Re: Videogame lawsuit
Rob Cypher
>http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/11/24/winona-ryder-depeche-mode-factor-wow-lawsuit
>
>Winona Ryder, Depeche Mode Factor in WOW Lawsuit
>November 24, 2009
>
>World of Warcraft maker Activision Blizzard is the latest target of a
>lawsuit by serial suer (or professional plaintiff) Erik Estavillo.
>
>Filed this morning in the Civil Division of the Superior Court of
>California, County of Santa Clara, the civil complaint charges
>Activision Blizzard with �deceitful� business practices, as it
>�continues to maintain a harmful virtual environment to many of its
>customers by forcing them to follow the game�s sneaky and deceitful
>practices.�
>
>Among Estavillo�s claims is that WOW is designed for a gamer �to walk
>or run at a calculated slow pace, resulting in the player taking
>longer to get where he or she needs to go in the game.� This slow
>pace, says the plaintiff, leads to a longer time needed to finish game
>play or quests, in turn leading to more subscription revenue for
>Activision Blizzard.
>
>Estavillo also complains that faster transportation is not available
>until a player levels up accordingly, or purchases an expansion pack.
>
>The plaintiff then likens his health problems (OCD, Agoraphobia, Panic
>Disorder, major depression and Crohn�s Disease) to the afflictions
>that ailed the late EverQuest gamer Shawn Woolley, who took his own
>life on Thanksgiving morning in 2001. Estavillo stated that he
>�doesn�t want to end up like Shawn did as he [Estavillo] relies on
>videogames heavily for the little ongoing happiness he can achieve in
>this life.�
>
>Estavillo subpoenaed Depeche Mode founder Martin Lee Gore and actress
>Winona Ryder to provide testimony on his behalf regarding the subject
>of alienation.
>
>Gore was subpoenaed because �he himself has been known to be sad,
>lonely, and alienated as can be seen in the songs he writes,� and
>Ryder because of her and Estavillo�s common interest in the J.D.
>Salinger book The Catcher in the Rye. Ryder would be able to, �explain
>the significance of alienation in Catcher in the Rye and will also
>testify to how alienation in the book can tie to alienation in real
>live/video games such as World of Warcraft.�
>
>Estavillo is seeking punitive damages of $1.0 million and a court
>order that WOW implement changes that address the issues of his
>complaint.
>
>Other lawsuits filed by Estavillo include one against Sony Computer
>Entertainment America (SCEA), following a banning from the PlayStation
>Network, and a recent suit that targeted Microsoft and Nintendo�the
>former over an Xbox 360 red ring of death and the latter over a
>firmware update that disabled his Homebrew Channel.
>
>
>Somebody really needs to just go outside and get a life.
He sounds like a newsgroup regular. I like the "alienation" lawsuit, though.
--
Rob Cypher
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