Mortal Kombat // Wilson Vs. Midway Games

Mortal Kombat Sub-Zero spine ripping fatality


Mortal Kombat was an arcade fighting game developed and published by Midway in 1992 as the first title of the famous Mortal Kombat series. It was ported by Acclaim entertainment to every platform at that time. The game is considered to be one of the most popular game in the fighting genre.

However, the game sparked huge controversy regarding the depiction of extreme violence and gore using digitized graphics, resulting in the introduction of age-specific content descriptor ratings for video games known as ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board).

One of the major controversy resulted in a law suite. In 1997, a 13-year-old boy named Noah Wilson passed away after his best friend stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife, severing his aorta. Noah’s mother sued Midway Games, makers of Mortal Kombat, claiming her son’s best friend was addicted and obsessed with the fighting game and that he believed he was the character Cyrax, a robotic ninja.

Facts:

On November 22, 1997, thirteen-year-old Noah Wilson died when his friend, identified as Yancy S., stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife. Noah's mother, Andrea Wilson, filed this suit against Midway Games, Inc., alleging that at the time Yancy stabbed Noah, Yancy was addicted to a video game manufactured by Midway called Mortal Kombat, and that Yancy was so obsessed with the game that he actually believed he was the character Cyrax.

Wilson claims that Midway's design and marketing of Mortal Kombat caused her son's death. She alleges that she is entitled to damages under theories of product liability, unfair trade practices, loss of consortium, and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The court held that Midway Games was not liable for the death under the First Amendment, as the State of Connecticut could not violate their free speech rights to make video games. There was no relief granted to the mother as Midways was not liable for any kind of damage.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pong // Magnavox Vs. Atari

Image
Gameplay screenshot of the arcade game Pong(1972) In 1972, Atari’s electronic table tennis game  Pong  became a bonafide craze—and Ralph Baer, inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey gaming console, sought legal action against Atari. Baer claimed that Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell had copied Magnavox’s version of electronic Ping-Pong after Bushnell played the game at a Magnavox dealership demo a few months before  Pong  was released. Facts: In 1975 Ralph Baer and Magnavox, creators of the first home console system – the Magnavox Odyssey – sued Atari (and many other companies) for their clones of the Magnavox Odyssey’s ‘Tennis’ game. The Atari game in question was ‘Pong.’ Due to the patents held by Baer and Magnavox parent company Sanders Associates, and coupled with the fact that there was ample evidence of Atari founder Nolan Bushnell having played ‘Tennis’ at a product exhibition, Atari decided to settle the case outside of the courts. Other companies were also forced
Read more

Pac-Man and K.C. Munchkin // Atari Vs. Philips

Image
Gameplay screenshot for the arcade game Pac-man(1980) In the early 1980s,  Pac-Man  was the most popular video game in the world, and its manufacturers, Namco and Midway, were developing a home version port of it for the Atari 2600. But a year before Atari’s release, Magnavox and Philips Electronics debuted the video game  K.C. Munchkin , which resembled Pac-Man’s gameplay, for the Philips Videopac home console. While  K.C. Munchkin  was not a direct clone of  Pac-Man , its winding levels and its ghost-like monsters bore an uncanny resemblance to the Atari game. In 1982, Atari sued Philips for copyright infringement and an appellate court found that Philips had copied  Pac-Man . The Court’s ruling was the first to recognize how copyright law would apply to the look and feel of computer software. Facts: The court noted many differences and similarities between PAC-MAN and K.C. Munchkin, which are reproduced in their entireties below. However, what is interesting in this ca
Read more

New Super Mario Bros Wii // Nintendo Vs. Burt

Image
Artwork For New Super Mario Bros.Wii For Nintendo Wii New Super Mario Bros. Wii  is a  2D side-scrolling   platform video game  developed and published by  Nintendo  for the  Wii .    It is a sequel to  New Super Mario Bros.  for the  Nintendo DS  and a part of the  New Super Mario Bros.  series. It was released in 2009. In November 2009, 24-year-old Australian James Burt purchased a copy of  New Super Mario Bros. Wii  several days before its release, as the store had mistakenly put it up for sale early, and ripped and uploaded the game disk online. Nintendo took down the game and sued Burt shortly afterwards, accusing him of violating copyright laws and depriving Nintendo of potential sales. The case was ultimately settled in January 2010, with Burt receiving a fine of AU$1.5 million as compensation for lost sales, as well as an additional fine of AU$100,000 as a part of Nintendo's legal fine.  The file was downloaded more than 50,000 times over the course of five d
Read more