents, who reside in the city of Tianjin, claim the boy jumped to his death whilst re-enacting a scene from the game. They are supported by Zhang Chunliang, a well-known activist whose campaign seeks to highlight the dangers of Internet addiction….There are more than 1.5 million World of Warcraft players in China — making up more than a third of the game’s worldwide subscriber base, even though the game only went on sale there in June.” (Ellie Gibson, “Parents set to sue Blizzard after World of Warcraft player dies”, GamesIndustry.biz, Nov. 21)(Joystiq.com thread). More on computer- and videogame suits: Oct. 21, Nov. 9, etc.

Filed under: tech through 2008