Vivendi, Sony sued over epileptic seizure

[cliffbo]

When it was released in 2002, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly was panned by critics who accused it of offering a choppy frame rate, buggy gameplay, lengthy load times, and a dull story. Last month, the game received a more serious knock against it, as a New York woman whose infant suffered a grand mal seizure while playing Enter the Dragonfly filed suit against Vivendi Games, Sierra Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and a defunct rental store called Hiawatha Video.

The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court, claims that the defendants were "negligent, careless, and reckless with regard to the design and manufacture" of Spyro, such that the game was dangerous when used in the intended manner, and that they failed to properly warn consumers of that danger. According to the suit, the child suffered severe and permanent disabling injuries that will affect him "in all activities of daily living" and necessitate lifelong medical expenses.

The PS2 edition of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly came with a notice on the inside front cover of the instruction manual advising consumers that "a very small percentage of individuals may experience epileptic seizures when exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights." The notice also tells users to stop playing immediately if they experience specific symptoms of epilepsy, and to consult a physician before resuming play.

On behalf of her child, the woman is seeking damages "for such fair and reasonable amount as may be awarded by a jury of his peers," along with whatever other relief the court may deem just and proper. Earlier this week, Sony requested that the woman specify the total amount of damages she's seeking.

As of press time, neither Vivendi nor Sony representatives had returned GameSpot's request for comment.

This is not the first time a gamemaker has faced a lawsuit over epileptic seizures. In August of 2003, Nintendo won a case in Louisiana against a woman whose son died as the result of a seizure he suffered while playing the Nintendo 64. The judge in that case ruled in Nintendo's favor after the woman failed to respond to the publisher's motion for summary judgment.
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:lol: :lol: :lol:

http://www.gametab.com/news/857932/

[FantasyGhost]

linky (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6168230.html)The PS2 edition of Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly came with a notice on the inside front cover of the instruction manual advising consumers that "a very small percentage of individuals may experience epileptic seizures when exposed to certain light patterns or flashing lights." The notice also tells users to stop playing immediately if they experience specific symptoms of epilepsy, and to consult a physician before resuming play.I guess she won't be seeing any money. Unless Sony wants to make a guesture and pay for the hospital bill.

[cliffbo]

another one :lol:

A document publicly available via the internet - gawd bless it - has ignited speculation that a revised-hardware PS3 is in the pipeline.

It's revealed in the document that Sony has made an application requesting 'a class II permissive change' to the console to the US Federal Communications Commission. It's suggested by the changes detailed that a version of PS3 with an 80Gb hard drive will be released to live alongside existing models.

Alterations - i.e. update - to PS3's Bluetooth antennae are additionally related to in the document.

It's likely that any revisions to PS3 hardware would be minor and applied across the board, with a new 80Gb model simply being that - a PS3 with a bigger HDD. We'll just have to wait and see.

Sony declined to comment on the matter when contacted earlier.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=160997

[kaphwan]

But... in the manual it says if you're prone to epileptic seizures that you not play!

*head explodes*
*adds stupid mothers to list of things I hate about the internet*

[VG Aficionado]

:huh:

*chews PS3's power cord*

[cliffbo]

they are both April fools :) i just thought they were funny

[F089/H]

Dummies are for GAmez:dur:

[Z]

there should be a law against April fools.

[Leedogg]

:susp: its not even sunday yet!

[Fats]

FFS, it's not even April Fools yet.

[VG Aficionado]

Good thing April fools is on Sunday this year. There aren't any games industry important news at all on Sundays, so it'll be really easy to spot the fakes.

[Viper]

they are both April fools :) i just thought they were funny

Cliff, aside from magazines, April Fools jokes happen....on Aprils Fools DAY. Not April Fools week.



Both articles are real. Nintendo was sued several times for epileptic bullshit yet easily won those cases just as Sony will win this one.

[VG Aficionado]

I thought I was seeing things for a second, but then I did realise that Ken Kutaragi just winked at me while I was reading this thread. Repeatedly :look:

[Viper]

Sony just admitted they filed for the FCC approval. Granted they claim it doesn't mean they'll actually release it.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5065&Itemid=2

[jaxmkii]

^ they should do a 240 gig one

[overclocked]

I watched a bad porno-movie on my PS3 and have filled a suit on Sony for not being able to move my hand properly for days.. :shifty:

[VG Aficionado]

60 GB will end being very few for us early adopters. I'll end up upgrading it to up to 160 GB while I'll still keep the 60 GB one. Good thing I can find the best deal instead of having to pay for a standard HDD in a proprietary enclosure.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

so...is this an April Fools joke or no?

[curryking1]

:huh:

*chews PS3's power cord*

LOL! :shocked: :crazy2:

^It's most definitely an April Fools. At least, it better be hahaha.

[Viper]

so...is this an April Fools joke or no?

For the last time...NO!

April Fools jokes happen on April Fools Day. This is legit. Nintendo has been sued a few times for the same type shit but won them all easily. So will Sony. This is just a frivolous lawsuit that will get laughed out of court.

[=NukeBlaze=]

If the equipment you are using is on a higher rung of food-chain...

Oh how does it go..."You should at least be 2x as intelligent as the machinery you are using."

[Viper]

It's required to have a license to drive. Perhaps we need to expand that notion to cover many other aspects of life.

[Red_Eyes]

I wouldn't easily believe anything unusual or suspicious that happen on an April's Fool week.

[cliffbo]

spyro the dragon! :lol:

an updated PS3 with bigger drive :lol:

[Segitz]

Man, those kind of lawsuits make look the american jurisdiction ridiculous!

I often read of those, especially the one, were a smoker sued the tobacco producer, which then got sentenced for millions!

If one would file such a lawsuit in Germany, every state attorney would laugh at you! There were "tries" to do so (tobacco thingy), but even came to court.


And now this? This is REALLY ridiculous! Every Game I owned had a epilepsy warning in the manual or even ingame (Gamecube did this).

[backbreaker]

You know whats ironic about the title of this thread. Everymorning on my way to work(vanpool) Vinvendi and Sony bldgs are right next to each other off the 405 in Culver City in california by the Howard Hughes cnt.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Thanks viper. I'm not sure. people are going crazy around here.


There's the warnings in the manuals and in some case before the game starts. I feel bad for the kid though. I doubt they'll win in court.

[Stelio]

I watched a bad porno-movie on my PS3 and have filled a suit on Sony for not being able to move my hand properly for days.. :shifty:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Now THAT is some funny shit...

[OnBake Platinum]

Mario tells me to burn things.

[CreativeWriter]

If you play God of War backwards it tells you to kill your family... wait, he does that anyway...

[LiquidEagle]

You know whats ironic about the title of this thread. Everymorning on my way to work(vanpool) Vinvendi and Sony bldgs are right next to each other off the 405 in Culver City in california by the Howard Hughes cnt.

Really? I've never seen those buildings, just the THQ one a little bit north of that exit :-/

I don't live in that area but I do take 405 every once in awhile (if I'm feeling lucky... or feel like waiting several hours to get somewhere close)

[<3frosty]

You know, the funny thing about this lawsuit is that the game didnt have flashing lights in the gameplay, or anything that is part of the intended game, but instead was so horridly buggy and had such horrible framerate issues, that it caused a seizure. In other words, it was such a POS that it caused seizures. Thats pretty bad.

[koten]

The stupidity of people is amzing as ever.

[Z]

there should be strikter law against silly laysuit claimes- speaking generally here.

some of the things I read in the paper is just so out of this world it ain't even funny. a lady sues McDonald's and wins $2million because her coffee was hot...

[Viper]

Some states have enacted frivolous lawsuit laws but not all have them yet unfortunately.