From 2004 to 2009, Plaintiff Craig Smallwood clocked more than 20,000 hours on Lineage II, a fantasy massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), he claims in a current lawsuit. For perspective, that averages out to nine hours a day, seven days a week, for six full years.
Lineage II gave Smallwood such great feelings of euphoria and satisfaction that he became psychologically dependent and addicted, he claims. The psychological dependence and addiction caused by MMORPGs has been recognized; however, the game’s makers, NC Interactive Inc. and NCsoft Corporation, never gave any notice or warning of such dangers, Smallwood alleges.
In his lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court, District of Hawaii, Smallwood complains that NC Interactive, in an effort to increase its profits, began selling and licensing a new game, Aion, and, to promote and create Aion’s popularity, engaged in locking players, including Smallwood, out of the older Lineage II. He also complained that Lineage II’s Game Masters were not enforcing game rules fairly.
As a result of all these acts and omissions, Smallwood alleges, he suffered extreme and serious emotional distress and depression, became unable to function independently, suffered psychological trauma, was hospitalized, and requires treatment and therapy three times a week. He would not have bought and played Lineage II if he had known he would have been subjected to “dishonesty and unfairness” or had become addicted, he said.
He filed a lawsuit against the gaming company for (1) Misrepresentation/Deceit, (2) Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices, (3) Defamation/Libel/Slander, (4) Negligence, (5) Gross Negligence; (6) Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, (7) Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress; and (8) Punitive Damages.
The court decided to dismiss Smallwood’s counts for misrepresentation and unfair and deceptive trade practices because he failed to adequately plead enough particularity, which is required in fraud-based counts. It also dismissed Smallwood’s count for punitive damages because “punitive damages” is not an independent tort but rather incidental to a separate cause of action.
However, the Court allowed Smallwood’s other counts to survive. Perhaps most interesting is Smallwood’s count for negligence in designing, developing, manufacturing, inspecting, testing, marketing, advertising, promoting, selling, distributing, maintaining, revising, servicing, administrating, and overseeing Lineage II. Smallwood plead that NC Interactive Inc. and NCsoft Corporation acted negligently in failing to warn or instruct or adequately warn or instruct Smallwood and other players of Lineage II of its dangerous and defective characteristics, and of the safe and proper method of play.
The Court also allowed Smallwood’s emotional distress counts and defamation count, which was based on an allegation that NC falsely accused Smallwood of being involved in real money transfers (and that to other players), to survive.
The odds are that we will never see these counts reach judgment level, as cases like this generally settle out of court. However, it will be an interesting case to watch to see what happens.
It will also be interesting to see how the gaming companies react. I would expect they will, at minimum, begin to display warnings or increase whatever warnings they do display. However, other questions, particularly regarding limitations of play, come to mind. Could a gaming company have a duty to limit the number of hours a player plays per week? What if a player has been playing something like sixteen hours a day, seven days a week? Also, if the gaming companies did decide to limit the number of hours per week, what sort of uproar would that cause in the gaming community?
To view the court’s opinion, click here.
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