Mocap Boxing a “killer”? No.
Question:
Hello, my name is Lissa Reynolds. My 40 year old fiancee died last week at disneyland espn zone playing this mocap boxing. He collapsed and i was told he had a massive heart attack. I have been reading some disturbing articles about how exhausted people are after playing thisl Do you know if there are any warnings on the game, or where i can get more information on this game and its dangers. I would appreciate any help you could give me. He was in good shape, but obviously this game is what triggered the heart attack.
[…and one day later, I received this email…]
i was reading your article about video games and excercise. I wanted to know what you know about the game mocap boxing. Do you know if it has caused any deaths in the usa? I know it was taken off the market in Japan, because of exhaustion problems. My boyfriend died of a heart attack last month while playing this game at ESPN Zone at Disneyland in Anaheim Calif. I have read so many reviews that say how physically exhausting this game can be, one reviewer said this game will give him a heart attack before he is 40. Well my boyfriend just turned 40, and for whatever reason it did trigger his heart attack and he was dead before they got him to the hospital. There was no press regarding this incident, and I am sure they want it kept quiet. But the more I read about this game the more disturbing it is to me. I have read reviews from people that play these games for a living. Some have said , made me break out in a sweat, gave me chest pains, my arms and legs ached for weeks…….etc. Do you know anyway to find out about the problems this game caused in Japan, that led Konami to take this game off the market? Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank You,
Lissa Reynolds
Answer:
I didn’t actually write back to either of these emails, and I don’t intend to. There’s something strange about the emails – they both came from different email addresses, Mocap Boxing can’t be held liable for someone else’s physical conditioning, and the other comments made about the game sound exaggerated or non-sensical.
Sometimes it’s best just not to answer.
Prognosis:
If he was well conditioned, it obviously wasn’t the game. He must have had a hidden heart condition.
21 July 2009, 4:32 pmStephen:
You can’t blame a motion capture game, specifically one which deals with the incredible cardiovascular system of boxers. I myself have been boxing for years, and have kept in pretty good shape my whole life. I love this game and have never once felt any extreme sense of exhaustion; nothing more than a light exercise.
Maybe if your fiance had realized his physical limitations and not tried to act as if he were an actual boxer, and stopped when he felt himself getting physically tired, you wouldn’t have had to ask such a stupid question.
25 August 2010, 8:37 am