Man stabbed over World of Warcraft argument

Video games are very mainstream in this day and age and people love video games to the point of even stabbing someone over it. The Peter Borough Examiner reported that a man was recently stabbed in the chest over the popular massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft. “I was sitting in my house today thinking ‘should I be dead or shouldn’t I,’” said Jordan Osborne, the victim. “And it’s all over a World of Warcraft game.”

According to the report, Osbourne said he was at home when he heard an argument inside his neighbour’s house. He went to his neighbour’s house to calm him down, and was pulled inside by the neighbour - Justin Williams. The victim, from Ontario, Canada said, “I heard him having an argument with someone in his apartment on Wednesday and went round to make sure everything was okay. He was yelling at his buddies on his computer because they actually attacked him,” Osborne said. “He’s yelling at them because they invaded him. They rushed into his area and destroyed it and he just started freaking out. I was telling him, there is no need for you to be freaking out about World of Warcraft. It’s just a game,” Osborne said. “He said: ‘it’s not just a game, it’s my life.’” Reportedly, Osborne said he was grabbed by the throat and punched, then had a short knife plunged into his chest.

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Stabbed? Over this?

Osbourne has filed charges against Williams for aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

This isn’t the first time people have gone nuts over a video game. Many groups attempt to censor video games citing incidents like these, which are due to a person’s own problems, not the game’s fault. However, several major studies by  groups such as The Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health, The Journal of Adolescent Health and The British Medical Journal have shown no conclusive link between video game usage and violent activity.

In the book Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, researchers/authors Lawrence Kutner, and Cheryl K. Olson refute claims of violent behavior increase caused by violent video games. The researchers’ study shows that adolescents that don’t play video games at all are most at risk for violent behavior, claiming that video game play is part of an adolescent boy’s normal social setting.