40 straight hours of Diablo III claims gamer's life

The report states that the man had entered an Internet Café in southern Taiwan on a Friday afternoon. He then booked a private room and played non-stop for two days without eating anything.

An employee of the café entered the room on a Sunday morning to check on the man, who was resting on a table. On being awakened, the man collapsed. He was shortly declared dead at a local hospital.

Blizzard, the game's developer, released the following comment on the news:

"We're saddened to hear this news, and our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time. We don't feel it would be appropriate for us to comment further without knowing all of the circumstances involved."

"While we recognize that it's ultimately up to each individual or their parent or guardian to determine playing habits, we feel that moderation is clearly important, and that a person's day-to-day life should take precedence over any form of entertainment."

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. In February, a Taiwanese man suffered a heart attack after a 23-hour gaming marathon. Another incident was reported in 2007, from China's Guangzhou province where a 30-year old man died after 3 consecutive days of gaming. Other tragedies involved a 28-year old South Korean man dying after 50-hours of constant gaming and a 24-year old South Korean man succumbing to his death after 86 hours of continuous gameplay.