It's Official - Online Games Can Kill You

[fitbabits]

Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net) has the shocking details (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62203).

Just a week after another South Korean man collapsed and died (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62128) following a mammoth gaming session, a new report on the phenomenon has been published by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation.

According to Korean news site Digital Chosunilbo, the report states that the main cause of death amongst people playing computer games is pulmonary thrombo-embolism. Dr Song Hyeong-gon of the Samsung Seoul hospital told the site that the risk is higher for gamers due to the nature of their preferred activity.

"Because they are stressed by the obsession with winning the game, they consume a considerable amount of energy. In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death."
Jeez, I've gone without sleep before in order to keep playing a game that I simply couldn't put down, but this is nuts.

[CapnAJ]

What is it with Korean's, computer games and dying?

[Ernst_Jager]

WTS Krol Blade + Crusader

[Malovech]

That is one screwed up culture...

[Heretic Machine]

This just in: Playing football without a helmet can kill you!

[fitbabits]

This just in: Playing football without a helmet can kill you!
And riding a bike naked will get you arrested.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Koreans are weak.

[phantomhitman]

its real, it killed me twice

[joruussuun]

Koreans are fighting a war! And the Computers are winning!

[bean19]

Exhaustion + Excitement + bright images = death

Fantastic.

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

In other words, dont have sex with a clown.

[Apex]

Right thats it. Im banning anything even remotely fun. Everybody paint your walls a dull grey

[Xaerin]

Games don't kill people, pulmonary thrombo-embolisms do.

[Nath5000]

I think that pulmonary embolisms are when you are immobile for a long period of time and as a result a blood clot may form in a vein in the body, mosy commonly (although still rare) in the calf area of the leg. THe blood clot can become loosened and travel through the blood stream and can block the main arteries of the heart or the lung suffocating them of blood flow which can cause a sudden death. I think I read somewhere that its the number one cause of rare sudden deaths worldwide. People who are at risk are people who are immobile for long periods of time such as people who take long airplane flights, long road trips, who are immobile or limited to their bed for a long period of time and sensibly someone who sits at a computer long enough and doesnt move and has other contributing factors may also be at risk. The most important thing to mention is that this is rare. It was bound to happen to a gamer sooner or later. Anyways im no doctor, this is just tidbits of information that ive put together from what ive read over the past year or so. Also Im not sure if any of you are familiar with the story but i believe that it was a big story in the news a while ago becuase one of the journalists died in iraq suddenly from travelling in a cramped tank or bradley armored vehicle for a long time without moving. I cant remember the journalists name though,.

"In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death." - This seems like a pretty wacky quote. I think more likely the person developed the blood clot and somehow was excited or you know the feeling when your rushing in with the flag in a big match and your heart starts pumping? Im guessing thats what this guy means lol. I dont think colours and bright lights could cause your brain to explode.

[Thenetcase]

Why the fudge does this only happen to Oriental people?

I suspect it has to do with them not getting enough of the right kinds of foods to keep their brain healthy. Maybe because they don't eat enough red meat or get the vitamins / chemicals that red meat would contain from another source.

Damn malnurished brains are subject to termination with out warning. Serves the idiots right.

-TNC-

[fitbabits]

Why the fudge does this only happen to Oriental people?

I suspect it has to do with them not getting enough of the right kinds of foods to keep their brain healthy. Maybe because they don't eat enough red meat or get the vitamins / chemicals that red meat would contain from another source.

Damn malnurished brains are subject to termination with out warning. Serves the idiots right.

-TNC-
Psst, 'oriental people' went the way of 'negro people' quite some time ago.

[Talanvor]

Come on now, some Korean doctors (Yes, South Korean ones) still think that sleeping with a fan on in your room can steal your breath. Try to put this in perspective people.

[The Iron Weasel]

MY GOD!

*throws out BF2, Halo 2, Socom 2, Killzone, Chaos Theory.......all online games*

HA! No pulmonary thrombo-embolism for me!

[Shifteh]

In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death.

And on the entire planet, in the last 20 or so years, how many people have actually died from this? Likely? Bullshit.

[S1n1star]

There is a factor that this little report is blatantly missing. The smoking culture in South Korea is akin to the US circa 1940's. These guys at cyber cafes are probably sitting in a room so smoke filled they can barely see the monitor, plus smoking like a tire fire themselves. Subject anyone to that with the combination of exhaustion and and excited state and see what happens to their circulatory system.

[fitbabits]

MY GOD!

*throws out BF2, Halo 2, Socom 2, Killzone, Chaos Theory.......all online games*

HA! No pulmonary thrombo-embolism for me!
Too late, Weasel - the damage is already done. :rolleyes:

[fitbabits]

There is a factor that this little report is blatantly missing. The smoking culture in South Korea is akin to the US circa 1940's. These guys at cyber cafes are probably sitting in a room so smoke filled they can barely see the monitor, plus smoking like a tire fire themselves. Subject anyone to that with the combination of exhaustion and and excited state and see what happens to their circulatory system.
Actually, it's mentioned in the article.

Apparently Korean gamers are also at high risk because many of them play in Internet cafés, which are often dark, badly ventilated and full of cigarette smoke. And because some spend long periods of time sitting at their PC without moving, they're also at risk of deep vein thrombosis.
See what you learn when you read the whole story and not just the summary?

[The Iron Weasel]

Too late, Weasel - the damage is already done. :rolleyes:

Damn! Oh well now I have to go sifting through my trash.

[Nath5000]

According to emedicine Pulmonary Embolisms as a result of a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) are a large cause of deaths in hospitals in the USA. It doesnt say anything about being common outside of the hospital though. Im assuming it's because genreally people are moving outside of the hospital and generally the most ill people are in hospitals and add the fact in that theyre immobile and a blood clot can form. I mean nobody really sits sleeps and eats at a pc all day without moving much. Most people move a little even if its going to the bathroom? Maybe the fact that some gamers have to get up to go to the washroom every so often is really saving their otherwise unhealthy ass more then they know. heh

EMedicine.com page http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1958.htm "PE is the third most common cause of death in hospitalized patients, with at least 650,000 cases occurring annually"

[Thenetcase]

Does it help at all that I jump up and down and curse like a sailor everytime someone gets a headshot on me? ;) ;)

-TNC-

[fitbabits]

According to emedicine Pulmonary Embolisms as a result of a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) are a large cause of deaths in hospitals in the USA. It doesnt say anything about being common outside of the hospital though, because genreally people are moving. I mean nobody really gets up sits at a pc all day and then goes to sleep, well not until MMO's were created.

EMedicine.com page http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1958.htm
Deep Vein Thrombosis is also not uncommon on long haul flights, which is why it's recommended that you get up and stretch your legs every hour or so.

[fitbabits]

Does it help at all that I jump up and down and curse like a sailor everytime someone gets a headshot on me? ;) ;)

-TNC-
Yes, that helps immeasurably. :)

[AniAko]

It's funny, nintendo has a warning in all their manuals that you should only play games for no longer than an hour at a time, taking 15 min breaks inbetween. I guess they've had the same results on their test subjects....:eek:

[Nath5000]

It's funny, nintendo has a warning in all their manuals that you should only play games for no longer than an hour at a time, taking 15 min breaks inbetween. I guess they've had the same results on their test subjects....:eek:


That could be because of a bunch of things though. Eye strain, muskulo-skeletal problems like arthritis or some sort of nerve damage from using a repetitive hand motion for so long. I dont think nintendo actually decided to put the disclaimer up because of a tester croaking from a blood clot clog while playing mario. lol :D

[Citizen Philip]

Why the fudge does this only happen to Oriental people?

I suspect it has to do with them not getting enough of the right kinds of foods to keep their brain healthy. Maybe because they don't eat enough red meat or get the vitamins / chemicals that red meat would contain from another source.

Damn malnurished brains are subject to termination with out warning. Serves the idiots right.

-TNC-

What's with them white-folk, games and killing people?

Your post is flamebait, right?

[boratika]

It's funny, nintendo has a warning in all their manuals that you should only play games for no longer than an hour at a time

Then they go and make Fire Emblem. Seems a tad contradictory.

Why the fudge does this only happen to Oriental people?

I suspect it has to do with them not getting enough of the right kinds of foods to keep their brain healthy. Maybe because they don't eat enough red meat or get the vitamins / chemicals that red meat would contain from another source.

Damn malnurished brains are subject to termination with out warning. Serves the idiots right.

-TNC-

Have you ever seen a Korean resturant's menu? They seem to follow a sort of anti kosher\halal where they have to eat pork with every meal.

[aversion2k]

People die on planes from deep vein thrombosis.

[Vulture]

People die on planes from deep vein thrombosis.

People Die. Think of it as evolution in action.
Whether its on a plane,
or eating Pork Chow Mein,
or sitting in front of a game.
You should listen to your body.

[Crabby]

I think that pulmonary embolisms are when you are immobile for a long period of time and as a result a blood clot may form in a vein in the body, mosy commonly (although still rare) in the calf area of the leg. THe blood clot can become loosened and travel through the blood stream and can block the main arteries of the heart or the lung suffocating them of blood flow which can cause a sudden death. I think I read somewhere that its the number one cause of rare sudden deaths worldwide. People who are at risk are people who are immobile for long periods of time such as people who take long airplane flights, long road trips, who are immobile or limited to their bed for a long period of time and sensibly someone who sits at a computer long enough and doesnt move and has other contributing factors may also be at risk. The most important thing to mention is that this is rare. It was bound to happen to a gamer sooner or later. Anyways im no doctor, this is just tidbits of information that ive put together from what ive read over the past year or so. Also Im not sure if any of you are familiar with the story but i believe that it was a big story in the news a while ago becuase one of the journalists died in iraq suddenly from travelling in a cramped tank or bradley armored vehicle for a long time without moving. I cant remember the journalists name though,.

"In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death." - This seems like a pretty wacky quote. I think more likely the person developed the blood clot and somehow was excited or you know the feeling when your rushing in with the flag in a big match and your heart starts pumping? Im guessing thats what this guy means lol. I dont think colours and bright lights could cause your brain to explode.


David Bloom.

[NACIONAL]

In other words, dont have sex with a clown.

HAHAHAHA This Post made my day....

[Nath5000]

David Bloom.


Yeah, I cant believe I forgot the name. Either way, the article makes it sound like the bright lights make someones brain aneurism or something when its really just a condition that can rarely affect anyone who is immobile.

[hd1]

Well, I guess I should hold off on ordering that "JAPANESE SEIZURE ROBOTS: THE 70 HOUR NO-SAVEPOINT GAME," huh?

[Nighthawk]

Pulmonary Embolisms happen quite a bit in the hospital as was stated earlier. My dad is a pilot and uses the computer/sits at a desk a lot at work and home and had never had one. However when he broke his leg and was laid up in a hospital bed for about 2 weeks (they found a tumor in the bone he broke and had to remove the bone and replace it) they found he had a small one. It was not big enough to cause a problem, but he was still on blood thinners for a few months and the FAA didn't want to give him his pilots license back until they were 150% sure he wasn't gonna get one from just sitting on the plane flying or anything. They didn't seem to understand he had gotten it from being immobilized in a bed for a couple of weeks because he was not allowed to move his leg while the new bone healed.

My mother also had one many years ago in her lung as well when she was in the hospital to have her tonsils or something like that removed. No something you hear about very often, but thats one of the main reasons I shift the way I sit if I'm gaming or just at work every so often so no part of my butt is being pressed down on constantly for long periods of time. It might be a freak thing that happens, but it has happened to both my folks in the hospital, so I don't take it lightly.

[dead]

Well it is just common sense that anything abused and overused to the extreme will eventually kill you. Whether it is drinking water, or jogging or just simply playing games.

[Vipermmx]

The thing is here Korean gamers will sit for 40+ hours straight on a game. I myself get drunk so much at night that my blood is to think to do damage lol. Plus when i sit i still get up alot. If im drinking and playing a game i hit the restroom 10 times per hour LOL.