Man sues Bethesda over 'Fallout 4' addiction

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,253   +192
Staff member

The technology sector has its fair share of frivolous lawsuits (just take a look at most patent disputes) but this one may very well take the cake.

RT News is reporting that an unnamed 28-year-old man from Siberia is suing Bethesda because he became "addicted" to Fallout 4. The individual in question says he planned to play the game a few nights each week but ended up on a three-week binge that resulted in the loss of his job. He claims he was so addicted that he couldn't even make time to eat or sleep. Oh, and his wife left him.

Now, he is seeking around $7,000 in compensation for emotional distress.

The man said that if he knew the game could become so addictive, he would have been a lot more wary of it. Specifically, he said he either wouldn't have bought it or would have saved it until he was on vacation or had spare time over the holidays.

Serious questions of accountability aside, the case is largely being viewed as a test in Russia as there haven't been any like it before. The law firm has acknowledged as much, saying they want to see how far they can go with the case.

As ludicrous as it is, such claims aren't new. In 2010, Craig Smallwood from Hawaii sued Lineage II maker NC Interactive after logging more than 20,000 hours in the game. As The Register recalls, the man claimed he had to be hospitalized and suffered long-lasting distress and depression due to the gaming binge. Amazingly enough, Smallwood won his case.

Permalink to story.

 
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Fallout 4 *does* have the possibility of infinite play, what with quests that never end, and the ability to roam the Commonwealth forever after finishing the game. If Bethesda put a number on the duration of gameplay (50+ hours!), then I can see the case having some semblance of merit ( I budgeted 50 hours but it goes on forever!).
 
So, what is the statute of limitations on such computer game stress? I still haven't gotten over the original DOOM or Castle Wolfenstein ..... let's see, 30+ years * what I "think" I could have been worth ..... hmmmmm .... twice nothing is still nothing sooooooo ........
 
I want to sue someone for all the time I lost blowing bubbles. Does anyone know who initially mass marketed the bubble formula? lol
 
This goes in the same jar has the person suing car maker because his push to start car do-sent shut itself off when you park it in you garage, and get out of the car without turning it off
 
Fallout 4 *does* have the possibility of infinite play, what with quests that never end, and the ability to roam the Commonwealth forever after finishing the game. If Bethesda put a number on the duration of gameplay (50+ hours!), then I can see the case having some semblance of merit ( I budgeted 50 hours but it goes on forever!).

You can't sue cigarette companies, and they get you addicted. That is a physical addiction.
So you sure as hell can't sue a game company for a mental addiction. People have died from playing WoW and Starcraft for too long... This man is just going to waste his money on court fees. Well, whatever money he has left (with no job or wife to help him).
 
This is amazing, and what's even more amazing is it's not an American, I'm also amazed a lawyer in Russia took him seriously and accepted the case. Then you see he only wants $7000... And now you can't be sure if it's a joke or they're legitimately testing the waters to open the flood gates for many, many more lawsuits to comes.

Once this makes it to American soil I would imagine the case gets thrown out. Alcoholics can't sue the breweries for producing an addictive beverage, people addicted to cigarettes can't sue the Tobacco industry (well they could for a while and I'm sure some still do), so when it comes to a dumb game you can turn off and walk away from you have no one to blame but yourself.

Had I known Crack was so addictive I would have never started smoking it, now I'm going to try and sue dealers... Makes just as much sense as this lawsuit.
 
"Man sues Smith & Wesson for gun misfire during failed bank heist thus leading to his arrest".

Don't forget the guy who fell through a skylight while robbing a house, fell on a kitchen knife and sued the homeowner for it. And won. Thanks, ACLU!
 
I can feel him though. I have played this game for days. The pain from wanting to go to the toilet and holding off just one more room is insane.
 
The thing is though regardless of what they rule in Russia, it's not like it'll set any precedent since no one really pays attention to them and or that they're the equivalent of a classroom court in the law world. Unless the Cold War is still brewing in the mind of the judge and others overseeing this, I doubt it'll even survive there.

"Man sues Smith & Wesson for gun misfire during failed bank heist thus leading to his arrest".
Here in CT we have that stuff happening a the time. A man tripped and broke his foot or something last year while breaking into and robbing the house of an old woman. It lasted in the lower courts for longer than it should've...

I'd use more harsh examples relevant to your joke from my wonderful oh so glorious state, but can't be bothered to.
 
Craig Smallwood's case was not "won" but sealed and then settled.... The issue with his case is that he was banned from playing after being accused of selling game items in the black market - the case was sealed so as to keep confidential the company's methods of catching these people...
 
Use a timer and keep track of your hours, much like anything else, a little responsibility, look up how long it takes to beat a game (100+ hours) and allocate months, rather than trying to rush the process to beat it, you don't get any prize for doing so... or become a speed-runner and stop complaining
 
What if this happened to everyone that played it? Suing would then make sense? I dont know but I bet we would win.

How about 50% of the people? 1%? Ok 2 or 3 people out of the millions. Do those 2 or 3 people have a case because it happened to them? Is it any less destructive to that individual because it did not happen to everyone else?

If I was a lawyer that would be my angle. Just some food for thought. I don't agree with the guy just thinking out loud.
 
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