KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — For children and teens, video games can be considered a pastime to escape from homework and have fun with friends.
But when time on the computer takes over daily activities like meals and sleep, any parent is bound to be concerned.
Three Canadian parents filed a lawsuit against multiplayer battle royale game Fortnite’s developer company, Epic Games, for the effect its game has had on their children.
They claimed that their children were so addicted to the game that they skipped eating, sleeping and showering.
One of the children allegedly clocked in over 7,700 hours of game time within two years.
In a statement, Epic Games said it had ‘industry-leading parental controls’ to allow player's activity to be monitored.
"Parents can receive playtime reports that track the amount of time their child plays each week, and require parental permission before purchases are made," the company said.
"We plan to fight this in court. We believe the evidence will show that this case is meritless."
During court filings, the parents noted that video game addiction is recognised by the WHO (World Health Organisation) as a behavioural disorder.
According to the WHO, gaming disorder can be diagnosed when a person's family, work, social and personal lives are impaired consistently over a period of 12 months.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Sylvain Lussier likened video game addiction to the discovery of smoking addiction and its negative effects on the body.
He recognised children playing Fortnite in Quebec, Canada as developing symptoms of addiction.
The online free-to-play battle royale video game has over 350 million active players.
Players can use real-world money to buy in-game currency called ‘V Bucks’ to purchase skins to customise their avatar's appearance.
This allowed the game to earn RM250 billion in revenue but has also allegedly hooked players into an addictive pay-to-win system.
