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CaptainBubba · #1

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...21/detail.html

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A central Iowa mother woke up over the weekend to find her daughter having a seizure.

After a trip to the emergency room, a family learned that the cause was most likely from playing video games too long, Des Moines television station KCCI reported.

Doctors said such incidents are not common, but they do happen. Certain people are prone to it because of the way their brains work. Once was enough for 14-year-old Amy Kopaska.

She loves to play video games, the station reported. She spent five hours straight playing a video game over the weekend. Her marathon session led to a frightening situation.

"This has never happened before. Boy, it scared the life out of me," said Janell Hansen, Kopaska's mother.

Hansen woke up early Sunday and heard an awful noise from her daughter's room. She found her daughter thrashing on her bed.

"I rolled her over. Her eyes were dilated. She was foaming at the mouth, gasping for air. Just breathing very hard," Hansen said.

Hansen said that at one point it appeared her daughter had quit breathing all together.

"Then it was quiet. She didn't move. I thought I was watching her die. It scared me terribly," Hansen said.

Hansen gave Kopaska a couple of big breaths as she waited for the paramedics. At the hospital, after several tests and questions, the conclusion was that the long-term use of the video game induced the seizure.

"The pattern of the lights sets up an abnormal reaction in the brain, and that causes the seizure to happen," said Dr. Joel Waymire, a pediatrician.

Kopaska doesn't remember anything about the seizure.

"My mind is a blank, like dreaming without the dream," she said.

Kopaska was playing the game called "True Crime: Streets of New York." There's a car driving through snow and the snowflakes act as a strobe light.

Kopaska's brother played, too, but he took a break when it was her turn. She stayed and watched him play.

Kopaska now only plays one to two hours at a time and then takes a break.

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5 hours? What a little bitch.

the_dudefather · #2

rember kids: take a 15 minute break every hour of playing and dont play on a rear projection screen

Guitar Woman · #3

Lightweight. I remember logging 30 hours nonstop on KOTOR one weekend with my best friend.

We made it all the way to the Star Forge and quit when we couldn't beat Malak.

CheapAlert · #4

must be a shit tv

Guitar Woman · #5

No, I think she's just one of those unlucky people who risk having seizures while playing video games.

AChimp · #6

I think she's just a pussy.

EisigerBiskuit · #7

The day that a TV walks up to you and starts a fight, shooting lasers and punches, is the day I am satisfied.

executioneer · #8

why the fuck is this news, aren't all video games required to have a big "warning may cause seizures" in the instruction manual?

ArrowX · #9

my record is about 46 hours and that was when me and a friend first bought halo, we stayed up for an entire weekend trying to beat Halo on every difficulty setting.

Gurlugon · #10

Sue McDonalds after spilling epilepsy on myself

DeadKennedys · #11

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainBubba

Kopaska was playing the game called "True Crime: Streets of New York."

Well there's the cause right there...

Jeff The Ninja · #12

My greatest gaming marathons.

10 hours spent playing the Tick on SNES
20 hours spent Playing FF7 trying to get the golden Chocobo
26 hours Spent playing Metal Gear on Nes Causing my NES to overheat and Melt.
30 hour spree Finishing Thousand Arms for PSX.

And i havent had one seisure, sure i get twitches all the time but I never Foamed at the mouth. She is Just a Pussy.

executioneer · #13

YEAH BEING EPILEPTIC IS FOR PUSSIES RIGHT GUYS

executioneer · #14

jeff the ninja more like jeff the NONE JOB you lousy unemployable

GADZOOKS · #15

Don't swallow your toungue. Oh, you fucking wuss.

timrpgland · #16

I like how they called the 5 hour stretch a marathon session... She's hardocre...

but seriously, that would suck to have that problem.

Lye · #17

yeah, i played chrono cross for 3 days strait before my eyes stopped working.

executioneer · #18

well no kidding, it was chrono cross after all, that game gives people testicular cancer so i wouldn't be a bit surprised if it destroyed your vision too

the_dudefather · #19

Korean gamer collapses and dies

ABC Asia Pacific reports that a 38-year-old South Korean man recently collapsed and died after a marathon game session, which saw him toiling away in an Internet café in Incheon, west of Seoul, for ten days solid.

The report follows a similar story from August, ABC says, when a 28-year-old died in South Korea under similar circumstances after two days of continuous play.

Gamer deaths are more common in China, however, where similar incidents have led the government to try and combat "game addiction" by forcing people to log off after a set number of hours spent gaming.
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The Chinese government also ruled a lot of violent games damaging to minors, although it has given the industry its backing, pledging around USB 1.8bn to encourage growth of the online game industry, which is huge business in the region.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=62128