Captainkidd Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 On September 29, 2007 I was watching this show while playing runescape, it was about the affect of being addicted to video games, this one story caught my ear, so I turned off runescape and turned up the T.V. Apperently this guy named Shawn Woolley got so addicted to EverQuest that he went into his own world with it edventually killing himself some time around thanksgiving, from a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head, sitting at his computer, with the game on... Wikipedia Article Post your thoughts about this, I frankly think it's sad and terrible AND to add on to it John Smedley, Sony's CEO said that the game wasn't what caused him to kill himself, but that obvisouly not the case. Find this article interesting, check out this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellbellz Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 "... who had been diagnosed with epilepsy, depression and schizoid personality disorder ..." I'm sure those might be the reasons he commited suicide. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led-Zeppelin Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Lol at blaming a gaming company for your child killing himself. Blame the parents for not making him get some fresh air every now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainkidd Posted December 30, 2007 Author Share Posted December 30, 2007 "... who had been diagnosed with epilepsy, depression and schizoid personality disorder ..." I'm sure those might be the reasons he commited suicide. :?That was after...Here let me post the story. He first was living with his mom and got addicted to it, she got rid of the internet so he stopped playing it, he went to some re-hab and gets a job and an apartment, he get a computer with internet, does go to work for about a week, his mom comes over and find him dead. He was diagnosed with those when he was in re-hab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olbritishchap Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 If you kill yourself over a game, you must have other problems than being addicted to the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadril Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 This is something that happened over 7 years ago.... I mean, wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I say it often in the soft drug threads: video game addiction is a serious problem. :( http://www.wowdetox.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiriyama Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Lol at blaming a gaming company for your child killing himself. Blame the parents for not making him get some fresh air every now and then. He was 21. Which makes it all the more pathetic that they blame the gaming world. If you want to find something to blame for suicide, look into their history. For all we know he was abused as a child, bullied and did drugs. So again, why blame video games just because he played them? Denizen of Darkness| PSN= sworddude198 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_L Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Video games and mood/personality disorders don't go well together. It's really a shame when people commit suicide, no matter what the reason is. Call me mad, but due to my own experience I'm kind of sympathetic to those with mood/personality disorders. I don't think anyone is to blame for this case, as the game company didn't cause him to commit suicide, neither did the game. His mind told him to do so, and unfortunately, he obeyed it. :( It is a sad loss - and it is also sad that people are so quick to jump on the 'let's blame the game's publisher' bandwagon. Just my two pence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led-Zeppelin Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Lol at blaming a gaming company for your child killing himself. Blame the parents for not making him get some fresh air every now and then. He was 21. Which makes it all the more pathetic that they blame the gaming world. If you want to find something to blame for suicide, look into their history. For all we know he was abused as a child, bullied and did drugs. So again, why blame video games just because he played them? We should blame underwear, I'm sure he was wearing them at the time of his death too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiriyama Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Lol at blaming a gaming company for your child killing himself. Blame the parents for not making him get some fresh air every now and then. He was 21. Which makes it all the more pathetic that they blame the gaming world. If you want to find something to blame for suicide, look into their history. For all we know he was abused as a child, bullied and did drugs. So again, why blame video games just because he played them? We should blame underwear, I'm sure he was wearing them at the time of his death too. Thats pretty much the logic they go by. He played Everquest alot, blame that. He did alot of things that others do. So we can blame, food, clothes, bathing, skin, anything by that logic. Denizen of Darkness| PSN= sworddude198 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Lol at blaming a gaming company for your child killing himself. Blame the parents for not making him get some fresh air every now and then. He was 21. Which makes it all the more pathetic that they blame the gaming world. If you want to find something to blame for suicide, look into their history. For all we know he was abused as a child, bullied and did drugs. So again, why blame video games just because he played them? We should blame underwear, I'm sure he was wearing them at the time of his death too. I agree -- it would be silly to blame video games for his suicide. Now I ask you this: If somebody was severely addicted to cocaine and comitted suicide "because of" heavy use, should we blame the drug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led-Zeppelin Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Well, I say yes, blame the drug, as it is ALOT more mind altering then playing a video game. Had the person not been under the influance may have decided against taking their own life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggy08755 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 "... who had been diagnosed with epilepsy, depression and schizoid personality disorder ..." I'm sure those might be the reasons he commited suicide. :?That was after...Here let me post the story. He first was living with his mom and got addicted to it, she got rid of the internet so he stopped playing it, he went to some re-hab and gets a job and an apartment, he get a computer with internet, does go to work for about a week, his mom comes over and find him dead. He was diagnosed with those when he was in re-hab. Just because he was diagnosed with them doesn't mean they just show up. well today at 11:30 am 14 years ago i was born.. wo0t!!!At 11:30 you should start holding your head underwater wo0t!!!Stop acting such a moron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamster Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Yes, it's a sad thing, but it isn't entirely the game's fault. Ah, this reminds me about the noob on the Runescape forums who was upset with the quest "Cold War" because apparently his grandparents died in the war. :wall: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Led-Zeppelin Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 [hide] [/hide] Yes, it's a sad thing, but it isn't entirely the game's fault. Why do people find it so witty to post crap like that. When obviously people have still found it interesting, and a valid discussion has come from it? Go away mate, cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkmage099 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 But seriously "When I spoke with Ms. Woolley, I expressed my condolences. And it's really one of those terrible things that happens. And there's just nothing to suggest that EverQuest had any role in his death. EverQuest is a game. And I don't see any connection between a form of entertainment and somebody's tragic suicide. It's entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, 'Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough's enough.' It's a game." --CEO Summed it up pretty well there. Trix.--quit WoW as of 12/07Thank you 4be2jue for the wonderful sig and avatar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrOwez Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 [hide] [/hide] Yes, it's a sad thing, but it isn't entirely the game's fault. Why do people find it so witty to post crap like that. When obviously people have still found it interesting, and a valid discussion has come from it? Go away mate, cheers.same reason why you posted that to be witty and to stand out on the story yeah been there done that it was on the news a few years back that some other kid killed himself because he got hacked.. ahh well. A friend to all is a friend to none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Well, I say yes, blame the drug, as it is ALOT more mind altering then playing a video game. Had the person not been under the influance may have decided against taking their own life. Sorry, let me clarify: If somebody was severely addicted to cocaine and comitted suicide (while sober) because of the addiction, should we blame the drug? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giordano Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Well, I say yes, blame the drug, as it is ALOT more mind altering then playing a video game. Had the person not been under the influance may have decided against taking their own life. Sorry, let me clarify: If somebody was severely addicted to cocaine and comitted suicide (while sober) because of the addiction, should we blame the drug? Blaming is easy. Who cares who we blame. Its what we do it them that matters. So are we going to ban all video games? Alchol? While the newspaper writers blame video games, what are they going to do about it? Reduce its players? Ha! "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you never hear it you'll never know what justice is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 While the newspaper writers blame video games, what are they going to do about it? Reduce its players? Ha! Essentially, yes. ;) The more the media blames a product for suicide/death/problems/etc. the less desirable the product becomes. As a result, the number of people using that product will decrease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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