Man dies after 50 hours of computer games

MSNBC ^ | August 9, 2005 | Reuters

[texianyankee]

SEOUL, South Korea - A South Korean man who played computer games for 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe, authorities said on Tuesday. The 28-year-old man, identified only by his family name Lee, had been playing online battle simulation games at the cybercafe in the southeastern city of Taegu, police said. Lee had planted himself in front of a computer monitor to play online games on Aug. 3. He only left the spot over the next three days to go to the toilet and take brief naps on a makeshift bed, they said. "We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a Taegu provincial police official said by telephone. Lee had recently quit his job to spend more time playing games, the daily JoongAng Ilbo reported after interviewing former work colleagues and staff at the Internet cafe. After he failed to return home, Lee's mother asked his former colleagues to find him. When they reached the cafe, Lee said he would finish the game and then go home, the paper reported. He died a few minutes later, it said. South Korea, one of the most wired countries in the world, has a large and highly developed game industry.

[Oztrich Boy]

And yet the report omits the important details.

What was his high score?

[melt]

What was his high score?

His high score? One thing's certain--- he now has the dubious World Record for HALO, rest his soul...

[supercat]

Did he ever get to see Sporky Dorky?

[neverhome]

He quit his job so he could play more games?

What a nut-bucket!

Years ago, I spent a marathon weekend on the old Nintendo when Super Metroid was new, but I DID get a good night's sleep. Super Metroid is STILL the best game ever, btw.

I just can't believe he quit his job to play video games. That's bizarre.