Computer games cheapen life and gamers risk becoming inured to violence and its consequences through repeated exposure to it in the virtual world, say critics.
Downtime is inclined to think so too in light of the fact that a Taiwanese man that died while playing World of Warcraft in an internet café, but no-one noticed for 13 hours.
The gamer, Chen Jung-yu, had purchased 23 hours of World of Warcraft time, but died of unspecified causes about 10 hours into his gaming session.
Thirteen hours later, a member of staff at the internet cafe went to remind Chen that his time was up, only to discover that Chen himself had expired, according to the Taipei Times.
The staff member said Chen's face was blackened and that he was sitting rigidly in his chair, prompting him to call the police. A crime scene photo shows that Chen's hands were locked as if still on the keyboard.
Only when police began forensic investigations, did the other ten players in the cafe become aware that anything was amiss, but most kept on gaming, reports said.
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