NCsoft Sued for Making Lineage II “Too Addictive”

Last week, I mentioned an MMO I play called Lineage II, and in that post, I also mentioned that it has the worst level grind of any game I’ve ever played. So it’s with some coincidence that a couple of days later, news of a lawsuit surfaced where one US-based gamer is suing the game’s developer, NCsoft, for making the game “too addictive”.

Being an MMO, Lineage II is going to be addictive right out of the gate, because that’s the purpose of an MMO… to keep gamers gaming. The aspect sure isn’t unique to this game, as all other MMO’s share the exact same trait. How many people do you know that can’t go a single way without playing World of Warcraft? If you’re a player of it, you probably think about it every single day – even days when you are not playing. “Addictive” and “MMO” go hand in hand.

The fact that a gamer felt compelled enough to sue a developer over the fact is interesting, though, and also a bit sad. This gamer, Craig Smallwood, claims that Lineage II has overwhelmed his life, and on average, he’s played it for close to 11 hours every single day for the past five years. What does that result to? Well, apparently someone who can barely dress or bathe themselves, or have a real conversation with someone.

As a good friend said in response to this, “Don’t blame the drug, blame the fact that you took it.” and that’s quite true here. All MMORPG games are addictive, but it’s up to you to actually moderate yourself, and if the game does become a major problem, like it became for Mr. Smallwood, then you need to go cold turkey. As someone who’s been “addicted” to MMO’s in the past, I can understand how much of a problem they can become. But, that sure isn’t the fault of the developer.

I can’t see this lawsuit going too far at all.

Craig Smallwood, the plaintiff, claims NCsoft of South Korea should pay unspecified monetary damages because of the addictive nature of the game. Smallwood claims to have played Lineage II for 20,000 hours between 2004 and 2009. Among other things, he alleges he would not have begun playing if he was aware “that he would become addicted to the game.”