Taiwanese Man Died From Gaming After Three Day Gaming Binge

A 32-year-old Taiwanese man who is only being recognized by his surname, Hseih, has died from gaming after a three day gaming binge at an internet café in Kaohsiung.

A staff member discovered Hseih’s lifeless body on January 8 at 10 a.m. slumped over one of the computer desks. Police were called, and he was immediately transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead from cardiac failure, CNN reports.

Police say he must have been dead long before their arrival, several hours even, due to the stiffening of the body. It appears that Hseih’s body was approaching rigor mortis stage right before a room filled with gamers.

An attendant at the café spoke with reporters about discovering Hseih’s body.

“Hsieh was a regular customer here and always played for consecutive days. When tired, he would sleep face-down on the table or doze off slumped in his chair. That is why we were not aware of his condition in the beginning.”

“He has been unemployed for a long time, and internet cafes were the only place he could go to,” another employee stated.

Police spokesperson, Jennifer Wu, also spoke to reporters. Wu stated that upon police and paramedic arrival, the gamers in the café remained on their computers, playing their games as if nothing had happened; unbothered at the fact that a man had died from gaming.

Only when the police cordoned off the tables to gather evidence did the gamers react, but it was not for the deceased who died from gaming.

“Only then did the other patrons realise that someone had died, but they still showed no concern and kept playing their games. We were amazed at their nonchalant attitude.”

“The CCTV footage from the internet café showed that he had a small struggle before he collapsed motionless,” said Wu.

There are no details on whether the nearby gamers saw his small struggle and opted not to report it, or if they saw nothing at all.

Police believe that Hseih’s death was brought on by the cold temperatures in the room and exhaustion from playing video games for hours at a time. Hseih had been playing video games at the internet café since January 8 and would stay for hours.

The dangers of prolonged video gaming are now being recognized and the public is being made aware of its risks.

According to The Mirror, Hseih is not the only person to have died from gaming in Taiwan this year. A 38-year-old was found on New Year’s Day, after he had been gaming for five consecutive days.

[Image courtesy of GamerFitNation]