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Korean gamer dies after marathon session
Collapses after 96 hours

By CNET Networks

Published: Friday 11 October 2002

Too much of anything is bad for you. This cliché cannot ring more true for a South Korean man who died on Tuesday after playing computer games non-stop for four days.

According to the Associated Press, the jobless man was glued to a computer in a cybercafé in Kwanju, 260 kilometres south-west of Seoul, since last Friday.

Deprived of sleep and proper meals, he collapsed in front of the counter desk early Tuesday but soon regained consciousness. He was subsequently found dead in the cafe's toilet.

This isn't an isolated case. Earlier this year, a Louisiana mother sued Nintendo for "unspecified damages", accusing the game maker of causing seizures in her 30-year-old son which subsequently led to his death. The man spent 48 hours a week playing video games.

While such extreme cases are rare and often a causal relationship between computer games and health ailments can hardly be established, the safe doctrine seems to lie with yet another cliché - do everything in moderation.

Winston Chai writes for CNETAsia.