Boy dies after hours of gaming

By Ellie Gibson Published 22 June, 2005

Daylong session ends in tragedy.

A schoolboy has died after collapsing at the end of a 12-hour gaming session, according to Russian newspapers.

The boy, aged 12 and named only as Sergei, lived in the Yekaterinburg, western Russia. He was allowed to visit the local computer club by his parents as a reward for achieving good grades in school.

He regularly played for 10-12 hours at a time without a break, according to a club employee, who told Russian newspapers: "When this boy came last time, he felt quite good and played for [a long time], almost 12 hours.

"Then suddenly he fell on the floor and convulsed. We called an ambulance immediately, doctors arrived fast and took him to a hospital."

The boy was diagnosed as having suffered an epileptic seizure after he displayed unusual behaviour and failed to recognise his parents. He was put on a ventilator and died a week later, with the cause of death listed as stroke.

“Brain haemorrhage took place due to sustained emotional stimulation of the brain. The boy had overworked," said Alexei Sulimov, a spokesperson for Yekaterinburg hospital.

“He was practically dying in that computer games club, but he still continued to play. This was the result of emotional stress because he was obsessed with the games.

"Apart from his obsession with computer games he was a healthy kid and there was no reason why he should not have had a long and healthy life," Sulimov said.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (71) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • trav #1 7 years ago

    Don't let the Daily Mail see this, they'll have a field day.

  • Razz #2 7 years ago

    O_O Game's can kill...

    Not really. Anything, absolutely anything overused can kill you. FACT.
    Do everything in moderation.

  • sir_tripod #3 7 years ago

    For crying out loud, don't let the Daily Mail know!

    As with anything you shouldn't do anything to excess and that's what's happened here. Condolenses to his parents.

  • Tweakmonkey #4 7 years ago

    That's a sad story. Makes you wonder what kind of computer club lets kids play that long...

  • Blerk #5 7 years ago

    What was he playing? Was it by EA? :-)

  • Fozzie_bear #6 7 years ago

    What was he playing? Was it by EA? :-)

    The quack blamed "sustained emotional stimulation". I think we can rule out EA.
    Edited by 1 at 22/06/05 @ 11:48

  • ali-uk #7 7 years ago

    Probably some ridiculous MMOG.

  • rinoaMW #8 7 years ago

    12 hours a day? and just when did he find the time to go to school? or sleep?

    blame the parents for negligance, not the games industy for feeding his 'obsession'

  • boo #9 7 years ago

    On the flipside, the Metro today reports the death of Jamie Ralph, aged 11 from Kettering, who sadly died from a heart attack during a P.E. lesson.

  • smelly #10 7 years ago

    "who sadly died from a heart attack during a P.E. lesson."

    Because he was so unfit from playing games?

  • rinoaMW #11 7 years ago

    "On the flipside, the Metro today reports the death of Jamie Ralph, aged 11 from Kettering, who sadly died from a heart attack during a P.E. lesson. "

    i bet he was "a healthy kid and there was no reason why he should not have had a long and healthy life," as well....

    /sigh i really hate all this computer game slander....

  • Dr_Evil #12 7 years ago

    I've heard that some people have died IN THEIR SLEEP.

    Ban this sick "sleeping" filth NOW.

  • jumpdeveraux #13 7 years ago

    Perhaps he just levelled up.

  • tomdominer #14 7 years ago

    'Not really. Anything, absolutely anything overused can kill you. FACT.'

    Eating fruit?

    Wanking?

  • L0cky #15 7 years ago

    Yes.

  • #16 7 years ago

    its true that wanking can kill you but its ok just get a res-errection like jesus did and carry on.

  • deaner #17 7 years ago

    My money is on an MMORPG.

    They are involving, if a total waste of life.

  • #18 7 years ago

    I never realised, as a child, that playing games for 12 hours could kill me!

    Jesus, how many times did I 'take that risk' when i was younger!

    hundreds, and it never killed me... games are not to blame for this tragedy!

    /smokers argument applied...

  • Abscido #19 7 years ago

    Perhaps he just levelled up.

    I really shouldn't be laughing so hard at that! :)

  • Vroom #20 7 years ago

    He must have been playing the last level of stuntman.

  • Ryu #21 7 years ago

    bet this happens a lot in Korea.

  • silver-jon #22 7 years ago

    Hang on, check Derren Brown's passport !

  • Nikanoru #23 7 years ago

    Eating fruit?

    Oranges are poisonous.

    If you eat enough of them.

  • Speedwolf #24 7 years ago

    /buttons up metal overcoat in anticipation of the inevitable games backlash
    /dons tinfoil hat
    /ducks

  • w00t #25 7 years ago

    *w00tfact*

    You can die from drinking too much water.

  • pantherboy #26 7 years ago

    The sad thing is that wasn't alone hidden away in a bedroom somewhere but at a 'computer club' where adults should have known better

  • chronom4n #27 7 years ago

    obviously he did not bother to read the guidance notes in user manuals... "for your health, se sure to take a break of about 15 minutes during every hour of play.....avoid when playing when tired or suffering from lack of sleep." well in this case he sure did get his sleep. eternal sleep!!!!"

  • ShoKay #28 7 years ago

    Well if some of the posts in this thread proves anything, it's that games can really kill your emotional health. C'mon, he was a kid.

  • Nikanoru #29 7 years ago

    Though really, there must have been something wrong with him. I can play for 12 hours straight and not feel any different than usual for it. So can anybody else I know.

  • Lockjaw #30 7 years ago

    That is tragic and unfortunate-But it is stated (in England at least) that you should take a fifteen minute break for every one hour of gameplay.

    As already stated by chronom4n

  • Solly #31 7 years ago

    Well if playing games for 12 hours puts you health at risk...I should've died years ago. My weekend games stints would last friday 6pm to Sunday 9pm (hopped up on ginseng and redbull) Very sad yes, life threatening no.

  • Sid-Nice #32 7 years ago

    Well he certainly wasn't hardcore. :)

  • Destria #33 7 years ago

    I regularly piss off my World of Warcraft groups by going AFK for 15 minutes every hour.

    "Tank: Okay. Ready to kill the big bad boss"
    "Me: AFK 15 mins. Need to take a break"
    "Eveybody in the whole world: WTF?!?! OMG!!1111"
    /kick

  • Freddy #34 7 years ago

    What GAME? What GAME? I'd bet you it was some EA crap!

    (Blerk, you're my man! :))

    Back in the days of Fallout a full 12h session was nothing... :)

  • Zuiyo #35 7 years ago

    I have started playing GT4 early morn' on a Saturday, stopping some 14 hours later to go to the club, where a kid died out of too much X.

    OK, the kid bit is not true. At least that I know of.
    Edited by 2 at 22/06/05 @ 13:56

  • louyfitz #36 7 years ago

    I've played for well over 24 hours and survived just fine, load of crap, END OF STORY

  • Nikanoru #37 7 years ago

    Well if some of the posts in this thread proves anything, it's that games can really kill your emotional health. C'mon, he was a kid.

    That's actually not the games' fault:<a href=http://penny-arcade.com/view.php?date=2004-03-19&res=l >well known PA strip</a>

  • drumbaby #38 7 years ago

    Was he playing Videodrome, or Existenz?

  • dk_rare #39 7 years ago

    Meh, a small price to pay for gaming.

    Besides, he was probably playing a Sony game, that's enough to kill anyone

  • mad_caddy #40 7 years ago

    "The boy was diagnosed as having suffered an epileptic seizure"
    and "He regularly played for 10-12 hours at a time without a break"

    ....of course he's going to have some major seizure if he did that.


    Edited by 1 at 22/06/05 @ 14:22

  • Mr_Whacker #41 7 years ago

    'Besides, he was probably playing a Sony game, that's enough to kill anyone'

    Yeah - that was just getting through the menus in an EA game...

  • Wash #42 7 years ago

    lol... ya gotta wonder why no one stopped to see if he was ok...

    you open shop in the morning, kid arrives... go to close shop and kids still there. If anyone didnt see something wrong with that....

    MMORPGs are the most fruitless waste of money ever.

  • rinoaMW #43 7 years ago

    "I've played for well over 24 hours and survived just fine, load of crap, END OF STORY"

    i think the point is that he did it "regularly"... not the once or twice that we've done it.

    and who said he was playing an MMORPG Wash? Don't make speculation about games that you don't understand...

  • Freddy #44 7 years ago

    IRT Wash: Not if you develop them... :p

  • louyfitz #45 7 years ago

    Meh, I suppose going to the shitter and grabing the odd sandwich counts as stopping, but I do quite often sit on my sofa on Live for over 12 hours, but your right I don't play for 24 hours more than 2-3 times a month.

  • Abscido #46 7 years ago

    In fairness though, surely the important point here is that he had an epileptic fit? That fairly rare isn't it, regardless of how long you spend playing games?

  • mad_caddy #47 7 years ago

    the warnings contained within the manuals of games about epilepsy are there for a reason, a great deal of information about epilepsy still isnt known, but it is known that prolonged exposure to images such as video games can cause a seizure.

    It's concievable that almost anyone can have a seizure at any point, you can spend a life of not being epileptic and then in the latter stages of your life it can develop.
    Edited by 2 at 22/06/05 @ 15:35

  • drumbaby #48 7 years ago

    Certain fps games can make me feel like crawling shakily into a corner and puking myself to death after only about 20 - 30 minutes. HL2, the Area 51 demo....Motion sickness/ frame rate issues.

    12 hours of playing anything is taking the piss. DVT anyone?

  • dk_rare #49 7 years ago

    Well Nintendo have their books covered in health warnings, no one will ever take them to court again. Those health warnings on Nintendo games are almost iconic now.

  • ProfessorChaos #50 7 years ago

    dk_rare I've learned something today - you are a dick

  • sir_tripod #51 7 years ago

    *w00tfact*

    You can die from drinking too much water.
    Yes, it's called drowning.

  • w00t #52 7 years ago

    That's breathing too much water...

  • The-Bodybuilder #53 7 years ago

    >"its true that wanking can kill you but its ok just get a res-errection like jesus did and carry on."

    Not funny.

    And I can't believe some of the comments on this thread. Sure the booklets warn about having breaks, but how many of you knew this when you were 12?

  • matt__jon #54 7 years ago

    Perhaps he just levelled up

    He must have been playing the last level of stuntman.

    lol. I should've died from heart attack many times from videogames, the huge jump in stress levels. Thats when all my anger comes out.

  • Tyronne #55 7 years ago

    Heres to natural selection in action, I mean 12 hrs of playing games ! back when I was twelve that would of resulted in 6 hrs of waiting for the copied speccy tape to load aside from r tape loading error messages and then 6 hrs of wondering what verb to use to in some adventure made by the quill.Why oh why oh why could he do what any normal 12 yr old do and instead have a wank to some porno he found in the road.

  • Nause #56 7 years ago

    Or perhaps it could have been over working getting the grades for school ?

  • w00t #57 7 years ago

    First off, don't joke about kids dying. If you have a younger sibling or child - you wouldn't laugh.

    The warnings in the front of video game manuals about epilepsy are there for a reason. In people with no previous symptoms can have atttacks playing games.

    Fact.

    Admittedly in a very few cases, and that kid was one of these cases. Come on guys, it's a fellow hardcore gamer!

  • captain-future #58 7 years ago

    If not humbug...

    That's the reason for the nice warning in Zelda Wind Waker to make pauses and to don't play all night long.

  • m2h #59 7 years ago

    Sometimes I think I'm epilitic. I can't stand strobe lights, sparklers, quick constant flashes in games, flourecent lighting that is flickering. It makes be extremely dizzy and nauseated. But nothing more.

    The article said the stroke may of been causes by sustained emotion. So this article is not pointing fingers at games as the cause. It just happend to be what the kid was doing at that time.

    Now I think that this kid had something wrong with him to begin with. When was the last time anyone was 12 hours strong full of constant emotion in a way that could cause something like that. Anything extreme usually exhausts a person in a short period of time.

  • m2h #60 7 years ago

    "That's the reason for the nice warning in Zelda Wind Waker to make pauses and to don't play all night long."

    The real reason those warnings are their is to make games seem like they take longer to play. ;)

    20hr game? Remove the warning, 1hr game. Heh.

  • caligari #61 7 years ago

    Funnily enough I've been playing Wind Waker untill 5:00am everyday for the past week.

    All I've contracted from that is a bad case of cotton mouth.

  • chronom4n #62 7 years ago

    if the gt franchise is anything to go by, then i reckon the polyphony guys are out to make sure that the endurance races will prove that massive gaming sessions def. do not kill you.

  • smelliot #63 7 years ago

    The people supervising really need to take more care.

  • mash the x button #64 7 years ago

    Fuck me, the pricks are out tonight. Have some respect you sad bunch of tossers.

  • Krun #65 7 years ago

    New game for all the family.

    Name 5 things that if done for 12hours a day will kill you.

    Drinking and eating
    Taking medication
    Exersize or Dancing
    Staying perfectly still.
    Holding your arms in the air

    Name 5 things odd that have killed or injured people this week.
    Clothing
    Toasters
    Chewing gum
    Flyspray
    monkey attack

    People die all the time; all over the world from many various things.

    Why is this artical even news.
    I dont see any news stories reporting the danger of underware or the deaths caused each year from fatal trouser malfuntion. They outnumber fatal games playing 4 to one.

  • dk_rare #66 7 years ago

    @ ProfessorChaos

    Well it is good to see that I have tought a professor summat, especially when such inspired words comes from your mouth.

  • thorny #67 7 years ago

    Iīm really in the risc zone. I work night and that is the only time I play. I work 2-3 nights a week and often play around 10 consecutive hours when I do. But itīs the only way to keep myself stay awake at work.
    Wouldnīt an epileptic seizure been noticed before his parents came? What I have seen of those, they seems to draw attention. Wouldnīt anybody had notice before he died? There seems to be a lot more to this then mentioned in the article. In the most cases, and specially if you are young and healthy a seizure wouldnt kill you. The warnings is in every game manual and games like Rez take it even more serious. Itīs right that you can go your whole life without any problem, but when it hits you, you will have it for the rest of your life, but that wouldnīt necessary mean that you will have any more seizures again.
    A great tip would be to never continue playing at the point you are getting dizzy.


  • Xerx3s #68 7 years ago

    ZOMG! HIS SOUL WAS COPIED TO THE GAME AND NOW HIS BODY IS AN AMPTY SHELL!!!! ZOMG!ZOMG!ZOMG!

    /Tard BS Daily Mail ignorance populistic fantasy wishfull writing mode off.

    Seriously, ive had lans where i played far longer than that (banana's are the bomb for staying awake! - Forget Red Bull!) :\

  • Wash #69 7 years ago

    rinoaMW i've sunk enough money in to DAoC, SWG, WoW to know that besides being an uppty 3d chat room, your really just farming crap over and over... with very little to show for it..

    woo i got to level 59, wot now - get to level 60. As opposed to single player rpgs by which time you would have also progressed the story aswell. Instead you spend your time queing at spawn points to kill a monster and get the mission item.

    rinse and repeat.

  • ProfessorChaos #70 7 years ago

    dk_rare

    Are you trying to defend yourself after what you said? You should go and sit back in your shame closet, pal.

  • Carrybagma #71 7 years ago

    I wonder if anyone died through constant posting to those awful Next-gen threads? They went on for days!

  • pelolep #72 7 years ago

    TheBodybuilder said:
    And I can't believe some of the comments on this thread. Sure the booklets warn about having breaks, but how many of you knew this when you were 12?

    Hey dont dis 12-year-olds. They are smarter than you know. When I was 10 I knew you shouldn't play games for over an hour straight.

    m2h said:
    The article said the stroke may of been causes by sustained emotion. So this article is not pointing fingers at games as the cause. It just happend to be what the kid was doing at that time.

    Everyone (or at least all the smart people here) know that. The only problem is the general public will think otherwise.

    Krun said:
    Why is this artical even news.
    I dont see any news stories reporting the danger of underware or the deaths caused each year from fatal trouser malfuntion. They outnumber fatal games playing 4 to one.

    Because news sites that release something like this only exist to tell the public the stories they want. People want to beleive that things like this can happen so they can say "Wow, I had better make sure I don't play video games for that long!"
    No one wants to hear someone say "I'm never going to wear trousers again!"
    The only reason the article was printed was because people want a reason to think people shouldn't play video games. I may make it sound like a conspiracy, but thats because thats actually what it really is.

    Edited by 1 at 24/06/05 @ 01:51

  • Freddy #73 7 years ago

    It's like 'The Ring'...

    You play the demo and then the... outlook... rings... or beeps, or, perhaps, simply displays that stupid mail icon in the tray... God I hate... nevermind, back on subject:

    You check it out and It's spam email from EA: "You have 7 days to buy the game..."

    Mmmmkay... You go an buy it, play it for while and then decide it's just another commercial piss poor game.

    But then outlook does his thing again... "You have 7 days to buy the add-on..."

    WtF?? It's a piss poor game, why buy an add-on?

    So you don't...

    And 7 days pass...

    And, on that 7th day you are playing *stuff*...

    And you notice the guy next to you is playing Sims...

    The monitor flicker...

    And one of the Sims crawls out of the screen and...

    You die a horrible death.

    Next day they say you have an epillepsy attack. Nothing about smap email from hell... err.. EA....

    It's a cover-up, I tell you!!