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"Microsoft murdered our son!"
J. Micah Grunert - Tuesday, May 29th, 2007 | 1:02PM (PT)


Could the Xbox 360 have killed a innocent child?

In an odd twist of fate, or in seemingly litigious fashion, an Illinois family is suing Microsoft after claiming that their Xbox 360 killed him.

The family in question believes that the electrical wiring of the Xbox had become so hot that it caused the outlet to overheat, bringing about the "catastrophic" fire that killed young Wade Kline. The suit claims that the fire was a  "direct and proximate result of the overheating of the game's power supply and wiring". The defendants in this case are Microsoft (of course), Wal-Mart (where the Xbox 360 was purchased), and unnamed power supply manufacturer of the Xbox PSU.

There have been other incendiary cases involving the Xbox, but specifically with the first generation of Xbox console gaming systems. In February 2005, Microsoft had announced a recall of more 14 million Xbox power cords. These faulty power cords we deemed to be unsafe, and had caused some fires.

Wades family is seeking 'unspecified damages' in excess value of $50,000. Maybe I should sue too, claiming that the Xbox controller gave me carpal tunnel syndrome after I played Halo 2 for 47 hours straight.

 

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Comments:

  • 0 thumbs!
    Diablos | May 29, 07 | quote
    50,000 for a death? That's not much. Greedy family.
  • 0 thumbs!
    jmicahg | May 29, 07 | quote
    Well, that's actually the disclosed minuimum settlement they're asking for. Who knows, the real dollar figure their lawyer is going for could have a couple of extra zeros tacked on.
  • 0 thumbs!
    tallteen86 | May 29, 07 | quote
    MS could certainly afford those extra Zeros...

    But by giving them the money, they would be admitting that they were at fault...Which could open them up to more litigation...which means more money lost.....not to mention all the negative press associated to giving in to this, and other cases...
  • 0 thumbs!
    Mr Gray | May 29, 07 | quote
    As always, it'll likely be settled on the side, free from prying media eyes. MS will likely deny responsibility but pay something to keep on the safe side.
  • 0 thumbs!
    Micwits | May 29, 07 | quote
    This is no joke.
  • 0 thumbs!
    iamjoe56 | May 29, 07 | quote
    I have a friend who is suing too. He got ripped off by paypal and ebay, he is going after $60,000,000.
  • 0 thumbs!
    UnrivaledSHOGUN | May 30, 07 | quote
    According to them, this happened in Dec. 2004 and they are just suing now?

    And they keep saying it was the xbox 360 when it was obviously the original xbox since 360 wasn't out back then.
  • 0 thumbs!
    Sungod Okami | May 30, 07 | quote
    This is a joke. How could the family sue Microsoft if they're the company that designed the product? I think they should blame themselves for either keeping the 360 on for like 8000 hours straight or faulty wiring in their own system that caused the overheat. There's gotta be some disclaimer (a.k.a. idiot-guard). If there is, this stupid family is exploiting a loophole in it. Even though it's probably not Microsoft's fault, they want something to make themselves feel better. Someone to blame.

    Ignorant pigs.
  • 0 thumbs!
    Lesley Pro_04 | Jun 10, 07 | quote
    That's a damn shame, to have a child killed due to faulty wiring that caused a fire. I hope this gets settled so the family can move on from this awful tragedy.
    If Jack Thompson tries to blame violent video games on this death, then he's a bigger moron than I thought. And that's just based off of the facts of this story.
  • 0 thumbs!
    jmicahg | Jun 11, 07 | quote
    Jack Thompson will probablly find some case like thins in the near distant future and claim that the person killed was so enthrolled by the unrepetant viloence of said vide game that they didn't notice the flames burning around them . Or, perhaps that the violence of said video game desentizied the victim to the point that they no longer thought that fire was bad. Of course, the character int he video game would run through flames, so the kid playing it thought he was immune to fire.
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