Friday, December 7th 2007
Concerned Mother Begins Legal Battle on Epilepsy-Inducing Video Games
More and more often, lately, the phrase "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt" is holding itself true. When one 10 year old boy suffered a seizure in the middle of a game of Rayman Raving Rabbids, his mother didn't let her child become just another statistic. Instead, she's started a legal campaign to prevent more seizures like this in the future. If she succeeds, no game released in the United Kingdom can be played until the game is screened for scenes that might cause an epileptic seizure. While this screening is already required for movies, it has not happened for video games as of yet. As consolation to the boy and his family, Ubisoft is currently testing Rayman Raving Rabbids for said seizure-causing instances. Game manufacturers may deem these methods unnecessary, considering that most games and consoles come with a seizure warning on the box or in the manual.
Source:
Reg Hardware
50 Comments on Concerned Mother Begins Legal Battle on Epilepsy-Inducing Video Games
Do not play games if you have been excessivley smoking pot.
I had a friend have an eppy from playing Grand Turismo 4.
He had a whole tinny to himself, since I don't smoke, came back in, started playing GT4 cross legged on the floor, all of a sudden saying to me.
"Dude I don't feel so good" next thing you know he slumped forward a bit dropped the controller, his jaw dropped open, eyes rolled into the back of his head then fell to his side and had an eppy for 15 seconds.
I gave him a kick (seriously I did) and he snapped out of it.
He was fine after that but he didn't play playstation for a while after.
This is a ridiculous lawsuit. it all comes back to proper parenting.
ps: eidairaman1 try an keep the language clean or atleast censor yourself
Hence, it is worth it to test the games, just in case. And I would imagine that some companies would be inclined, given how easy it is to win a lawsuit these days over similar issues.
I know I won't be able to watch my kids 100%, and I know that if they were epileptic, I wouldn't even let them play virtual games, but I am not omnipotent, and one less bad thing happening to my child is important! If the probability of this can be further decreased by a screening/testing, then I'm all for it.
This is not the same as an adult sticking their hairdryer in the bathtub water, getting electrocuted and trying to sue someone. Which is why I made the cigarette comment. People are trying to put this in the same light as some dumb adult who lacks common sense.
The safety warnings on the box or hidden inside a game manual are there only to protect the gaming company from stupid ass parents like this one who didn't bother to check up on this very matter, for this very damn reason.
Again, this new point is not about an adult ignoring the warnings and being negligent. This is about the possibility of a child being exposed, regardless of the amount of parenting.
I don't think so, she probably would have said, games are fine and I don't know why people say thier violent either.
I remember when I worked in a primary school and one of the kids ran screaming from the room when the light bulb started flickering. Eventually she told me that it was because her mother had told her ANY flashing lights could cause her to have a seizure.
The fact remains that yes it's horrible that this kid had a seizure, but trying to sue them because of any number of reasons (most of which would be HER fault) is ridiculous.
If an otherwise normal 10yr old has seizures, they know it by now, and know what causes it, and will do their best to avoid it.
I still say this lawsuit is frivolous. It's not up to game makers and politicians to protect and teach our children, it's up to us.
Despite all that, the point is moot. The game developer did put the warning on the box, meaning they already know it can cause seizures. Why should they take it out of their game?
You would be digging yourself a bigtime hole there lol.
She KNEW her kid was epileptic.. yet let him play a brightly coloured computer game which clearly states on the box, manual and DVD that it may cause seizures.
And somehow it's the companies fault?
No matter WHAT spin you put on it, in no way is it the fault of the company.
They provide a product with no guarantees about whether or not it will produce epileptic seizures. They even provide a warming that it MAY produce a seizure. It's not their job to test it.
(cough, i only pissed on the electric fence after i was told not to - DONT DO THAT.) Happen to live with a quite attractive girl who has a habit of sunbathing a lot... hehehehe,
sue the electric fence company
lmfao.
but man, u rawk! were u drunk when u did that or somthing.
btw about this sueing topic.
i could write a batch that opens thousands of calculator dialogs on my pc at home, then (very slowly) log off the user account, and whilst my o.s unloads all the calc.exe threads behind the api, i would get a dialog in the center of the desktop which flashes at an alarming rate, and seeing how microsoft hasnt dislosed (im assuming, who in their right mind actually reads their eula, lol) that their operating system can cause seasures, does that mean i can use microshaft, or the programmer who wrote calculator for windows?
no, just like mussels point, and especially if their is disclosure of a health related possability, its still a responsability left to a supervisor/guardian that their kids arent being little morons or playing something that can cause injury, or something they shouldnt be playing bla bla..