10 Shocking Incidents Where Video Games Led To Real Life Death

5. The Addicted EverQuest Player Who Committed Suicide

Shawn Woolley's death in 2002 is one that to this day stands out as a dividing case between those who want to look at the evidence and believe one thing, versus those that favour the other. The events of Woolley's life were that the 21 year-old used to play EverQuest constantly, obsessing over the game to the point where he stopped taking his ADD and epilepsy medication, before taking his own life in front of the computer with a rifle. Naturally his mother was horrified and went on to implicate the developers of the game WeMade Entertainment, saying the addictive and constantly reward-based nature of the game contributes to an addiction that Woolley just couldn't free himself of. Meanwhile defenders of online games point to the fact Woolley stopped taking his medication, as well as looking to the number of other real-world factors that can contribute to a person taking their own life. At the time, Sony Online CEO John Smedley commented to CBS News:

"It's entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, 'Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough's enough.' It's a game."