Video Gamer Dies After 40-Hour Non-Stop Gaming Session

By now, most of you know I'm a pretty serious gamer. (At least, I like to think I'm a serious gamer) But as much as I love video games, I can only play for maybe an hour or two at a time. There is no way I could even attempt to do what this guy did, and that might be a good thing.

In Taiwan, a gamer died after playing the popular online role-playing game Diablo III for over 40 continuous hours, without food or drinks or even bathroom breaks.

An 18-year old Diablo III player in Taiwan was found dead recently after a 40-hour marathon session with the game, reports the Australian Associated Press.

The player, who has only been identified as Chuang, reportedly booked a room at his local Internet café before diving into the game, not stopping for sleep or food the entire time. An employee of the café found him passed out on a table Sunday.

He woke up when approached, but collapsed after a few steps and was rushed to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy is pending, but authorities noted that the long period of sitting still could have created blood clots, which proved fatal.

This isn't the first time we've heard stories about gamers dying after playing a game for hours upon hours on end. Sometimes, you just get these players who develop an addiction to the game; they get so severely immersed in the game that nothing else matters. It sucks, and it's sad, but sometimes it just happens. I'm just hoping no one tries to use this story and the problem of gaming addiction to try and demonize video games...again.