A grieving father in the UK, David Staniforth, has started a campaign to highlight the dangers of marathon gaming sessions. He believes that his son Chris's death in May was the result of a 12 hour Halo session.
The autopsy results came in last week and the coroner has blamed Chris's death on deep vein thrombosis, a condition that is triggered by sitting for long periods of time. It creates a blood clot and in Chris's case, that blood clot created a fatal pulmonary embolism. I mean, we all make fun of obsessive gamers, but I had no idea you could actually DIE from playing too much Halo!
Chris's father feels that the games can be very addictive once you start playing and this compulsive behavior is what can lead to admittedly rare, but serious, health problems.
David does not blame Microsoft, but is just trying to get the word out about the importance of limiting your game play.
Microsoft does recommend that gamers allow time for breaks and exercise and to follow other pursuits. And by other pursuits, I don't think they mean trying to get your dirty Xbox gamertag past censors.
David admits this is especially difficult to do with online gaming, where you can't just press pause and take a break. But living is the main priority, right? In gaming and IRL.
Here's an interview with David Staniforth. Whatever you may think of obsessive gaming, no one deserves to die because they were unaware of the risks involved. So now you know!
Did you have any clue gaming marathons could be so harmful? What's your longest gaming session? Let us know what you think in the comments!
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