The makers of popular MMORPG Lineage II are facing a lawsuit accusing them of acting negligently by failing to warn a man that he could become addicted to the game, which he blames for making him “unable to function independently” and costing him 20,000 hours of his life.
The plaintiff in the case, an American resident of Hawaii, alleges he became addicted to Lineage II, squandering 20,000 hours playing the game in the 2004-2009 period.
So afflicted was he that he became “unable to function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends,” he claims.
This was, he says, a direct result of the fact that maker NCsoft “acted negligently in failing to warn or instruct or adequately warn or instruct plaintiff and other players of Lineage II of its dangerous and defective characteristics, and of the safe and proper method of using the game.”
He maintains he would never have begun playing the game had he known it was so addictive. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages.
Korean game maker NCsoft released the game in 2003 as a sequel to Lineage, a highly successful fantasy MMORPG much esteemed for its sexy dark elves. The sequel boasted over 600,000 subscribers at its peak, and still maintains a substantial following.
Lineage II was notorious even amongst MMORPG circles for having an exceptionally high “grind” factor, requiring vast investments of time in order to reach the higher levels.
The judge presiding has refused to dismiss the claims, although it is not clear whether the suit will make it to trial. NCsoft for its part has demanded the court dismiss the case.
Coming from the nation that pioneered the “hot things may burn you” warning label, all bets are off as to whether the case will go forward.
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Yeah right... you expect a company to be your substitute parents and bear responsibility for your lack of self-control.
WAY TO GO, YO!
I wonder how he could manage to goof off 5 friggin' YEARS without noticing that something is awry???
I'd guess he was draining some of his relatives to uphold this kind of lifestyle. Maybe he should bale them instead of others.
Something must have gone really wrong with his internal wiring..
looks like lineage II doesn't only addicted him but also screw with his brain... or maybe his brain already screwed even before play lineage II?
This is beyond ridiculous.
My verdict, the plaintiff receives several years of mental therapy at an institution for thinking this is a viable case. Any money some sleazy lawyer put him up to it.
Since when does being too successful become punishable? They made a great game. Thank them for entertaining your pathetic life for 20k hours. Little bitches like this make me sick.
Considering that people have sued for the fact that there is no warning label on baby carriages (at least at the time) to warn people that CLOSING IT WHILE THERE IS A BABY INSIDE is a bad idea, This probably will go quite far.
This lawsuit has solid foundation and if it succeds, it can set a legal presedent ^_^
This will be big, like the first lawsuits against tabacco companies.
No one told me the hot coffee was hot!
Suing a company that made a game to entertain people you had a choice not play it yet you played it anyways blaming on your own problems that was your problem.
I remember an example of American lawsuit. In essence the ladder maker needed to tape warnings and disclaimers so much that the tapes cost nearly 50% of the price for the ladder. He got out of the business soon.
10 hours a day, every day, for 5 years.
I say fuck that turd burglar in the nostrils.
Addiction isn't forced, he chose to throw his life away for 5 years.
You're an idiot, that is all.
It's not like the people who sue Sony were pissed off.
so he thinks the game WASTED 20,000 hours... doesn't seem like a waste to me, since it was well over the normal amount of time to see if the game was a waste or not.
I think what really happened is that he lost all of his money and cannot pay for another 20,000 hours. go ahead and take his case and give him money, I GUARANTEE 100% that he will just go back to playing it.
Concidering he is american... I guess he will win the lawsuit?
In America, everything sues you!
This is as pointless as when fat people sued the fast food chains because the food made them fat
The guy should get sued by the US government for wasting the court's time ... The penalty is is jail time unless found not guilty by mental desease or defect, which would fit this guy and get him help in a room with padded walls. All the time should be paid back in community service and shit so he hates his life for the next 20 years.
To live in Hawaii of all places and choose to stay inside and only play video games is bad enough... but Lineage??? Seriously?
I played for 2 hours and quit... After I took high elf upskirt shots. They sure do have lacy panties. Elves would I guess.
They have dwarfish lolis though
Video games are no different than that of beer, food, drugs or TV. If you take to much, then you'll fall in a downward spiral where at some point you realize years have been shaved off for not having the control over your choices
Only in the USA. Maybe all water taps should get a sign, too: "Water can get you wet!" lulz
If not they get a lawsuit. ^__^
and every girl need to say they are a gold digger... if not they can get sued for misleading and fraud...
I hate my own country and it's inhabitants more and more each day.
"He is seeking unspecified monetary damages"
Seeking another game that is less addictive MMORPG right?
He looks everywhere. He finds(wastes time). He plays(wastes time). He complains again, this time, saying "the story is too short"...(People like him, are just a waste of space)
Sad part was that he was living in Hawaii, and still chose to pump 5 years of his life into a virtual world.
any 1 know the morons address? I'll go beat him senseless w/his keyboard
yeah, stupid enough to blame the company for his lact of self control. 5 years of gaming reduce his logic ang awareness
Yeah like pedo like you who watch loli shit and fap to it! Sure fucker!
Again with the McDonald's Hot Coffee frivolous lawsuit type bullshit. >_<
Stupidity like this shouldn't be rewarded.... but it is. Constantly.
Tort Law is one of the biggest crocks of shit going. And the lawyers who feed into this and advertise plaintiffs (not word for word, mind) becoming independently wealthy through litigation should be taken out behind the courthouse and shot. Repeatedly. Just to, you know, make sure they're dead.
i agree with you. i just find it funny how it's a hawaii man. and i live in hawaii too XD
I play this game since 2004 too until now ( with some breaks ), it is true the female characters magically attractive, but this doesn't mean i have to spend ++9000 hours watching them jumping & dancing :s, u may see a sexy dark elf somewhere but behind a fat fugly guy/women/monster ? lol. it's just a game with thing u control in a fantasy world.
There are thousand of games with sexy character, does this mean making a game with cute character is sin ? i think not
Well, This IS America we're talking about. People are not expected to be responsible or reasonable here.
haha, that guy should just kill himself. he is unable to "dress himself and communicate with family members" yet he manages to set up a multimillion dollar law suit. yeah right...
he couldn't afford to keep playing and didn't want to get a job. so he figured he would sue them to pay for his subscription. after the case is dismissed, he will have to pay for his lawyer fees on top of that.
a bullet to the head is sounding pretty good for him right about now.
This kind of shit needs to stop. This guy doesn't need money, he needs to learn some personal responsibility, that and throw him in jail for a couple months for wasting court time.
As long as he don't enter into the gene pool, anything is fine.
I guess the game did something right if it can attract a person's attention that much.
That said, I'm all for a disclaimer claiming addictiveness of MMORPGs, though it should be common knowledge. Good games or bad, they are made to addict.
Every Hour L2 promts a message in your chat box
"you have played for an extended time of amount please consider taking a break before continuing"
or
"you have player for an hour please consider taking a break before playing again"
Don't remmeber :D
Anyway if you haven't notice that, then you are a failure as a human being...
LOL
i like it when addict blames others for their life going wrong
anyone with common sense would know if you continuously waste time, you wont get that time back
Unfortunately the human mind isn't rational. Addictions play into non-rational parts of the brain. Take smoking as an example. Everyone knows that if you do smoke, chances are you will die horribly. Yet, it is incredibly difficult to kick the habit. The brain just happens to be wired in certain ways; whether LII abused this to addict people remains for him to prove though.
In any case, those 20k hours weren't really ‘lost’ - he was having fun, no?
Alas, the tragedy of those who don't respect their own free will and self-control and resort to blaming outside forces.
So this is what Square Enix is trying to avoid with their fatigue system.
Why can't they just put a disclaimer? " Warning: this game may cause loss of social life."
They should say: "Warning, if you are a retard don't play this. Have a nice day."
Can't someone sue for this?
Only if he can prove that he's a retard. ^_^
That would not be difficult.
Well, in Japan they could harass you for using the word "retard" and have it removed from your manga, I'm sure...
because most retards don't realize how retarded they're , there'll be a lot of lawsuits
They may just make another lawsuit against S-E for 'defamation' towards hardcore players.
First step towards maturity: be responsible for your own actions.
...Guess this guy never had it in him in the first place...
That is actually what EverQuest did with their re-release of the first game boxes, and the sequel. There's a reason why it was called EverCrack. They put on a warning that stipulated that they weren't responsible for loss of social life, job, friends/significant other, etc.
WoW also has a disclaimer, I think it's something along the lines of "Take everything in moderation. Even World of Warcraft!".
Actually, Final Fantasy XI does have a little thing saying not to "forget your family, your school, or your work" and that you are "taking part in an experience which is unique to MMORPGs and can be very immersive".
It shows up every time you launch the game.
FFXI DID have such a disclaimer, lol. Guess they were just covering their asses. :P