14 DAY TRIAL // Diablo 3 has “claimed” another life, as after a man from North America died because of a marathon 72-hour session spent with the role-playing dungeon crawler, an 18-year-old Taiwanese man has also passed away after playing the game for an estimated 40 hours.
Diablo III came out two months ago and has attracted tens of millions of players to its intense experience.
Sadly, like many other addictive games, it wasn’t long before incidents happened to its players.
First, we heard of a man from the U.S. who was found dead after spending a whole weekend with the RPG.
Now, CVG reports of an 18-year-old man from Taiwan who died after playing Diablo 3 for 40 uninterrupted hours.
The man, known only as Chuang, booked a room at an internet café in his country on Friday and played without food or sleep. An attendant went to check on him on Sunday morning and found the young man passed out.
After a bit of effort, the man got up, took a few steps, and collapsed on the floor.
While an ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital, he shortly died after being in the care of doctors.
While it’s unclear what has happened, early reports blame a blood clot or heart problems caused by the long period spent seated.
Blizzard has released a statement on the matter and declined to talk more about the unfortunate event.
"We're saddened to hear this news, and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. We don't feel it would be appropriate for us to comment further without knowing all of the circumstances involved,” the company said.
“While we recognize that it's ultimately up to each individual or their parent or guardian to determine playing habits, we feel that moderation is clearly important, and that a person's day-to-day life should take precedence over any form of entertainment."
As with all such articles, people should take note and refrain from playing a game for extended periods of time, no matter how addictive it might be.