Report: Russian Man Wants to Sue Bethesda Over Fallout 4 Addiction

[Lizzy Finnegan]

Report: Russian Man Wants to Sue Bethesda Over Fallout 4 Addiction

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The man claims Fallout 4 cost him his health, job, and marriage.

According to a report by RT [https://www.rt.com/news/326272-gamer-russia-lawsuit-fallout4/], a Russian man says that he is suing Bethesda for 500,000 rubles ($7,030) because he was not warned that Fallout 4 would "become so addictive."

"If I knew that this game could have become so addictive, I would have become a lot more wary of it. I would not have bought it, or I would have left it until I was on holiday or until the New Year holidays," a statement from the man read.

The report states that the man went on a 3-week gaming marathon, neglecting his job, ignoring his friends and family, and failing to eat or sleep. This allegedly cost him his health, job, and marriage.

According to the man's lawyers, they want to see "how far we can go regarding this case."

TechTimes [http://www.techtimes.com/articles/118004/20151219/gamer-sues-bethesda-for-making-fallout-4-so-addictive-that-he-lost-his-job.htm] reports that the man felt Bethesda and Russian localization company SoftClub should have placed a label on the game, warning that it could become addictive.

RT points out that this is not the first case of a fan suing over "addictive" video games. In 2010 a Hawaiian man, Craig Smallwood, demanded damages from NCsoft [http://gamepolitics.com/2010/08/20/man-20000-hours-lineage-ii-sues-ncsoft/] after spending 20,000 hours playing Lineage II.

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[Mister K]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

 

[Katherine Kerensky]

While it's regrettable that it apparently cost him his "health, job and marriage", it's god damn stupid to blame the game developer for his problem of not being able realise that he should stop playing and do other things.
And it's even worse that he's trying to sue them for his own mistake. Just... Jesus Christ, some people.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

Gaming in Russia is not the same past-time as it is here(assuming we're talking about the West), so it's not outside the bounds of reason that this could happen.

It's still bullshit, but I'm too jaded from hearing those kind of attitudes in countries very close to Russia to care anymore.

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

 

[Barbas]

Rubles, eh? Ahhh, that makes me pine for the old days of shillings, farthings, halfpennies, angels and groats. A young man could really do his mathematics then...and write...and dress.

 

[Mister K]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

Gaming in Russia is not the same past-time as it is here(assuming we're talking about the West), so it's not outside the bounds of reason that this could happen.

It's still bullshit, but I'm too jaded from hearing those kind of attitudes in countries very close to Russia to care anymore.

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

Look, Russians don't have a tradition of taking a responsibility for their own actions. It is not a fault of an ordinary person, since Russia has a long history of delegating rights and responsibilities of people to the government. This is the reason why many russians blame problems on others and not themselves. They are simply not used to acting differently.

Heck, where I live we also have a problem like this, but slowly and surely we are trying to change things.

 

[chocolate pickles]

Game addiction is not a thing, people. You just need to stop being lazy asses and do something else with your lives.

 

[Eien Shushu]

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

Um. It wasn't banned. It got an AO rating as far as I remember.

 

[Makabriel]

Hrmm..

Steam account or it didn't happen

We'll see how he compares to other players.

 

[Legion]

I wonder if I can do this with Riot Games to get the stupid amount I have spent on the game back...

Game addiction is not a thing, people. You just need to stop being lazy asses and do something else with your lives.

I would argue that while games themselves are not addictive, people can still be addicted to them. The issue stemming from the person, not the games themselves.

 

[Li Mu]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

Gaming in Russia is not the same past-time as it is here(assuming we're talking about the West), so it's not outside the bounds of reason that this could happen.

It's still bullshit, but I'm too jaded from hearing those kind of attitudes in countries very close to Russia to care anymore.

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

What are you talking about? Most people I know here are gamers. I work in a school and ALL the kids have consoles. Most of them have both PS4 and XBox1. Where are you getting your information about Russia? Clearly not from any Russians.

 

[Fulbert]

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

Um. It wasn't banned. It got an AO rating as far as I remember.

Not even that. The way the recently introduced Russian rating system works is you give any piece of media you produce an age rating and are supposed to disclose it. That's it. No regulating body exists that assigns ratings - you do that yourself. No guidelines for determining the exact age is offered either - you kinda decide for yourself based on the laws of the country. You just have to have a rating, whatever it might be. So what EA did with Sims 4 is they gave it the 18+ rating and screamed about it at the top of their lungs until everybody was angry and indignant about those censor-happy Russian son-of-a-bitches.

The EA didn't risk much, either, as that system is not really enforced (Sims 3 and 2 have much lower ratings and nobody punished them for that yet) and everybody thinks it is a joke anyway as Russian retailers don't restrict their goods to customers based on age.

The greatest impact this rating system has made is it created a new source of ridiculous anecdotes about age-rated news articles (I saw a 6+ rated one about a burned-down trolleybus - apparently that stuff's too hardcore for 5-year-olds) and commercials (you go to a cinema to see a 12+ film and are treated to a whole reel of 14+ ads. Close your 12-year-old child's eyes until it's over, I suppose?)

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

I've never been one to use memes or let an image do the talking for me. But if ever there was a time when the Professor Farnsworth "I don't want to live on this planet anymore" sign would be extremely appropo, this would be it.

 

[Laughing Man]

"how far we can go regarding this case."

The bin, or to a sign that says 'get a fucking grip'.

"I don't want to live on this planet anymore"

This one, I use it as my lock screen on my phone.

 

[Zontar]

In 2010 a Hawaiian man, Craig Smallwood, demanded damages from NCsoft after spending 20,000 hours playing Lineage II.

Wait WHAT? That's literally two and a half years of continuous playing. I'm in my early 20s and a fair gamer and I don't think I've played that many hours in my life.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

Gaming in Russia is not the same past-time as it is here(assuming we're talking about the West), so it's not outside the bounds of reason that this could happen.

It's still bullshit, but I'm too jaded from hearing those kind of attitudes in countries very close to Russia to care anymore.

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

What are you talking about? Most people I know here are gamers. I work in a school and ALL the kids have consoles. Most of them have both PS4 and XBox1. Where are you getting your information about Russia? Clearly not from any Russians.

Not the same, as in not seen as the same. How many adults you know that play games as regularly as anyone here, or would discuss them on the same level?

The reason why counter strike and Dota 2 are so prolific is because they run on practically anything and cause PCs are still primarily bought as a utility over entertainment. My knowledge comes from knowing other working class Russians.

Hell, I grew up in a majority Russian area back in Lithuania, and many of my friends and my family's friends were Russians or Russian immigrants.

Look, Russians don't have a tradition of taking a responsibility for their own actions. It is not a fault of an ordinary person, since Russia has a long history of delegating rights and responsibilities of people to the government. This is the reason why many russians blame problems on others and not themselves. They are simply not used to acting differently.

Heck, where I live we also have a problem like this, but slowly and surely we are trying to change things.

In my experience, I've seen that shift of responsibility as a lack of faith or trust in the government and a desperate evangelisation of tradition (across the former USSR).

I don't particularly blame them for acting like this, but I do blame them for not being more minded in objecting to crass misuse of power because it's "just what happens".

Personal experience though, don't know how similar it is in Ukraine, but I'm assuming I'm not too far off.

 

[Li Mu]

Not the same, as in not seen as the same. How many adults you know that play games as regularly as anyone here, or would discuss them on the same level?

The reason why counter strike and Dota 2 are so prolific is because they run on practically anything and cause PCs are still primarily bought as a utility over entertainment. My knowledge comes from knowing other working class Russians.

Hell, I grew up in a majority Russian area back in Lithuania, and many of my friends and my family's friends were Russians or Russian immigrants.

I realised how beligerant I was with my prevous post. I apologise.
Anyway, you ask how many adults play games. It depends on what you class as an adult. 30+? To be honest, (being 31 myself) I don't know a huge amount of UK gamers over the age of 30. But under 30, a huge amount.
Now, how many Russians over 30 do I know who play games? Hardly any. How many under 30? Well, once you get under 25, also a huge number. So you could say that Russians are about 5 years behind in the gaming world. Of course, this is from my very unscientific circle of people, but it's still really not that much of a difference.

I am based in Moscow and Moscow is very different to the rest of Russia. But here, gaming is certainly no less common than anywhere else in the west. Perhaps in Krasnoyask there isn't a single person with a PS4, but I wouldn't know since I don't live there and am not about to make assumptions.

 

[RealRT]

Yes, and every anime series should come with the same warning, because some people simply can't stop watching.

F***er probably wants to find any reason for him being a failure rather than admiting that he is the one at fault.

Gaming in Russia is not the same past-time as it is here(assuming we're talking about the West), so it's not outside the bounds of reason that this could happen.

It's still bullshit, but I'm too jaded from hearing those kind of attitudes in countries very close to Russia to care anymore.

I mean Sims 4 was banned because it was designated as gay propaganda.

Look, Russians don't have a tradition of taking a responsibility for their own actions. It is not a fault of an ordinary person, since Russia has a long history of delegating rights and responsibilities of people to the government. This is the reason why many russians blame problems on others and not themselves. They are simply not used to acting differently.

Heck, where I live we also have a problem like this, but slowly and surely we are trying to change things.

You know, I'm getting a hunch that you never actually talked to a Russian, let alone been in Russia.
EDIT: "City: Kyiv, country: Ukraine"
Okay, mystery solved.
------------------
In case you're wondering, the guy from OP is just as much of a laughing stock out here as he is everywhere else.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Not the same, as in not seen as the same. How many adults you know that play games as regularly as anyone here, or would discuss them on the same level?

The reason why counter strike and Dota 2 are so prolific is because they run on practically anything and cause PCs are still primarily bought as a utility over entertainment. My knowledge comes from knowing other working class Russians.

Hell, I grew up in a majority Russian area back in Lithuania, and many of my friends and my family's friends were Russians or Russian immigrants.

I realised how beligerant I was with my prevous post. I apologise.
Anyway, you ask how many adults play games. It depends on what you class as an adult. 30+? To be honest, (being 31 myself) I don't know a huge amount of UK gamers over the age of 30. But under 30, a huge amount.
Now, how many Russians over 30 do I know who play games? Hardly any. How many under 30? Well, once you get under 25, also a huge number. So you could say that Russians are about 5 years behind in the gaming world. Of course, this is from my very unscientific circle of people, but it's still really not that much of a difference.

I am based in Moscow and Moscow is very different to the rest of Russia. But here, gaming is certainly no less common than anywhere else in the west. Perhaps in Krasnoyask there isn't a single person with a PS4, but I wouldn't know since I don't live there and am not about to make assumptions.

Nah, it's cool, I probably took it a bit personally, but there's no harm done.

Fair enough, but gaming stereotypes in Russia are still prolific, I just don't see them as being that easily gone, considering I am fairly young myself and still experience them on me within my family. Games are often seen as toys and as very harmful based on people I've talked to and known.

A man shifting responsibility onto the game for why he screwed up probably isn't seen as that crazy. I could be wrong, but given the current state of Russian society and government at large, it isn't that difficult for me to believe that.

 

[RealRT]

I am based in Moscow and Moscow is very different to the rest of Russia. But here, gaming is certainly no less common than anywhere else in the west. Perhaps in Krasnoyask there isn't a single person with a PS4, but I wouldn't know since I don't live there and am not about to make assumptions.

I know you muscovites don't think highly of us out here in regions, but come on, it's a city with over a million people in it, of course there are console gamers there.