Kotaku: Tragedy

Dying in an Internet Cafe Is More Terrible Than You Can Imagine

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:00:00 EST

As Kotaku previously reported, a 23-year-old man recently died at a Taiwanese internet cafe. Nine hours later, someone noticed. More »

The Bittersweet Triumph of the Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas Tree

Mike Fahey — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:20:00 EST

Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas Tree" alt="Click here to read The Bittersweet Triumph of the Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas Tree" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/12/small_659fa482bf0d1289b862433d3f32430b.jpg"/>

Celebrating 20 years of Sega's blurry blue mascot, this Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas tree from 8BitFix's Beatboxtaun stands as both a monument to video game culture and a reminder of those who won't be with us this holiday season. More »

From Erotic Games to Murder Charges

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:00:00 EDT

In 1999, a thirty-one year-old voice actress under the name Suzuka Yuna voice one of the lead characters in Japanese erotic computer game Triangle Heart 2. More »

Sitting on Your Ass Playing Halo for 12 Hours: The Silent Killer

Owen Good — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EDT

Halo for 12 Hours: The Silent Killer" alt="Click here to read Sitting on Your Ass Playing Halo for 12 Hours: The Silent Killer" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/07/small_staniforth.jpg"/>

Chris Staniforth was standing outside of a jobs center, awaiting an interview, when he dropped a pack of chewing gum. When he reached to pick it up, he began to spasm. In moments, he was dead. More »

Proving Ground Co-Host's Blood-Alcohol Over Legal Limit

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:30:00 EDT

As previously posted, Ryan Dunn, the 34-year-old co-host, died in a car crash this week when he lost control of his Porsche 911, killing him and his passenger. According to Reuters, Dunn's blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit. [Reuters] More »

After Murder, There Was Online Gaming

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:00:00 EST

Earlier this month at a supermarket in Japan's Kumamoto, 3-year-old Koko Shimizu went to the restroom while her mother paid for their groceries. Within minutes, the little girl was missing. Her body was discovered 500 meters away inside a large drain near a river. More »

Man Killed At Monster Hunter Stamp Rally

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 02:00:00 EST

Last Sunday at around midday, 34-year-old Fumiaki Kuranouchi and his friend went to a Monster Hunter "stamp rally" in Tokyo. Before leaving, they rode a roller coaster called the "Spinning Coaster Maihime". Sadly, the ride cost Kuranouchi his life. More »

Heroic Company Of Heroes Dev Lives On In His Daughter

Mike Fahey — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:20:00 EST

In September Company of Heroes Online lead designer Brian Wood was killed in a car crash. His pregnant wife Erin survived. NBC's Today talks with the widow about how she's keeping Brian's memory alive for her newborn daughter. More »

Korean College Student Dies After 12-Hour Gaming Session

Owen Good — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

There seem to be few gaming stories out of Korea lately that don't involve some sort of fatality. In this case, a 19-year-old college student died after a 12-hour-session with an FPS at an Internet parlor. More »

Police Say Man Stole Game Boy From Teen That Died On Christmas [Update]

Mike Fahey — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 12:20:00 EST

Seventeen-year-old Bradley David-McCombs Jr. died in a tragic car accident on Christmas Day. On Monday night his family held a viewing at the Rairigh Funeral Home in Montgomery Township, Pennsylvania. That night, someone decided to steal his Game Boy. More »

Man Jailed For Life Over Murder Of Xbox-Interrupting Child

Mike Fahey — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:20:00 EST

Gary Alcock was playing video games in his girlfriend's flat in Oldham, England in January when the woman's 15-month-old daughter interrupted him with her crying. His reaction was swift, brutal, and ultimately deadly. More »

Teen Brags Of Murder Over World Of Warcraft

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 08:00:00 EDT

This past March in British Columbia, two teenage boys — 16 and 18 — raped and killed 18-year-old Kimberly Proctor before mutilating and burning her body under a bridge. When it was over, the 16-year-old told a friend on World of Warcraft what they'd done. More »

Chinese Youth Dies At Boot Camp

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:40:00 EDT

The Chinese government has taken swift steps to deal with teenagers that are addicted to online games and the internet. One step has been the creation of boot camps. More »

Gamers Unite to Help Grieving Widow

Brian Crecente — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EDT

In her darkest days, Erin Wood says she found some solace in the kindness of strangers, of gamers, of you. More »

Company Of Heroes Designer's Widow Tells Her Story

Mike Fahey — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:40:00 EDT

Erin Wood, the widow of Company of Heroes Online lead designer Brian Wood who died tragically in a car crash earlier this month, appeared on NBC's Today this morning to discuss the accident and how she's coping with her loss. More »

Memorial Fund Started For Family of Dev Killed in Car Crash

Mike Fahey — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EDT

Friends of Brian Wood, the Company of Heroes developer who lost his life in a tragic car accident on Friday, have established a trust fund to aid his wife and their unborn child during this trying time. Every dollar counts. More »

Company Of Heroes Dev Gave His Life To Save His Family

Mike Fahey — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:40:00 EDT

Further information regarding the tragic death of Relic Entertainment's Brian R. Wood in an automobile accident Friday night reveals that the developer's final act saved the life of his wife and their unborn child. More »

And Another Foxconn Worker Dies

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 04:00:00 EDT

Foxconn is famous for two things: Manufacturing electronics (the PS3, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 and the iPhone) and having employees that commit suicide. This year, 12 Foxconn workers have taken their own lives. More »

Bid For A Part In Saints Row 3 (For A Good Cause)

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:00:00 EDT

On May 28, 2010, an early morning fire raged through a two-story house in Urbana, Illinois. All but one made it out safely. More »

Two Year Anniversary Of Akihabara Killings

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:00:00 EDT

June 8, 2008 was a dark day in Japan. A temp worker drove a rented truck into a group of pedestrians in Tokyo's geek mecca, Akihabara. He got out and began randomly stabbing bystanders. Seven were left dead, 10 injured. More »

Five Weeks In, Even Tetris Won't Work

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:00:00 EDT

As seen on Penny Arcade. More »

ThunderCats Writer Murdered

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:00:00 EDT

Stephen Perry, who was a writer for 1980s cartoon ThunderCats, recently went missing. His van was found last Sunday. Inside it, a man's severed arm. Stephen Perry, police now report, is dead. More »

Yet Another Death

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:00:00 EDT

In what seems to be a daily occurrence, another worker at the Foxconn Shenzhen plant has jumped to his death on late Wednesday. More »

People Can Walk The Streets of Akihabara Again!

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:00:00 EDT

It used to be that on Sundays and holidays, Tokyo's electrics and game mecca Akihabara closed off its streets to cars and turned itself into a "Pedestrians' Paradise". Then, seven individuals were tragically killed in a stabbing spree. More »

Teenage Boy Charged With Killing His Father With Sledgehammer

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 03:00:00 EDT

Near Russia's Black Sea, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with killing his father after a row over computer games. After the killing, he then played said computer games for several hours. More »

This Guy Lost Everything In A Fire, Gamers Help Him

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:30:00 EDT

Chris Hu, a member of fighting game forum Shoryuken.com, lost everything in fire in New York's Chinatown. Hu and his family are now homeless, and Shoryuken.com is doing what it can to help. More »

Three-Year-Old Kills Herself With Game Controller-Shaped Gun

Mike Fahey — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST

A three-year-old in Wilson County, Tennessee died Sunday evening after accidentally shooting herself in the abdomen with a weapon she may have mistaken for a plastic Wii facsimile. More »

Tekken Voice Actor Dead, Police Investigating Suicide

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:00:00 EST

Daisuke Gouri passed away this past Sunday at around 3:00 pm in Tokyo after being discovered wandering the streets in Nakano ward, blood dripping from his arm, before collapsing face-down. He was 57 years old. More »

Pot, Video Games, Child Care: Which One Is Not Like the Other?

Owen Good — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:00:00 EST

A Florida father is looking at a long and uncomfortable tour of the justice system after getting high, gaming all night, and then falling asleep on his 7-month-old daughter, suffocating her in the process. More »

15 Yr-Old Set On Fire, Started Over Video Game Debt

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Florida teenager Michael Brewer was intentionally set on fire at a Deerfield Beach, Florida apartment complex and suffered second-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. Five youths from his school are in police custody. More »

EGM Writer Passes Away

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT

Andrew Baran, former writer at Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM2/Expert Gamer, passed away on July 26 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. More »

College Freshman Gets Life in Console-Dispute Tragedy

Owen Good — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:00:00 EDT

A Fresno man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for shooting a 19-year-old to death in a dispute over a PlayStation 2, bringing to a close a tragedy first reported on two years ago. More »

Deceased Wrestler Loved Great Video Games

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:00:00 EDT

Earlier this week, tragedy struck when Japanese pro wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa was killed in a freak ring accident — suffering lethal spinal damage from a suplex. More »

Video Game Argument Ends In Accidental Death

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 06:00:00 EDT

A brother argument over video games has ended in death when an 11-year-old Mississippi boy accidentally shot his 9-year-old brother in the chest with a shotgun. More »

Wrestling Video Game Blamed For Child's Parachuting Death

Mike Fahey — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:40:00 EDT

Friends of 9-year-old Damori Miles of Brooklyn, New York, claim the boy was imitating moves from WWE SmackDown vs Raw when he jumped off of his apartment rooftop to his death wearing a makeshift parachute. More »

Man Dies While Playing Wii Fit

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:00:00 EDT

Tim Eves, 25, died on March 4 in front of his girlfriend while playing Wii Fit reports UK newspaper Telegraph. More »

German Retailer Drops Violent Games In Wake Of Shootings

Mike Fahey — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:20:00 EDT

Following last week's tragic shooting rampage in Germany that left fifteen dead, German retailer Galeria Kaufhof is pulling violent films and games from their store shelves. More »

Arcade Literally Explodes, Kills Somebody

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:30:00 EDT

Early on Wednesday morning, an arcade in Casablanca, Morocco exploded. Just...one minute it was there, the next minute, boom, it was gone. More »

Suspect Shoots 9 People, Kills 2, Leaves Roommate His PS3

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:20:00 EST

This past Saturday night, suspect Erik Salvador Ayala fired shots into a random crowd in Portland, Oregon. After killing two and injuring seven, Ayala shot himself in the head. The gaming connection? More »

Game Journalist In Murder Suicide

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

Former game journalist Jason Montes, 33 years-old, and his estranged spouse, 25, were found dead by police on January 11. He is suspected in this apparent murder suicide. More »